Microbiological testing of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics in Egypt.

Background: Microbial contamination of pharmaceuticals poses a great problem to the pharmaceutical manufacturing process, especially from a medical as well as an economic point of view. Depending upon the product and its intended use, the identification of isolates should not merely be limited to the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) indicator organisms.

Results: Eighty-five pre-used non-sterile pharmaceuticals collected from random consumers in Egypt were examined for the eventual presence of bacterial contaminants.

Recombinant expression of the alternate reading frame protein (ARFP) of hepatitis C virus genotype 4a (HCV-4a) and detection of ARFP and anti-ARFP antibodies in HCV-infected patients.

HCV is a single-stranded RNA virus with a single open reading frame (ORF) that is translated into a polyprotein that is then processed to form 10 viral proteins. An additional eleventh viral protein, the alternative reading frame protein (ARFP), was discovered relatively recently. This protein results from a translational frameshift in the core region during the expression of the viral proteins.

Potential Co-prevalence of Plasmid-Mediated Quinolone Resistance Determinant qepA and 16S rRNA Methylase rmtB among E.coli Clinical Isolates from Alexandria- Egypt.

Background: Fluoroquinolone-resistant Gram-negative pathogens have been increasingly reported from most regions of the world over the last decade. A new plasmid-mediated fluoroquinolone efflux pump gene (qepA) is known to be associated with the 16S rRNA methylase gene (rmtB) that confers resistance to aminoglycosides.

Aim: To investigate the potential co-prevalence of qepA and rmtB genes in Escherichia coli (E.