The prevalence of  Francisella  spp. in different natural surface water samples collected from northwest of Iran

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Abstract

Background and Objectives:

Francisella tularensis has a wide distribution in northern hemisphere of the world. Up to now, there was little information about the Francisella spp. situation in the environmental samples in Iran. In this study we aimed to determine the prevalence of Francisella spp. in the environmental samples in northwest of Iran.

Materials and Methods:

A total of 237 natural water samples from ponds, rivers, lakes, springs and other surface waters from north western provinces of Iran (Kurdistan and Western Azerbaijan) were collected from September to November 2015. All samples were cultured for Francisella and other bacterial species and Real Time TaqMan PCR was performed on the concentrated and DNA extracted samples. For detection of the presence of bacterial DNA in the samples, two different targets in the genome of Francisella, ISFtu2 and fopA were used.

Results:

Among the tested surface water samples, 40 (17.09%; 95% CI: 12.67–22.33%) and 12 (5.13%; 95%CI: 2.81–8.56%) samples were positive for ISFtu2 and fopA respectively. None of them was positive in culture.

Conclusion:

The prevalence of Francisella spp. in the environmental samples in the west of Iran is high and it is comparable with Turkey, Iran's neighboring country. Use of higher copy number genes or IS like ISFtu2 could improve the detection of this organism in the environmental samples.

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Most cited references 29

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Current Perspectives on Viable but Non-Culturable (VBNC) Pathogenic Bacteria

Thandavarayan Ramamurthy, Amit Ghosh, Gururaja Pazhani … (2014)

Under stress conditions, many species of bacteria enter into starvation mode of metabolism or a physiologically viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state. Several human pathogenic bacteria have been reported to enter into the VBNC state under these conditions. The pathogenic VBNC bacteria cannot be grown using conventional culture media, although they continue to retain their viability and express their virulence. Though there have been debates on the VBNC concept in the past, several molecular studies have shown that not only can the VBNC state be induced under in vitro conditions but also that resuscitation from this state is possible under appropriate conditions. The most notable advance in resuscitating VBNC bacteria is the discovery of resuscitation-promoting factor (Rpf), which is a bacterial cytokines found in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms. VBNC state is a survival strategy adopted by the bacteria, which has important implication in several fields, including environmental monitoring, food technology, and infectious disease management; and hence it is important to investigate the association of bacterial pathogens under VBNC state and the water/foodborne outbreaks. In this review, we describe various aspects of VBNC bacteria, which include their proteomic and genetic profiles under the VBNC state, conditions of resuscitation, methods of detection, antibiotic resistance, and observations on Rpf.

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The status of tularemia in Europe in a one-health context: a review.

G Hestvik, E Warns-Petit, L Smith … (2015)

The bacterium Francisella tularensis causes the vector-borne zoonotic disease tularemia, and may infect a wide range of hosts including invertebrates, mammals and birds. Transmission to humans occurs through contact with infected animals or contaminated environments, or through arthropod vectors. Tularemia has a broad geographical distribution, and there is evidence which suggests local emergence or re-emergence of this disease in Europe. This review was developed to provide an update on the geographical distribution of F. tularensis in humans, wildlife, domestic animals and vector species, to identify potential public health hazards, and to characterize the epidemiology of tularemia in Europe. Information was collated on cases in humans, domestic animals and wildlife, and on reports of detection of the bacterium in arthropod vectors, from 38 European countries for the period 1992-2012. Multiple international databases on human and animal health were consulted, as well as published reports in the literature. Tularemia is a disease of complex epidemiology that is challenging to understand and therefore to control. Many aspects of this disease remain poorly understood. Better understanding is needed of the epidemiological role of animal hosts, potential vectors, mechanisms of maintenance in the different ecosystems, and routes of transmission of the disease.

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Francisella tularensis type A strains cause the rapid encystment of Acanthamoeba castellanii and survive in amoebal cysts for three weeks postinfection.

Richard Robison, Amy Rasley, Tarek El-Metwally … (2009)

Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of the zoonotic disease tularemia, has recently gained increased attention due to the emergence of tularemia in geographical areas where the disease has been previously unknown and to the organism's potential as a bioterrorism agent. Although F. tularensis has an extremely broad host range, the bacterial reservoir in nature has not been conclusively identified. In this study, the ability of virulent F. tularensis strains to survive and replicate in the amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii was explored. We observe that A. castellanii trophozoites rapidly encyst in response to F. tularensis infection and that this rapid encystment phenotype is caused by factor(s) secreted by amoebae and/or F. tularensis into the coculture medium. Further, our results indicate that in contrast to the live vaccine strain LVS, virulent strains of F. tularensis can survive in A. castellanii cysts for at least 3 weeks postinfection and that the induction of rapid amoeba encystment is essential for survival. In addition, our data indicate that pathogenic F. tularensis strains block lysosomal fusion in A. castellanii. Taken together, these data suggest that interactions between F. tularensis strains and amoebae may play a role in the environmental persistence of F. tularensis.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Iran J Microbiol

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Iran J Microbiol

Journal ID (publisher-id): IJM

Journal ID (pmc): IJM

Title: Iranian Journal of Microbiology

Publisher: Tehran University of Medical Sciences

ISSN (Print): 2008-3289

ISSN (Electronic): 2008-4447

Publication date (Print): February 2019

Volume: 11

Issue: 1

Pages: 19-24

Affiliations

[1 ]Department of Microbiology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran

[2 ]National Reference Laboratory for Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Akanlu, Kabudar Ahang, Hamadan, Iran

[3 ]Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran

[4 ]Department of Bacteriology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

[5 ]Department of Medical Microbiology, Kocaeli University Medical School, Kocaeli, Turkey

Author notes

[* ]Corresponding author: Ehsan Mostafavi, Ph.D, National Reference Laboratory for Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Akanlu, Kabudar Ahang, Hamadan, Iran; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. Tel: +98-21-6411212, Fax: +98-21-89776655, Email: mostafavi@ 123456pasteur.ac.ir

Article

Publisher ID: ijm-11-19

PMC ID: 6462269

PubMed ID: 30996827

SO-VID: e495d100-ac75-4b59-b174-c04aab59ec4b

License:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The prevalence of Francisella spp. in different natural surface water samples collected from northwest of Iran

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Abstract

Background and Objectives:

Materials and Methods:

Results:

Conclusion:

Related collections

Bacterial vaginosis and biofilm

Most cited references 29

Current Perspectives on Viable but Non-Culturable (VBNC) Pathogenic Bacteria

The status of tularemia in Europe in a one-health context: a review.

Francisella tularensis type A strains cause the rapid encystment of Acanthamoeba castellanii and survive in amoebal cysts for three weeks postinfection.

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