Class 2 integrons were found to be predominant among our Shigella spp. This reflects the need to monitor the acquisition and dissemination of different resistant gene cassettes among integrons. Comparison of PFGE pattern through standard procedures promoted the molecular epidemiological surveys and identification of clonal isolates in Iran and other Asian countries.

The incidence of inducible clindamycin resistance were studied in Milad Hospital of Tehran, Iran. Of 175 isolates of S. aureus 17 (9.7%) isolates showed inducible clindamycin resistance. Of 17 inducible clindamycin isolates of S. aureus, 11 strains were methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and 6 isolates were methicillin susceptible S. aureus) (MSSA). All isolates were susceptible to vancomycin and linozolide. We conclude that it is necessary to perform D-test for detection of inducible clindamycin in staphylococci in routine laboratory practices.

Frequency of cervical cancer related to Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) has increased remarkably in less-developed countries. Hence, applying capable diagnostic methods is urgently needed, as is having a therapeutic strategy as an effective step for cervical cancer prevention. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of various multi-type HPV infection patterns and their possible rising incidence in women with genital infections. This descriptive study was conducted on women who attended referral clinical laboratories in Tehran for genital infections from January 2012 until December 2013. A total of 1387 archival cervical scraping and lesion specimens were collected from referred women. HPV genotyping was performed using approved HPV commercial diagnostic technologies with either INNO-LiPA HPV or Geno Array Test kits. HPV was positive in 563 cases (40.59%) with mean age of 32.35±9.96. Single, multiple HPV genotypes and untypable cases were detected in 398 (70.69%), 160 (28.42%) and 5 (0.89%) cases, respectively. Multiple HPV infections were detected in 92 (57.5%), 42 (26.2%), 17 (10.6%) and 9 (5.7%) cases as two, three, four and five or more genotypes, respectively. The prevalence of 32 HPV genotypes was determined one by one. Seventeen HPV genotypes were identified in 95.78% of all positive infections. Five dominant genotypes, HPV6, 16, 53, 11 and 31, were identified in a total of 52.35%of the HPV positive cases. In the present study, we were able to evaluate the rate of multiple HPV types in genital infections. Nevertheless, it is necessary to evaluate the role of the dominant HPV low-risk types and the new probably high-risk genotypes, such as HPV53, in the increasing incidences of genital infections.

ScienceBrucellosis is difficult to diagnose based on clinical symptoms of the disease, which are nonspecific and often atypical signs. 1,2 Therefore, the diagnosis mostly relies on the results of laboratory testing. Culture of the organism is the diagnostic method of choice; however, cultures involve risk of infection and require special precautions in the laboratory. 3,4 An infectious dose for Brucella in humans is 10 to 100 organisms; consequently, diagnostic laboratory personnel who cultivate these organisms are at significant risk of accidental exposure. Brucellosis is one of the most commonly reported laboratory-acquired infections. Current methods of testing cultures for Brucellae are time-consuming and lack sensitivity, particularly in chronic infections. 5,6 Most laboratories apply serological tests that do not provide suitable sensitivity and specificity for this organism. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods that detect immunoglobulin G (IgG) are sensitive 7 but have low specificity. 8 Measurement of specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) levels has lower sensitivity than IgG but is more specific.Molecular diagnostic assays minimize the risks associated with handling potentially infectious specimens and increase the sensitivity, specificity, and speed of testing, although some studies have reported only moderate sensitivity (50%) using these methods. 8 However, few laboratories diagnose brucellosis using culture methods because cultures have limited sensitivity, are timeconsuming, and require specially biosafety equipment. 9 Therefore, data on the frequency on Brucella infections are often unreliable. Recently, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocols that overcome these problems have been described. [10][11][12] In this study, we used a multiplex ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the sensitivities of various testing methods for diagnosing brucellosis.Methods: The 267 patients in our cohort were suspected to be infected with Brucella and had been referred to a hospital in Mianeh City, Iran. The mean (SD) age was 37.0 (11.3) years for female patients and 37.1 (13.7) years for male patients. All serum specimens from these patients were examined by the standard agglutination test (SAT), Coombs Wright test, 2-mercaptoethanol (2ME) test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for determining levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM), and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). DNA was extracted. Extracted DNA was checked with human PCR-targeting CRP gene-encoding 485 base pair (bp) as an internal control to ensure that the proper extraction method had been used. Specific primers targeting IS 711 were used for Brucellosis melitensis, B abortus, and B suis.Results: Brucellosis was confirmed in 110 patients (58.2% male and 41.8% female) based on applied diagnostic methods and clinical features. Results of ELISA, the SAT, and PCR were positive in 92, 42, and 51 patients, respectively. B abortus and B melitensis were detected in 16 and 35 patients, respectively. B suis was ...