Presence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Dairy Farms located in Najaf, Baghdad, Kirkuk, and Erbil, Iraq.

It has been approved that one of the most dangerous foodborne pathogenic bacteria is E. coli O157:H7, which is responsible for several infection and death cases worldwide. It is well documented that in the developing countries E. coli O157:H7 is considered the main causative pathogen of human gastrointestinal infections. Therefore, the current research was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in dairy cattle's milk using a rapid method, in Iraq (Najaf, Baghdad, Kirkuk, and Erbil). Over a period of 6 months (During hot months) samples were obtained and investigated by culturing on selective media (CT-SMAC). The multiplex PCR (m-PCR) also used for milk sample direct investigation. Using biochemical tests the recorded data showed that, 2 recognized isolates were E. coli, while the recorded data obtained from m-PCR assay revealed that none of the isolated E. coli was toxigenic E.coli O157:H7. The results of m-PCR on the milk samples revealed that 45 milk samples contained at least one of the following genes: O157, H7, stx1, stx2 genes. Also the results of the m-PCR revealed that 2 samples (raw milk) were toxigenic O157:H7 positive. In conclusion, to the best of authors' knowledge, this investigation was the first report on the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in the raw milk samples in Iraq. The results showed that the proportion of contaminated milk samples contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 identified in the current survey were similar to that the results of the previously published research from different dairy products across different countries in the Middle East region.

Evaluating the Level of Serum IL-23 in Brucellosis Infection by ELISA and Investigating its Relationship in Cases with Failure to Respond to Treatment.

Brucella is belonging to the small immobile gram-negative spore-lacking cocco-bacilli bacteria family that grows in an aerobic environment, it is known as a zoonosis infection named brucellosis. This study was designed to investigate serum values of IL-23 in patient with brucellosis and investigate its relationship with cases with failure to respond to conventional medical therapy. A total of 372 individuals were divided into 2 groups (n=186) as follows: Group A comprising 186 infected participants with brucella (7-80 years-old), these people had not received antibiotics for at least 6 months ago. Group B including the healthy participants. All the participants in both groups were in the same age range. 5 ml blood samples were obtained from the participants intravenously (without anticoagulation substance). The serum level of IL-23 was investigated by ELISA diagnostic kit. The recorded data showed that the levels of IL-23 in the serum samples obtained from group A (143.64 Pg/ml) significantly (P<0.001) increased compared with this value in group B (23.14 Pg/ml). Based on the recorded data in the forms completed by all the participants at the day 0 of the experiment, 44 out of 186 individuals in group A, had experienced Brucellosis attack 2-3 times in spite of receiving medical prescriptions. A hypothesis about the possible immune system disorders in these participants lead us to did the re-sampling following drug administration. Results illustrated failure to respond to conventional medical therapy in patients with low level of serum IL-23.

Investigation of in vitro Cytotoxicity of Chelidonium majus against Leishmania major.

One of the public health issues in the endemic areas, especially in the Middle East region would be the Leishmaniasis. The suggested cure for leishmaniasis is pentavalent antimonials. These medications have drastic side effects and the risk of relapse. On the other hand, nowadays use of herbal remedies as safe and cost-effective treatments have been increased. Therefore this study was designed to determine in vitro anti-leishmanial activity of methanol extracts of greater celandine (Chelidonium majus) against Leishmania major. Greater celandine extract was added to L. major promastigotes and intra-macrophagic amastigotes. After 24, 48 and 72 h in vitro culture the percentage of promastigotes viability was calculated by direct counting method and MTT assay. Cytotoxicity in intra-macrophagic amastigotes was evaluated by direct counting method. Viability in minimum dose and maximum dose-treated groups (1.5 and 90 µg/ml) after 24 h, was 55.52% and 36.34%, respectively. After 48 h, it was 40% and 25.26% and after 72 h, it was 62.18% and 38.45%, respectively. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was 0.92 µg/ml, after 24 h. Cytotoxicity in intra-macrophagic amastigotes treated by 3 µg/ml dose after 24 and 48 h, was 33.23% and 50.34%, respectively. It could be concluded that greater celandine methanolic extract has in vitro cytotoxic effect on the L. major in time and dose-dependent pattern.