R. Firouzi | Shiraz University (original) (raw)

Papers by R. Firouzi

Journal of Applied Microbiology, 2015

To determine the prevalence of cross-species sharing of Escherichia coli between healthy dogs and... more To determine the prevalence of cross-species sharing of Escherichia coli between healthy dogs and humans living in the same household. Two faecal E. coli isolates from 25 healthy dog-owner pairs and 16 healthy control humans were tested using three fingerprinting methods. The prevalence of within-household sharing of E. coli was 4, 8 and 8% using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, randomly amplified polymorphic DNA and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-PCR analyses respectively. Within-household bacterial sharing was more prevalent than across-household sharing (P < 0·05). According to questionnaire analyses avoiding the dog-owner behaviours such as allowing a dog to kiss or lick the owner's face, sharing people food with dog and feeding it raw meat may decrease the chance of cross-species E. coli sharing. Direct contact between humans and dogs and environmental reservoirs may be important routes for cross-species sharing of bacteria. Good personal hygiene and appropriate veterinary care for pets can minimize this risk. Due to the importance of canine pathogenic E. coli reservoir hypothesis, close contacts between humans and dogs raises public health concerns. Determining the rate of cross-species bacterial sharing and confirm its accuracy by different fingerprinting techniques will help to find ways for reducing the economic impact of E. coli infections. This study support claims that public health concerns regarding the cross-species sharing of E. coli are warranted but this risk is minimal.

Letters in applied microbiology, 2015

A total of 85 Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolates were screened against ceftiofur, oxa... more A total of 85 Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolates were screened against ceftiofur, oxacillin, nitrofurantoin and lincospectin using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method, following CLSI guidelines. Prevalence of virulent factor genes amongst the isolates was determined by PCR, using gene-specific primers against the different virulent factors. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using SPSS software. The prevalence of traT, ompT, Iss, malX and ibeA genes was 47.1%, 38.8%, 20%, 16.5% and 9.4%, respectively. The most prevalent gene in group A and D was traT, whilst in group B2 was Iss. The highest resistance has been shown against oxacillin (98.8%), followed by ceftiofur (77.6%), whilst resistance to lincospectin (2.4%) and nitrofurantoin (12.9%) had the lowest frequencies. Multidrug resistance was shown in 82.35% of the isolates, whilst this study recommend lincospectin and nitrofurantoin as choice drugs for treatment, but more investigation of the bacterial pathogen...

Journal of food protection, 2007

The in vitro effects of plant essential oils (EOs) against pathogenic bacteria are well known, ye... more The in vitro effects of plant essential oils (EOs) against pathogenic bacteria are well known, yet few studies have addressed the effects of these compounds against pathogens associated with ready-to-cook foods. Experiments were conducted to determine the effectiveness of oregano and nutmeg EOs on the growth and survival of Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria monocytogenes in broth culture and in Iranian barbecued chicken. Ready-to-cook Iranian barbecued chicken was prepared according to the common practice with 1, 2, and 3 microl/g of oregano and nutmeg EOs. The test and control (without EOs) samples were inoculated with Y. enterocolitica and L. monocytogenes to a final concentration of 6 to 7 log CFU/g and stored at 3, 8, and 20 degrees C. Microorganisms were counted just before and at 24, 48, and 72 h after storage based on growth on Yersinia selective agar supplemented with cefsulodine, igrasan, and novobiocin and on Listeria selective agar supplemented with nalidixic acid and ...

The effects of essential oils (EOs) of oregano and nutmeg with and without commercial emulsifier/... more The effects of essential oils (EOs) of oregano and nutmeg with and without commercial emulsifier/stabilizer compound (E/S) on the microbial quality of ready-to-cook barbecued chicken were evaluated. Barbecued chicken was traditionally prepared. 3 µL/g and 10 mg/g of EOs and/or E/S were then added to the barbecued chicken, respectively. The samples were stored at 3°C for 144 h, 8 and 20ºC for 72 h, accordingly, prior to being subjected to enumeration of aerobic mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria at different storage times. No inhibitory effects were detected in the presence of nutmeg EO together with and/or without E/S on the psychrotrophic and aerobic mesophilic counts (AMC) in barbecued chicken. Whereas, AMC and psychrotrophic counts in the samples treated with oregano EO, stored at 8 and 20°C were not dramatically changed. Even though, in the case of treatment with oregano EO and E/S, stored at 3, 8 and 20°C AMC and psychrotrophic counts were significantly affected. Oregano EO was an active antibacterial component, used in combination with commercial E/S, compared to its single use. It can be suggested that using E/S and EO in combination is more likely able to emulsify antimicrobial EO substances and thus increase the efficacy of such substances.

