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Infections due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are a growing concern for public health resulting in increase in morbidity, length of hospital stay, and cost of treatment. MRSA nasal swab screening may give clinicians additional information for decision of empiric antimicrobial agents. While increasing antibiotic resistance leads to new treatment approaches, bacteriophages are one of the most promising methods for these alternatives. It was aimed to determine the effectiveness of bacteriophages against MRSA isolates. Nasal swab samples were collected from outpatients without any evidence of infection who applied to Hatay, Mersin and Gaziantep family and immigration health centers. A series (35) were isolated from Turkish patients, and G series (64) were isolated from Syrian immigrants. Methicillin resistance was determined phenotypically and genotypically. Also, antibiotic susceptibilities of all isolates were determined against erythromycin, clindamycin, gentamicin, linezolid, rifampicin, and mupirocin. The total antimicrobial resistance rates of isolates were found to be 11%, 28%, 8%, 5%, 16%, 19%, and 29% respectively. The high susceptibility rate against ciprofloxacin (88.8%) was remarkable. The overall susceptibility of MRSA strains to ENKO, INTESTI, PYO, SES, and staphylococcal bacteriophages was 67.7%, 55.5%, 53.5%, 61.6% and 44.4%, respectively. The antibiotic susceptibility rates (except erythromycin) and efficacy of bacteriophages were higher in group A. Considering that high efficacy rates were not achieved in the study and the sensitivity rates of Turkish isolates to all phages were found to be higher than those of Syrian isolates, searching for phages in the geographic regions where the pathogen is common may be helpful to obtain suitable phages for treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The synergistic activity of eravacycline in combination with colistin on Oxacillinase (OXA) producing carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates (CR-Kp) was evaluated in this study. Methods: Minimum inhibitory concentrations of meropenem were determined by the broth microdilution method. All strains screened for carbapenemase activity by PCR. Chequerboard assay and time-kill analysis were used to assess potential synergy. Results: Synergistic activity was found in 40 % of the strains by chequerboard assay. No antagonism was detected. Comparing to colistin alone at subinhibitory concentrations synergistic and bactericidal activity was observed when it combined with eravacycline. A Similar activity was also observed in colistinresistant CR-Kp isolates. Conclusion: Our results indicate that Eravacycline and colistin combination may be a potential therapeutic option for the treatment of CR-Kp infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Francisella tularensis DNA extractions and isolates from the environment and humans were genetically characterized to elucidate environmental sources that cause human tularemia in Turkey. Extensive genetic diversity consistent with genotypes from human outbreaks was identified in environmental samples and confirmed water as a source of human tularemia in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Group A rotaviruses are the most common causative agent of acute gastroenteritis among children less than 5 years of age throughout the world. This sentinel surveillance study was aimed to obtain baseline data on the rotavirus G and P genotypes across Turkey before the introduction of a universal rotavirus vaccination program. Methods: Rotavirus antigen-positive samples were collected from 2102 children less than 5 years of age who attended hospitals participating in the Turkish Rotavirus Surveillance Network. Rotavirus antigen was detected in the laboratories of participating hospitals by commercial serological tests such as latex agglutination, immunochromatographic test or enzyme immunoassay. Rotavirus G and P genotypes were determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using consensus primers detecting the VP7 and VP4 genes, followed by semi-nested type-specific multiplex PCR. Results: RT-PCR found rotavirus RNA in 1644 (78.2%) of the samples tested. The highest rate of rotavirus positivity (38.7%) was observed among children in the 13 to 24 month age group, followed by children in the age group of 25 to 36 months (28.3%). A total of eight different G types, six different P types, and 42 different G–P combinations were obtained. Four common G types (G1, G2, G3, and G9) and two common P types (P[8] and P[4]) accounted for 95.1% and 98.8% of the strains, respectively. G9P[8] was the most common G/P combination found in 40.5% of the strains followed by G1P[8] (21.6%), G2P[8] (9.3%), G2P[4] (6.5%), G3P[8] (3.5%), and finally, G4P[8] (3.4%). These six common genotypes included 83.7% of the strains tested in this study. The rate of uncommon genotypes was 14%. Conclusion: The majority of the strains analyzed belonged to the G1–G4 and G9 genotypes, suggesting high coverage of current rotavirus vaccines. This study also demonstrates a dramatic increase in G9 genotype across the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of both promoter and intron polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter ( 5HTT) gene on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) development. For this purpose, two polymorphisms of the 5-HTT gene, which are found in the promoter ( 5-HTT gene-linked polymorphic region) and second intron (variable number of tandem repeats) of the gene, were analyzed in 100 patients who were admitted to the Emergency Department after a mild physical trauma. None of the 5-HTT polymorphisms studied have an effect on PTSD development after a mild physical injury, but having L allele for 5-HTT gene-linked polymorphic region may cause milder hyperarousal symptoms in those patients who have developed PTSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]