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BackgroundThe association of human papillomavirus (HPV) with cervical cancer is well established.AimTo investigate HPV genotype distribution and co-infection occurrence in cervical specimens from a group of Egyptian women.MethodsA group of 152 women with and without cervical lesions were studied. All women had cervical cytology and HPV testing. They were classified according to cytology into those with normal cytology, with squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) and invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Cervical samples were analyzed to identify the presence of HPV by PCR, and all positive HPV-DNA samples underwent viral genotype analysis by means of LINEAR ARRAY HPV Genotyping assay.ResultsA total of 26 HPV types with a prevalence of 40.8 % were detected. This prevalence was distributed as follows: 17.7 % among cytologically normal females, 56.5, 3.2, and 22.6 % among those with LSIL, HSIL and invasive SCC respectively. Low-risk HPV types were detected in 81.8 % of the cytologically-normal women, in 5.7 % of those in LSIL women, and in 14.3 % of infections with invasive SCC, while no low-risk types were detected in HSIL. High-risk HPV types were detected in 18.2 % of infections in the cytologically normal women, 14.3 % of infections in LSIL, and in 21.4 % of invasive lesions. The probable and possible carcinogenic HPV were not detected as single infections. Mixed infection was present in 80 % of women with LSIL, in 100 % of those with HSIL, and in 64.3 % of those with invasive SCC. This difference was statistically significant. HPV 16, 18 and 31 were the most prevalent HR HPV types, constituting 41.9, 29.03 and 12.9 % respectively, and HPV 6, 62 and CP6108 were the most prevalent LR HPV types constituting 11.3, 9.7 and 9.7 % respectively.ConclusionThese data expand the knowledge concerning HPV prevalence and type distribution in Egypt which may help to create a national HPV prevention program. HPV testing using the LINEAR ARRAY HPV Genotyping assay is a useful tool when combined with cytology in the diagnosis of mixed and non-conventional HPV viral types.

T YPHOID fever a food-borne disease caused by Salmonella species, is a worldwide prevalent disease. In endemic areas, children are at highest risk owing to weaning from passively acquired maternal antibody and lack of acquired immunity. Several studies have been done to clarify the pathogenesis and underlying immune aspects of typhoid fever. The Objective is to study the changes of some proinflammatory cytokines in plasma of children and adults with typhoid fever and resistance to therapy. This study included 128 cases from which 34 consecutive children and adult admitted to Benha Fever Hospital with proven diagnosis of typhoid fever patients with typhoid fever resistant to combined therapy with Ciprofloxacin and Cefotax in addition to Zithrokan and Zantac have higher plasma levels of IL-6 and TNF-alpha. Toxic look, constipation and splenomegaly may be considered as indicators of drug resistance. Study of changes in the levels of some cytokines may offer a new dimension in the assessment of the clinical efficacy of antimicrobial therapy.

A CINETOBACTER baumannii (A. baumannii) is considered one of the predominant antibiotic resistance pathogens involved in hospital acquired infections worldwide problem. The study investigated the effect of antibiotic combination of β-lactams (ceftriaxone, cefixime, carpabenem and impenim) and aminoglycosides against 5 clinical isolates of A. baumannii multidrug resistant. Over one year, 250 bacterial isolates were collected from 5 Egyptian hospitals from various infection sites. Two hundred out of 250 bacterial isolates were identified as A. baumannii based on phenotypic and genotypic techniques. The susceptibility of two-hundred A. baumannii strains against 21 different antibiotics was studied. The results showed that the highest resistance was to Cephalosporins, group was 99% followed by Quinolones & Fluoroquinolone was 90, 5 followed by penicillin 87.5, then Sulfa drugs was 75.5 then Carbapenem was 73 and finally Aminoglycosides was 60.5%. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MICs) values of aminoglycosides resistant A. baumannii strains ranged from 32 to >512mg/ml and β-lactam group ranged from 16 to >512mg/ml. Fortyfive combined microtitre checkerboards were performed against the 5 totally aminoglycoside resistant A. baumannii strains to assess the potential for combination therapy. Combination of aminoglycoside antibiotics with β-lactams showed synergy action in thirty-eight (84%) of total forty-five combinations. Synergy was achieved with 100%, with the following combinations GN/IMP, GN/CRO, GN/CFM, AK/CRO, AK/CFM, TOB/CRO and TOB/CFM. No synergism was observed with combination between amikacin and imipenem.

