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Water scarcity has evolved into a pressing global issue, significantly impacting numerous regions worldwide. The use of treated wastewater stands out as a promising solution to this problem. However, the proliferation of various contaminants, primarily Antimicrobial Resistance Genes (ARGs), poses a significant challenge to its safe and sustainable use. In this study, we assessed the composition and abundance of 373 ARGs, corresponding to 31 different classes of antibiotics, in six wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in Agadir city of Morocco. Influent and effluent samples were collected during the months of February and July in 2020, in addition to samples from the Atlantic Ocean. In total, 223 ARGs were uncovered, highlighting in particular resistance to aminoglycoside, macrolide lincosamide, beta-lactamase, chloramphenicol, sulfonamide, tetracycline, and other antibiotics. The mechanisms of action of these ARGs were mainly antibiotic inactivation, antibiotic target alteration, efflux pump and cellular protection. Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were detected at high levels their co-occurrence with ARGs highlights their involvement in the acquisition and transmission of ARGs in microbial communities through horizontal gene transfer. While many wastewater treatment methods effectively reduce a large proportion of gene material and pathogens, a substantial fraction of ARGs and other contaminants persist in treated wastewater. This persistence poses potential risks to both human health and the environment, warranting the need of more effective treatment strategies., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The emergence of infectious diseases, particularly those caused by respiratory pathogens like COVID-19 and influenza viruses, poses a significant threat to public health, especially in the context of climate change. Vulnerable variants and major pathogenicities are appearing, leading to a wide range of illnesses and increased morbidity. Wastewater genomic surveillance represents a cost-effective and a crucial tool for tracking infectious diseases, particularly in regions where clinical testing resources might be limited or inadequate. However, there are numerous limitations that need to be addressed in order to enhance its effectiveness for monitoring a wide range of pathogens. The current study uses this approach for the first time in Morocco to monitor the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A, B and RSV virus infections during the third wave of COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant. The virome was concentrated from wastewater collected from two sewersheds of two cities, Agadir and Inezgane, using the the polyethylene glycol (PEG)/NaCl method. All 26 samples from both cities exhibited positive results for SARS-CoV-2, indicating varying viral loads. In the case of the Influenza A virus, four samples tested positive in Inezgane. However, no detection of Influenza B or RSV was observed in any of the samples. The estimated SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA copy numbers observed were then used to estimate the number of infected individuals using the SEIR model. The estimated number of cases correlates positively with the number of reported cases. Next Generation Sequencing showed that samples contain the following two variants: BA.1 and BA.2 that have been detected in clinical samples. In the case of Influenza A, clinical samples revealed a mild presence of the influenza virus subtype A(H3N2). This study demonstrates the effectiveness and feasibility of wastewater genomic surveillance in monitoring pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 in Morocco. This approach can become an even more powerful tool for monitoring and predicting the spread of infectious diseases by addressing several key considerations. These include enhancing data collection methods, making environmental corrections for factors affecting RNA stability in wastewater, and refining mathematical models to improve their accuracy in predicting the number of infected cases. Incorporating statistical and machine learning models can further enhance the precision of these predictions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Since early 2020, several SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) continue to emerge, evading waning antibody mediated immunity produced by the current Spike-alone based COVID-19 vaccines. This caused a prolonged and persistent COVID-19 pandemic that is going to enter its fifth year. Thus, the need remains for innovative next generation vaccines that would incorporate protective Spike-derived B-cell epitopes that resist immune evasion. Towards that goal, in this study we ( i ) Screened the sequences of Spike among many VOCs and identified conserved and non-conserved linear B-cell epitopes; ( ii ) Compared titers and neutralization antibodies specific to these conserved and non-conserved B-cell epitopes from serum of symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients that were exposed to multiple VOCs across the 5 - year COVID-19 pandemic, and ( iii ) Compared protective efficacy of conserved versus non-conserved B-cell epitopes against the most pathogenic Delta variant in a "humanized" ACE-2/HLA transgenic mouse model. We found robust conserved B-cell epitope-specific antibody titers and neutralization in sera from asymptomatic COVID-19 patients. In contrast, sera from symptomatic patients contained weaker antibody responses specific to conserved B-cell epitopes. A multi-epitope COVID-19 vaccine that incorporated the conserved B-cell epitopes, but not the non-conserved B-cell epitopes, significantly protected the ACE2/HLA transgenic mice against infection and COVID-19 like symptoms caused by the Delta variant. These findings underscore the importance of conserved B-cell epitopes in generating robust protective immunity against severe COVID-19 symptoms caused by various VOCs, providing valuable insights for the development of broad-spectrum next generation Coronavirus vaccines capable of conferring cross-variant protective immunity., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: Studies of this report were supported by Public Health Service Research grants AI158060, AI150091, AI143348, AI147499, AI143326, AI138764, AI124911, and AI110902 from the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to LBM and by R43AI174383 to TechImmune, LLC. LBM has an equity interest in TechImmune, LLC., a company that may potentially benefit from the research results and serves on the company’s Scientific Advisory Board. LBM’s relationship with TechImmune, LLC., has been reviewed and approved by the University of California, Irvine in accordance with its conflict-of-interest policies.

