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Aim; Lamiaceae family are compromised the majority of species of the family have essence that was used for the nutritional, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industry; This study aimed to investigate the chemical composition of essential oil from aerial parts of BoIIota aucheri with its antibacterial and antifungal activity of it compared with fluconazole. Materials & Methods This clinical laboratory research was conducted on the flowering aerial parts of B. aucheri that were collected during 2020-2021 from Zagros mountains in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, Iran. The essential oil of this plant was tested for antibacterial and antifungal properties and compared with fluconazole. The chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed by GC/MS (Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry) and the antifungal activity of the plant essential oil was compared with fluconazole. Finding; Generally, (P-Caryophyllene was the main compound of B. aucheri essential oil. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the essential oil of the fruit of B. aucheri and fluconazole were 0.078 µl/ml and 1 µl/ml for Candida albicans, 0.078 µl/ml and 0.5 µl/ml for C.glabrata, and 0.078 µl/ml and 0;178 µl/ml for C. parapsilosis, respectively; Conclusion The essential oil of B. aucheri could be used as a bactericidal and fungal alternative to antibiotics against microorganisms; Antifungal activity of B. aucheri essential oil is stronger than fluconazole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mucormycosis is an invasive fungal infection that has shown a surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. A comprehensive assessment of COVID-19 associated mucormycosis (CAM) research is lacking. Methods: We searched Elsevier's Scopus database for publications on CAM using a pre-defined search strategy. Data on publications numbers, citation metrics, contributing countries, institutions, authors, journals, and the most cited articles were analyzed using select bibliometric tools. Results: Published CAM research included 253 publications. These were cited 1560 times, averaging 6.1 citations per paper. Only 33 (13%) were funded. Original articles (55.7%) and reviews (17.7%) constituted the major share of global output. The studied age groups included adults (22.5%), middle-aged (19.3%), elderly (10.6%), and adolescents (0.8%). Studies on treatment accounted for the largest share (58.5%), followed by clinical studies (28.0%), complications (17.3%), risk factors (11.7%), epidemiology (7.9%), and pathophysiology (3.1%). The participating countries were 64; India, the USA, and Egypt led in productivity, whereas France, the USA, and Iran were more impactful. Of the 84 organizations, the leading organizations were PGIMER-Chandigarh, AIIMS-New Delhi and Cairo University, Egypt. A. Chakrabarti, V. Muthu, and S.M. Rudramurthy were the most productive of 160 participating authors. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, Indian Journal of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, and Journal of Fungi were the most active journals that published CAM research. Conclusion: Research on CAM has primarily been conducted in middleincome countries and is low on quality. High-income countries need to collaborate with lowand middle-income countries for a sustainable and universal CAM research impact. There is also a need to focus on research gaps such as pathophysiology and epidemiology in future CAM research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mycetoma is a chronic granulomatous disease caused by true fungi (eumycetoma) or filamentous bacteria (actinomycetoma). It usually involves the subcutaneous tissue after a traumatic inoculation of the causative organism. We reviewed retrospectively 13 patients with mycetoma. Materials and Methods: This study reports the etiologic agents and distribution of mycetoma in 35 cases from 1994 to2009 in Iran. The diagnostic of mycetoma were confirmed by histopathology and direct preparation, culture techniques, and histopathology of granules and surgical biopsies, radiological examination of the affected site. Results: Mycetoma was identified in 35 patients of 168 suspected patients (20.8%). They occurred in 22 male and 13 females. Their ages ranged from 14 to 80 years. The duration of the disease ranged from two months to 38 years. Sixteen patients had eumycetoma, and 19 patients had actinomycetoma, one of them had mix infections by eumycetoma and actinomycetoma. The majority of the patients were from central and states in south and north of Iran. The feet were most affected site (65.7%) of the cases, followed by hands (25.7%), face (2.8%), and trunk (2.8%), and buttock (2.8%). Most patients (68.5%) were more than 40 year‑old. The male to female ratio was 5:3. The disease was abundant among housewife in urban and farmer in rural area of Iran. The most common prevalent mycetoma agents in this study were Actinomyces sp. There was a history of risk factors in 28.6% of patients in this study. Conclusion: Mycetoma occasionally occurs particularly in the South, Central, and North of Iran, and seen most often in persons, who live in hot, humid climates. If