Reza Hosseini Doust*-Maryam Akhgari**&dagger, Hanie Ketabi***
*MD, Microbiology Department, Islamic Azad University, Pharmaceutical Sciences (IAUPS), Tehran, Iran
**MD,Legal Medicine Research Center, Legal Medicine Organization, Tehran, Iran
***MSc Student, Islamic Azad University, Pharmaceutical Sciences (IAUPS), Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Background: Bacterial infections are a common risk associated with illicit drug using. Infectious diseases such as endocarditis, osteoarthritis and bacteraemia are common among injecting drug abusers. Bacillus species are among the most important bacterial species. Two Bacillus species, Bacillus anthraces (causes anthrax) and bacillus cereus (causes food borne illness) are categorized to be important in medicine. Therefore it is necessary to survey illicit drugs for the presence of bacteria. The objective of the present study was to identify bacillus species in illicit drugs.
Methods: Twenty four samples of illicit drugs, including heroin, opium, amphetamine and methamphetamine were collected randomly from Forensic Toxicology Laboratory, Tehran, Iran. Standard culture, biochemical and bacteriological methods were used for isolation, characterization and determination of bacillus species.
Findings: All of the samples showed positive results for cultural and confirmatory bacteriological tests. All of the samples were contaminated with bacillus species.
Conclusion: Considering illicit drugs are produced and distributed in unsterile and unhygienic conditions, therefore, more experimental analysis also informing the medical society and would be beneficial for educating victims of abuse and their family.
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