Background and Aims: Adenovirus is one of the causative agents of viral conjunctivitis. Approximately an average of 40% of viral conjunctivitis is due to adenovirus infection. The rate of infection is usually the highest during the spring and summer months. In this study attempt was made to evaluate the incidence of conjunctivitis due to adenovirus infection in patients referred to one of the affiliated university hospital using the congenital virological methods. Materials and Methods: Samples were taken by a swab from patients with clinical conjunctivitis. Samples were processed and tested using the techniques of cell culture inoculation and polymerase chain reaction. Results: From the 100 samples taken 16% of then were positive by PCR Method. From these only 8% showed viral growth on cell culture. There was no difference of infection between the sex groups but most cases accrued in patients aged 17-27 years during the months of March to May. Conclusion: From the results of this study if was concluded that adenovirus plays a major role as a causative agent of conjunctivitis.

Background:Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been classified into ten genotypes (A-J) based on genome sequence divergence, which is very important for etiological and clinical investigations. HBV genotypes have distinct geographical distributions worldwide.Objectives:The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of HBV genotypes among Azerbaijani patients with chronic hepatitis B, came from the Republic of Azerbaijan country to Iran to receive medical care.Patients and Methods:One hundred and three patients with chronic HBV infection, referred to hospitals related to Iran University of Medical Sciences and Tehran Hepatitis Center from August 2011 to July 2014, were enrolled in this cross sectional study. About 3-milliliter of peripheral blood was taken from each patient. After viral DNA extraction, HBV genotypes were tested using the INNO-LiPA™ HBV kit (Innogenetics, Ghent, Belgium). HBV genotyping was confirmed using sequencing of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and polymerase (pol) regions of HBV.Results:The mean age of patients was 35.9 ± 11.7 years (19-66). Of 103 patients, 72 (69.9%) were male. In the present study, the predominant HBV genotype was D (93.2%) followed by genotype A (5.8%) and concurrent infection with A and D genotypes (0.97%).Conclusions:The main and frequent HBV genotype among Azerbaijani patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection was genotype D followed by genotype A.

Objective: Viral interference has been demonstrated in different systems, such as the effect of enterovirus infection on live-attenuated oral polio vaccine. In this study, the effect of reovirus which could exist in the human intestinal tract on poliovirus vaccine strains was investigated and could be an important factor to consider in oral polio vaccination. Methods: Cells were infected with reovirus, then superinfected with poliovirus. The amount of viral yields was measured by the TCID₅₀ and plaque assay methods. Polioviral RNA synthesis was studied by real-time RT-PCR and the viral RNA load was calculated. Viral protein synthesis was determined using the techniques of immunoflourescent staining and PAGE followed by the immunoblotting experiment. Results: Poliovirus superinfection of reovirus-infected cells resulted in inhibition of poliovirus replication. It was found that the inhibitory effect of reovirus was after establishment of its infection (2 h postinfection). There was no competition between the two viruses for cell attachment but poliovirus RNA and protein synthesis were inhibited. Conclusion: Infection of cells with reovirus could interfere with the growth of poliovirus upon superinfection. This phenomenon could be important to consider when using attenuated poliovirus vaccine.

Introduction: Glycoprotein B (gB) is the major antigen for induction of humoral responses against human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) making it an attractive candidate for immune prophylaxis. In the present study, the humoral immune response of BALB/c mice to a truncated HCMV gB protein fused with GFP was evaluated. Methods: The truncated gB coding sequence was synthesized and cloned in pEGFPN1 eukaryotic expression vector and expressed in HEK 293T cell line. After optimization, expression of the recombinant truncated HCMV gB was verified using HRPconjugated polyclonal antibody specific for HCMV gB.The level of humoral immune responses was assessed in mice using DNA/DNA, peptide/peptide, and DNA/ peptide (prime-boost) immunization strategies. Results: Cloning of the truncated gB coding sequence in the pEGFPN1 was verified by restriction enzyme analysis and sequencing. After optimizing the transfection procedure the number of the GFP positive cells reached 32%. Western blot analysis confirmed the in vitro expression of the truncated HCMV gB protein with an apparent molecular weight of approximately 70 kDa. In vivo prime-boost immunization using HCMV gB DNA/peptide regimen showed significantly higher humoral immune responses compared to the control groups. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the pEGFPN1 eukaryotic expression vector could be used to optimize and evaluate the expression of this truncated protein.The results also showed that the DNA/peptide vaccination could induce a significant antibody response in animal model.

The recently emerged Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) emerged in the Middle East region in 2012. The virus is phylogenetically related to bat CoV, but other animal species like camels and goats may potentially act as an intermediate host by spreading the virus to humans. This virus is thought to cause a severe disease in patients with underlying comorbidities. Laboratory response capacity during the early stages of MERS-CoV outbreak focuses on development of virological and immunological methods for diagnosis, for contact tracing and for epidemiological studies into sources, modes of transmission, identification of risk groups and animal reservoirs. Current international recommendations do not support any specific therapies; however there are a number of agents which were used during the SARS epidemic of 2003. It is possible that these might be active against the related coronavirus; in the other hand, development of affective vaccine is crucial for preventing further pandemic of MERS-CoV. In this article we reviewed available data from MERS-CoV case reports.