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ObjectivesHigh consumption of bakery products such as cream-filled pastries may cause serious health risks and food poisoning to humans. Therefore, investigation of the microbial and chemical qualities of bakery products containing cream is necessary. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the chemical qualities and microbial contaminations of cream-filled pastries collected from confectioneries located in six cities in Chaharmahal Va Bakhtiari province (Southwestern Iran).MethodsMicrobial tests and chemical characteristics (fat and acidity level) were done on 228 cream-filled pastries samples that were collected randomly from various confectioneries.ResultsAfter microbial tests, it was found that 33.33% of all samples were contaminated by microbial agents. The microbial tests showed that Shahrekord (10.09%) and Broujen (9.21%) cities had high levels of contamination and in Koohrang (1.31%) it was low compared with the other four cities. High contamination of coliforms (61.84%), staphylococci (48.68%), and yeast (27.63%) were observed in almost all samples. The chemical analysis showed maximum amounts of fat content and titratable acidity in cream-filled pastry samples obtained from Lordegan and Shahrekord cities, respectively.ConclusionThe findings of the present work demonstrated that the microbial contamination and chemical quality of cream-filled pastries produced in confectionaries of Chaharmahal Va Bakhtiari province were not in acceptable ranges. These problems may be related to fecal contamination of cream samples or lack of hygiene by handlers and it is necessary to observe the standards of hygiene and to develop safe food handling techniques and aseptic pastry manufacturing systems in some confectioneries of Chaharmahal Va Bakhtiari province.

Bovine herpesvirus 5 (BoHV-5) is an important pathogen of the central nervous system and has already been described in the genital tract of cattle and in semen. This virus is responsible for sporadic epizootics of fatal meningoencephalitis of calves. The objective of the present study was the identification and characterization of BoHV-5 in semen samples from bulls for the first time in Iran. DNA was extracted from bull semen samples, and the glycoprotein D (gD) gene of BoHV-5 and also the thymidine kinase (tK) gene of bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) were amplified by PCR assay. The results showed a high prevalence of BoHV-5 (73.2 %) and BoHV-1 (25.89 %) in Iranian bull semen samples. In addition, in order to identify and compare BoHV-5 isolated from Iranian bulls with other isolates from all over the world, the gD gene of this virus was cloned and sequenced. A BLAST search showed that the sequence of the gD gene of BoHV-5 from Iran was 99 % identical to other sequences in the GenBank database. The present study indicated that semen samples are important transmission sources of BoHV-5 virus in Iranian bulls.

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Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading cause of infections especially in patients with weakened immune systems. This pathogen is intrinsically resistant to many antibacterial agents. Objectives: The aim of this study was to survey the antibiotic resistance pattern and frequency of bla OXA10 gene in Carbapenemase Producing P. aeruginosa isolated from patients in Isfahan hospitals. Materials and Methods: Total of 100 clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa from different samples were collected. Antibiotic susceptibility for antimicrobial agents was carried out according to the clinical and laboratory standards institute (CLSI) guidelines, and the frequency of the gene encoding bla OXA10 was studied by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results:The resistance rate of the isolated strains to certain antibiotics wasas following: ciprofloxacin (56%), gentamicin (59%), tobramycin (61%), amikacin (65%), imipenem (55%), cefepime (55%), ceftazidime (57%), ceftriaxone (60%), cefotaxime (62%), oxacillin (100%), and piperacillin (48%), respectively. P. aeruginosa demonstrated the highest resistance rate to oxacillin (100 %), and 55% of isolates were resistant to imipenem and cefepime, whereas 63% were multidrug-resistant (resistant to three or more classes of antibiotics). A MDR phenotype occurred frequently in P. aeruginosa. PCR was performed for all the resistant strains, where the frequency of blaOXA10 gene was 40 (64%). Conclusions: Our results showed that the prevalence of MDR and extended-spectrum β lactamases producing P. aeruginosa in Isfahan was very high and proper infection control practices are essential to prevent the spreading of ESBL-producing P. aeruginosa in hospitals.