Virulent Escherichia coli strains among Egyptian patients with acute diarrhoea versus urinary tract infection, and their antibiotic susceptibility.

Background And Study Aims: Diarrhoea and urinary tract infection (UTI) are common clinical problems. Meanwhile, Escherichia coli (E. coli), is the commonest bacterial pathogen reported in both of them.

Toll-like receptors-2 and -9 (TLR2 and TLR9) gene polymorphism in patients with type 2 diabetes and diabetic foot.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are innate immune receptors that mediate the inflammatory response in diabetes mellitus (DM). The aim of this study is to evaluate the association of TLR2 and TLR9 gene polymorphism in patients with type 2 DM (T2DM) and diabetic foot (DF).The study included 90 subjects divided into group I (30 patients with T2DM and DF), group II (30 patients with T2DM and no evidence of DF), and group III (normal control subjects).

Integron-mediated multidrug resistance in extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from fecal specimens in Egypt.

Background: The increasing incidence of hospital-acquired infections due to extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae represent a major health problem because of few therapeutic alternatives. The fecal flora can represent a reservoir for ESBL genes. Integrons are genetic structures capable of capturing gene cassettes that usually encode antibiotic-resistance determinants.

Boronic acid disk diffusion for the phenotypic detection of polymerase chain reaction-confirmed, carbapenem-resistant, gram-negative bacilli isolates.

Background: The Middle East is regarded as a secondary reservoir for OXA-48 and New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) carbapenemases. One of the main challenges in clinical microbiology diagnostics is the detection of carbapenemases. For this reason simple screening methods have been sought to detect carbapenemase producers to determine appropriate therapeutic measures and implement infection control interventions.

Mutations affecting domain V of the 23S rRNA gene in Helicobacter pylori from Cairo, Egypt.

Background: Clarithromycin is a main component of the recommended first-line triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori in Egypt. We aimed in our study to investigate the prevalence of clarithromycin-resistant H. pylori strains due to the point mutations at domain V of the H.

Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis in Egyptian women with unexplained infertility, comparing real-time PCR techniques to standard serology tests: case control study.

Background: To study the prevalence of Chlamydia infection in women with primary and secondary unexplained infertility using ELISA technique for antibody detection and real time, fully automated PCR for antigen detection and to explore its association with circulating antisperm antibodies (ASA).

Methods: A total of 50 women with unexplained infertility enrolled in this case control study and a control group of 44 infertile women with a known cause of infertility. Endocervical specimens were collected for Chlamydia antigen detection using PCR and serum samples for antibodies detection.

Polymerase chain reaction-guided diagnosis of infective keratitis - a hospital-based study.

Purpose: To compare polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to microbial culture and smear for detection and identification of bacterial and fungal pathogens in suspected microbial keratitis.

Materials And Methods: Corneal scrapings from 88 patients with suspected infectious keratitis were subjected to routine bacterial culture and sensitivity, Gram's stain, fungal culture; potassium hydroxide (KOH) wet mount, and PCR. PCR was performed with primer pairs targeted to the 16S and 18S r RNA gene.

High rates of intestinal colonization with extended-spectrum lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae among healthy individuals.

Background: Infections caused by extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria become an emerging problem in the community setting in many parts of the world.

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine fecal carriage of ESBL-producing organisms in a community setting.

Methods: A total of 632 fecal specimens from healthy individuals were screened for ESBL using the agar screening test with MacConkey agar plates supplemented with 1 μg/mL of cefotaxime for selection of ESBL-producing strains and confirmed by the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute combined disk method.