Distinct seasonal infectious agent profiles in life-history variants of juvenile Fraser River Chinook salmon: An application of high-throughput genomic screening

PubMed Central

Li, Shaorong; Kaukinen, Karia H.; Patterson, David A.; Miller, Kristina M.

2018-01-01

Disease-causing infectious agents are natural components of ecosystems and considered a major selective force driving the evolution of host species. However, knowledge of the presence and abundance of suites of infectious agents in wild populations has been constrained by our ability to easily screen for them. Using salmon as a model, we contrasted seasonal pathogenic infectious agents in life history variants of juvenile Chinook salmon from the Fraser River system (N = 655), British Columbia (BC), through the application of a novel high-throughput quantitative PCR monitoring platform. This included freshwater hatchery origin fish and samples taken at sea between ocean entry in spring and over-winter residence in coastal waters. These variants currently display opposite trends in productivity, with yearling stocks generally in decline and sub-yearling stocks doing comparatively well. We detected the presence of 32 agents, 21 of which were at >1% prevalence. Variants carried a different infectious agent profile in terms of (1) diversity, (2) origin or transmission environment of infectious agents, and (3) prevalence and abundance of individual agents. Differences in profiles tended to reflect differential timing and residence patterns through freshwater, estuarine and marine habitats. Over all seasons, individual salmon carried an average of 3.7 agents. Diversity changed significantly, increasing upon saltwater entrance, increasing through the fall and decreasing slightly in winter. Diversity varied between life history types with yearling individuals carrying 1.3-times more agents on average. Shifts in prevalence and load over time were examined to identify agents with the greatest potential for impact at the stock level; those displaying concurrent decrease in prevalence and load truncation with time. Of those six that had similar patterns in both variants, five reached higher prevalence in yearling fish while only one reached higher prevalence in sub-yearling fish; this pattern was present for an additional five agents in yearling fish only. PMID:29672620

Epidemiology and disease control in everyday beef practice.

PubMed

Larson, R L

2008-08-01

It is important for food animal veterinarians to understand the interaction among animals, pathogens, and the environment, in order to implement herd-specific biosecurity plans. Animal factors such as the number of immunologically protected individuals influence the number of individuals that a potential pathogen is able to infect, as well as the speed of spread through a population. Pathogens differ in their virulence and contagiousness. In addition, pathogens have various methods of transmission that impact how they interact with a host population. A cattle population's environment includes its housing type, animal density, air quality, and exposure to mud or dust and other health antagonists such as parasites and stress; these environmental factors influence the innate immunity of a herd by their impact on immunosuppression. In addition, a herd's environment also dictates the "animal flow" or contact and mixing patterns of potentially infectious and susceptible animals. Biosecurity is the attempt to keep infectious agents away from a herd, state, or country, and to control the spread of infectious agents within a herd. Infectious agents (bacteria, viruses, or parasites) alone are seldom able to cause disease in cattle without contributing factors from other infectious agents and/or the cattle's environment. Therefore to develop biosecurity plans for infectious disease in cattle, veterinarians must consider the pathogen, as well as environmental and animal factors.

Francisella tularensis Molecular Typing Using Differential Insertion Sequence Amplification

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-08-01

16 May 2011 Tularemia is a potentially fatal disease that is caused by the highly infectious and zoonotic pathogen Francisella tularensis. Despite...and characterizations of tularemia source outbreaks. Francisella tularensis is a facultative intracellular bacterium and the causative agent of the...zoonotic disease tularemia ( 10). This Gram-negative microbe is highly infectious, with as few as 10 organisms being capable of causing disease in

Endemic infectious diseases and biological warfare during the Gulf War: a decade of analysis and final concerns.

PubMed

Hyams, K C; Riddle, J; Trump, D H; Graham, J T

2001-11-01

Infectious diseases were one of the first health threats confronted by Coalition troops deployed to the Arabian desert in August 1990. On the basis of experiences in World War II, the major endemic infectious disease risks were thought to be sandfly fever, cutaneous leishmaniasis, diarrheal disease, and malaria. Although there was active surveillance, no case of sandfly fever and few other endemic infectious diseases were identified among over 500,000 U.S., British, and Canadian ground troops. In addition, there was no diagnosis of biological warfare (BW) exposure, and BW agents were not detected in clinical, environmental, or veterinary samples. The most common infectious disease problems were those associated with crowding (acute upper respiratory infections) and reduced levels of sanitation (travelers-type diarrhea). Only one endemic infectious disease has been confirmed as causing chronic health problems: visceral Leishmania tropica infection (viscerotropic leishmaniasis). However, this protozoan infection was diagnosed in only 12 U.S. veterans, and no new cases have been identified during the last 8 years. Infectious diseases were not a serious problem for Gulf War troops because of extensive preventive medicine efforts and favorable weather and geographic factors. Moreover, it is unlikely that an endemic infectious disease or a BW agent could cause chronic health problems and remain undetected over a 10-year period.

Lymph nodes fine needle cytology in the diagnosis of infectious diseases: clinical settings.

PubMed

Natella, Valentina; Cozzolino, Immacolata; Sosa Fernandez, Laura Virginia; Vigliar, Elena

2012-01-01

Lymph node reactive hyperplasia, caused by specific infectious etiologic factors, represents the most frequent cause of enlarged peripheral lymph nodes. The main infectious agents are viruses, pyogenic bacteria, mycobacteria, fungi and protozoa that may determine unspecific or specific pathological entities, such as cat-scratch disease, toxoplasmosis or infectious mononucleosis. Lymph node fine needle cytology (FNC) is a safe, simple, cost-effective and efficient technique that quickly provides information about the cell population and the nature of the process. FNC can also provide suitable material for ancillary techniques, such as flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry, molecular biology and microbiological examinations. This study focuses on the cytological features of benign lymphadenopathy of infectious origin and their possible contribution to the clinical setting definition of corresponding patients.

