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Background: β-Lactam antibiotics have been broadly used for the treatment of Acinetobacter baumannii infections, resulting in development of β-lactam inactivating β-lactamases. Here, we described antibiotic resistance rate, prevalence of β-lactamase-encoding genes, and clonal relationships of A. baumannii strains isolated from children referred to Children's Medical Center in Tehran, Iran, during 2019-2020., Methods: A total of 60 non-replicate A. baumannii isolates were recovered from clinical specimens of pediatric patients. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done by the disc diffusion method. Colistin susceptibility of isolates was performed by the broth microdilution method. β-lactamase-encoding genes were characterized by PCR. The presence of ISAba1 element upstream of the several oxacillinase genes was also checked. Genetic relatedness of isolates was determined by using random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) typing., Results: The antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed that 83.3% of A. baumannii isolates were MDR, and 40% XDR. Both MDR and XDR A. baumannii isolates were susceptible to colistin. The frequency of bla OXA-51-like , bla OXA-23-like , bla TEM , bla OXA-24-like , bla PER , bla SHV , bla CTX-M , bla OXA-58-like , and bla IMP was 100, 93.33, 60, 36.67, 28.33, 8.33, 5, 3.33, and 1.67%, respectively. Coexistence of ISAba1/bla OXA-23-like and ISAba1/bla OXA-51-like was observed in 65% and 85% of isolates, respectively. RAPD analysis revealed 4 common types and 2 single types of A. baumannii isolates., Conclusions: The multiple clones harboring bla OXA-23-like , ISAba1-bla OXA-51-like , and ISAba1-bla OXA-23-like were responsible for the spread of A. baumannii isolates in our clinical wards. Dissemination of the well-established clones is worrisome and would become therapeutic challenges due to the possible transferring genetic elements associated with resistance., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: Canids are definitive hosts of Echinococcus multilocularis and Echinococcus granulosus. This study aimed to survey these two Echinococcus species in canids of North-Khorasan Province, northeastern Iran, using morphological criteria and genetic characterization of mitochondrial DNA., Methods: The carcasses of 106 canids, namely 61 jackals (Canis aureus), 23 foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 19 dogs (Canis familiaris) and three wolves (Canis lupus) were collected from the study area in 2013-2014 and examined for Echinococcus species. Morphological features were assessed by microscopy of adult worms. For molecular characterization, DNA was extracted, mostly from the adult worms but also from eggs. DNA fragments of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1) mitochondrial genes were amplified and sequenced. Sequences were aligned and compared with reference sequences. Intraspecific and interspecific diversity were calculated and phylogenetic analysis was performed., Results: Overall, 9.4% of the canids (eight jackals and two foxes) were found infected with E. multilocularis by molecular methods, of which seven cases were also confirmed using morphological description of the adult worms. Echinococcus granulosus was found in 6.6% of the canines (four dogs, two jackals and one wolf) as determined by both molecular methods and adult cestode morphology. All E. granulosus isolates were identified as the G1 genotype. Comparative sequence analysis indicated 0-0.7% and 0% intraspecific divergence within E. granulosus isolates and 0% and 0-0.2% within E. multilocularis isolates for cox1 and nad1, respectively., Conclusions: This study revealed the presence of E. multilocularis and E. granulosus in canids of North-Khorasan Province of Iran. Jackals were found infected with both E. multilocularis and E. granulosus, but infection with the former species was higher.