Indian Journal of Microbiology Research

436-441

Authors: Emaneghemi Brown,Zhao Mengmeng*,Fan Taotao,Wu Juanli,Niu Junbo

Arsenic is a toxic metalloid that exists in two major forms (arsenate and arsenite). The anthropogenic activities of man are its major source in the environment. Bacteria have developed resistance against arsenic by using detoxification mechanisms such as oxidation of arsenite to arsenate with the aid of an enzyme arsenite oxidase and in the process gain energy, reduction of arsenate to arsenite through phosphate transporters by a reductase enzyme arsenate reductase and methylation of arsenite with the enzyme S-adenosylmethionine methyltransferases (SAM). The ars operon which mediates the extrusion of arsenic out of bacterial contains a three and five gene operon that assist bacterial with arsenic resistance respectively.

446-450

Authors: Dhanashree P Inamdar*,B Anuradha

Introduction: Transfusion of blood and blood products is lifesaving in clinical situations but sometimes it is also a potential source of infection to patients who receive it. Screening for TTIs (Transfusion Transmissible Infections) have a significant role in in preventing morbidity and mortality of patients receiving blood from blood banks. Aims and Objective: To determine seroprevalence of transfusion transmissible infections among blood group donors in Khammam district of Telangana. Materials and Methods: A Retrospective cross sectional study was carried out on all donors in blood bank of a tertiary care hospital at Mamata Medical college, Khammam for three years. Screening tests for HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), HBV (Hepatitis B Virus), HCV (Hepatitis C Virus), Malaria and Syphilis included Rapid and ELISA test kits. Results: Among 5757 donors, 5674 (98.5%) were male and 93(1.5%) were female donors. Overall seroprevalence in a 3 years study showed positivity of 0.42% in HBV, 0.01% in HCV, 0.07% in HIV. More of younger age group donors of 20-25 years were seropositive in HIV, whereas for HBV it was 26-30 years age group. O+ve was the commonest blood group observed showing seropositivity in all three. None of the patients were positive for syphilis or malaria in 3 years study period. Conclusion: We conclude that seroprevalence of HBV was significantly higher than other infections in our area. Seropositivity for Syphilis and Malaria was not seen in our area.

460-465

Authors: Sufia Siddiqui,Hafiza Jamal,Santosh Kotgire*,Uzma Afreen

Introduction: Mobile phones are used extensively by the healthcare workers who are completely unaware of the microbial load they carry. There are no guidelines on the cleanliness of these mobile phones which makes them an important source of hospital acquired infections among the patients in the hospital. Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the extent of bacterial colonisation of mobile phones from health care workers and elucidate its antibiotic sensitivity pattern. Settings and Design: The present study was hospital based cross-sectional study, carried out to analyse the bacterial colonization of mobile phones of healthcare personnel in the tertiary care hospital for a period of three months from 1st July 2017 to 30th September 2017. Materials and Methods: A sterile swab moistened with sterile normal saline was rolled over the exposed areas of the mobile phones of 117 health care personnel which included 18 samples from technicians, 35 from nurses, 29 from ward boys, and 35 samples from doctors. The swabs were cultured on 5% sheep blood agar and MacConkey agar plates. Plates were incubated aerobically at 37°C for 24 hours. The growth was identified by standard microbiological techniques and their antibiotic sensitivity pattern was carried out as per CLSI guidelines. Statistical Analysis: Statistical Analysis was done using MedCalc and Microsoft excel. Results: Overall bacterial contamination was found to be 92% (108) and maximum contamination was noted on the mobile phones of laboratory technicians (100%). All the healthcare workers showed polymicrobial growth on their mobile phones and maximum isolates were observed on the mobile phones of ward boys. Staphylococcus aureus, 44 (37.6%) was the most common isolate followed by Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 14 each (12%) and Acinetobacter species 6(5.1%). These isolates were resistant to commonly available antibiotics like Co-Trimoxazole, Ampicillin, and Amoxyclav. MRSA was found to be 16% in our study, whereas ESBL and MBL were not noted. Conclusions: As these organisms can become an important source of Hospital acquired infection, strict hand hygiene, decontamination of mobile phones and restriction of the use of mobile phones in high risk areas should be advocated.