Critical Factors for Parameterisation of Disease Diagnosis Modelling for Anthrax, Plague and Smallpox

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

infectious mononucleosis , cat-scratch fever, and other cause of acute lymphadenopathy. The primary pneumonic form cannot be easily distinguished from...of an infectious disease. The major objective of this review is to describe the epidemiological and clinical parameters for three biological agents...means of detecting dangerous epidemic outbreaks [1]. There are different approaches to track the propagation of an infectious disease. Information

The human immune system's response to carcinogenic and other infectious agents transmitted by mosquito vectors.

PubMed

Johansson, Olle; Ward, Martin

2017-01-01

It has been hypothesised that mosquitoes [Diptera: Culicidae] may play more of a role in certain cancers than is currently appreciated. Research links 33 infectious agents to cancer, 27 of which have a presence in mosquitoes, and that, in addition, mosquito saliva downregulates the immune system. The objective of this paper is to review the literature on the immune system and cancer-causing infectious agents, particularly those present in mosquitoes, with a view to establishing whether such infectious agents can, in the long run, defeat the immune system or be defeated by it. Many of the viruses, bacteria and parasites recognised by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as carcinogenic and suspected by others as being involved in cancer have evolved numerous complex ways of avoiding, suppressing or altering the immune system's responses. These features, coupled with the multiplicity and variety of serious infectious agents carried by some species of mosquitoes and the adverse effects on the immune system of mosquito saliva, suggest that post-mosquito bite the immune system is likely to be overwhelmed. In such a situation, immunisation strategies offer little chance of cancer prevention, unless a single or limited number of critical infectious agents can be isolated from the 'mosquito' cocktail. If that proves to be impossible cancer prevention will, therefore, if the hypothesis proves to be correct, rest on the twin strategies of environmentally controlling the mosquito population and humans avoiding being bitten. The latter strategy will involve determining the factors that demark those being bitten from those that are not.

Evaluation of bovine abortion cases and tissue suitability for identification of infectious agents in California diagnostic laboratory cases from 2007 to 2012.

PubMed

Clothier, K; Anderson, M

2016-03-15

Establishing a definitive cause of bovine abortion is a challenging problem faced by veterinary practitioners and diagnosticians. Detection of an infectious or noninfectious source for abortion may facilitate interventions that mitigate future fetal loss in the herd. The purposes of this study were to identify the most common causes of bovine abortion in cases submitted to the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System, Davis (CAHFS) from 2007 to 2013 and to determine if detection of infectious pathogens differed with the fetal tissue evaluated. Records of 665 bovine abortion cases of 709 animals were reviewed for pathologic diagnoses, test methods used to identify causative conditions, and which tissues yielded successful identification of infectious agents associated with abortion. Over 58% of abortions were attributed to an infectious cause and 46.9% had an infectious agent identified. The most common infectious conditions were Epizootic Bovine Abortion (EBA) (16.2% of all fetuses), other fetal bacterial infections (14.7% of all fetuses), and Neospora caninum (9.3% of all fetuses.) The bacterium associated with EBA (currently named Pajaroellobacter abortibovis) was most commonly identified by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in lymphoid organs (thymus and spleen); N. caninum IHC was most frequently positive in brain, kidney, and placenta. In cases of pathogenic and opportunistic bacterial infections, abomasal samples yielded a significantly greater proportion of definitive aerobic culture results than lung or liver tissues. Direct fluorescent antibody test results for Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus testing were identical between lung and kidney tissues and nearly identical (96.0%) for Bovine Herpesvirus I. Noninfectious abortive conditions included fetal stress (10.5%), dystocia (3.9%), congenital defects (3.3%), toxicological or mineral problems (1.8%), and death of the cow (1.1%). Just over 20% of the aborted fetuses had no gross or histopathological lesions to explain the abortion. This review highlights the need for submission of critical samples including abomasal contents, lymphoid tissues (thymus, spleen, and lymph nodes), and brain to maximize the diagnosticians' ability to identify causes of abortion. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Maternal deaths due to infectious cause, results from the French confidential enquiry into maternal deaths, 2010-2012].

PubMed

Rigouzzo, A; Tessier, V; Zieleskiewicz, L

2017-12-01

Over the period 2010-2012, maternal mortality from infectious causes accounted for 5% of maternal deaths by direct causes and 16% of maternal deaths by indirect causes. Among the 22 deaths caused by infection occurred during this period, 6 deaths were attributed to direct causes from genital tract origin, confirming thus the decrease in direct maternal deaths by infection during the last ten years. On the contrary, indirect maternal deaths by infection, from extragenital origin, doubled during the same period, with 16 deaths in the last triennium, dominated by winter respiratory infections, particularly influenza: the 2009-2010 influenza A (H1N1) virus pandemic was the leading cause of indirect maternal mortality by infection during the studied period. The main infectious agents involved in maternal deaths from direct causes were Streptococcus A, Escherichia Coli and Clostridium perfringens: these bacterias were responsible for toxic shock syndrome, severe sepsis, secondary in some cases to cellulitis or necrotizing fasciitis. Of the 6 deaths due to direct infection, 4 were considered avoidable because of inadequate management: delayed or missed diagnosis, delayed or inadequate initiation of a specific medical and/or surgical treatment. Of the 16 indirect maternal deaths due to infection causes, the most often involved infectious agents were influenza A (H1N1) virus and Streptococcus pneumonia with induced purpura fulminans: the absence of influenza vaccination during pregnancy, delayed diagnosis and emergency initiation of a specific treatment, were the main contributory factors to these deaths and their avoidability in 70% of the cases analyzed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Infectious prions and proteinopathies.

PubMed

Barron, Rona M

2017-01-02

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are caused by an infectious agent that is thought to consist of only misfolded and aggregated prion protein (PrP). Unlike conventional micro-organisms, the agent spreads and propagates by binding to and converting normal host PrP into the abnormal conformer, increasing the infectious titre. Synthetic prions, composed of refolded fibrillar forms of recombinant PrP (rec-PrP) have been generated to address whether PrP aggregates alone are indeed infectious prions. In several reports, the development of TSE disease has been described following inoculation and passage of rec-PrP fibrils in transgenic mice and hamsters. However in studies described here we show that inoculation of rec-PrP fibrils does not always cause clinical TSE disease or increased infectious titre, but can seed the formation of PrP amyloid plaques in PrP-P101L knock-in transgenic mice (101LL). These data are reminiscent of the "prion-like" spread of misfolded protein in other models of neurodegenerative disease following inoculation of transgenic mice with pre-formed amyloid seeds. Protein misfolding, even when the protein is PrP, does not inevitably lead to the development of an infectious TSE disease. It is possible that most in vivo and in vitro produced misfolded PrP is not infectious and that only a specific subpopulation is associated with infectivity and neurotoxicity.

