Although skin infections are usually uncomplicated, it may indicate systemic disease or lead to life-threatening systemic infections. Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of skin infections. Treatment is complicated by continuous emergence of resistant S. aureus especially methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA). Therefore, searching for new alternatives is essential to combat this escalating antibiotic resistance. Bacteriophage therapy is a promising solution in the post antibiotic area. Bacteriophage therapy confers safety and higher rate of success. In the present study, 10 bacteriophages (belonging to the family Siphoviridae and Myoviridae) were isolated with lytic activity against MRSA &VRSA isolated from skin infections. The strongest six of ten phages were characterized morphologically by a JOEL_JEM_1010 electron microscope, physically through evaluating their lytic activity against wide ranges of temperature (35-95° C), PH (3-10) and radiation doses (0.5-2.5kGy) and biologically by evaluating their host ranges and phage longevity (1-120 day) in vitro. Finally, the anti-Staphylococcal effect of the isolated bacteriophages was tested and revealed that they have alone activity (10, 12) and synergistic activity with vancomycin and erythromycin by increasing their inhibition zone diameters (16, 22) mm, respectively.

BackgroundEpstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections are environmental risk factors affecting the outcome of cancer due to an impairment in the cell-mediated immunity. Therefore, this study aimed to detect the frequency of EBV and CMV DNA and their association with clinical characteristics and outcome of pediatric leukemic patients.MethodsSamples of 50 immunocompromised pediatric leukemic patients and 30 apparently healthy children were subjected to the amplification of EBV DNA by one version of PCR targeting the Bam H1 W region of the genomic region of EBV, and the amplification of CMV DNA by targeting the CMV UL97 genomic region by a second round PCR. All investigations were performed on WBCs and sera. Results were correlated with the clinical and laboratory characteristics of the disease, and with overall survival.ResultsEBV and CMV DNA were detected in 20 and 54% of leukemic patients, respectively. Nine out of ten patients with EBV DNA (90%) were positive for CMV DNA in their sera. The presence of EBV DNA or CMV DNA was associated with neutropenia and a low total leukocyte count (TLC) (p = 0.02, 0.03, respectively). The presence of severe CMV disease, longer duration of febrile neutropenia, neutropenia, lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia and the presence of EBV DNA in patients’ sera were significantly associated with worse overall survival.ConclusionThe detection of CMV disease and EBV DNA is relatively common in leukemic children and is significantly associated with a decline in the overall survival.

Introduction: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the common serious infectious diseases encountered in the intensive care unit (ICU), which highly affects the healthcare cost and patient prognosis. VAP is caused by various antimicrobial-resistant aetiological agents and the clinical manifestations lack sensitivity and specificity, making the prompt treatment is a challenge. This study aimed to investigate the microbial profile of VAP causing microorganisms among ICU patients in Egypt, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and the genetic diversity among the frequently isolated organisms. Methodology: Throughout the period from August 2016 to August 2017, endotracheal aspirate (ETA) specimens were collected from ICU patients with clinically suspected VAP in two tertiary hospitals in Cairo. ETA specimens were investigated for the microbial content. The antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by the Kirby-Bauer method. ERIC-PCR was performed for genotyping. Results: Fifty microbiologically confirmed VAP cases were identified. The most frequently isolated microorganisms were Klebsiella spp., followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii. Candida spp. was the most isolated fungi. A single isolate of each Cupriavidus pauculus and Aeromonas salmonicida was isolated. Antimicrobial susceptibility profiles indicated 40% of isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR). ERIC-PCR revealed no genetic relatedness among K. pneumoniae isolates, the most frequently isolated microorganism. Conclusions: Gram-negative bacteria are the main causative agents of VAP cases, which mostly are MDR. Microorganisms like C. pauculus and A. salmonicida should be taken into consideration as VAP causative agents. There was no common source of infection suggesting likely endogenous sources of K. pneumoniae, the main causative agent of VAP in this study.

