Kashi Peyvand, Pakdel Farzaneh, Barhaghi Mohammad Hossein Soroush, Rezaee Mohammad Ahangarzadeh, Taghizadeh Sepehr, Sadeghi Javid, Yousefi Mehdi, Ghotaslou Reza, Asgharzadeh Mohammad, Gholizadeh Pourya, Kafil Hossein Samadi
Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Drug Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Egypt J Med Hum Genet. 2023;24(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s43042-023-00383-4. Epub 2023 Jan 9.
Tuberculosis (TB) is considered one of the most infectious diseases in the world. In this study, we intended to examine the epidemiology of tuberculosis by MIRU-VNTR to define the changes that occur in the transmission of tuberculosis in the region during the COVID-19 era. A total of 120 isolates were collected from sputum samples of patients referred to East Azerbaijan Center TB from December 2020 to August 2021. Demographic information such as age, sex, place of birth, previous TB history, and relevant medical data was collected. The proportion method was performed for drug susceptibility testing, and the PCR-based MIRU-VNTR method was applied to identify molecular epidemiology relationships.
The isolates were collected from 78 male (65%) and 39 female (32.5%) Iranian patients and 3 (2.5%) Azerbaijani patients. Ninety-three distinct patterns were identified including 15 clustered patterns and 36 unique patterns. The largest cluster was composed of seven isolates. Furthermore, one cluster with 5 members, four clusters with 3 members, and nine clusters with 2 members. In MIRU-VNTR typing, 75 clusters belonged to the Tabriz region and just 3 to the Republic of Azerbaijan. All isolates were sensitive to rifampin, isoniazid, and ethambutol.
Results of the current study showed COVID-19 pandemic had a direct effect on the transmission and diagnosis of tuberculosis. Less diagnosis and less clustering can indicate public controls and hygiene, and the use of masks had a direct effect on the transmission and diagnosis of tuberculosis. However, misidentification and less focus on other respiratory infections are expected during the pandemic. Studies on the co-infection of COVID-19 and tuberculosis and the role of mask and sanitization against TB are strongly recommended.
结核病被认为是世界上传染性最强的疾病之一。在本研究中，我们旨在通过多位点可变数目串联重复序列（MIRU-VNTR）分析来研究结核病的流行病学，以确定在新冠疫情时代该地区结核病传播发生的变化。2020年12月至2021年8月期间，从转诊至东阿塞拜疆结核病中心的患者痰液样本中总共收集了120株分离株。收集了年龄、性别、出生地、既往结核病病史等人口统计学信息以及相关医学数据。采用比例法进行药敏试验，并应用基于聚合酶链反应（PCR）的MIRU-VNTR方法来确定分子流行病学关系。
分离株来自78名伊朗男性患者（65%）、39名伊朗女性患者（32.5%）和3名阿塞拜疆患者（2.5%）。共鉴定出93种不同的模式，包括15种聚集模式和36种独特模式。最大的聚集簇由7株分离株组成。此外，有一个由5个成员组成的聚集簇、4个由3个成员组成的聚集簇以及9个由2个成员组成的聚集簇。在MIRU-VNTR分型中，75个聚集簇属于大不里士地区，仅有3个属于阿塞拜疆共和国。所有分离株对利福平、异烟肼和乙胺丁醇均敏感。
本研究结果表明，新冠疫情对结核病的传播和诊断有直接影响。诊断减少和聚集减少可能表明公共防控措施和卫生状况良好，口罩的使用对结核病的传播和诊断有直接影响。然而，在疫情期间预计会出现错误识别以及对其他呼吸道感染的关注减少。强烈建议开展关于新冠病毒与结核病合并感染以及口罩和消毒措施对结核病作用的研究。