there are risk factors for invasive fungal infections traumatic inoculation with any fungus may result in rapid local spread and systemic disease, often with fatal outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the last few years the number of cases of nondermatophytic onychomycosis has greatly increased. Aim: To evaluate the incidence, the clinic characteristics, and predisposing factors of nondermatophytic onychomycosis. Materials and Methods: All collected specimens were analyzed by direct microscopy and culture. Microscopic examination of these specimens was carried out in potassium hydroxide solution (20%) with dimethyl sulfoxide (4%). These specimens were cultured on sabouraud's glucose agar with chloramphenicol and sabouraud's glucose agar with chloramphenicol and cycloheximide. Cultures were incubated at 25°C for up to 28 days and checked twice weekly for growth. Results: Nondermatophytic onychomycosis were 11.5% of all onychomycosis. We found that Aspergillus spp. were the more responsible etiologic agents of nondermatophytic onychomycosis, resulting in a total of 28 patients (59.6%). In our study other causative agents were Acremonium spp. (17%), Fusarium spp. (12.7%), Geotrichum spp. (4.2%), Trichosporun spp., (4.2%) and Scopulariopsis spp (2.1%). In our patients moulds onychomycosis developed mainly in toenails (74.5%). Conclusion: Knowing the exact pathogen is important and has implications in therapy and prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryptococcal meningitis (CM), as a life-threatening opportunistic infection, often is among cases with cell-mediated immunodeficiencies, such as AIDS, hematologic malignancies, and solid organ transplant recipients. Cryptococcal meningitis in healthy individuals is uncommon, and its detection in immunocompetent cases may be tricky because the presentation is generally more indolent than the traditional meningitis presentation, leading to late diagnosis and potential sequels. We present a CM case in an immunocompetent Iranian male patient who was treated successfully.

Four major clades of Candida auris have been described, and all infections have clustered in these 4 clades. We identified an isolate representative of a potential fifth clade, separated from the other clades by >200,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms, in a patient in Iran who had never traveled outside the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Superficial and cutaneous fungal infections are common in tropical areas. The aim of this study was to provide a basic database of superficial and cutaneous mycoses and the most common etiological agents among patients., Methods: Between 2015 and 2019, a total of 1807 patients suspected of superficial and cutaneous mycosis referring to the mycology laboratory of Shiraz medical school, Fars, Iran were evaluated. Specimens were taken from the patients' affected area, and clinical samples were examined by direct microscopy and culture. The epidemiological profile of the patients was collected., Results: A total of 750 patients were confirmed with mycoses. Positive samples totaled 750 cases consisting of the nail (373/49.7%), skin (323/43%), head (47/6.26%), and mucosal membrane (4/0.5%). The yeasts group included 304 Candida spp. (70.3%), 123 Malassezia spp. (28.47%), and 5 Rhodotorula spp. (1.1%). The filamentous fungi were distributed as 34.8% dermatophytes and 7.5% non-dermatophyte. The clinical types of dermatophytosis were tinea unguium (110/261), tinea capitis (50/261), tinea pedis (48/261), tinea corporis (37/261), and tinea cruris (16/261). Non-dermatophyte molds included A. flavus 17, A. niger 4, Aspergillus spp. 15, Penicillium. 10, Fusarium 6, Mucor 2, Stemphylium 1, and Alternaria 1., Conclusion: This study provides useful data for the study trends of superficial and cutaneous fungal infections in a specific area. The mycological data confirmed higher incidence of candidiasis (mainly onychomycosis) and dermatophytosis in patients affected by fungal pathogens, which helped to better understand the epidemiological aspects of these mycoses., (© 2021 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emerged in Wuhan, China, in late 2109, and has rapidly spread around the world. Until May 25, 2020, there were 133,521 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 7359 deaths in Iran. The role of opportunistic fungal infections in the morbidity and mortality of COVID-19 patients remains less defined. Based on our multicenter experiences, we categorized the risks of opportunistic fungal infections in COVID-19 patients in Iran. The COVID-19 patients at high risk included those with acute respiratory distress syndrome, in intensive care units, receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics, immunosuppressants or corticosteroid, and supported by invasive or noninvasive ventilation. The patients were most likely to develop pulmonary aspergillosis, oral candidiasis, or pneumocystis pneumonia. Most diagnoses were probable as the accurate diagnosis of opportunistic fungal infections remains challenging in resource-poor settings. We summarize the clinical signs and laboratory tests needed to confirm candidiasis, aspergillosis, or pneumocystosis in our COVID-19 patients.