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Background & objectives: Staphylococci are considered as one of the most important etiological agents of omphalitis. Due to the importance of early diagnosis of omphalitis in newborns, this infection can be diagnosed by novel techniques such as multiplex PCR which is rapid, cost- effective and more accurate than microbial culture. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis and S.hominis species in umbilical cord infection in newborns.
Methods: In the present study, 45 umbilical cord samples were collected from Shahid Afzali pour hospital in Kerman, Iran. Followed by DNA extraction, Multiplex PCR reactions were performed using specific 16srDNA primers for S. aureus, S. epidermidis and S.hominis. Finally, PCR products were analyzed using electrophoresis and sequencing. Also, microbiological and biochemical differentiation tests were performed for the diagnosis of Staphylococci on all specimens.
Results: Amplification of 16srRNA genes for S. aureus, S. epidermidis, and S. hominis using Multiplex PCR demonstrated that the frequency of S. epidermidis ,S. aureus and S.hominis were 4.4%, 6.6% and 2.2% in the studied samples, respectively. The prevalence of staphylococcal isolates using differential tests was shown to be 33.3%.
Conclusion: This study indicated that, Multiplex PCR is a proper method for simultaneous identification of S. aureus, S. epidermidis and S.hominis species. Also, Staphylococci can be considered as a significant cause of umbilical cord infection in newborns. However, further studies urgently are needed to confirm this finding.
 

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Background & objectives: Chlamydia trachomatis is a gram negative bacterium and chlamydia infection, as a curable infection, is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STD). With regard to the essential role of chlamydia in infertility, the study of the prevalence of asymptomatic cases is precious. The aim of this study was to determine of the prevalence of chlamydia trachomatis in endocervical samples in infertile women with PCR method.
Methods: In this cross sectional descriptive-analytical study, a total of 135 women between 20-40 years old with chief complaint of infertility that referred to Alzahra-Rasht hospital and private clinics were randomly selected. The endocervical specimen was prepared using a sterile swab and was transferred to the laboratory in PBS for performing PCR. . The results of PCR and collected data from checklists were statistically analyzed using SPSS16.
Results: Chlamydia trachomatis was detected in 19.3% of infertile women. There were no statistically significant differences between PCR results and the patient's age, type of infertility, obstruction in salpingography, family history and duration of infertility.
Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that chlamydia infection has a high prevalence and in order to reduce the complications of this disease, screening tests can be used as a   part of the country's health programs.
 

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Background & objectives: In recent years, Acinetobacter baumannii has been shown to be associated with several nosocomial infections, including pneumonia, bacteraemia, urinary tract infections, wound infection and meningitis. This organism can survive in the hospital environment and rapidly develops resistance to many antibiotics. The molecular genotyping can increase our knowledge about the spread of A. baumannii strains from one hospital to another and their drug resistance. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of antibiotic resistance profile as well as phylogenetic relationships of A. baumannii strains in Shahrekord teaching hospitals.
Methods: In this study, antibacterial susceptibility patterns of A. baumannii strains isolated from different clinical specimens (urine, blood, sputum) to amikacin, ampicillin/sulbactam, aztreonam, cefepime, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, gentamycin, imipenem, meropenem, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, piperacillin/tazobactam, tobramycin were tested using disk diffusion )Kirby-Bauer( method. Finally, genotyping of A. baumannii strains was performed using REP-PCR method.
Results: During this study, 50 samples of patients were identified as A. baumannii) 71%(, and their drug resistance rates were assessed. All A. baumannii strains were resistant to ceftazidime and cefepime and also a high rate of resistance to aztreonam, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, amikacin, imipenem, gentamycin, and ampicillin-sulbactam were observed. On the other hand, our results demonstrated nine genotype groups among A. baumannii strains based on REP-PCR method.
Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of antibiotic resistance among isolated A. baumannii strains, similarities between different genotypes and the dispersion of these genotypes in different parts of Shahrekord hospitals, the implementation of infection control programs in different parts of the hospital is necessary.
 

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Background & objectives: Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite with global distribution. Diagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii infection with high sensitivity and specificity is very important in managing and treating this disease. The purpose of this study is serological and molecular investigation of toxoplasmosis using B1 gene in HIV- positive patients referred to hospitals affiliated with Iran University of Medical Sciences.
Methods: In this study, 660 blood samples were collected from HIV/AIDS- positive patients referred to hospitals affiliated with Iran University of Medical Sciences. Patient samples were examined for the presence of IgG and IgM antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii using an ELISA kit. Genomic DNA was extracted from the patient's serum, as well as peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) and whole blood samples, and then Real time-PCR was performed.
Results: Although IgG antibody against Toxoplasma gondii was positive in 158 (23.9%) patients out of 660 HIV- positive patients, IgM antibody was positive in 5 (0.76%) patients. The results of Real-Time PCR showed that 7 (1.06%) patients were positive in PBMC samples, of which five patients were positive for IgM antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii while two patients had high- level Toxoplasma IgG antibody titers.
Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that the Real-time PCR method using PBMC DNA samples is a suitable method for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis. This method, together with the antibody test, especially the high titer of Toxoplasma IgG antibodies, can be helpful in the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis.
 

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Background: Pneumocystis jirovecii (P. jirovecii) causes Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in people, especially the immunocompromised ones. It is also one of the serious causes of numerous lung problems in affected patients. Since documented data about P. jirovecii is not available in patients with pulmonary infections in Tehran, this study aimed to investigate the molecular epidemiology and parasitology of Pneumocystis to determine the frequency of the organism infection.
Methods: Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples were collected for 367 patients hospitalized in the lung department of Shariati Hospital in Tehran from July 2022 to July 2023. The samples were analyzed using Giemsa staining and molecular methods. After DNA extraction from samples, Nested polymerase chain reaction (Nested PCR) was employed for the amplification of the 18SrRNA gene and identification of P. jirovecii. The PCR products of Nested PCR were sequenced for final confirmation. 
Results: Out of 367 samples, only one sample (0.27%) and 28 samples (6.7%) were found to be positive through parasitology and NestedPCR analysis, respectively. P. jirovecii was detected in seven (25%) and 21 (75%) immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients, respectively. Fever, shortness of breath and dry cough were the most common clinical symptoms among patients with Pneumocystosis. Patients with pulmonary disorders are prone to colonization by pneumocystis, which increases the risk of pneumocystosis and makes them a reservoir for transmission to susceptible people.
Conclusion: It can be concluded that patients with distinct lung disease are prone to colonization by Pneumocystis and, importantly, are at risk of infection. Also, according to the current study, Nested PCR was a suitable method for detecting P. jirovecii organisms because it had a very high sensitivity and specificity.
 

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