Emerging and Neglected Infectious Diseases: Insights, Advances, and Challenges

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Infectious diseases are a significant burden on public health and economic stability of societies all over the world. They have for centuries been among the leading causes of death and disability and presented growing challenges to health security and human progress. The threat posed by infectious diseases is further deepened by the continued emergence of new, unrecognized, and old infectious disease epidemics of global impact. Over the past three and half decades at least 30 new infectious agents affecting humans have emerged, most of which are zoonotic and their origins have been shown to correlate significantly with socioeconomic, environmental, and ecological factors. As these factors continue to increase, putting people in increased contact with the disease causing pathogens, there is concern that infectious diseases may continue to present a formidable challenge. Constant awareness and pursuance of effective strategies for controlling infectious diseases and disease emergence thus remain crucial. This review presents current updates on emerging and neglected infectious diseases and highlights the scope, dynamics, and advances in infectious disease management with particular focus on WHO top priority emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) and neglected tropical infectious diseases. PMID:28286767

Emerging and Neglected Infectious Diseases: Insights, Advances, and Challenges.

PubMed

Nii-Trebi, Nicholas Israel

2017-01-01

Infectious diseases are a significant burden on public health and economic stability of societies all over the world. They have for centuries been among the leading causes of death and disability and presented growing challenges to health security and human progress. The threat posed by infectious diseases is further deepened by the continued emergence of new, unrecognized, and old infectious disease epidemics of global impact. Over the past three and half decades at least 30 new infectious agents affecting humans have emerged, most of which are zoonotic and their origins have been shown to correlate significantly with socioeconomic, environmental, and ecological factors. As these factors continue to increase, putting people in increased contact with the disease causing pathogens, there is concern that infectious diseases may continue to present a formidable challenge. Constant awareness and pursuance of effective strategies for controlling infectious diseases and disease emergence thus remain crucial. This review presents current updates on emerging and neglected infectious diseases and highlights the scope, dynamics, and advances in infectious disease management with particular focus on WHO top priority emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) and neglected tropical infectious diseases.

Isolation of an agent causing bilirubinemia and jaundice in raccoons

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kilham, L.; Herman, C.M.

1954-01-01

An infectious agent, which appears to be a virus (RJV) has been isolated from the liver of a wild raccoon which has led to a highly fatal type of disease characterized by conjunctivitis and an elevated serum bilirubin frequently accompanied by jaundice on inoculation of raccoons. Ferrets also appear to be susceptible to infections with this agent.

The kuru infectious agent is a unique geographic isolate distinct from Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and scrapie agents

PubMed Central

Manuelidis, Laura; Chakrabarty, Trisha; Miyazawa, Kohtaro; Nduom, Nana-Aba; Emmerling, Kaitlin

2009-01-01

Human sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (sCJD), endemic sheep scrapie, and epidemic bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are caused by a related group of infectious agents. The new U.K. BSE agent spread to many species, including humans, and clarifying the origin, specificity, virulence, and diversity of these agents is critical, particularly because infected humans do not develop disease for many years. As with viruses, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) agents can adapt to new species and become more virulent yet maintain fundamentally unique and stable identities. To make agent differences manifest, one must keep the host genotype constant. Many TSE agents have revealed their independent identities in normal mice. We transmitted primate kuru, a TSE once epidemic in New Guinea, to mice expressing normal and ≈8-fold higher levels of murine prion protein (PrP). High levels of murine PrP did not prevent infection but instead shortened incubation time, as would be expected for a viral receptor. Sporadic CJD and BSE agents and representative scrapie agents were clearly different from kuru in incubation time, brain neuropathology, and lymphoreticular involvement. Many TSE agents can infect monotypic cultured GT1 cells, and unlike sporadic CJD isolates, kuru rapidly and stably infected these cells. The geographic independence of the kuru agent provides additional reasons to explore causal environmental pathogens in these infectious neurodegenerative diseases. PMID:19633190

Particulate delivery systems for vaccination against bioterrorism agents and emerging infectious pathogens

PubMed Central

Fan, Yuchen; Moon, James J.

2016-01-01

Bioterrorism agents that can be easily transmitted with high mortality rates and cause debilitating diseases pose major threats to national security and public health. The recent Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa and ongoing Zika virus outbreak in Brazil, now spreading throughout Latin America, are case examples of emerging infectious pathogens that have incited widespread fear and economic and social disruption on a global scale. Prophylactic vaccines would provide effective countermeasures against infectious pathogens and biological warfare agents. However, traditional approaches relying on attenuated or inactivated vaccines have been hampered by their unacceptable levels of reactogenicity and safety issues, whereas subunit antigen-based vaccines suffer from suboptimal immunogenicity and efficacy. In contrast, particulate vaccine delivery systems offer key advantages, including efficient and stable delivery of subunit antigens, co-delivery of adjuvant molecules to bolster immune responses, low reactogenicity due to the use of biocompatible biomaterials, and robust efficiency to elicit humoral and cellular immunity in systemic and mucosal tissues. Thus, vaccine nanoparticles and microparticles are promising platforms for clinical development of biodefense vaccines. In this review, we summarize the current status of research efforts to develop particulate vaccine delivery systems against bioterrorism agents and emerging infectious pathogens. PMID:27038091