Green synthesis is one of the fastest and best ways for ecofriendly nanoparticle synthesis. This study aims to investigate the use of the green microalgae Parachlorella kesseleri and Cyclotella spp. for the biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). This work focuses on optimizing various parameters necessary for the production and stability of AgNPs. The nanoparticle formation was confirmed by UV-Visible analysis, which revealed the surface plasmon resonance band at 420 nm. The characterization of the AgNPs was performed using UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (SEM-EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The antimicrobial properties of these bioactive AgNPs were also tested, showing excellent antibacterial activity against six bacterial strains, Escherichia coli , multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli , Bacillus clausii , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Staphylococcus aureus , and Salmonella typhi . The biosynthesis of AgNPs from living cultures of microalgae has remarkable antibacterial properties. Other studies are underway in our laboratory to clarify the mechanism of the biosynthesis of these nanoparticles, and their action on bacteria.

Introduction: The aim of our study was to evaluate the concordance between the two antifungal susceptibility testing of Candida sp. isolates using agar diffusion method: Neo-Sensitabs(®) tablets and Bio-Rad(®) disks., Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study conducted in the Laboratory of Parasitology and Mycology of the Mohammed V military teaching hospital from February to August 2012. Upon receiving blood cultures and peripheral sites samples, the identification of Candida isolates performed using routine phenotypic standard tests and the realization of the antifungal susceptibility was carried out on Neo-sensitabs(®) tablets and Bio-Rad(®) disks., Results: A total of 38 Candida strains were isolated: 15 C. albicans (39%), 13 C. glabrata (34%), 5 C. tropicalis (13%), 4 C. krusei (11%) and 1 C. dubliniensis (3%). There were no significant difference (P>0.05) in susceptibility rate between both methods for all antifungal agents tested except for 5-fluorocytosine. The concordance percentage between two methods was 100% for amphotericin B, 97.4% for fluconazole, 94.7% for voriconazole and 73% for 5-fluorocytosine., Conclusion: Both methods are easy to perform, rapid and cost effective. Our results showed the best agreement between the two methods for testing the susceptibility of Candida isolates to amphotericin B, fluconazole and voriconazole while for the 5-fluorocytosine, the concordance rate was low., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Intestinal parasitic infections are among the most widespread of human infections in developing countries, and children are the most vulnerable. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of protozoa and intestinal helminthes, as well as the risk factors of intestinal parasites in schoolchildren in Salé city, Morocco. This is a study of incidence and prevalence conducted prospectively over a period of five months in schoolchildren in Salé city. The collection of stool was performed over three days (j1, j3, j5). In addition, adhesive cellophane tape slide evaluation was performed on day 7 for all students included in this work. During the study period, we included 123 students. Seventy-six children (61.7%) were infected by intestinal parasites. The age group 12-14 years is by far the most affected. Protozoa were found in 57.7% (N = 71) of children examined. Amoebae family parasites were predominant. Helminths were present in 26% (N = 32) of the schoolchildren. Forty-five (36.6%) children were poly-parasitized. This work shows that the prevalence of intestinal parasitism is quite high among primary schoolchildren in Salé city. Several parasite species are found. This finding is explained by unhealthy living conditions and poor hygiene, predisposing to endemicity and perpetuation of the transmission. The impact on health is not negligible especially when compounded by malnutrition. The best way to fight this scourge is prevention and awareness.

We report a case of severe keratitis due to Fusarium solani in a young man in the Sahara in Morocco where the climate is arid. This patient reported had a grain of sand in his right eye for a week after a sandstorm. On admission he had a corneal abscess. Despite rapid diagnosis and initiation of treatment with available antifungal drugs: amphotericin B and natamycin eye drops, the prognosis worsened and led to the enucleation of the right eye. Faced with a suspected eye infection after a microtrauma caused by grains of sand carried by a sandstorm, it is important to take biological samples to search for fungal infections among other. It is also important to have new triazole antifungal drugs available to treat ocular mycosis rapidly and effectively., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Mucormycosis is the third among deep fungal opportunistic infections after candidiasis and aspergillosis. It is a rare fungal infection in children, but often fatal, which occurs in immunocompromised patients. It is caused by fungi belonging to the order of mucorales. It causes extensive damage and decaying soft parts. The authors report the case of a sinonasal mucormycosis with fatal outcome in a child suffering from hemophagocytic syndrome., Report: PL, aged 23 months, resulting from non-consanguineous parents, hospitalized for management of hemophagocytic syndrome lasting for 2 months suspected on clinical and biological data. This diagnosis was confirmed on histology. The etiological diagnosis was negative. A broad-spectrum antibiotics and corticosteroids was introduced. A month later, the patient developed necrotic lesions in the nose and facing the right maxillary sinus. CT scan of facial mass objectived ethmoïdomaxillary bilateral sinusitis. The mycological examination of a nasal swab showed the presence of non-compartmentalized hyphae, culture on Sabouraud chloramphenicol medium without actidione at 37°C isolated Absidia corymbifera. Treatment with amphotericin B was initiated but not tolerated. The negative trend was rapidly leading to death., Conclusion: Rhinocerebral mucormycosis is a rare fungal infection in children, we must know how to keep it in mind. The mycological examination and/or histology of a local levy allows rapid diagnosis. Treatment should be initiated urgently to improve the prognosis., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)