470-475

Authors: Smitha N R,Jnaneshwara K B*,Asha B Patil,Harshika Y K,Shobha Medegar

Introduction: In the Otolaryngology Out Patient Department (OPD), Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media (CSOM) is the most common encountered otological disease. Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas species are the most commonly encountered etiological agents. Untreated CSOM leads to complications such as facial nerve paralysis, lateral sinus thrombosis, labyrinthitis, meningitis and brain abscess. Materials and Methods: Patients with CSOM having unilateral or bilateral ear discharge for more than 3 months, attending Otolaryngology OPD or admitted in the wards were included in the study. Two swabs were collected from each patient with sterile precautions and submitted to the Microbiology Department. The samples were subjected to Gram’s stain and culture according to standard operative procedure. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by Kirby-Bauer’s disc diffusion method as per CLSI guidelines. Results: A total of 520 samples were collected, out of which 474 samples showed growth. Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant isolate followed by Pseudomonas species. Staphylococcus isolates were highly sensitive to vancomycin and linezolid. Conclusion: Several studies have showed the predominance of different etiological agents in different geographical regions with different antibiotic sensitivity pattern. So, the knowledge of local etiological agent and its susceptibility pattern helps clinicians in treating the patients and to prevent its complications and drug resistance.

484-487

Authors: Saranyaa T,Swapna M*,Brindha G David

Introduction: Malassezia are normal resident flora in humans and are opportunistic in nature. Superficial infections caused by Malassezia include pityriasis versicolor, pityriasis capitis (dandruff), seborrheic dermatitis and folliculitis. Though the manifestations due to Malassezia are trivial, chronicity and recurrence of lesions are associated with social embarrassment and decreased self-esteem. Aims and Objectives: The primary aim of the study was to detect the prevalence of Malassezia among superficial skin and scalp lesions. It also aims to compare Wood’s lamp examination, KOH mount examination and culture for the diagnosis of Malassezia and study the percentage of various species of Malassezia responsible for superficial infections of skin and scalp. Materials and Methods: One hundred samples collected from patients attending the Dermatology outpatient room with superficial infections of skin and scalp. Patients attending Dermatology outpatient room with complaints of hypopigmented / hyperpigmented / erythematous, scaly skin patches and patients attending Dermatology OP with complaints of itchy / non itchy scaly flakes of scalp (dandruff) were included in the study. Results: Among the 100 samples, 77% were Wood’s lamp positive, 64% were KOH positive and 59% yielded growth of Malassezia in culture. Overall prevalence of Malassezia in our study was 59%. In our study, M. globosa was the commonest species (57.62%) followed by M. furfur and M. sympodialis. Conclusion: Prevalence of Malassezia was 59% in our study. Wood’s lamp examination and KOH mount showed more positivity than culture. M. globosa was the most common species in the study. Wood’s lamp and KOH mount can be used for diagnosis of Malassezia in resource poor settings. But culture and speciation should be performed wherever possible to avoid treatment failure and recurrences.

