Bacterial Pathogens and Antibiotic Resistance in Bloodstream Infections in Tunisia: A 13-Year Trend Analysis.

The antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance network has been monitoring bloodstream bacterial pathogens and their resistance since 1999 in Tunisia. We report the long-term trends in the distribution of bloodstream bacterial pathogens and their resistance patterns from this surveillance database. We analyzed antibiotic resistance rates in 11 tertiary teaching hospital laboratories under the AMR surveillance network during 2011-2023, focusing on six priority bacterial pathogens, using the Cochrane-Armitage test for trend analysis.

Rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis by PCR IS6110 from blood in the central region of Tunisia.

Tuberculosis remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Microscopy and culture still the references of Tuberculosis diagnosis. Microscopy has a low sensitivity, specificity and culture is time consuming.

Antimicrobial activity of essential oil against colistin-resistant gram-negative bacteria.

In the current study, we evaluated the antimicrobial activity of Blume essential oil (Cinn-EO) against a group of thirteen clinical colistin-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, including , , and . The GCMS analysis showed that cinnamaldehyde was the major compound (94.29%) of the Cinn-EO.

Factors influencing bacterial colonization of double J ureteral stents: a prospective study.

Background: To investigate the microorganisms responsible for double J stent (DJS) colonization, bacteriuria, and the drug susceptibility of the isolates. We also tried to determine factors associated with stent colonization, such as indwelling time, sex, age, and comorbidities.

Materials And Methods: This study is a prospective analysis of patients following DJS ablation.

Synergistic activity of essential oil and cefotaxime against ESBL-producing .

The objective of the current study was to evaluate the interaction between Tunisian essential oil (EO) and cefotaxime against Extended-Spectrum Beta-lactamases (ESBLs) producing hospital strains. GC-MS revealed that the major component of EO was found to be carvacrol (69.28%).

Analysis of Pathogens of Urinary Tract Infections Associated with Indwelling Double-J Stents and Their Susceptibility to .

Ureteral double-J stents are frequently used to prevent urinary obstruction. They can develop bacterial colonization and encrustation, which leads to persistent infections that seldom respond to antibiotic treatment. Thus, the goal of this study was to evaluate the local spectrum of bacterial pathogens and their susceptibility to natural compounds.

Human herpesvirus-8 infection in Tunisian adult acute leukemia patients.

Background: Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) has been linked to the development of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)and multiple other hematologic malignant disorders. However, the role of HHV-8 in acute leukemia patients is unknown.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of HHV-8 in Tunisian acute leukemia patients and in healthy blood donors.

Pooling Nasopharyngeal Swab Specimens to Improve Testing Capacity for SARS-CoV-2 by Real-Time RT-PCR.

Background: The detection of SARS-CoV-2 using qRT-PCR with the pooling of samples can reduce workload and costs especially when the prevalence rate of COVID-19 in a population is low. To analyse the effect of pooling samples on the sensitivity of RT-qPCR for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection, we compared the cycle threshold (Ct) values of pools of 5 and 10 that tested positive with Ct values of individual samples that tested positive in that pool. Twenty positive nasopharyngeal (NP) specimens with low to high viral load were selected and pooled individually with four and nine negative NP.

Cytomegalovirus Glycoprotein Polymorphisms and Increasing Viral Load in Non-Transplant Patients with Hematological Malignancies Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Prospective Observational Study.

Introduction: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) predisposes to several clinical complications and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients, including patients with hematological malignancies (HM). The present study was carried out to determine the distribution of CMV glycoprotein B, N, and O (gB, gN, and gO) genotypes and their potential effect on its viral load and on clinical outcomes in a cohort of Tunisian non-hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients with HM undergoing chemotherapy.

Methods: CMV viral load was evaluated by real-time quantitative PCR.

Co-infections of human herpesviruses (CMV, HHV-6, HHV-7 and EBV) in non-transplant acute leukemia patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Background: Human herpesviruses (HHVs) remain latent after primary infection and can be reactivated in response to immunosuppression and chemotherapy. Little is known about their incidence, potential relationships, risk factors and clinical impact in non-transplant leukemia patients. This study investigated prospectively incidence, risk factors, clinical impact and possible association of HHVs-(1-7) infections in patients with newly diagnosed acute leukemia.