Chitosan and alginate salts are natural biopolymers that have gained recent attention in the biomedical sectors. Their properties allow them to become potential candidates as safe, cheap, and effective vaccine adjuvants. The present study aimed to enhance the immunogenic response of a current injectable killed cholera vaccine (KCV) using chitosan and alginate salt as natural adjuvants against alum. We tested KCV adjuvanted with alum, chitosan, and sodium alginate in mice. Mice were immunized intraperitoneally with KCV adjuvanted with alum, chitosan, or alginate salt and compared with a control unadjuvanted immunized group. Humoral, cellular, and functional immune responses were evaluated in all groups. The addition of adjuvants, particularly natural adjuvants, to KCV significantly improved the immune response as demonstrated by specific antibody increase, strong proliferation effects, and high protection rate against different challenge doses of cholera strains. Our findings demonstrate that chitosan and alginate salt are superior adjuvants for boosting the KCV immune response and highlights the requirement for further vaccine development.

After years of global collaboration; we are steps away from a polio-free world. However, the currently conventional inactivated polio vaccine (cIPV) is suboptimal for the post eradication era. cIPV production cost and biosafety hazards hinder its availability and coverage of the global demands. Production of IPV from the attenuated Sabin strains (sIPV) was an ideal solution and scientists work extensively to perfect a safe, effective and affordable sIPV. This study investigated the ability of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), ascorbic acid (AA) and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) as alternatives for Formaldehyde (HCHO) to inactivate Sabin-polioviruses strains for sIPV production. Sabin-polioviruses vaccine strains were individually treated with AA, EGCG or H2O2 and were compared to HCHO. This was investigated by determination of the inactivation kinetics on HEP2C cells, testing of D-antigen preservation by ELISA and the immune response in Wistar rats of the four vaccine preparations. H2O2, AA and EGCG were able to inactivate polioviruses within 24 h while HCHO required 96 h. Significant high D-antigen levels were observed using AA, EGCG and H2O2 compared to HCHO. Rat sera tested for neutralizing antibodies showed comparable results. These findings support the idea of using these inactivating agents as safe and time- saving alternatives for HCHO to produce sIPV.

Helicobacter pylori infection is tremendous medical burden especially in developing countries. Various immunological tests are available for diagnosis of H. pylori infection. Western blot method is proven to be promising for Precise, easy reading, sensitive and specific detection of H. pylori infections, besides it also permits the detection for the different virulence factors of CagA / VacA positive strains (type I). The objective of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic value of commercial Western Blot (WB) method in the serological diagnosis of H. pylori infections against the H. pylori Ag in stool (HpSAg) using commercial enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) in adult dyspeptic Egyptian patients. Also we investigated the prevalence of virulence factors, cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA) and vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA) in the infected patients. Samples from 46 adult dyspeptic Egyptian patients were tested by the two methods. WB test gave accurate confirmed result with (82.6% accuracy and 89.5% sensitivity) compared to HpSAg test. Also the results indicated a high seroprevalence of cagA- and vacA-positive virulent H. pylori type I strains in adult infected population indicate that such strains may be common in this population and responsible for the majority of H. pylori infection among adult Egyptians. We concluded that WB method could be useful for the confirmatory detection of antibody profiles to H. pylori antigens and virulence factors in adult Egyptian patients.Int J Appl Sci Biotechnol, Vol 4(3): 352-358

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