Infectious burden and atherosclerosis: A clinical issue

PubMed Central

Sessa, Rosa; Pietro, Marisa Di; Filardo, Simone; Turriziani, Ombretta

2014-01-01

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases, chronic inflammatory diseases of multifactorial etiology, are the leading cause of death worldwide. In the last decade, more infectious agents, labeled as “infectious burden”, rather than any single pathogen, have been showed to contribute to the development of atherosclerosis through different mechanisms. Some microorganisms, such as Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae), human cytomegalovirus, etc. may act directly on the arterial wall contributing to endothelial dysfunction, foam cell formation, smooth muscle cell proliferation, platelet aggregation as well as cytokine, reactive oxygen specie, growth factor, and cellular adhesion molecule production. Others, such as Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), influenza virus, etc. may induce a systemic inflammation which in turn may damage the vascular wall (e.g., by cytokines and proteases). Moreover, another indirect mechanism by which some infectious agents (such as H. pylori, C. pneumoniae, periodontal pathogens, etc.) may play a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis is molecular mimicry. Given the complexity of the mechanisms by which each microorganism may contribute to atherosclerosis, defining the interplay of more infectious agents is far more difficult because the pro-atherogenic effect of each pathogen might be amplified. Clearly, continued research and a greater awareness will be helpful to improve our knowledge on the complex interaction between the infectious burden and atherosclerosis. PMID:25032197

Infectious particles, stress, and induced prion amyloids

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Transmissible encephalopathies (TSEs) are believed by many to arise by spontaneous conversion of host prion protein (PrP) into an infectious amyloid (PrP-res, PrPSc) without nucleic acid. Many TSE agents reside in the environment, with infection controlled by public health measures. These include the disappearance of kuru with the cessation of ritual cannibalism, the dramatic reduction of epidemic bovine encephalopathy (BSE) by removal of contaminated feed, and the lack of endemic scrapie in geographically isolated Australian sheep with susceptible PrP genotypes. While prion protein modeling has engendered an intense focus on common types of protein misfolding and amyloid formation in diverse organisms and diseases, the biological characteristics of infectious TSE agents, and their recognition by the host as foreign entities, raises several fundamental new directions for fruitful investigation such as: (1) unrecognized microbial agents in the environmental metagenome that may cause latent neurodegenerative disease, (2) the evolutionary social and protective functions of different amyloid proteins in diverse organisms from bacteria to mammals, and (3) amyloid formation as a beneficial innate immune response to stress (infectious and non-infectious). This innate process however, once initiated, can become unstoppable in accelerated neuronal aging. PMID:23633671

Vocational Options for Those with Sickle Cell Trait: Questions about Hypoxemia and the Industrial Environment,

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-11-01

Infectious mononucleosis associated with rhabdomyolysis and renal failure. South Med J 71:346-348, 1978 31. Schreir RW, Henderson HS, Tisher CC, et...might just as likely have been associated with some infectious agent. Organisms capable of causing DIC and RML are known to be endemic or epidemic in

Clinical aspects of feline immunodeficiency and feline leukemia virus infection.

PubMed

Hartmann, Katrin

2011-10-15

Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) are retroviruses with a global impact on the health of domestic cats. The two viruses differ in their potential to cause disease. FIV can cause an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome that increases the risk of developing opportunistic infections, neurological diseases, and tumors. In most naturally infected cats, however, FIV itself does not cause severe clinical signs, and FIV-infected cats may live many years without any health problems. FeLV is more pathogenic, and was long considered to be responsible for more clinical syndromes than any other agent in cats. FeLV can cause tumors (mainly lymphoma), bone marrow suppression syndromes (mainly anemia) and lead to secondary infectious diseases caused by suppressive effects of the virus on bone marrow and the immune system. Today, FeLV is less important as a deadly infectious agent as in the last 20 years prevalence has been decreasing in most countries. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Medical Surveillance Monthly Report (MSMR). Volume 6, Number 5, May/June 2000

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-06-01

certain infectious agents that have been associated with Bell’s Palsy risk (e.g., Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent that causes Lyme disease) may not be...850 20 21 314 448 Syphilisd UrethritisHepatitis B Varicella Chlamydia Gonorrhea Vaccine Preventable Sexually Transmitted Lyme Disease Malaria Arthropod

Dermatological infectiology--Quo vadis? Symposium, Ruhr-University, September 29-30, 2000. Abstracts.

PubMed

2000-11-30

Infectious diseases remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the year 2000. 17 million deaths per year or roughly a third of all deaths are caused by infections. Infectious diseases also pose a serious economic threat. While many well-established pathogens have not been contained several new infectious agents have been discovered within the past 27 years which include rotavirus, legionella, HIV, ebola, campylobacter, helicobacter, nipah, HHV8, hepatitis C, and many others. Additionally many new pathogens have emerged as serious threats to the ever-growing number of immuno-compromised patients. Infectious etiologies have been found for many common diseases (certain leukemias, duodenal ulcers, etcetera). It is likely that infections are at least co-factors for many other diseases (transplant-associated atherosclerosis). Only specialized care and multi-disciplinary collaboration will enable us to cope with current problems and the inevitable emergence of new infectious diseases.

Retroviruses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varmus, Harold

1988-01-01

Discusses the growth, development, and unusual parasitic nature of the retrovirus community. Reviews these infectious cancer-causing agents as models for the study of fundamental biological problems, tools for genetic manipulations, and problems posed by their pathogenic potential in humans and animal hosts where they cause diseases such as…

Chronic disease mortality associated with infectious agents: A comparative cohort study of migrants from the Former Soviet Union in Israel and Germany

PubMed Central

Ott, Jördis J; Paltiel, Ari M; Winkler, Volker; Becher, Heiko

2008-01-01

Background Prevalence of infectious diseases in migrant populations has been addressed in numerous studies. However, information is sparse on their mortality due to chronic diseases that are aetiologically associated with an infectious agent. This study investigates mortality related to infectious diseases with a specific focus on cancers of possibly infectious origin in voluntary migrants from the Former Soviet Union residing in Israel and in Germany. Methods Both groups of migrants arrived from the Former Soviet Union in their destination countries between 1990 and 2001. Population-based data on migrants in Israel were obtained from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Data for migrants in Germany were obtained from a representative sample of all migrants from the Former Soviet Union in Germany. Cause of death information was available until 2003 for the Israeli cohort and until 2005 for the German cohort. Standardized mortality ratios were calculated relative to the destination country for selected causes of death for which infectious agents may be causally involved. Multivariate Poisson regression was applied to assess differences in mortality by length of residence in the host country. Results Both in Israel and in Germany these migrants have lower overall mortality than the population in their destination countries. However, they have significantly elevated mortality from viral hepatitis and from stomach and liver cancer when compared to the destination populations. Regression analysis shows that in Israel stomach cancer mortality is significantly higher among migrants at shorter durations of residence when compared to durations of more than nine years. Conclusion Higher mortality from cancers associated with infection and from viral hepatitis among migrants from the Former Soviet Union might result from higher prevalence of infections which were acquired in earlier years of life. The results highlight new challenges posed by diseases of infectious origin in migrants and call attention to the link between communicable and non-communicable diseases. PMID:18400085

Infectious agents identified in aborted swine fetuses in a high-density breeding area: a three-year study.

