International Journal of Infection

Editorial

20/4/2015

Hepatitis B is a Serious Health Problem in Some Parts of Iran; Sistan and Baluchestan Province

Seyed Moayed Alavian

Review Article

25/4/2015

Mass Gatherings and Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Surveillance

Seyyed Mahdi Tabatabaei, Maliheh Metanat

Evidence Acquisition: Electronic medical databases including PubMed and EMBASE were searched from 1990 to 2014 on the subject of epidemiology of infectious diseases related to MGs. Keywords including "mass gathering", "crowding", "infectious diseases", "communicable diseases", "outbreak" and "surveillance" were used for retrieving the relevant articles. In this review article, we mainly focused on the epidemiology and surveillance systems related to infectious diseases control and management.

Results: The spread of infectious diseases has been a major public health challenge related to MGs. Food-borne diseases and respiratory infections have been the most common outbreaks reported during MG. Preparedness and response plans to manage possible infectious diseases outbreaks requires enhancing infectious diseases surveillance, allocation of appropriate human and financial resources, and coordination among the various divisions of public health. Hajj is an example of good practice which involves millions of pilgrims, in which comprehensive infectious diseases surveillance is in place to monitor health risks and reinforce evidence-based planning for preventive measures.

Research Article

25/4/2015

The Effect of Withania somnifera Extract on Drug Resistant Strains of Escherichia coli

Mohammad Bokaeian, Barat Ali Fakheri, Nafise Mahdi Nejad, Hemadollah Zarei, Saeide Saeidi, Taher Mohasseli

Materials and Methods: We studied all drug resistant strains of E. coli collected from patients with urinary tract infections hospitalized at Zabol hospitals from January 2010 to January 2012. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of plant extracts were determined by the dilution method with various concentrations of the bacteria. Sensitivity to multiple antibiotics was defined by the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion test.

Results: The results showed that the isolated E. coli strains were sensitive to these antibiotics: erythromycin (52.94%), tetracycline (76.47%), ceftazidime (41.17%), cefixime (35.29%), penicillin (76.47%), ampicillin (58.82%) and nalidixic acid (41.17%). Examination of the herbal extracts showed that the highest maximum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against drug resistant E. coli was 200 ppm. The lowest MIC was 50 ppm, where three strains of E. coli were inhibited at this concentration.

Case Report

26/12/2014

Fasciola hepatica an Unusual Cause of Chronic Cholecystitis

Hadiseh Hosamirudsari, Yousef Jalali Roudsari

Research Article

30/4/2015

Antibacterial Activities of the Hydroalcoholic Extract of Portulaca oleracea Leaves and Seeds in Sistan Region, Southeastern Iran

Seyed Mohammad Mousavi, Gholamreza Bagheri, Saeide Saeidi

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional and descriptive study, from January 2010 to January 2012, we studied the antibacterial activity of P. oleracea extract using nine bacteria (Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains) which were resistant to standard antibiotics such as erythromycin, cefixime, ceftazidime, tetracycline, ampicillin and amikacin. Bacterial strains were obtained from a standard laboratory. Broth microdilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC).

Research Article

4/1/2015

Epidemiology of Meningitis Studied at a University Hospital in Zahedan, South-Eastern Iran

Batool Sharifi-Mood, Ali Khajeh, Maliheh Metanat, Azam Rasouli

Background: Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes, which surround the brain and spinal cord. Early treatment of bacterial meningitis can prevent serious complications. In the last two decades, three vaccines have been developed against the three main bacterial species implicated in meningitis of children in western countries and vaccine-preventable invasive bacterial meningitis has decreased substantially in the past few years. However, none of the developed vaccines are part of our childhood immunization schedule.

Results: Among the 53 patients with meningitis (47% females; 53% males with mean age 36 years) 47 cases (83%) had acute meningitis and six cases (17%) had chronic meningitis (four cases of tuberculosis and two cases of brucellosis). From the 47 cases with acute meningitis, only one case had a positive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture for meningococci and 46 patients had negative CSF culture. The most common clinical symptoms was fever and headache (90%) and the least was seizure (9%). Mortality rate was 7.5% (4 cases). There were no significant risk factors except for two patients with acute meningitis and two cases with chronic meningitis.

Research Article

29/12/2014

Pediatric Meningoencephalitis; A Research on Patients Hospitalized in Zahedan, Southeastern Iran

Ali Khajeh, Batool Sharifi-Mood, Gholam Reza Soleimani

Results: Among 55 patients with meningitis (42% girls and 58% boys; mean age of 8.5 months, age range of 45 days to nine years), 55 cases (98%) had acute meningoencephalitis and only one case (2%) had chronic tuberculous (TB) meningitis. Out of the 54 cases with acute disease, only six cases showed a positive test for etiologic agent. Forty-eight patients had negative CSF culture. The most common clinical symptom was fever (95%) and the least was seizure (16%). Mortality rate was 7.2% (four cases). There were no significant risk factors in children with illness, but there was a history of pulmonary TB in grandmother of the case with TB meningitis.

Research Article

20/4/2015

Risk Factors and Pattern of Changes in Liver Enzymes Among the Patients With Anti-Tuberculosis Drug-Induced Hepatitis

Maliheh Metanat, Batool Sharifi Mood, Masoud Salehi, Mohammad Rakhshani, Saeideh Metanat

Patients and Methods: The current descriptive cross-sectional study reviewed all files of the patients with anti-tuberculosis Drug-Induced Hepatitis (DIH) who referred to Boo-Ali Hospital in Zahedan, Southeastern Iran, in five years. All patients were above 14 years, and were treated with the standard regimen (a combination of isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol ± streptomycin). Hepatotoxicity was defined when the liver transaminases were more than five, the Upper Limit of Normal (ULN), or had clinical symptoms with an increase of liver transaminases ≥ 3 ULN.

International Journal of Infection: Apr 2015, 2 (2), 8 articles.