Aspergillus monitoring project in a large educational hospital using molecular assay

Background: It is important to find reliable and accessible methods for the diagnosis and identification of fungal species causing hospital acquired infections. Our main objective was using a rapid and accessible molecular method for the monitoring of Aspergillus infections and identification of causing agents in the level of species. Material and Methods: The study subjects were primarily clinical specimens collected from suspected HAI patients with clinical symptoms after hospitalization. Also some environmental specimens were collected from air and instruments of health care facilities for the investigation of Aspergillus sources in a university hospital of UMSU, Urmia. All specimens were transported to Medical Mycology Center for the detection and identification of Aspergillus species using morphological methods. Also molecular method, PCR-RFLP using single restriction enzyme as a rapid and available method was performed to investigate environmental sources of Aspergillus infections. Results: Total of 110 clinical fungal isolates included Candida and Aspergillus species and some other opportunistic fungi. Among the clinical Aspergillus findings, Aspergillus flavus (47%), Aspergillus fumigatus (29.4%) and Aspergillus niger (23.6%) were the most frequent species respectively and also Aspergillus niger (43.7%), Aspergillus flavus (41.8%), Aspergillus fumigatus (14.7%) were isolated as the most frequent species from environmental sources. Conclusion: Because of accessibility, speed and high sensitivity of diagnosis, the PCR-RFLP was very useful for the identification of medically important Aspergillus species and epidemiological approaches

Azadirachta indica (Neem) Seed Extracts : A Supplement for Culture Medium for Growth of Aspergillus niger

The effectiveness of Neem seed extracts (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) was tested against Aspergillus niger isolated from soil to determine whether the neem seed extracts will inhibit or enhance the growth of Aspergillus niger. Three different concentrations of neem seed extracts were prepared 10; 20 and 50. The results showed that the neem seed extracts enhanced the growth of Aspergillus niger from 24 hours of incorporation up to 120 hours. The growth enhancement was also found to increase with concentration of the seed extracts