Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection is difficult to treat due to the presence of antibiotic resistance determinants. Here, we report the genome sequence of a multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa strain isolated from a patient with a urinary tract infection in 2015.

Background Dispensing antibiotics without prescription (DAwP) is a widespread practice, especially in developing countries, contributing to antibiotic resistance. Community pharmacists play a significant role in promoting rational use of antibiotics by refraining from DAwP, and providing drug information to patients. This study aimed to evaluate community pharmacists’ knowledge, attitude and practice, and to assess the factors behind DAwP. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020 among random sample of community pharmacists in Sudan. Online semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The association between dependent and independent variables was assessed using Chi-square test; a P -value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results Of the 1217 pharmacists who participated, the majority were female (n = 645, 53%). Most pharmacists have a B. Pharm degree (n = 1026, 84%) and less than 5 years’ experience (n = 718, 59%). Notably, the majority of community pharmacists have good knowledge (n = 735, 61.7%), which is significantly associated with years of experience (P < 0.00). More than half (n = 623, 52.2%) of the pharmacists have above average score of practice. Nearly all the pharmacists who participated have a positive attitude in relation to DAwP (n = 1204, 98.9%). More than half of the pharmacists were DAwP for tonsillitis (n = 817, 67%), wound infection (n = 766, 62.9%), and urinary tract infection (n = 664, 54%). The leading factor behind DAwP was the low socioeconomic status of the patients (n = 624, 51%). Additionally, 47% of the pharmacists (n = 572) thought that they were knowledgeable enough to DAwP. Conclusion Despite their positive attitude and average level of knowledge regarding DAwP, Sudanese community pharmacists frequently are DAwP for tonsillitis. Low patients’ socioeconomic status was the leading factor behind DAwP. Accordingly, extensive work from health authorities to improve the accessibility and affordability of the health system as well as the development of an antibiotic stewardship program are required to diminish DAwP.

Recently, Coronavirus has been given considerable attention from the biomedical community based on the emergence and isolation of a deadly coronavirus infecting human. To understand the behavior of the newly emerging MERS-CoV requires knowledge at different levels (epidemiologic, antigenic, and pathogenic), and this knowledge can be generated from the most related viruses. In this study, we aimed to compare between 3 species of Coronavirus, namely Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), and NeoCoV regarding whole genomes and 6 similar proteins (E, M, N, S, ORF1a, and ORF1ab) using different bioinformatics tools to provide a better understanding of the relationship between the 3 viruses at the nucleotide and amino acids levels. All sequences have been retrieved from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Regards to target genomes’ phylogenetic analysis showed that MERS and SARS-CoVs were closer to each other compared with NeoCoV, and the last has the longest relative time. We found that all phylogenetic methods in addition to all parameters (physical and chemical properties of amino acids such as the number of amino acid, molecular weight, atomic composition, theoretical pI, and structural formula) indicated that NeoCoV proteins were the most related to MERS-CoV one. All phylogenetic trees (by both maximum-likelihood and neighbor-joining methods) indicated that NeoCoV proteins have less evolutionary changes except for ORF1a by just maximum-likelihood method. Our results indicated high similarity between viral structural proteins which are responsible for viral infectivity; therefore, we expect that NeoCoV sooner may appear in human-related infection.

Background: Self-medication with antibiotics (SMA) is one of the common factors which precipitate antimicrobial resistance, yet if effective implementations are amended it can be effortlessly controlled. The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence and predictors of SMA in Sudan. Methods: The study adopted a cross-sectional study design conducted in all Sudan states between June and December 2021. Multi-stage stratified cluster sampling was used. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used to present the data. Binary logistic regression was computed to investigate the possible factors which associated with SMA. Results: Out of 1492 participants surveyed, 71.3% utilize antibiotics as self-medication. The derived reasons for SMA were convenience (63.3%) and cost-saving (34.8%). Tonsillitis was the most common ailment behind SMA (55.5%). Log-binominal regression revealed that non-insured and low level of education participants were more likely to predict SMA. Regarding the practice, 40% changed the dose and/or antibiotics mainly owing to improvement (53.7%) or worsening of the condition (37.9%). The most commonly used antibiotic was amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (32.5%). Conclusions: Two out of three individuals in Sudan practice SMA mainly to manage upper respiratory tract ailments. Thus, the necessity of implementing an antimicrobial stewardship program throughout the country, as well as implementing effective legislation to prohibit dispensing antibiotics without prescription is urgently required.

Background: Candida species are one of the most important opportunistic fungal pathogens that cause both superficial and systemic infections, especially in immunocompromised individuals. Considering the sharp increase in the rate of Candida infections, and resistance to commonly used antifungal agents in the last decades; this study was conducted to determine the rate of resistance among clinical isolates of Candida species, and to characterize some of the resistant genes among resistant isolates collected in Khartoum.  Methods: This is a cross-sectional laboratory-based study included 100 pre-screened Candida species isolates from Khartoum state hospitals. Chromogenic media was used for Candida isolation and/or identification. The standard disc diffusion method was performed to investigate the susceptibility to fluconazole, itraconazole, and amphotericin. Following genomic DNA extraction, the entire ERG11 gene was amplified from some C. albicans resistant isolates, sequenced, and further analyzed. Results: Out of 100 clinical isolates collected, 51% were C. albicans, followed by C. glabrata (31%), C. krusie (8%), C. tropicals (5%), and C. dupliniens (5%). Resistance rate was 23% for fluconazole, 4% for itraconazole, while there were no amphotericin resistant isolates detected. C. albicans ERG11 gene sequence reveals 15 different mutations. Among these, three (D116E, E266D, and V488I) were missense mutations; however, these substitutions do not contribute to fluconazole resistance. Conclusion: C. albicans was found to be the most common species. Resistance against fluconazole was observed most frequently; however, mutations in ERG11 are unlikely to be the reason behind fluconazole resistance among these isolates.