PubMed

Salogni, Cristian; Lazzaro, Massimiliano; Giacomini, Enrico; Giovannini, Stefano; Zanoni, Mariagrazia; Giuliani, Matteo; Ruggeri, Jessica; Pozzi, Paolo; Pasquali, Paolo; Boniotti, Maria Beatrice; Alborali, Giovanni Loris

2016-09-01

Reproductive failure in sows is one of the most important factors affecting pig breeding. Many reproductive disorders are linked to both environmental factors and infectious agents. The goal of our study was to determine the presence of pathogens that are known to cause abortion, considering a set of conditioning factors, such as seasonality and pregnancy period. A large number of aborted fetuses (1,625 fetuses from 140 farms) from a high-density breeding area in northern Italy was analyzed for a period of 3 years. The pigs were diagnosed based on direct (culture, PCR) or indirect (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) evidence. An infectious etiologic agent was found in 323 of 549 cases of abortion (58.8%). These included viral agents (Porcine circovirus-2, 138/323; Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, 108/323; porcine parvovirus, 20/323; pseudorabies virus, 6/323; and Encephalomyocarditis virus, 3/323) and bacteria (Escherichia coli, 64/323; Streptococcus sp., 63/323; Staphylococcus sp., 5/323; Pasteurella sp., 3/323; Shigella sp., 1/323; and Yersinia sp., 1/323). This study describes the prevalence of infectious agents involved in reproductive failure in a high-density swine population. The data can be useful to swine breeders, practitioners, and medical specialists in monitoring animal health and in supervising the breeding process. © 2016 The Author(s).

Iron homeostatis and oxidative stress in idiopathic pulmonary alveolar proteinosis: a case-control study

EPA Science Inventory

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Lung injury caused by both inhaled dusts and infectious agents depends on increased availability of iron and metal-catalyzed oxidative stress. Because inhaled particles, such as silica, and certain infections can cause secondary pulmonary alveolar proteinosi...

Chytridiomycosis: a global threat to amphibians.

PubMed

Pereira, P L L; Torres, A M C; Soares, D F M; Hijosa-Valsero, M; Bécares, E

2013-12-01

Chytridiomycosis, which is caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, is an emerging infectious disease of amphibians. The disease is one of the main causes of the global decline in amphibians. The aetiological agent is ubiquitous, with worldwide distribution, and affects a large number of amphibian species in several biomes. In the last decade, scientific research has substantially increased knowledge of the aetiological agent and the associated infection. However, important epidemiological aspects of the environment-mediated interactions between the aetiological agent and the host are not yet clear. The objective of the present review is to describe chytridiomycosis with regard to the major features of the aetiological agent, the host and the environment.

A review of infectious agents in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and their long-term ecological relevance

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fagre, Anna C.; Patyk, Kelly A.; Nol, Pauline; Atwood, Todd C.; Hueffer, Karsten; Duncan, Colleen G.

2015-01-01

Disease was a listing criterion for the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2008; it is therefore important to evaluate the current state of knowledge and identify any information gaps pertaining to diseases in polar bears. We conducted a systematic literature review focused on infectious agents and associated health impacts identified in polar bears. Overall, the majority of reports in free-ranging bears concerned serosurveys or fecal examinations with little to no information on associated health effects. In contrast, most reports documenting illness or pathology referenced captive animals and diseases caused by etiologic agents not representative of exposure opportunities in wild bears. As such, most of the available infectious disease literature has limited utility as a basis for development of future health assessment and management plans. Given that ecological change is a considerable risk facing polar bear populations, future work should focus on cumulative effects of multiple stressors that could impact polar bear population dynamics.

A Review of Infectious Agents in Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) and Their Long-Term Ecological Relevance.

PubMed

Fagre, Anna C; Patyk, Kelly A; Nol, Pauline; Atwood, Todd; Hueffer, Karsten; Duncan, Colleen

2015-09-01

Disease was a listing criterion for the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2008; it is therefore important to evaluate the current state of knowledge and identify any information gaps pertaining to diseases in polar bears. We conducted a systematic literature review focused on infectious agents and associated health impacts identified in polar bears. Overall, the majority of reports in free-ranging bears concerned serosurveys or fecal examinations with little to no information on associated health effects. In contrast, most reports documenting illness or pathology referenced captive animals and diseases caused by etiologic agents not representative of exposure opportunities in wild bears. As such, most of the available infectious disease literature has limited utility as a basis for development of future health assessment and management plans. Given that ecological change is a considerable risk facing polar bear populations, future work should focus on cumulative effects of multiple stressors that could impact polar bear population dynamics.

Biosafety and biosecurity in veterinary laboratories

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Finley, Melissa R.; Astuto-Gribble, Lisa M.; Brass, Van Hildren

Here, with recent outbreaks of MERS-Cov, Anthrax, Nipah, and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, much emphasis has been placed on rapid identification of infectious agents globally. As a result, laboratories are building capacity, conducting more advanced and sophisticated research, increasing laboratory staff, and establishing collections of dangerous pathogens in an attempt to reduce the impact of infectious disease outbreaks and characterize disease causing agents. With this expansion, the global laboratory community has started to focus on laboratory biosafety and biosecurity to prevent the accidental and/or intent ional release o f these agents. Laboratory biosafety and biosecurity systems are used around themore » world to help mit igate the risks posed by dangerous pathogens in the laboratory. Veterinary laboratories carry unique responsibilities to workers and communities to safely and securely handle disease causing microorganisms. Many microorganisms studied in veterinary laboratories not only infect animals, but also have the potential to infect humans. This paper will discuss the fundamentals of laboratory biosafety and biosecurity.« less

[Diarrhea from the infectologist's point of view].

