Introduction: Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is an incomplete virus dependent on hepatitis B virus (HBV) for its multiplication. It can infect individuals with active HBV infection and cause severe liver disease. It is less prevalent than hepatitis B virus, but it causes more serious clinical pictures. In this study we investigated anti-HDV seroprevalance and epidemiological features among HBsAg seropositive outclinic patients at Izmir Tepecik Educational and Research Hospital. Methodology: Serum samples collected from outpatients at Izmir Tepecik Educational and Research Hospital between 1 September 2007 and 30 August 2009 were evaluated. Anti-HDV assay was performed by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Patients over the age of fourteen who were referred to our hospital were taken into the study. Results: Out of 3,094 HBsAg positive patients, 79 (2.5%) had anti-HDV IgG seroprevalance. Of these 79 patients, 42 were hepatitis B carriers, 34 had chronic hepatitis B, two had liver cirrhosis, and one had hepatocellular carcinoma. Conclusion: Although superinfection and co-infection of HDV are less prevalent than hepatitis B infection, the prognosis is worse as the response to therapy is poor; therefore, patients with hepatitis B should be evaluated further for HDV infection.
Objective: Candida infections have increased due to transplant patients, prolonged ICU stay and invasive procedures. The most common isolated strain is C. albicans. The aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution of Candida isolates at Tepecik Education and Research Hospital.Materials and Methods: Yeast like fungi were isolated between 13.01.2010 and 19.08.2011 at Mycology Laboratory. The identification was done by conventional methods and carbohydrate assimilation profile using the ID32C identification system (Biomerieux, France).Results: Yeast like fungi were isolated from 337 clinical specimens. They consisted of urine, blood culture, respiratory specimen and wound. The most isolated yeast strains were C.albicans (38.6%), C.tropicalis (13.9%), C. parapsilosis (28.4%), C.glabrata (7.4%), C.krusei (3.8%).Conclusion: Recently there is an increment in Candida infections. In this study the most common strain was C.albicans and the rate C. glabrata and C. krusei isolates were lower than expected. C. parapsilosis was the most isolated strain in blood cultures and this may be due to invasive procedures and the use of indwelling catheters.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the public-health issues worldwide. Approximately two billion people are infected with HBV, and about 350 million people are chronic carriers globally. About 3% of the world population is infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Oncology patients receiving packed red blood cell suspensions and other blood products usually are in the high-risk group for infections due to these viruses. The aim of the study was to detect the seroprevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C among chemotherapy patients at the Oncology Department of the Tepecik Education and Research Hospital. HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBcIgM, anti-HBc total and anti-HCV assays were studied by enzyme immunoassay method (Diasorin, Italy) in serum samples of patients (n=448) referred to
BackgroundOne-third of the world’s population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Investigation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) has revealed new information regarding the immunopathogenesis of this disease. Toll-like receptors can recognize various ligands with a lipoprotein structure in the bacilli. Toll-like receptor 2 and TLR-4 have been identified in association with tuberculosis infection.ObjectivesThe aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between TLR polymorphism and infection progress.MethodsTwenty-nine patients with a radiologically, microbiologically, and clinically proven active tuberculosis diagnosis were included in this 25-month study. Toll-like receptor 2 and TLR-4 polymorphisms and allele distributions were compared between these 29 patients and 100 healthy control subjects. Peripheral blood samples were taken from all patients. Genotyping of TLR-2, TLR-4, and macrophage migration inhibitory factor was performed. The extraction step was completed with a Qiagen mini blood purification system kit (Qiagen, Ontario, Canada) using a peripheral blood sample. The genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism.ResultsIn total, 19 of the 29 patients with tuberculosis infection had a TLR-2 polymorphism, and 20 of the 100 healthy subjects had a TLR-2 polymorphism (P < 0.001). The TLR-4 polymorphism and interferon-γ allele distributions were not statistically correlated.ConclusionsToll-like receptor 2 polymorphism is a risk factor for tuberculosis infection. The limiting factor in this study was the lack of investigation of the interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α levels, which are important in the development of infection. Detection of lower levels of these cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage specimens, especially among patients with TLR-2 defects, will provide new data that may support the results of this study.
Background:Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic pathogen, related with nosocomial infections such as bacteremia, urinary tract infections, and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Multidrug resistant (MDR) A. baumannii strains are first line causes of infection, especially in patients hospitalized at intensive care units (ICUs). Infection with MDR A. baumannii strains has a longer duration at ICUs and hospitals. There are studies using molecular methods which can differentiate MDR A. baumannii strains at the clonal level. This helps controlling these resistant strains and prevents their epidemy.Objectives:The aim of our study was to investigate the antimicrobial susceptibility and clonal relationship between the A. baumannii strains isolated from our ICU.Materials and Methods:The identification and antimicrobial susceptibility of 33 A. baumannii strains were performed by automatized Vitek version 2.0. The clonal relationship among A. baumannii strains was analyzed using enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) polymerase chain reaction (PCR).Results:A total of 33 A. baumannii strains were included in this study. A. baumannii complex strains were classified into seven clusters based on the fingerprint results. Our results revealed that two main clusters were responsible for the prevalence of A. baumannii complex strains at the ICU.Conclusions:MDR A. baumannii strains cause an increment in morbidity and mortality, particularly in ICUs. The use of molecular epidemiological methods can help us with the detection of the pathogen and preventing from spreading of these resistant strains.
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