Aeromonas spp. Human Infection: Retrospective Study in the region of Sousse, 2011 - 2015.

Objective: To present the clinical and bacteriological characteristics of human Aeromonas infections in the central region of Tunisia from January 2011 to September 2015.

Methods: Retrospective study concerning all Aeromonas spp strains isolated at our laboratory during a period of 5 years (2011-2015). Following data were collected: gender, age, hospital department, co-morbidities, site of infection, date, the Aeromonas species and susceptibility phenotype.

Glutaraldehyde test for the rapid diagnosis of pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis in an area with high tuberculosis incidence.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The primary method for controlling TB is the rapid and accurate identification of infected individuals. Immune response exploitation represents one of the main methods used for early TB diagnosis; however, few studies have reported that whole blood originating from TB-infected patients gels faster in the presence of aldehyde than blood originating from healthy subjects, which is the focus of the current study.

Serotype distribution and antimicrobial resistance of invasive and noninvasive pneumococcal isolates in Tunisia.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have not yet been introduced into the national program for childhood vaccination in Tunisia. The aim of this 7-year study was to obtain local data about serotype distribution and antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae. A total of 203 isolates of culture confirmed that S.

Comparison of LED and conventional fluorescence microscopy for detection of acid-fast bacilli in an area with high tuberculosis incidence.

The objective of the study is to compare the performance of conventional fluorescence microscopy (CFM) and light-emitting diode (LED) fluorescence microscopy (FM) for detection of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) in clinical samples. We included AFB smears, stained using the auramine O method and blindly examined with both CFM and LED-FM. Culture results were used as reference for evaluating the reliability of the FM.

[Evaluation of chromogenic medium Uriselect4 in urine culture].

We evaluated the performance and the cost of chromogenic medium Uriselect4 agar with regard to the standard medium for the detection and identification of urinary tract pathogens. A total of 503 clinical urine specimens containing leucocytes greater or equal to 104/mL were analysed prospectively, in parallel by two different persons on blood agar (GS) and Uriselect4 according to the manufacturers' instructions. Of the 503 urine specimens tested, 210 gave a positive culture on Uriselect4 versus 181 on GS.

Evaluation of an immunochromatographic assay for rapid identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in clinical isolates.

Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) remains slow. Over the years, several new technologies have been proposed to accelerate and simplify the detection of MTC. In this context, we evaluated an immunochromatographic assay (ICA) (BIO-LINE SD Ag MPT64 TB) for rapid identification of MTC, based on detection of a specific MPT64 antigen of MTC.

Evaluation of the diagnostic value of measuring IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies to mycobacterial A60 antigen in active tuberculosis.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of detection of serum immunoglobulin A (IgA), IgG, and IgM antibodies raised against the mycobacterial A60 antigen for the diagnosis and discrimination of active tuberculosis (TB) from other pulmonary diseases. Three commercially available ELISA kits (IgA, IgG, and IgM) (ANDA Biologicals, Strasbourg, France) were evaluated simultaneously in 246 serum samples from 3 groups of patients: group I, 171 patients with active TB (128 pulmonary TB and 43 extrapulmonary TB); group II, 73 patients with pulmonary non-TB diseases; and group III, 2 leprosies patients. The sensitivities of tests ranged from 31.

Rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum by Patho-TB kit in comparison with direct microscopy and culture.

The usefulness of a new rapid diagnostic test (Patho-TB) using antibodies specific to mycobacterial antigens was evaluated for the rapid discrimination between pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and non-TB pulmonary diseases on sputa. One hundred sputa collected from 79 active TB patients and from 21 patients with non-TB pulmonary diseases (asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) were enrolled into the study and tested for the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Ziehl-Neelsen smear, Patho-TB kit, and Löwenstein-Jensen culture. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the Patho-TB test were 95%, 100%, 100%, and 84%, respectively.

[Clinical, epidemiologic and bacteriological characteristics of urinary tract infections due to Staphylococcus saprophyticus in the central part of Tunisia].

Aim: We assess the clinical, epidemiologic and bacteriological aspects of urinary tract infections due to S. saprophyticus through a sample collected in the central part of Tunisia.

Methods: Retrospective study, related to 92 strains of S.