PubMed

Nemes, Zsuzsanna

2009-02-22

Gastroenteritis is a nonspecific term for various pathologic states of the gastrointestinal tract. Gastroenteritis causing pathogens are the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In the developed countries diarrhea is the most common reason for missing work, while in the developing world, it is a leading cause of death. Internationally, the mortality rate is 5-10 million deaths each year. "Traveller's diarrhea" is a polyetiologic common health problem of international travellers which affects travellers generally for days, but it can result in chronic postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome as well. Infectious agents usually cause acute gastroenteritis either by adherence of the intestinal mucosa, or by mucosal invasion, enterotoxin production, and/or cytotoxin production. The incubation period can often suggest the cause of etiology. When symptoms occur within 6 hours of eating, ingestion of preformed toxin of S. aureus or Bacillus cereus should be suspected. The incidence of hypervirulent C. difficile associated colitis is an emerging problem as a healthcare system associated infection. While infectious agents do not commonly cause chronic diarrhea, those that do include C. difficile, Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, Cryptosporidium, Aeromonas and Yersinia . Amoebiasis is the second to malaria as a protozoal cause of death. Infection with HIV is also a common cause of diarrhea.

[The real place of infectious pathology in overall population morbidity].

PubMed

Sergiev, V P; Drynov, I D; Malyshev, N A

1999-01-01

The statistical decrease of the proportion of infections in the structure of morbidity of the population reflects the existing classification of diseases when only acute diseases are classified with the group "infectious and parasitic diseases". The proportion of diseases caused by infective agents remains constantly high. According to WHO data, such diseases make up one-third of all diseases in the world. In Moscow the proportion of infectious diseases in all diseases registered among the inhabitants of this big city fluctuated within 36.1% and 49.7% during the period of 1926-1997.

A retrospective study of non-suppurative encephalitis in beef cattle from western Canada

PubMed Central

Sánchez, Sergio; Clark, Edward G.; Wobeser, Gary A.; Janzen, Eugene D.; Philibert, Hélène

2013-01-01

Non-suppurative encephalitis occurs sporadically in beef cattle in western Canada, leading to loss of animals. This retrospective study investigated the presence of viral, bacterial, and protozoal antigens or DNA in 37 western Canadian feedlot cattle with non-suppurative encephalitis for which a cause had not been identified. Cases were selected based on the age of the animal (> 7 months), and clinical history of recumbency and depression. The identification of rabies in 1 case stresses the importance of including this viral disease in the list of differential diagnoses. Because there was variation in the severity, distribution, and type of lesions, it is possible that there may be more than 1 cause, but failure to identify an infectious agent might also suggest that non-infectious agents could play a role. PMID:24293671

Salmonella: A century old conundrum

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In 1885 a new bacterial species, Salmonella cholerae suis which was thought to cause hog cholera. Interestingly, Salmonella cholerae suis was not the etiologic agent of hog cholera (which is caused by a virus), but it was observed to be a secondary pathogen in the infectious process. In 1929, a pa...

The Prion Concept and Synthetic Prions.

PubMed

Legname, Giuseppe; Moda, Fabio

2017-01-01

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies or prion diseases are a group of fatal neurodegenerative diseases caused by unconventional infectious agents, known as prions (PrP Sc ). Prions derive from a conformational conversion of the normally folded prion protein (PrP C ), which acquires pathological and infectious features. Moreover, PrP Sc is able to transmit the pathological conformation to PrP C through a mechanism that is still not well understood. The generation of synthetic prions, which behave like natural prions, is of fundamental importance to study the process of PrP C conversion and to assess the efficacy of therapeutic strategies to interfere with this process. Moreover, the ability of synthetic prions to induce pathology in animals confirms that the pathological properties of the prion strains are all enciphered in abnormal conformations, characterizing these infectious agents. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

All-cause mortality in hospitalized patients with infectious diarrhea: Clostridium difficile versus other enteric pathogens in Austria from 2008 to 2010.

PubMed

Schmid, D; Kuo, H W; Simons, E; Kanitz, E E; Wenisch, J; Allerberger, F; Wenisch, C

2014-01-01

Clostridium difficile infection is the leading cause of gastroenteritis-associated deaths in the industrialized world, followed by infection with norovirus. Using a cohort study design, we compared 90 inpatients with diarrhea due to C. difficile infection (CDI) with 180 inpatients with diarrhea due to other infectious agents (including 55% with norovirus infection) with respect to complications and all-cause mortality. The effects of age, severity of underlying diseases and additional infections were assessed by stratified analyses. Diarrhea recurrence occurred 8.9 (95%CI: 2.9-27.3) times more often in CDI independent of age and severity of comorbidities. The all-cause mortality in CDI patients pre-discharge and at 30 and 180 days, respectively, was 20.0%, 17.0% and 42.3% versus 7.2%, 6.7% and 22.5% in non-CDI diarrhea patients. Among those patients with low comorbidities, who were younger than 65 years and without additional infections, the all-cause pre-discharge, 30-day and 180-day mortality risks were significantly higher for the CDI diarrhea patients than the non-CDI diarrhea patients. This association was not observed among patients with an older age, more severe comorbidities or additional infections. CDI results in higher all-cause mortality than diarrhea due to other infectious agents in younger patients with low comorbidities. Copyright © 2013 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interferon-Beta 1a and SARS Coronavirus Replication

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-02-01

A global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syn- drome ( SARS ) caused by a novel coronavirus began in March 2003. The rapid emergence of SARS and...emerging infectious disease. The etiologic agent was identified as a coronavirus ( SARS -CoV) that is not closely related to any of the previously...some coronaviruses , including avian infectious bronchitis virus, murine hepati- tis virus, and human coronavirus 229E, are susceptible to type I

