BackgroundChickenpox infection acquired during pregnancy is a serious condition. There may be congenital malformations and neonatal varicella syndrome with significant morbidity and mortality. Egypt has no routine varicella-zoster vaccination program.ObjectiveTo assess the immune status against varicella-zoster virus (VZV) antibodies among a group of pregnant women and to study the relationship between VZV seroprevalence and some sociodemographic characteristics.Subjects and methodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on a group of pregnant women (n = 333) attending antenatal care (ANC) clinic at Fayoum University Hospital. Serologic testing for VZV was performed using ELISA through the years 2016–2017.ResultsVZV seroprevalence was detected in 294 (88.3%) of the 333 recruited pregnant women. Older age > 25 years old was significantly associated with low percent of VZV-negative antibodies (6.7% in versus 17.4% in younger age, OR (95%CI) 0.34 (0.17–0.70)), also having more than one child was significantly associated with a low percent of VZV-negative antibodies (8.2% versus 16.1% among participants with no children or having one child, OR 0.34 (0.17–0.70)).ConclusionsDespite the absence of a routine VZV vaccination program in Egypt, VZV immunity was high among pregnant women, but less than that reported in many developed countries. We recommend targeted vaccination for women in the reproductive age especially young and primipara.Trial registrationEthical Committee Registration number R67 session 42: date 12/11/2017(retrospectively registered).

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Non-ventilator Hospital-acquired Pneumonia (NV-HAP) is a significant burden in acute care hospitals and poses a risk to nonelderly, non-intensive care unit (ICU) patients, which have been increasing worldwide. In addition, poor oral hygiene has been associated to significant increases in the number of cases of NV-HAP. Unfortunately, preventive options are limited. Thus, there is a need for oral antiseptics, similar to those of natural products or plant sources. The aim of this study was to assess the antibacterial activity of various bee products (BPs); for example, honey, propolis, and bee venom against multidrugresistant (MDR) non-fermenting bacteria (e.g., Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter), which were collected from NV-HAP patients to investigate its use as a possible antiseptic oral care. Bacterial susceptibility to different antibiotics were performed. The antimicrobial activity of BPs against non-fermenting bacteria, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were assessed. Eighteen Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates and five Acinetobacter baumannii isolates were identified. P. aeruginosa isolates displayed high resistance to the antibiotics: meropenem and imipenem (55.6% and 77.8% respectively), whereas A. baumannii isolates were 100% resistant to meropenem and imipenem. All isolates remained sensitive to colistin. Propolis showed the best antibacterial activity (p<0.001) in comparison to honey and bee venom against P. aeruginosa (13 -36 mm, MIC =1.4-22.5%, and MBC=2.8-45%) and A. baumannii (7-20 mm, MIC=5.6-22.5%, and MBC=11.3 -22.5%). While bee venom expressed the least antibacterial activity against all isolates with a zone diameter ranging from 0-12 mm, propolis, which is a non-toxic, natural, and inexpensive, had antibacterial activity towards the MDR bacteria: P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii collected from pneumonic patients. Additionally, we confirmed that propolis could be used as a potential antiseptic oral care product.