Sandfly fever viruses (SFVs) cause febrile diseases as well as aseptic meningitis/encephalitis and include serotypes sandfly fever Sicilian virus (SFSV), sandfly fever Naples virus (SFNV) and Toscana virus (TOSV). Infections are endemic in the Mediterranean basin and data on SFV activity in Turkey are limited. In this study, sera from 1533 blood donors from the Ankara, Konya, Eskisehir and Zonguldak provinces of Turkey were evaluated for SFV exposure by indirect immunofluorescence test (IIFT) and confirmed by virus neutralization test (VNT). One hundred and two patients with central nervous system (CNS) infections of unknown aetiology were also tested via IIFT and real-time reverse-transcription PCR for SFV/TOSV. Rate of overall IgG reactivity in IIFT was 32.9% (505/1533) among blood donors. TOSV exposure was confirmed by VNT in all study regions. Exposure to the recently-identified serotype sandfly fever Turkish virus, as evaluated by VNT, was revealed in Konya and Ankara. SFNV exposure was identified in Konya and SFSV was observed to be present in all regions except Zonguldak. TOSV RNA was detected in 15.7% (16/102) and was accompanied by TOSV IgM in 25% (4/16) of the patients. Partial L and S sequences suggested that TOSV circulating in Turkey can be grouped into TOSV genotype A strains. Exposure to TOSV and other SFV serotypes was revealed in blood donors and CNS infections by TOSV were identified for the first time in Turkey. Infections are observed to be endemic in central Anatolia and should be considered as aetiologic agents in cases/outbreaks of fever and meningoencephalitis.
Cervical HPV infection is a serious and gradually growing problem for Turkish women according to hospital-based data. This may be associated with low age at marriage and more sensitive HPV detection methods.
Chlamydia pneumoniae and Helicobacter pylori can cause persistent infections of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract, respectively. It has been suggested that persistent infection of arteries with these bacteria can contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. The aims of this study were to determine the presence of C. pneumoniae and H. pylori DNA in atherosclerotic plaque samples by PCR and to evaluate the correlation between clinical status and DNA positivity of these bacteria. Eighty-five consecutive patients (mean age, 59 ± 10; 75 male, 10 female) undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting, carotid endarterectomy, and surgery of the abdominal aorta for atherosclerotic obstructive lesions were included in the study. Forty-six endarterectomy specimens from the atherosclerotic lesions and 39 specimens from healthy regions of the ascending aorta, which were accepted as the control group, were excised. The presence of microorganism DNA in endarterectomy specimens was assessed by PCR.C. pneumoniae DNA was found in 12 (26%) of 46 endarterectomy specimens and none of the healthy vascular-wall specimens (P < 0.001), while H. pyloriDNA was found in 17 (37%) of 46 endarterectomy specimens and none of the controls (P < 0.001). Either C. pneumoniae or H. pylori DNA was positive in 23 (50%) of 46 patients and none of the controls (P < 0.001). Six of the atherosclerotic lesions showed coexistence of both of the microorganism DNAs. The presence of C. pneumoniae andH. pylori DNA in a considerable number of atherosclerotic plaques but their absence in healthy vascular wall supports the idea that they may have a role in the development of atherosclerosis, especially in countries where infection is prevalent and where conventional risk factors fail to explain the high prevalence of atherosclerotic vascular disease.
This study investigated the prevalence of the erm(A), erm(B) and erm(C) genes among 122 MLS-resistant clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus from a Turkish university hospital. Of these isolates, 44 were inducibly resistant and 78 were constitutively resistant. The presence of one or more erm genes was demonstrated in 114 isolates; the erm(C) gene was detected in 97 isolates, and the erm(A) gene was detected in 96 isolates. Seventy-eight isolates harboured both erm(A) and erm(C). The combination of erm(A), erm(B) and erm(C) genes was detected in only one isolate.
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