[Prevalence and multi-drug resistance of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli [EPEC] isolated from children under 5 years of age with diarrhea in Kashan Shahid Beheshti hospital during 2009-10]

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli [EPEC] is the most important diarrheagenic agent among children in developing countries. However, recent studies have shown its prevalence in developed countries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and multi-drug resistant [MDR] of EPEC isolated from children under 5 years of age with diarrhea hospitalized in Kashan Shahid Beheshti hospital during 2009-10. In this descriptive study 313 fecal specimens were collected using rectal swab method from all children under 5 years of age with diarrhea hospitalized in Kashan Shahid Beheshti Hospital during 2009-10. Specimens were examined by PCR test to determine the eae Gene for detection of EPEC pathotype. The isolated multi-drug resistance pattern of EPEC was evaluated by disk diffusion agar. The antimicrobial disks used were ampicillin, nalidixic acid, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, cefalexin, ceftazidime, streptomycin and imipenem. Of all 178 E. coli cases 51 [28.6%] EPEC pathotypes were isolated. The prevalence of EPEC was higher in children under 1 year of age. MDR rate in EPEC was 70.6%. The exact application of antibiogram test is necessary before antibiotic prescription for complete treatment and prevention of diarrhea caused by multi-drug resistance agents

Serological and biochemical characteristics of virulence plasmid of Yersinia enterocolitica isolates from chicken in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica harbour plasmid that is essential for virulence. We studied the characteristics of virulence plasmid using serological, biochemical and bioassay tests in Y. enterocolitica isolates of chicken using plasmid curing. Plasmid-cured isogenic derivatives [2029c and 2150c] were obtained from two isolates of Y. enterocolitica [RTCC 2029 and RTCC 2150]. The results demonstrated that plasmid-bearing isolates [2029 and 2150] were human-serum-resistant when grown at 37 °C, but were sensitive when grown at 25 °C, whereas plasmid-cured isolates [2029c and 2150c] were sensitive when grown at both temperatures. Also autoagglutination, calcium-dependency tests and experimental infection in mice demonstrated that these phenotypes were associated with the virulence plasmid