The impact of hepatitis C viremia status on lung functions in chronic hepatitis c patients

Background: Previous trials have investigated the effect of hepatitis C on lung functions; however, the role of viral load levels is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of HCV viremia status on lung functions.Methods: This study was in 60 patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Patients were classified into three groups (non-viremic, low-viremic and high-viremic) based on serum HCV RNA levels. Spirometric parameters (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC) and the proportion of patients with spirometric abnormalities were compared between three groups.Results: High-viremic and low-viremic patients showed a significantly higher prevalance of spirometric abnormality than observed in non-viremic patients (p=0.02). Moreover, there was a significant moderate correlation between viremia level and the percentage of spirometric abnormalities (Cramer’s U value=0.452, p=0.002). High-viremic patients were 14.2 times more likely to exhibiting pulmonary dysfunction than non-viremic patients. Additionally, spirometric parameters FEV1 and FVC were significantly reduced in high-viremic and low-viremic patients compared to those in non-viremic patients (p=0.013 and p<0.001respectively).Conclusion: These results indicate that persistent HCV infection may be associated with reduced pulmonary functions, especially in patients with high viremia levels. Therefore, these patients should be carefully monitored for lung function.Keywords: Chronic hepatitis C infection, viremia, lung function tests

The Role of Honey and Propolis in the Treatment of Infected Wounds

Honey is defined as the natural substance produced by Apis mellifera bees from plant nectar, from secretions of the living parts of plants, or from the excretions of plant sucking insects feeding on the living parts of plants.1,2 Honeybees collect, transform, and combine this with specific substances of their own, and then store it and leave it in the honeycomb to ripen and mature. This natural product is generally composed of a complex mixture of carbohydrates and other less common substances, such as organic acids, amino acids, proteins, minerals, vitamins, lipids, aroma compounds, flavonoids, pigments, waxes, pollen grains, several enzymes and other phytochemicals.3 5 However, the specific composition depends on many factors, such as the nectar composition of the source plant, the species of bee, the climate, environmental and seasonal conditions, agricultural practices and treatment of honey during extraction and storage.6-9 As a natural, unprocessed and easily digested food, honey plays an important role in the human diet, and is also used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.10 Modern science has studied the medical significance of honeys in healing wounds and burns,11 oncology care,12 as well as its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The impact of hepatitis C viremia status on lung functions in chronic hepatitis c patients

Background: Previous trials have investigated the effect of hepatitis C on lung functions; however, the role of viral load levels is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of HCV viremia status on lung functions. Methods: This study was in 60 patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Patients were classified into three groups (non-viremic, low-viremic and high-viremic) based on serum HCV RNA levels. Spirometric parameters (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC) and the proportion of patients with spirometric abnormalities were compared between three groups. Results: High-viremic and low-viremic patients showed a significantly higher prevalance of spirometric abnormality than observed in non-viremic patients (p=0.02). Moreover, there was a significant moderate correlation between viremia level and the percentage of spirometric abnormalities (Cramer\u2019s U value=0.452, p=0.002). High-viremic patients were 14.2 times more likely to exhibiting pulmonary dysfunction than non-viremic patients. Additionally, spirometric parameters FEV1 and FVC were significantly reduced in high-viremic and low-viremic patients compared to those in non-viremic patients (p=0.013 and p<0.001 respectively). Conclusion: These results indicate that persistent HCV infection may be associated with reduced pulmonary functions, especially in patients with high viremia levels. Therefore, these patients should be carefully monitored for lung function. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i2.21 Cite as: Bal T, Onlen Y, Babayigit C, Yumer Y, Sahin SI. The impact of hepatitis C viremia status on lung functions in hronic hepatitis C patients. Afri Health Sci.2019;19(2): 1988-1992. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i2.2

Comparison of milk microbiota between healthy and mastitic cows

Mammary gland infections occur due to bacterial changes in the mammary tissue. Studies conducted in recent years have reported variations in the most common bacteria differ according to geographical locations. California mastitis test (CMT), somatic cell count (SCC), and aerobic colony count (ACC) analyses were performed on approximately 50 mL of hygienically collected raw milk samples. Raw milk was also subjected to conventional bacteriological isolation and identification. Bacterial diversity and rates in raw milk were compared through metagenome analysis. Two samples, one from healthy milk and another from subclinical milk with mastitis, were independently tested to determine whether there were differences in the percentages (%) of bacterial phylum and genera detected as a result of metagenome analysis. As a result of the conventional isolation and identification of raw milk, EscherichiaShigella, Acinetobacter, Vibrio, Streptococcus, Pseudomonas, Lactococcus, Glutamicibacter and Bacillus genera, and Enterobacteriaceae family were frequently detected, respectively. As a result of metagenome analysis, the following phyla were detected in healthy raw milk: Firmicutes and Proteobacteria (7/7), Bacteroidota (6/7), and Actinobacteriota (4/7). In raw milk with subclinical mastitis, the detected phyla were Firmicutes and Proteobacteria (27/29), Actinobacteriota (11/29), and Bacteroidota (10/29). As a result of the statistical analysis, the frequency of Bacteriodata in healthy milk samples, as well as Enhydrobacter, Enterobacteriaceae, Paenibacillus, Macrococcus, Spingobacterium, and Others, were significantly higher than the incidence in milk samples with subclinical mastitis. The only exception was observed in Escherichia-Shigella genera, where the opposite situation was evident. As a result of metagenome studies conducted on the raw milk of animals with both healthy and subclinical mastitis, significant differences were detected in some phyla and genera. The findings of our study will shed light on mastitis treatment studies by improving the microbiota.Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit of Kimath;rimath;kkkale University [2021/121]Acknowledgment This work was supported by Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit of K & imath;r & imath;kkkale University (project number: 2021/121)