The Possible Role of Transplacentally-Acquired Antibodies to Infectious Agents, With Molecular Mimicry to Nervous System Sialic Acid Epitopes, as Causes of Neuromental Disorders: Prevention and Vaccine Implications

PubMed Central

Nahmias, André J.; Nahmias, Susanne Beckman; Danielsson, Dan

2006-01-01

Proof of causality of most neuromental disorders (NMD's) is largely unavailable. Lessons from four-decade investigations of the epidemiology, immunology, pathogenesis, prevention and therapy of perinatal infectious agents, which invade directly the nervous system, have led us to propose a new indirect effect hypothesis: maternal transplacentally-acquired antibodies, to agents with epitope molecular mimicry with the developing nervous system, can cross the fetus/infant's blood–nervous system barriers to cause NMD's, clinically manifest years later.Further rationale is provided by relevant evolutionary/developmental (EVO–DEVO) considerations—applicable also to some vaccines. The hypothesis is being tested in: (a) older pregnancy studies with available maternal and newborn sera, and follow-up of the progeny for NMD's; and (b) NMD registry individuals linked to their stored newborn blood spots. Preliminary results support a possible role for schizophrenia of high-tittered antibodies to some agents (toxoplasma, influenza and herpes simplex type 2 virus).A model that includes likely genetic and postnatal influences is schematized and a list of putative agents and factors, based on varying rationales, is tabulated. In case pilot studies are confirmed, the identified agent(s) and antibodies would need to be tested in new prospectively enrolled pregnant women, so as to establish further risk factors leading to possible preventive modalities. PMID:17162360

Assessing gut microbiota perturbations during the early phase of infectious diarrhea in Vietnamese children

PubMed Central

Florez de Sessions, Paola; Jie, Song; Pham Thanh, Duy; Thompson, Corinne N.; Nguyen Ngoc Minh, Chau; Chu, Collins Wenhan; Tran, Tuan-Anh; Thomson, Nicholas R.; Thwaites, Guy E.; Rabaa, Maia A.; Hibberd, Martin; Baker, Stephen

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT Diarrheal diseases remain the second most common cause of mortality in young children in developing countries. Efforts have been made to explore the impact of diarrhea on bacterial communities in the human gut, but a thorough understanding has been impeded by inadequate resolution in bacterial identification and the examination of only few etiological agents. Here, by profiling an extended region of the 16S rRNA gene in the fecal microbiome, we aimed to elucidate the nature of gut microbiome perturbations during the early phase of infectious diarrhea caused by various etiological agents in Vietnamese children. Fecal samples from 145 diarrheal cases with a confirmed infectious etiology before antimicrobial therapy and 54 control subjects were analyzed. We found that the diarrheal fecal microbiota could be robustly categorized into 4 microbial configurations that either generally resembled or were highly divergent from a healthy state. Factors such as age, nutritional status, breastfeeding, and the etiology of the infection were significantly associated with these microbial community structures. We observed a consistent elevation of Fusobacterium mortiferum, Escherichia, and oral microorganisms in all diarrheal fecal microbiome configurations, proposing similar mechanistic interactions, even in the absence of global dysbiosis. We additionally found that Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum was significantly depleted during dysenteric diarrhea regardless of the etiological agent, suggesting that further investigations into the use of this species as a dysentery-orientated probiotic therapy are warranted. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the complex influence of infectious diarrhea on gut microbiome and identify new opportunities for therapeutic interventions. PMID:28767339

Assessing gut microbiota perturbations during the early phase of infectious diarrhea in Vietnamese children.

PubMed

The, Hao Chung; Florez de Sessions, Paola; Jie, Song; Pham Thanh, Duy; Thompson, Corinne N; Nguyen Ngoc Minh, Chau; Chu, Collins Wenhan; Tran, Tuan-Anh; Thomson, Nicholas R; Thwaites, Guy E; Rabaa, Maia A; Hibberd, Martin; Baker, Stephen

2018-01-02

Diarrheal diseases remain the second most common cause of mortality in young children in developing countries. Efforts have been made to explore the impact of diarrhea on bacterial communities in the human gut, but a thorough understanding has been impeded by inadequate resolution in bacterial identification and the examination of only few etiological agents. Here, by profiling an extended region of the 16S rRNA gene in the fecal microbiome, we aimed to elucidate the nature of gut microbiome perturbations during the early phase of infectious diarrhea caused by various etiological agents in Vietnamese children. Fecal samples from 145 diarrheal cases with a confirmed infectious etiology before antimicrobial therapy and 54 control subjects were analyzed. We found that the diarrheal fecal microbiota could be robustly categorized into 4 microbial configurations that either generally resembled or were highly divergent from a healthy state. Factors such as age, nutritional status, breastfeeding, and the etiology of the infection were significantly associated with these microbial community structures. We observed a consistent elevation of Fusobacterium mortiferum, Escherichia, and oral microorganisms in all diarrheal fecal microbiome configurations, proposing similar mechanistic interactions, even in the absence of global dysbiosis. We additionally found that Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum was significantly depleted during dysenteric diarrhea regardless of the etiological agent, suggesting that further investigations into the use of this species as a dysentery-orientated probiotic therapy are warranted. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the complex influence of infectious diarrhea on gut microbiome and identify new opportunities for therapeutic interventions.

Respiratory medicine of reptiles.

PubMed

Schumacher, Juergen

2011-05-01

Noninfectious and infectious causes have been implicated in the development of respiratory tract disease in reptiles. Treatment modalities in reptiles have to account for species differences in response to therapeutic agents as well as interpretation of diagnostic findings. Data on effective drugs and dosages for the treatment of respiratory diseases are often lacking in reptiles. Recently, advances have been made on the application of advanced imaging modalities, especially computed tomography for the diagnosis and treatment monitoring of reptiles. This article describes common infectious and noninfectious causes of respiratory disease in reptiles, including diagnostic and therapeutic regimen. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bradford Hill's criteria, emerging zoonoses, and One Health.

