Acta Microbiologica Bulgarica

79-89

Authors: Bratchkova, A., Kroumov, A. D.

Algae have increasingly gained public importance as a sustainable resource in biomedicine (Lee and Mooney, 2012). In this respect, scientometric studies (Garfield, 2006; Konur, 2020) have a lot to offer to enable the key stakeholders to inform themselves about algal science, technology, and medicine, and the underlying research areas in the fields of algal research, especially in biomedicine (Konur, 2016). The eco¬logical and biological diversity of algae allow the synthesis of a variety of biologically active substances that can offer hope for the treatment of many diseases. This review aims to emphasize microalgae action against infectious and parasitic diseases, including cancer diseases. The reason to discuss these illnesses together is the way they affect the macroorganism as a host. Therefore, it is crucially important to highlight and to consider the challenging features and activities of microalgae, such as antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antialgal, antiprotozoal, antiparasitic and antican¬cer activities. Studies to date have revealed the enormous ecological role of microalgae and the potential for deriving a variety of metabolites from them to be used for treatment of people, animals and other living beings.

96-99

Authors: Boyanova, L., Gergova, G., Hadzhiyski, P., Kandilarov, N., Markovska, R., Mitov, I.

Global prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection is changing with socio-economic and household improvements, and the increasing use of eradication regimens. The aim of the present study was to assess the current H. pylori infection rates among various groups of untreated Bulgarian adults by gender, presence or absence of associated diseases, residence in the capital city versus residence elsewhere, and healthcare-related profession versus other professions. Totally, 373 adults untreated for H. pylori infection were evaluated by 13C urea breath test (13C UBT), among them 69 asymptomatic subjects, 33 ulcer patients, 221 non-ulcer patients, and 50 subjects prior to diagnosis. Overall, 57.9% of the adults were H. pylori positive, ranging from 47.8% in asymptomatic subjects to ≥66.0% in ulcer patients and symptomatic undiagnosed subjects. Gender of the patients, residence in the capital and healthcare-associated profession were not linked to significantly different positivity rates when compared to the other subgroups. In conclusion, 13C UBT was used as the most accu-rate non-invasive test for H. pylori diagnostics since it detects not past but only present active infections and reflects the status not only of several biopsy specimens but of the whole gastric mucosa. The present results showed that H. pylori infection is still a frequent infection and an important healthcare problem in our country, affecting from one-half to two-thirds of all subgroups of Bulgarian untreated adults.

104-107

Authors: Saadoun, I., I. Al Tayyar, A., Elnasser, Z.

This study aimed to determine the density of airborne coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) in the indoor environment of the operating theatres (OT), intensive care units (ICU) and nursery intensive care units (NICU) at King Abdullah University Hospital, Jordan, and to evaluate their susceptibility to different antibiotics. Different identified gram-positive bacteria were previously isolated from 34 air samples of the different wards studied. CoNS were the most prevalent of all gram positives in OT (1.65%), ICU (3.78%) and NICU (1.55%) with Staphylococcus saprophyticus being the most frequent (>65%) among the isolated species. CoNS were the most commonly isolated gram-positive cocci in ICU and showed a remarkable resistance to novobiocin but high susceptibility to ciprofloxa.