492-496

Authors: Trupti B. Naik,Sathish J. V*,Jayashree S

Introduction: Mosquito borne arboviral infections have become major public health problem at present due to many emerging and re – emerging infections and Chikungunya is one of them. Although Chikungunya causes severe clinical manifestations like arthritis, it is not routinely tested at the health care facilities and therefore goes undiagnosed and as such its prevalence is likely to be underestimated. Climate is one of the important factor influencing the occurrence and distribution of disease. Objectives: a) To estimate seroprevalence of Chikungunya virus infection among clinically suspected cases. b) To determine the seasonal variation of Chikungunya infection. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital using secondary data maintained in the microbiology laboratory registers, for clinically suspected patients of Chikungunya infection who reported to the hospital from January- December 2017. Prevalence was estimated by analyzing data for the results of IgM antibody by ELISA tests and any variations in disease reporting by age, gender and season were assessed. Statistical analysis was done using WHO Epi info software version 3.5.4. Results: A total of 1308 serum samples were analyzed during the study period. Out of which 123 (9.4%) samples were found positive for Chikungunya infection by IgM ELISA. The proportion of Chikungunya cases was higher in monsoon season with maximum rate of positivity in the month of July 48 (39.02%). Age group of 16-30 years was the most commonly affected i.e. (35.77%). Conclusion: The present study confirms that Chikungunya is mainly a disease of rainy season and also identifies certain vulnerable groups for effective planning of interventions.

504-507

Authors: Raghavendra Rao M,Vinay Kumar V,Satya Sai B,Krishna Karthik M,,Ranjitha Shankare Gowda*

Introduction: Intertrigo is an inflammatory condition of skin folds commonly seen in any age from infancy to old age and one of the major cause for clinical consultations. Intertrigo is due to heat, moisture or lack of air circulation and the infection is most commonly seen in patients with diabetes. Foot intertrigo is the infection of Toe web spaces occurring mainly at interdigital toe web spaces. The friction of skin folds may lead to several complications which includes bacterial or fungal infections. Materials and Methods: A total of 75 clinically suspected cases of foot intertrigo were included in the study. Skin scrapings from the suspected cases of intertrigo were collected with standard precautions and all the samples were subjected to direct microscopy using 10% Potassium hydroxide and observed for presence of fungal elements and simultaneously the sample is processed for culture onto fungal culture media to identify the causative agents of foot intertrigo. Results: A total of 75 skin scrapings from the infected foot for Mycological study were collected among which 38 samples were collected from male patients and 37 samples were from female patients. Of 75 skin scrapings, 31 were 10% KOH positive and remaining 44 were negative to microscopy. On culture 34 samples were culture positive and 41 were culture negative. Out of 34 culture positive samples, Candida albicans were isolated in 15 specimens and Non-candida albicans in 6. Remaining samples yielded growth of moulds in which Dermatophytes (Trichophyton-3, Epidermophyton-1) were 4 isolates and Fusarium yielded growth in 9 samples. Conclusion: From our study, we conclude that intertrigo is a chronic inflammation. This might occur at any age. In our descriptive study, Candida albicans were predominantly isolated followed by other moulds such as Fusarium and Dermatophytes.

512-515

Authors: Therese Mary Dhason*,Meenakshi Subramaniam,Sowndhariya Velu Annamalai,Vignesh Mantharam,Nesa Aurlene Jayadhas

Introduction: The gold standard method to detect anti-nuclear antibodies is Indirect Immunofluorescence. Hep-2 cell lines coated slides are used to identify and detect the various patterns of fluorescence produced by anti-nuclear antibodies. Interpretation is based on the titre, pattern and intensity of fluorescence. Objectives: To find out whether any relationship exists between the intensity of fluorescence and the concentration of anti-nuclear antibodies. For this the samples which exhibited homogeneous pattern were further tested by quantitative Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay to find out the concentration of anti-dsDNA antibody. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was carried over a period of one year from January 2017 to December 2017 and the study group included 500 patients with lupus and 100 age and sex matched healthy controls. All the samples were processed for Indirect Immunofluorescence. The samples which were of homogeneous pattern were tested by Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay to quantitate the anti-dsDNA antibody concentration. Results: The anti-dsDNA positivity in homogeneous pattern was statistically significant (p <0> Conclusion: As the intensity of fluorescence dose not reflect the concentration of antibody, further studies are needed to elucidate whether grading of intensity is mandatory in interpretation