Journal of Applied Animal Research, 2000

Firouzi, R. and Golabadi, M.B. 2000. Prevalence of Listeria organisms in abattoir workers in Shir... more Firouzi, R. and Golabadi, M.B. 2000. Prevalence of Listeria organisms in abattoir workers in Shiraz, Iran. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 17: 297–300.To assess the presence of different Listeria organisms in persons working in slaughter houses, a total of 130 faecal specimens of workers from different slaughter houses in Shiraz, Iran were obtained for the isolation of Listeria organisms by the

Journal of Applied Animal Research, 1999

Firouzi, R. and Motamedifar, M. 1999. Effect of heat and cold stress on humoral immunity in mice.... more Firouzi, R. and Motamedifar, M. 1999. Effect of heat and cold stress on humoral immunity in mice. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 16: 75–80.To evaluate the influence of low and high environmental temperatures on primary response in humoral immunity in mice, four experiments using 108 Swiss outbred mice were conducted. Test mice were immunized with an intraperitoneal injection of 5% suspension of SRBC and control group ones were injected with both SRBC and normal saline. Different groups of mice were exposed to heat or cold, as stressor either before or after immunisation. Stress regimens included four periods of 45 minutes exposure to heat (40±2C) or cold (4±2C) with 15 minutes intervals every day for one week. Antibody titers were determined using a microtiter hemagglutination assay. The results demonstrated a significant enhancement of antibody titer in mice which were exposed to cold stress before (P<0.01) and after (P<0.05) immunisation as well as the heat stress before immunisation (P<0.05), while heat stress after immunisation decreased antibody titer significantly (P<0.05).

Journal of Applied Animal Research, 2003

Firouzi, R., Shekarforoush, S.S. and Hajikhani, F. 2003. Effect of microwave radiation on surviva... more Firouzi, R., Shekarforoush, S.S. and Hajikhani, F. 2003. Effect of microwave radiation on survival of some bacterial species. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 24: 207–211.The bactericidal effect of microwave irradiation on different species of bacteria like Bacillus subtilis, Clostridium perfringens, E. coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria monocytogenes type 4a, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis has been studied. Two different volumes

Food Control, 2007

Traditional Iranian barbecued chicken (TIBC) consists of cubed chicken breast, lemon juice, onion... more Traditional Iranian barbecued chicken (TIBC) consists of cubed chicken breast, lemon juice, onion, saVron, salt, red pepper, vegetable oil and various spices such as oregano and nutmeg with pH value about 5.5. As this product is sometimes consumed under-cooked, there is growing concern that it may pose health hazards to consumers related to pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7. We studied the inXuence of storage temperature and essential oils (EOs) of oregano and nutmeg on the growth and survival of E. coli O157:H7 in ready-to-cook TIBC. Ready-to-cook TIBC was prepared according to the traditional practice using diVerent concentrations of oregano and nutmeg EOs. The TIBC and control samples (TIBC without the EOs) were spiked with E. coli O157:H7 to a Wnal concentration of 6-7 log 10 CFU g ¡1 and stored at 3, 8 and 20°C. E. coli O157:H7 was counted after 0, 24, 48 and 72 h storage using MacConkey sorbitol agar supplemented with ceWxime and tellurite. The EOs of oregano and nutmeg had a bactericidal eVect on E. coli O157:H7 in broth culture with 0.6 and 10 l ml ¡1 concentration, respectively. The log 10 CFU g ¡1 of E. coli O157:H7 count in the spiked samples, containing 1, 2 and 3 l g ¡1 of EOs of oregano and nutmeg that were stored at diVerent temperatures for up to 72 h relative to the control samples did not change. Increasing the storage temperatures from 3°C to 20°C up to 72 h signiWcantly increased the log 10 CFU g ¡1 of E. coli O157:H7 in both experimental and control samples. The results showed that the E. coli O157:H7 had the ability to survive in ready-to-cook TIBC at refrigeration condition (3°C) and multiplied signiWcantly at the higher temperature, e.g. 8°C and the ambient temperature of 20°C. The results from our study showed that contrary to the inhibitory eVect of EOs of oregano and nutmeg against E. coli O157:H7 in broth system, they had no any inhibitory eVect against E. coli O157:H7 in ready-to-cook TIBC.

Comparative Clinical Pathology, 2011

... R. Firouzi & MH Hosseini & Homa Orangi & M. Motamed & Gh. Moazeni ... Protein... more ... R. Firouzi & MH Hosseini & Homa Orangi & M. Motamed & Gh. Moazeni ... Protein profiles of the three strains studied by SDS-PAGE revealed only minor differences with as many as 8, 14, and 10 bands detected in T, F, and L strains, respectively. ...