The increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) highlights the urgent need for alternative therapeutic strategies, particularly those targeting microbial virulence factors like biofilm formation. This study aimed to isolate and identify Streptomyces species with potential antibiofilm activity against clinically relevant biofilm‐producing bacterial pathogens. Actinomycetes were isolated from soil samples, cultured on Gause’s synthetic agar (GSA) and identified through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Clinically isolated pathogenic bacteria, including Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella oxytoca, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Klebsiella pneumoniae , were identified using the VITEK 2 system. The antibiofilm and antibacterial activities of the bioactive compounds extracted from Streptomyces spp. were assessed using the agar plug diffusion method and quantitative biofilm assays with crystal violet staining. Among the isolated Streptomyces strains, Streptomyces albogriseolus was identified as a promising producer of bioactive metabolites. The isolate exhibited 99% similarity to strain NBRC 3709 based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The crude extract at a concentration of 20 mg/mL demonstrated significant antibacterial activity, with inhibition zones of 11.9 mm against K. pneumoniae and 15.1 mm against E. coli . Moreover, the extract significantly reduced biofilm formation in A. baumannii and E. coli . A lower antibiofilm effect was also observed against K. pneumoniae, P. mirabilis, and K. oxytoca , with K. oxytoca exhibiting the weakest biofilm inhibition. In conclusion, secondary metabolites from S. albogriseolus display significant antibiofilm activity against drug‐resistant pathogens, with efficacy varying by bacterial species and extract concentration. These findings underscore the potential of Streptomyces ‐derived metabolites as promising candidates for combating biofilm‐associated infections. Further studies are recommended to explore their mechanism of action and optimize their potential therapeutic application.

Introduction: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic that spread swiftly is now a major global public health issue. Vaccines are currently being distributed in an effort to limit the viral transmission and mortality. The aim of the study was monitoring of both safety and efficacy in determining the overall effectiveness of the vaccine and identifying any potential safety concerns. Material and methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study employing a validated 13-item structured questionnaire divided into two sections was performed between March 2022 and September 2022. Different post-vaccination side effects (SE) according to symptoms severity in terms of age and sex for participants were reported. Additionally, some pertinent serological assays for participants’ post-vaccinations were investigated. Results: A total of 502 participants (male: 262, female: 240) with comorbidity (healthy: 258, morbid: 244) who received two Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine doses were included. Importantly, second dose (D2) vaccination was associated with significantly more SE than single dose (D1) vaccination (p < 0.0001). In D1 vaccination injection site pain (ISP) (45%), followed by equal proportions of headache and fever (40%) were the most common vaccine SE, while in D2 vaccination, ISP (66%) and nausea (57%) were reported. In all, 97% (p < 0.0001) of participants were IgG antibody positive at D2 vaccination. Similarly, serum CR protein level was elevated significantly (p < 0.0001) corresponding to the severity of SE between D1 and D2. Significant differences in IgG concentration were found between D1 and D2 vaccination in different gender and age groups (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: In light of the extensive data from this study, it is evident that mRNA vaccines, particularly the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, have proven to be highly safe and effective in mitigating the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are common causatives of superficial incisional surgical site infection (SSI). The source of the pathogens is still not fully diagnosed whether it is endogenous or exogenous particularly with regard to the extent of its resistance to antibiotics. Therefore, this study is designed to determine the rate of infection, the source of pathogens, and the extent of their resistance to antibiotics. For this purpose, pre-, intra- and post-operative swabs from the nasal and skin of patients undergoing surgeries and samples from the hospital environment have been collected and processed for isolation and identification of staphylococci. Bacterial analysis and antibiotic susceptibility profiles of the isolates are assessed by unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) analysis based on random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) and disc diffusion test for antibiotics susceptibility profile. The microbiological and PCR results indicate that SSIs are found in 113/512 (22.07%), Staphylococcus spp. rated 67/512 (13.09%) of infections. Further analysis indicates that S. aureus, CoNS, and both of them were causes SSI with different rates 41/67 (61.2%), 23/67 (34.3%), and 3/67 (4.5%), respectively. Results of RAPD-PCR for 70 isolates reveal that 52/70 (74.28%) of SSIs are from endogenous source, followed by 10/70 (14.29%) and 8/70 (11.43%) from hospitals acquired and undetermined sources, respectively. Moreover, results of antibiotic susceptibility test reveal that 24/44 (54.5%) of isolates belong to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; from both endogenous and exogenous sources with 13/24 (54.17%) and 11/24 (45.83%), respectively.

The global pandemic Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is a contagious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, it has rapidly resulted in over 20 million confirmed cases and more than three quarter million deaths worldwide in less than 9 months. Due to the rocketed spread of the outbreak, early implementation of restrictions including quarantine, lockdown, isolation, social distancing and community containment was recommended to control the outbreak. Based on, in parallel with other countries, authorities in the Kurdistan Region (KR) of Iraq followed the WHO recommendations on restriction towards the outbreak: including strict measures of quarantine, lockdown and curfew to oppose the spread of the disease. Fortunately, these measures paid off its harvest, as a result of 2 months of measures implementation, COVID-19 confirmed cases crashed to zero for about two weeks and the virus was contained typically across the nationwide lockdown and curfew step. However, premature lifting of measures has put the region under storm of the second spike of the infection resulting in a dramatic increase of new cases. Here, we assessed the KR measures in each step and how they affect the infection rate and the spread of the disease.