524-529

Authors: Yashaswini M.K*,Vijaya D,Sathyanarayan B.D

Introduction: Dermatophytosis is a mycotic infection of the hair, skin or nails. Although dermatophytic infection doesn’t cause mortality, it can lead to morbidity and result in a major public health issue usually in tropical countries like India, because of the supporting climatic conditions like high temperature and air moisture. The present study was undertaken to know the clinical status of dermatophytic infection and to isolate and identify the species commonly seen in our area. Materials and Methods: A total of 166 clinically suspected cases of dermatophytosis sent for department of Microbiology were studied over a period of one year. KOH for microscopy and culture on Sabouraud's dextrose agar slopes was done. Species identification was done by studying growth morphology, slide culture and biochemical tests like urease test. Results: Among 166 patients, the dermatophytosis was more common among the age group of 21-30 years. Males (55.5%) were more affected than females (44.5%). The most common clinical type was tinea corporis (36.2%) followed by tinea incognito (10.3%). Out of 166 patients, 125 cases (75.3%) were positive for fungi by KOH and 118 cases (71.1%) showed growth in culture. Trichophyton spp are predominantly isolated (88%). Conclusion: The prevalence of dermatophytosis usually differ with respect to various geographical locations. India due to high humidity and temperature acts as a rich ground for the heavy growth of dermatophytes. Idea regarding the fungal infections prevalent in the particular region is important to know the burden of infection and its course of infection. This helps to plan for the proper infrastructure required for various epidemiological and laboratory studies, and further to evaluate interventions required for treatment.

535-537

Authors: Vani Gopa,Gopal R,Rupavani ,Mangaiyarkarasi T*

Introduction: The common complaint in women of reproductive age group is discharge per vaginum. The etiology may be due to physiological or pathological. Infectious causes include Bacterial vaginosis, candidiasis and trichomoniasis. Precise diagnosis of the infectious cause helps in initiation of appropriate treatment avoiding misuse of drugs as in the syndromic approach. Objective: To find the aetiopathogenesis for vaginal discharge and their prevalence in symptomatic adult women attending the outpatient department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of our hospital during the study period. Materials and Methods: A cross – sectional hospital based study carried out from November 2012 to January 2014. Swabs were collected from all symptomatic adult women aged 15–45 years and examined by wet mount, Gram stain and inoculated on Sabourauds Dextrose Agar (SDA) medium for isolation of Candida species. Results: The prevalence rate of bacterial vaginosis, vaginal candidiasis and trichomoniasis were 32%, 25% & 8.5% respectively. Conclusion: The most common etiology for vaginal discharge in our study was bacterial vaginosis.

543-547

Authors: Jaswinder Singh Gill*,Sourav Sen,Ashwini Agarwal

Introduction: Dermatophytes fungi infect keratinized tissues such as hair, nails and skin. Different methods for sample collection and transportation of dermatophytes for culture have been described. The standard methods for dermatophytes sample collection, transportation and lab processing, results in low positive culture dermatophyte yield. In this study, we have compared the standard method (Protocol A) with modified sample processing protocol (Protocol B), developed by our department. This modification was based on the core concept of collection, inoculation, starting incubation and transportation of dermatophyte sample, at patient’s point of care. Materials and Methods: A total of 200 clinical isolates of dermatophytes, were subjected to two different sample processing protocols. Standard method was Protocol A and laboratory developed method was labelled as Protocol B. Protocol B, included a small (7ml) transparent plastic tube with special culture media. These tubes were inoculated with sample at patient’s point of care and same tube were utilized as transportation media. Results: Samples processed as per modified protocol (Protocol B), demonstrated positive dermatophyte culture yield in 160 out of 200 samples, whereas figures were 80 out of 200 for samples processed as per standard protocol (Protocol A). Difference in positive dermatophyte culture yields, were statistically significant. The contamination rates of dermatophyte culture by saprophytic fungus and bacteria, was measured, 6% for Protocol A and 1% for Protocol B. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that a simple, economical modification in the procedure for dermatophyte sample processing by the laboratory, has led to a significant increase the positive dermatophyte culture yield with reduced secondary contamination rates.