[Morphotyping, genotyping and investigation of some virulence factors in different morphotypes of Candida parapsilosis clinical isolates]. / Candida parapsilosis klinik izolatlarinin morfotiplendirilmesi, genotiplendirilmesi ve farkli morfotiplerde bazi virülans faktörlerinin arastirilmasi

In recent years there is an increase in frequency of systemic candidiasis cases caused by Candida parapsilosis. However there isn't any standardized genotyping method to be used in epidemiology of those infections. In this study we aimed to determine utility of morphotyping instead of genotyping to study the epidemiology of 53 C.parapsilosis strains isolated from blood (n= 40) and urine (n= 13) cultures of inpatients at Marmara University Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. The isolates were morphotyped according to their surface and color properties on Sabouraud-triphenyltetrazolium agar (STTZ) and surface characteristics on malt extract agar (MA) media and 10 different subgroups were obtained. In order to genotype the strains, RAPD-PCR (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA-Polymerase Chain Reaction) method was used and three different genotypes were obtained comprising mostly type II (90.6%). One of the putative virulence factors investigated in the isolates was phospholipase activity. Phospholipase production was not detected in any of the strains on egg-yolk agar (pH: 4.2). Esterase activity of the strains on Tween-80 agar was negative except for one. In order to observe acid proteinase activity, bovine serum albumin containing (pH: 5.0) agar was used and in 11.3% of the strains no acid proteinase activity was seen while in 75.5% moderate (+), in 13.2% strong (++) activity was detected. Slime production was investigated in 8% glucose containing Sabouraud broth (SB) medium and 67.9 % of the strains were found to be negative; while 20.7% were weakly (+), 7.5% were moderately (++) and 3.7% were strongly (+++) positive. Hydrophobicity of the strains was evaluated by using hexadecane hydrocarbon adherence assay and one isolate was weakly hydrophobic while the remaining strains were found to be moderately hydrophobic. We could not observe superiority of morphotyping over genotyping. Additionally no property was found to associate with a certain morphotype, in terms of virulence factors.

Helminth parasites found in hedgehogs (Erinaceus concolor) from Turkey.

Hedgehog diseases are becoming important issues for veterinary surgeons due to growing interest in this animal species among pet owners and an increase in cases of rescued hedgehogs requiring veterinary care. A parasitological study was carried out on hedgehogs (Erinaceus concolor) in the Bursa province of Turkey, found dead mainly due to road casualties, to determine their helminth parasite burden. The detected helminths and their prevalences were as follows: Physaloptera clausa (72.2%), Crenosoma striatum (55.5%), Aonchotheca erinacei (55.5%), Hymenolepis erinacei (55.5%), Nephridiorhynchus major (50%) and Eucoleus aerophilus (22.2%). The number of parasites in infected animals varied from 1 to 203. The highest mean intensity of infection was observed with C. striatum, and the lowest was observed with N. major. The mean abundance of different species varied from 0.7 to 41.8, where E. aerophilus and C. striatum had the lowest and highest abundance, respectively. This study represents the first time N. major and E. aerophilus have been reported in hedgehogs in Turkey. The presence of E. aerophilus and its potential role as a zoonotic agent are discussed.

[Ectoparas ites of domestic pigeons (Columba livia domestica) in Bursa province.]. / Bursa yöresindeki evcil güvercinlerin (Columba livia domestica) ektoparazitleri.

A total of 100 domestic pigeons from 10 different districts of Bursa were examined for ectoparasites; 72% of them were found to be infested and 3 species were determined. Goniocotes bidentatus was found in 47% of the pigeons examined, Columbicola columbae in 44% and Menopon gallinae in 1%. Although a higher infestation rate was found in adult pigeons (75.3%) compared to younger pigeons (64.5%), there was no significant difference between the age groups. Also, no statistical differences in the rate of infestation could be found between males (73.3%) and females (70.9%). While the highest infestation rate was observed during the summer months (84%), the lowest infestation rate was observed in spring months (48%).