International Journal of Infection
Volume:1 Issue: 2, Jul 2014

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is a tick-borne viral disease reported from more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, South-East Europe, and the Middle East. The majority of human cases are workers in livestock industry, agriculture, slaughterhouses, and veterinary practice. The current mortality rate in endemic areas varies between 5 to 20 percent depending on the geographic location and medical supportive treatment. Unfortunately, there is currently no FDA-approved vaccine for prevention or specific antiviral drug for the treatment of CCHF. Ribavirin, effective against CCHFV in vitro, is one of the few options for treatment of CCHFV, but its efficacy is still questionable due to contradictory clinical studies. The efficacy of other options including Intravenous Immuneglobulin (IVIG), steroids, CCHF hyperimmuneglobulin, and CCHF monoclonal antibodies is still controversial..

Trachyspermum ammi or Carum copticum, commonly known as Ajowan or Ajwain is a plant used as a spice. Thymol, the major phenolic compound present in Ajowan is known as a strong germicide and anti-spasmodic. It is also used for cleaning the wounds and treating skin infections..
Here, we aimed to study the inhibitory effects of Ajowan essential oil on microorganisms like Escherichia coli (E. coli), Klebsiella, and Staphylococcus aureus growth..
Material and Antibacterial activities of Ajowan essential oil (AEO) have been evaluated against two gram negative bacteria; Klebsiella and E. coli and one gram positive bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value was determined against all mentioned bacteria..
The antibacterial activity of AEO was assessed against all selected pathogens and different MIC levels were observed. The essential oil was effective for S. aureus with MIC of 1.25 mg/mL, followed by, E. coli with MIC of 2.5 mg/mL and Klebsiella with MIC of 5 mg/mL..
The results of the present study showed that the AEO has antibacterial effects against human pathogens that are resistant to antibiotics. More studies should be performed to demonstrate the detailed mechanism of this antimicrobial effect..

Campylobacter spp. are Gram-negative bacilli enteric pathogens that pose a major public health problem worldwide. In this genus, the most important species is Campylobacter jejuni. This bacterium causes diarrhea as its main symptom, which its intensity varies from mild to severe. Patients’ stools may be watery or bloody..
In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of the species of Campylobacter. jejuni in Zahedan, a major city in southeastern Iran..
Patients and Fecal samples from 164 patients with acute diarrhea from Zahedan hospitals were collected from 2011 to 2013. Then the samples were streaked onto a campylobacter selective agar containing supplement and 7% defibrinated sheep blood. Conventional bacteriological tests (such as culture and biochemical tests) were performed to confirm the genus and differentiate at the species level. Finally, disk diffusion method was performed according to the recommendation of Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) to determine the susceptibility of isolates to antibacterial agents..
Out of 164 samples, 19 (11.6%) were reported positive by culture which confirmed by biochemical tests. Fifteen (78.9%) patients, whose samples were positive, hospitalized in infant ward. Two (10.5%) patients treated as outpatients. Two remaining (10.5%) patients were admitted in internal medicine ward. All of isolated strains were susceptible or moderately susceptible to erythromycin as the drug of choice..
In this study, the prevalence of the disease (11.6%) is found to be more than other parts of Iran. The symptomatic infection mainly affects children younger than 5 years..

Herbal medicines has been a major remedy in traditional medical systems from thousands of years and made a great contribution in maintaining human health and in preventing many infectious diseases..
The aim of this study was to evaluate antibacterial activity of leaf extracts of Winter Cheery (Withania somnifera) against antibiotic-resistant isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from the urinary tract infection patients..
All 30 isolates of K. pneumoniae isolated from urine culture of hospitalized patients (Amir al-Muminin Hospital, Zabol, southeastern of Iran) suffered from urinary tract infection during the years 2011 and 2012. In this study, the extract of W. somnifera obtained by rotary evaporator. Then the minimum inhibitory concentrations were investigated to characterize the antibacterial activities of this extract..
The isolates of K. pneumoniae were resistance to four of the agents including ceftazidime (60% of isolates) cefixime (60% of isolates), erythromycin (66.6% of isolates). The highest MIC values of extract were found to be 250 ppm against K. pneumoniae and MIC values for K. pneumoniae were 63 ppm..
This study confirmed the antimicrobial potential of investigated plants and their usefulness in treatment of resistant isolates of K. pneumoniae..

Blood transfusion is one of the many ways, through which Toxoplasma Gondii (T. gondii), a protozoan parasite, can be transmitted to humans..
This cross sectional study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of toxoplasma infection and related epidemiological features among healthy blood donors..
A total of 375 blood samples from donors were tested for specific T. gondii antibodies (IgG and IgM) by ELISA method, in Blood Transfusion Organization, Zahedan, Iran. Positive samples for T. gondii IgG were further tested for T. gondii IgM. A positive IgG test with a negative or positive IgM test was interpreted as a chronic or acute toxoplasmosis case, respectively..
From the total 375 blood donors, 94 samples (25%) were T. gondii IgG positive. No positive cases of anti-T. gondii IgM antibodies were found. The difference between age and presence of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies was statistically significant (P Our results highlighted that 25% of blood donors were infected by Toxoplasma, prior to the sampling and it can relapse, when facing a decreased immunity level..

Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the most important gram-negative bacteria causing hospital-acquired infections..
In this report is presented a patient with an abdominal infection caused by carbapenemase producing-Klebsiella pneumonia (K. pneumonia). In spite of administrating the combination therapy, successive resistance to last-resort antimicrobial agents (colistin and tigecycline) was observed. The use of combination therapy, in four successive isolates recovered from this patient, was analyzed by killing curves. The genetic relatedness among the isolates was assessed..
All four isolates were Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) positive and showed resistance to all β-lactams including carbapenems and to other antimicrobial agents like aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, minocycline and trimetoprim-sulfametoxazol (TMS). Isolates 1 and 2 showed susceptibility to colistin, whereas isolate 3 was colistin-resistant and isolate 4 became tigecycline-resistant as well. Synergy was only observed with colistin plus rifampicin and with the triple combination of colistin, rifampicin and fosfomycin. The four isolates were indistinguishable genotypically. We described the sequential emergence of resistance to colistin and tigecycline in KPC-producing-K. pneumonia (KPC-Kp) isolates that occurred under treatment with these antimicrobial agents despite the use of combination therapy..

Infection with varicella-zoster virus (VZV) in healthy adults tends to be more severe. Antiviral medication (often prescribed for adults), is effective in reducing the severity of the disease and its complications. The most common and lethal complication of varicella is pneumonia. Treatment with antiviral drugs is generally advised within 24 to 48 hours after the rash onset..
We report a 25-year-old woman with an unusual presentation of chickenpox just one month after her marriage. Unfortunately, the patient presented with acute abdomen and diagnosis was late. Treatment started 8 days after the beginning of the first sign, but she died because of hemorrhage and severe pneumonia..
Atypical chickenpox infections should be suspected in any patient who presents unexplained abdominal pain, fever, and dyspnea, even if cutaneous lesions are minimal. An early diagnosis can prevent a fatal outcome..