Clostridium difficile in retail baskets, trolleys, conveyor belts, and plastic bags in Saudi Arabia

To determine Clostridium difficile [C. difficile] prevalence on retail surfaces and shoppers plastic bags. From 20 June to 10 August 2011, in a cross-sectional epidemiological study, 17 supermarkets from 2 cities, Albaha and Altaif, Saudi Arabia were sampled. A total of 800 samples, which comprised 200 samples per surveyed surface, were studied. These included baskets, trolleys, conveyer belts, and outgoing shoppers' plastic bags. Clostridium difficile strains were isolated. The isolates were characterized using ribotyping and polymerase chain reaction for the detection of toxin A [tcdA], toxin B [tcdB], binary toxin [cdtB], and toxin C [tcdC] genes. Susceptibility to antibiotics was determined on a Muller-Hinton agar with 5% sheep blood agar using E-tests. Overall, the C. difficile prevalence on sampled surfaces was 0.75%. The highest prevalence was found on retail baskets and trolleys, followed by plastic bags. A total of 5 different ribotypes were identified. Alterations in tcdC were detected in ribotype 027 and BT1. All the identified isolates were susceptible to vancomycin, but resistant to levofloxacin. In this study, C. difficile was present at a rate of 0.75% on supermarket surfaces. Spore disinfection of implicated surfaces may be necessary to control any community-acquired infections caused by this pathogen

Prevalence of mycobacteria in water reservoirs of Albaha, Saudi Arabia

To investigate for the presence of mycobacteria at water dams of Albaha, Saudi Arabia. An epidemiological study was conducted between 20 - 30 June 2013 in the Albaha region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Five hundred and twenty samples [sand, wet stones, clay, and decayed vegetation] were collected from 13 dams in the region. These locations were: 3 dams from Alaqiq city [Thrad, Alaqiq, and Almshereq]; 4 dams from Almandaq city [Almudlamat, Alkhrar, Alsader, and Medhas]; one dam from Albaha city [Shehba'a]; and 5 dams from Baljerashi city [Alzarawah, Alareshaen, Almatwah, Alheajh, and Almarbah]. Samples from these locations [n=520] were inoculated on Lowenstein-Jensen media. The isolated Mycobacterium [M.] obtained were identified by standard culture, enzymatic tests, biochemical characteristics, comparison of mycolic acid profiles, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and restriction fragment patterns of the hsp65 gene polymerase chain reaction product. Mycobacterium isolates were recovered from 79% of the samples obtained from all types of samples and locations. A total of 145 of the isolates were found to belong to the 11 Mycobacterium species: 5 M. intracellulare, 8 M. abscessus, 9 M. szulgai, 12 M. fortuitum, 12 M. avium, 14 M. kansasii, 15 M. simiae, 15 M. gordonae, 16 M. terrae complex, 18 M. chelonae, and 21 M. malmoense. Mycobacterium species is present at high percentages in Albaha dams. The findings support a nationwide study to understand the clinical importance of environmental Mycobacterium in Saudi Arabia

Site-specific mouth rinsing can improve oral odor by altering bacterial counts. blind crossover clinical study

To determine whether site-specific mouth rinsing with oral disinfectants can improve oral odor beyond the traditional panoral mouth disinfection with mouth rinses by targeting specifically oral malodor implicated anaerobic bacteria. Twenty healthy fasting subjects volunteered for a blinded prospective, descriptive correlational crossover cross-section clinical trial conducted during the month of Ramadan between July and August 2013 in Albaha province in Saudi Arabia involving the application of Listerine[R] Cool Mint[R] mouth rinse by either the traditional panoral rinsing method, or a site-specific disinfection method targeting the subgingival and supragingival plaque and the posterior third of the tongue dorsum, while avoiding the remaining locations within the oral cavity. The viable anaerobic and aerobic bacterial counts, volatile sulfur compounds [VSCs] levels, organoleptic assessment of oral odor, and the tongue-coating index were compared at baseline, one, 5, and 9 hours after the treatment. The site-specific disinfection method reduced the VSCs and anaerobic bacterial loads while keeping the aerobic bacterial numbers higher than the traditional panoral rinsing method. Site-specific disinfection can more effectively maintain a healthy oral cavity by predominantly disinfecting the niches of anaerobic bacteria within the oral cavity