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The fungal community of six sand samples from Saudi Arabia and Jordan deserts was characterized by culture-independent analysis via next generation sequencing of the 18S rRNA genes and by culture-dependent methods followed by sequencing of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. By 18S sequencing were identified from 163 to 507 OTUs per sample, with a percentage of fungi ranging from 3.5% to 82.7%. The identified fungal Phyla were Ascomycota, Basal fungi, and Basidiomycota and the most abundant detected classes were Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycetes, and Sordariomycetes. A total of 11 colonies of filamentous fungi were isolated and cultured from six samples, and the ITS sequencing pointed toward five different species of the class Sordariomycetes, belonging to genera Fusarium (F. redolens, F. solani, F. equiseti), Chaetomium (C. madrasense), and Albifimbria (A. terrestris). The results of this study show an unexpectedly large fungal biodiversity in the Middle East desert sand and their possible role and implications on human health., (© 2018 The Authors. MicrobiologyOpen published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Seven high-risk clones of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREF) belonging to clonal complex 17 were identified using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) among clinical isolates from Saudi Arabia. Among these isolates, a new hospital-associated sequence type (ST795), VanB(2)-type teicoplanin-resistant strain was detected. Its unusual phenotype resulted from a new combination of mutations in the ddl, vanS and vanW genes, which confirmed the trend of evolution in VanB-type resistance. Furthermore, characteristics of adaptation and persistence in the hospital environment of ST795 were emphasised by the presence of genes and clusters recognised to be specific for hospital-associated VREF., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. and the International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.)

Although viruses that belong to the coronavirus family are known since the 1930s, they only gained public health attention when they were discovered to be the causative agent of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in China in 2002-2003. On 22 September 2012, the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Saudi Arabia announced the detection of what was described as a "rare pattern" of coronavirus respiratory infection in three individuals, two Saudi citizens and one person from the Gulf Region. Neither Saudi citizen survived the infection. Molecular analysis of the isolates showed that the virus belongs to the genus beta-coronavirus. It is not known if the new isolates are circulating in the population or has recently diverged. The emergence of these novel isolates that resulted in fatal human infection ascertains that health authorities all over the world must be vigilant for the possibility of new global pandemics due to novel viral infection.

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is a major cause of liver diseases worldwide, undergoes genetic variation during the course of infection. The aim of this study was to examine sequence variations within the HVR1 region of HCV genotype 4 in infected Saudi patients treated with a combination therapy of interferon-α and ribavirin., Methodology: cDNA of the HVR1 region of HVC-4 from one responder and one non-responder patients was generated, cloned and sequenced. Ten clones were randomly selected and analyzed for changes in nucleotide and amino acid sequences before the start of treatment, and subsequently three and six months after the start of the therapy course., Results: Based on nucleotide and amino acid sequence variations, the HVR1 region is highly sequence variable. In both the responder and the non-responder patients, amino acid sequence variations were observed and a clear distinction between patients was evident. The amino acid changes after the treatment course were different in the responder compared to the non-responder subject. Five amino acids (residues 364 to 367, 381 and 409) were unique in the non-responder patient., Conclusion: Considerable amino acid variations were observed in the HVR1 region in both responder and non-responder patients. These findings could have implications for the development of an HCV vaccine as well as treatment protocols for HCV infections.