Determination of Subtypes, Serogroups, And Serotypes, Virulence, and/ or Toxigenic Properties of Escherichia coli Isolated From Cattle, Sheep, and Goat Feces by Multiplex PCR

In the study, rectal swabs taken from 300 ruminant animals including cattle (100), sheep (100), and goats (100) were inoculated into Mac Conkey Agar and incubated for 18 h at 37degree celsius. Escherichia coli isolates were confirmed by biochemical tests and the BBL Crystal rapid diagnosis system. O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145, and O157 serotypes by PCR test following DNA isolation; ETEC (elt, Stla); EPEC (eaeA,bfpA); STEC (stx1, stx2, eaeA); EHEC (EhlyA); EAEC (CVD432) tested for virulence and/or toxigenic genes. As a result of the isolation studies, 50 E. coli from cattle feces, 92 from sheep feces, and 80 from goat feces were isolated and identified. Apart from the first 5 serotypes frequently seen in studies (O157, O26, O103, O111, and O145), higher rates were found in serogroups such as O45 and O121, and subtypes such as STECs (stx1 and stx2), EPEC (eaeA and bfpA) and EAEC (CVD432) types compared to other studies. The EAEC (CVD432) subtype was found to be very high in this study. It has been determined that serotypes and subtypes detected at high rates in cattle, sheep, and goat feces in our region may cause an increase in the incidence of some critical food-borne infections in humans. Within the framework of the concept of one health, taking the necessary precautions is important for public health

In a real-life setting, direct-acting antivirals to people who inject drugs with chronic hepatitis c in Turkey

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) should be treated in order to eliminate hepatitis C virus in the world. The aim of this study was to compare direct-acting antivirals treatment of hepatitis C virus for PWID and non-PWID in a real-life setting. Methods: We performed a prospective, non-randomized, observational multicenter cohort study in 37 centers. All patients treated with direct-acting antivirals between April 1, 2017, and February 28, 2019, were included. In total, 2713 patients were included in the study among which 250 were PWID and 2463 were non-PWID. Besides patient characteristics, treatment response, follow-up, and side effects of treatment were also analyzed. Results: Genotype 1a and 3 were more prevalent in PWID-infected patients (20.4% vs 9.9% and 46.8% vs 5.3%). The number of naïve patients was higher in PWID (90.7% vs 60.0%), while the number of patients with cirrhosis was higher in non-PWID (14.1% vs 3.7%). The loss of follow-up was higher in PWID (29.6% vs 13.6%). There was no difference in the sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after treatment (98.3% vs 98.4%), but the end of treatment response was lower in PWID (96.2% vs 99.0%). In addition, the rate of treatment completion was lower in PWID (74% vs 94.4%). Conclusion: Direct-acting antivirals were safe and effective in PWID. Primary measures should be taken to prevent the loss of follow-up and poor adherence in PWID patients in order to achieve World Health Organization’s objective of eliminating viral hepatitis

Incidence and predictors of direct-acting antiviral treatment failure in Turkish patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1b infection

Evaluation of the incidence and predictors of failure of direct-acting antiviral treatment for hepatitis C virus genotype 1b patients is important. Our retrospective cohort study assessed 172 Turkish patients who had received a full course of such treatment and could be checked for sustained virologic response. The overall treatment failure rate was 2.9% (5/172), all of whom relapsed. In three of these cases with sequencing data available, all had NS5A resistance-associated substitution. Multivariate analysis revealed that a 1 mg/dL increase in pre-treatment total bilirubin level was associated with a sevenfold increased likelihood of treatment failure. The baseline level of total bilirubin was the only significant independent predictor of direct-acting antiviral treatment failure. </jats:p

Distribution of emm, superantigen and other virulence genotypes and detection of phylogenetic relationships in group A streptococcal isolates

Group A streptococci are important pathogens with various virulence factors, such as M protein, superantigens, hemolysins, deoxyribonuclease, and proteases. The aims of this study are to investigate the detection of emm genotypes and other virulence genes, such as SAgs, DNase, protease, antibiotic resistance, and phylogenetic relationships in GAS strains isolated from clinical samples. Test strains were obtained from Cukurova University Balcali Hospital and regional hospitals in Adana province. The M proteins were detected by sequence analysis of emm genes. SAgs and other virulence gene profiles were determined using the Multiplex-PCR method. The antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates was performed by the disc diffusion method and evaluated according to CLSI criteria. The PFGE method was used to determine the clonal relationship between the strains. The emm gene was positive in 86 isolates. The most common emm genotypes were emm28 (22%), emm1 (18.6%), emm12 (13.9%), and emm3 (11.6%). Also, the most common virulence genes were speG (58.1%), speC (56.9%), sdaB (53.4%), and mac (53.4%). The rates of resistance to erythromycin, clindamycin, levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin and telithromycin were 19.8%, 16.3%, 4.7%, 3.5%, and 3.5%, respectively. As a result, additional regional studies on the detection and prevalence of GAS virulence factors in Turkey are required. We believe that this study will provide valuable information for epidemiological studies on emm sequences, Sags, and other virulence factors of Streptococcus pyogenes in Turkey