Massoud Hajia
Abstract
Today, molecular diagnostic methods have an unignorably position in diagnostic laboratories. It is estimated that 60-70% of all decisions depend on molecular detection methods. However, many Iranian physicians still do not fully trust the newly developed protocols in particular. If necessary, they request ...
Read More
Today, molecular diagnostic methods have an unignorably position in diagnostic laboratories. It is estimated that 60-70% of all decisions depend on molecular detection methods. However, many Iranian physicians still do not fully trust the newly developed protocols in particular. If necessary, they request some confirmatory tests available to ensure a final decision.The purpose of this short study is to investigate the causes of uncertainty in these tests and current challenges in Iranian clinical centers. Therefore, all the effective cases from receiving the samples to publishing the patient reports are looked up. Significant parameters including pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical parameters are studied in this study. The reason for some of the current limitations is discussed based on released documents and reported periodic inspections according to published standard criteria. Based on the results, the need for fundamental revisions in some parts of the relevant bodies is clearly identified.
Massoud Hajia
Abstract
The prevalence of brucellosis has increased in recent years in some regions in Iran, particularly in the western, northeastern, and some central areas. Undoubtedly, the main causes of brucellosis are the lack of vaccination coverage in livestock and distribution of dairy products. In addition, attention ...
Read More
The prevalence of brucellosis has increased in recent years in some regions in Iran, particularly in the western, northeastern, and some central areas. Undoubtedly, the main causes of brucellosis are the lack of vaccination coverage in livestock and distribution of dairy products. In addition, attention must be paid to the diagnostic difficulties associated with slow growth specificity and use of inefficient methods, which lead to the delayed diagnosis of the disease. All the available diagnostic procedures are currently used for the diagnosis of brucellosis, including isolation on culture media, serological procedures, and molecular techniques. Among these methods, isolation on culture media has shown the minimum efficiency, especially in blood specimens, which are the most commonly requested specimens in disease diagnosis. The influential factors could be the use of unapproved commercial kits, applying outdated diagnostic procedures, and using unqualified specimens in hospitalized patients. The present study aimed to enhance the current status of the isolation method, especially in the endemic areas for brucellosis. Several parameters were assessed in this regard, including the role of laboratory conditions, sampling quality, type of culture media, and various isolation methods, in order to review the studies aiming to increase the efficiency of this method.
Massoud Hajia
Abstract
Human brucellosis and its prevalence are directly correlated with the presence of animal infections in various regions. The infections associated with Brucella species have been reported in numerous animals. The incidence of these infections has recently increased in the endemic regions in Iran, including ...
Read More
Human brucellosis and its prevalence are directly correlated with the presence of animal infections in various regions. The infections associated with Brucella species have been reported in numerous animals. The incidence of these infections has recently increased in the endemic regions in Iran, including Zagros areas and the northeast of the country. Therefore, there have been difficulties in the diagnosis of the infectious cases since there is the possibility of encountering resistant strains. Furthermore, the spread of immerging strains is among the challenges that rapidly affect animals, even vaccinated livestock. Antibiotic-resistant strains are important in livestock since drug resistance may rapidly spread to humans. Therefore, continuous investigation is required in the case of drug resistance or immerging strains. Conventional typing procedures are no longer used due to several difficulties. Identifying the type of Brucella could provide adequate data on epidemiological surveillance, investigation of the infection outbreaks, tracking the diseases, identifying the immerging types, reviewing the success rate of eradicating the infections, and examining the outbreaks in the endemic areas. The reports regarding the application of molecular typing methods are still under development. Extensive research has been focused on the typing of brucellosis, proposing controversial results and aiming to improve the applied procedures. This review aimed to assess the ability of the introduced molecular methods and their status for identification and typing procedures. In addition, the frequency and distribution of Brucella species and subspecies have been investigated.