Mikrobiyol Bul
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Acinetobacter baumannii strains, are opportunistic pathogens that cause severe nosocomial infections that are difficult to treat due to development of resistance to multiple antibiotics. As the antibiotic choices to be used in treatment are limited, combinations of a variety of antibiotics are used. The aims of this study were to identify the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of colistin and sulbactam against A.baumannii isolates and to determine the in vitro activity of colistin-sulbactam combination. ⋯ In the assessment of in vitro efficacy of the colistin-sulbactam combination against A.baumannii strains with multidrug resistance, antagonistic effect was observed in all strains. In the resistance and clonal analysis it was determined that the strains belonged to the same clone, and they had the same resistance genes and therefore the result of the in vitro activity was considered to have similar effect among all strains. It was decided that especially in units where critical patients are monitored and where resistant strains that are difficult to treat are isolated, performing synergy studies may be beneficial for the selection of combination treatment and the determination of the treatment combination to be chosen specifically for the hospital or even the unit.
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Flu caused by influenza viruses, is a serious public health problem all over the world with its high morbidity and mortality. Therefore World Health Organization (WHO) regularly collects the results of national influenza surveillance, evaluates the results and shares them on international portal. Thus, it provides the possibility of rapid prevention and preparation of countries that needs to be taken on the fight against the epidemic flu. ⋯ Antigenic characterization of influenza A viruses isolated in our laboratory was found compatible with the vaccine strains. In conclusion, surveillance studies are highly important for the determination of the effects of flu on public health and identification of the approaches for fighting with flu. In this sense, influenza surveillance of the countries are required to implement more effectively in an expanded field of scale.
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Influenza surveillance provides data about the characteristics of influenza activity, types, sub-types and antigenic properties of the influenza viruses in circulation in a region. Surveillance also provides for the preparation against potential influenza pandemics with the identification of the genetic properties of viruses and the mutant strains that could pose a threat. In this study, data in the scope of national influenza surveillance carried out by National Influenza Center, Turkey for five consecutive influenza seasons between 2010-2015, following the A(H1N1)pdm09 virus pandemic, have been presented and evaluated. ⋯ The positivity rates of other respiratory viruses which were also analyzed in the scope of sentinel influenza surveillance were similar to influenza positivity for all seasons except 2010-2011. This fact has emphasized that, those viruses were also responsible for influenza-like illness especially during the early and late phases of the season. In conclusion, monitoring of the antigenic and genetic characteristics of influenza viruses by surveillance studies is essential for the early detection of potential pandemic variants as well as to ensure similarities among the circulating strains and the corresponding vaccine strains.
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Throughout the history of mankind, tuberculosis (TB) has caused serious illness and still continues to do so. Archaeobiological studies indicated that TB in humans dates back to 4000-8000 BC, and cases were shown to be due to Mycobacterium bovis subsp.bovis rather than Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Moreover, this situation was thought to begin with domestication of animals, consumption of their milk, and living together in the same environment with them. ⋯ The strains isolated from the first and third cases were found to be susceptible to streptomycin (STR), isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RIF) and ethambutol (EMB), while the strain isolated from the second case was susceptible to STR, INH and RIF, but resistant to EMB. All of the three isolates were resistant to pyrazinamide. As a result, it was concluded that large-scaled and attentive monitoring of TB infections in animals, as well as searching for M.bovis subsp. bovis in TB cases, especially in high-risk groups would be essential for an accurate diagnosis.