Background Oncogenic viruses, their possible association with breast cancer (BC) and effect on its clinical course are interesting issue. The present study evaluates the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV), EpsteinBarr virus (EBV), and human mammary tumor virus (HMTV) in BC and their relation with clinico-pathological characteristics. Patients and Methods This study was conducted on 80 Egyptian women with BC and 30 control women without known oncological disease. Forty formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues, forty fresh tissue samples, and white blood cells (WBCs) of BC patients and WBCs of controls were subjected to a qualitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure viral loads in fresh tissues of BC. The result was correlated with clinico-pathological characteristics of BC. Results HPV was detected in 33 (41.25%), EBV in 30 (37.5%) and HMTV in 33 (41.25%) BC patients. None of the control women was positive for HPV or EBV while HMTV was detected in 7 (23.3%). Among 40 BC WBCs specimens, HPV/HMTV were found together in 25%, followed by EBV/HMTV in 2.5% and EBV/HPV in 2.5%. However, the three viruses (HPV/EBV/HMTV) were found together in only 5%. In the 40 fresh BC tissues, the three viruses were found together in 12 (30%), EBV/HMTV in 7 (17.5%), HPV/HMTV in 4 (10%), and HPV/EBV in 4 (10%). EBV, HMTV, or multiple viral infections were associated with younger age of BC women. HPV, EBV, and HMTV median loads in fresh tissues were 4.8×10 3 copies/μL, 6.3×10 3 copies/μL, and 97 copies/μL, respectively. Conclusion WBCs could be a more suitable specimen instead of fresh tissue for HMTV detection in BC patients to avoid invasive procedures. The presence of HPV, EBV, and HMTV together in Egyptian women with BC was significantly associated with younger age.

Author MAA planned and designed the study, wrote the protocol, participated in the interpretation of the results and analysis, drafted and critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content and approval of the version to be published. Author TAE participated in planning and designing the study, sample collection and drafting of the manuscript. Author MSA collected the data and performed the practical laboratory activities. All authors also read and approved the final manuscript.

Alterations in IRFs expression might be considered as markers associated with a higher risk of cirrhosis in patients with chronic HCV infection. Expression of IRF-1 and IRF-3 were more prevalent in patients with chronic HCV and cirrhosis, respectively, in comparison with HCC patients. Thus, IRF-1 could be nominated as one of the tumor suppressor factors and could aid in the early detection of HCC.

Introduction: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections during pregnancy. Aims: To determine the incidence, predisposing factors, microbiological and antimicrobial resistance patterns in UTI pregnant women in a Saudi hospital and comparing the antibacterial activities of these antibiotics with a probiotic. Methodology: Urine cultures were performed to all cases (n=1045) using different media. Microorganisms were identified by colony morphology, Gram stain and biochemical profiles. BD Phoenix™ was used in confirmation of identification of all UTI Gram-negative isolates. Antibiotic susceptibility pattern of isolates was done using disk diffusion method. Antagonistic activity of six lactobacillus plantarum isolates against different indicator bacteria was determined by agar well diffusion method. Results: A total of 148 UTI women were detected. The most prevalent UTI isolates were E.coli (26.1%), followed by Klebsiella spp. (20%), Enterococcus spp. (9.5 %) CoNS (8.8%) and Pseudomonas spp. (5.4%). Lactobacillus plantarum showed inhibitory effect on the tested isolates. Conclusion: Our study revealed that 14.2% of pregnant women had urinary tract infection in their pregnancy. Doing the

Background: Brucellosis is a major zoonotic disease that is endemic in Saudi Arabia and it remains a major health problem that has not been eradicated in the country yet. Place and Duration of Study: This retrospective study was conducted in a Saudi Hospital at Al Madinah city during the period of 1 November, 2010 to 31 October, 2011. Methodology: All sera of patients suspected to have brucellosis (n= 65) and 18 healthy subjects were tested for brucella antibody using slide latex agglutination (SAT) and ELISA. Quantitation of IFN-ɣ was also done using ELISA. Results: Brucellosis was detected in all age groups but the incidence was higher and reached 33.3% in age group (40-<50) years with average of 43.9±2.53 years. Male to female ratio in infected patients was 2:1 by using SAT. The incidence of seropositive cases was high (80.1%) in the three months (April, May and June), with the highest peak in May