Borrelia theileri infections in Rhipicephalus annulatus ticks from the north of Iran.

Ticks serve as vectors and reservoirs of various Borrelia species, potentially causing diseases in humans and animals. Mazandaran, a fertile green land in northern Iran, provides ample grazing grounds for livestock and harbors at least 26 hard tick species. This study investigated Borrelia infection in hard ticks from forest areas in this region and compared their genetic identity with the species data in the GenBank database. A total of 2,049 ticks were collected manually from mammalian hosts or using dragging and flagging methods. These ticks were then grouped into 190 pools and 41 individuals based on host, species, developmental stage, and gender. A real-time PCR (qPCR) detected Borrelia DNA in 26 pools from female, male, and nymph of Rhipicephalus annulatus (n = 17) and Ixodes ricinus (n = 9) ticks and one individual female Haemaphysalis punctata tick. The generated partial flaB and glpQ sequences from qPCR-positive Rh. annulatus ticks exhibited the highest identities of 98.1-100% and 98.2% with Borrelia theileri and closely related undefined isolates. Additionally, in phylogenetic analysis, these sequences clustered within well-supported clades with B. theileri and the closely related undefined isolates from various geographic regions, confirming the presence of B. theileri in the north of Iran. Divergence in B. theileri flaB and glpQ sequences across various geographical areas suggests potential subspeciation driven by adaptations to different tick species. This divergence in our flaB sequences implies the possible introduction of B. theileri-infected ticks from different geographical origins into Iran.

Characterization of beta-lactamases from urinary isolates of Escherichia coli in Tehran.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of antimicrobial resistance patterns in E. coli, the predominant pathogen associated with urinary tract infections (UTI) is important as a guide in selecting empirical antimicrobial therapy. METHODS: To describe the antimicrobial susceptibility of E. coli associated with UTI in a major university hospital in Tehran (Iran), seventy-six clinical isolates of E. coli were studied for susceptibility to beta-lactam antibiotics by the disc diffusion method and Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations determination. RESULTS: All isolates were resistant to ampicillin, amoxicillin and oxacillin. Resistance to the other tested antibiotics was shown to be 93.4% to cefradine, 76.3% to carbenicillin, 47.3% to cefazoline, 50% to cefalexin and 32.8% to cephalothin while 1.3% expressed resistance to cefoxitime, and 2.6% were resistant to ceftizoxime and ceftriaxone. Two isolates (2.4%) harbored extended spectrum -lactamases (ESBL) shown by the double disc diffusion method. Substrate hydrolysis by ultra violet spectroscopy showed that 87.4% harbored penicillinases, 9% produced cephlosporinases and 3.6% degraded both substrates. Clavulanic acid inhibited enzyme activity in 82.9%, of which 78.95% was penicillinases (group IIa) and 3.95% was cephalosporinases (group IIb) of the Bush classification system. The rest of the isolates (6.58 %) were placed in group IV -lactamases. No group III -lactamase was found, as EDTA inhibited none of the enzymes. DNA amplification by polymerase chain reaction using specific primers for ampC, TEM and SHV type -lactamases for all of the isolates showed that 47 organisms (60%) carried the TEM gene and 18 isolates (24%) harbored blaTEM and ampC genes. About 26% of the organisms harbored SHV type enzymes. type enzymes. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that E. coli can posses a variety of beta-lactamases that are responsible for beta-lactam resistance.