Elahe Sadat Hajimiri1, Morteza Masoomi2, Nayereh Ebrahimzadeh3, Abolfazl Fateh4, Alireza Hadizadeh Tasbiti3, Fatemeh Rahimi Jamnani4, Ahmad Reza Bahrmand3, Mehdi Mirsaeidi5, Farzam Vaziri6, Seyed Davar Siadat4. 1. Department of Mycobacteriology and Pulmonary Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran; Department of Microbiology, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran. 2. Department of Mycobacteriology and Pulmonary Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran; Department of Microbiology, Qom Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qom, Iran. 3. Department of Mycobacteriology and Pulmonary Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. 4. Department of Mycobacteriology and Pulmonary Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran; Microbiology Research Center (MRC), Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. 5. Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA. 6. Department of Mycobacteriology and Pulmonary Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran; Microbiology Research Center (MRC), Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: farzam_vaziri@yahoo.com.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Recent studies using molecular epidemiological techniques have demonstrated mixed infection with multiple strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis especially in countries with high tuberculosis (TB) burden. We aimed to determine the prevalence of mixed infection among patients with TB in the capital of Iran as a country with moderate incidence rate. METHODS: Samples were collected randomly from January 2011 to December 2013 in Tehran, capital of Iran. A total of 75 M. tuberculosis isolates were genotyped by 24 loci mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number tandem repeat typing (MIRU-VNTR) for screening the mixed infection. RESULTS: Twenty patients (20/75) were identified with mixed infection, and the estimated rate of mixed infection was 26.6%. Thirteen out of the 24 loci were able to detect the mixed infection in our study. CONCLUSIONS: Mixed infections occur at high prevalence among studied Iranian TB patients. Further research is inevitable to evaluate the association of mixed infection and disease progression and treatment.
OBJECTIVE: Recent studies using molecular epidemiological techniques have demonstrated mixed infection with multiple strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis especially in countries with high tuberculosis (TB) burden. We aimed to determine the prevalence of mixed infection among patients with TB in the capital of Iran as a country with moderate incidence rate. METHODS: Samples were collected randomly from January 2011 to December 2013 in Tehran, capital of Iran. A total of 75 M. tuberculosis isolates were genotyped by 24 loci mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number tandem repeat typing (MIRU-VNTR) for screening the mixed infection. RESULTS: Twenty patients (20/75) were identified with mixed infection, and the estimated rate of mixed infection was 26.6%. Thirteen out of the 24 loci were able to detect the mixed infection in our study. CONCLUSIONS: Mixed infections occur at high prevalence among studied Iranian TB patients. Further research is inevitable to evaluate the association of mixed infection and disease progression and treatment.