PubMed

Asokan, G V; Asokan, Vanitha

2016-09-01

Zoonoses constitute more than 60% of infectious diseases and 75% of emerging infectious diseases. Inappropriate overemphasis of specialization of disciplines has ignored public health. Identifying the causes of disease and determining how exposures are related to outcomes in "emerging zoonoses" affecting multiple species are considered to be the hallmarks of public health research and practice that compels the adoption of "One Health". The interactions within and among populations of vertebrates in the causation and transmissions of emerging zoonotic diseases are inherently dynamic, interdependent, and systems based. Disease causality theories have moved from one or several agents causing disease in a single species, to one infectious agent causing disease in multiple species-emerging zoonoses. Identification of the causative pathogen components or structures, elucidating the mechanisms of species specificity, and understanding the natural conditions of emergence would facilitate better derivation of the causal mechanism. Good quality evidence on causation in emerging zoonoses affecting multiple species makes a strong recommendation under the One Health approach for disease prevention and control from diagnostic tests, treatment, antimicrobial resistance, preventive vaccines, and evidence informed health policies. In the tenets of One Health, alliances work best when the legitimate interests of the different partners combine to prevent and control emerging zoonoses. Copyright © 2015 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Infectious Agents and Cancer Epidemiology Research Webinar Series

Cancer.gov

Infectious Agents and Cancer Epidemiology Research Webinar Series highlights emerging and cutting-edge research related to infection-associated cancers, shares scientific knowledge about technologies and methods, and fosters cross-disciplinary discussions on infectious agents and cancer epidemiology.

Engineering resistance against viroid

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Viroids, the smallest infectious agents endowed with autonomous replication, are tiny single-stranded circular RNAs (~250-400 nt) without protein-coding ability that, despite their simplicity, infect and often cause disease in herbaceous and woody plants of economic relevance. To mitigate the result...

Etiology of sockeye salmon 'virus' disease

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guenther, Raymond W.; Watson, S.W.; Rucker, R.R.; Ross, A.J.

1959-01-01

Violent epizootics among hatchery reared sockeye salmon fingerlings (Oncorhynchus nerka) caused by a filterable agent have occurred. In 1954, one source of this infectious, filterable agent was found to be adult sockeye viscera used in the diet for the fingerlings. The results of observations on an epizootic in 1958 indicate that the infection may be transmitted to fingerlings from a water supply to which adult sockeye salmon have access.

Global biogeography of human infectious diseases.

PubMed

Murray, Kris A; Preston, Nicholas; Allen, Toph; Zambrana-Torrelio, Carlos; Hosseini, Parviez R; Daszak, Peter

2015-10-13

The distributions of most infectious agents causing disease in humans are poorly resolved or unknown. However, poorly known and unknown agents contribute to the global burden of disease and will underlie many future disease risks. Existing patterns of infectious disease co-occurrence could thus play a critical role in resolving or anticipating current and future disease threats. We analyzed the global occurrence patterns of 187 human infectious diseases across 225 countries and seven epidemiological classes (human-specific, zoonotic, vector-borne, non-vector-borne, bacterial, viral, and parasitic) to show that human infectious diseases exhibit distinct spatial grouping patterns at a global scale. We demonstrate, using outbreaks of Ebola virus as a test case, that this spatial structuring provides an untapped source of prior information that could be used to tighten the focus of a range of health-related research and management activities at early stages or in data-poor settings, including disease surveillance, outbreak responses, or optimizing pathogen discovery. In examining the correlates of these spatial patterns, among a range of geographic, epidemiological, environmental, and social factors, mammalian biodiversity was the strongest predictor of infectious disease co-occurrence overall and for six of the seven disease classes examined, giving rise to a striking congruence between global pathogeographic and "Wallacean" zoogeographic patterns. This clear biogeographic signal suggests that infectious disease assemblages remain fundamentally constrained in their distributions by ecological barriers to dispersal or establishment, despite the homogenizing forces of globalization. Pathogeography thus provides an overarching context in which other factors promoting infectious disease emergence and spread are set.

Dissection of Host Susceptibility to Bacterial Infections and Its Toxins.

PubMed

Nashef, Aysar; Agbaria, Mahmoud; Shusterman, Ariel; Lorè, Nicola Ivan; Bragonzi, Alessandra; Wiess, Ervin; Houri-Haddad, Yael; Iraqi, Fuad A

2017-01-01

Infection is one of the leading causes of human mortality and morbidity. Exposure to microbial agents is obviously required. However, also non-microbial environmental and host factors play a key role in the onset, development and outcome of infectious disease, resulting in large of clinical variability between individuals in a population infected with the same microbe. Controlled and standardized investigations of the genetics of susceptibility to infectious disease are almost impossible to perform in humans whereas mouse models allow application of powerful genomic techniques to identify and validate causative genes underlying human diseases with complex etiologies. Most of current animal models used in complex traits diseases genetic mapping have limited genetic diversity. This limitation impedes the ability to create incorporated network using genetic interactions, epigenetics, environmental factors, microbiota, and other phenotypes. A novel mouse genetic reference population for high-resolution mapping and subsequently identifying genes underlying the QTL, namely the Collaborative Cross (CC) mouse genetic reference population (GRP) was recently developed. In this chapter, we discuss a variety of approaches using CC mice for mapping genes underlying quantitative trait loci (QTL) to dissect the host response to polygenic traits, including infectious disease caused by bacterial agents and its toxins.

[Oxidative stress and infectious pathology].

PubMed

Romero Alvira, D; Guerrero Navarro, L; Gotor Lázaro, M A; Roche Collado, E

1995-03-01

Pathogenic organism can be considered as pro-oxidant agents because they produce cell death and tissue damage. In addition organism can be eliminated by specific cell defense mechanism which utilize in part, reactive oxygen radicals formed by oxidative stress responses. The cause of the necessarily defense process results in cell damage thereby leading to development of inflammation, a characteristic oxidative stress situation. This fact shows the duality of oxidative stress in infections and inflammation: oxygen free radicals protect against microorganism attack and can produce tissue damage during this protection to trigger inflammation. Iron, a transition metal which participates generating oxygen free radicals, displays also this duality in infection. We suggest also that different infectious pathologies, such as sickle cell anemia/malaria and AIDS, may display in part this duality. In addition, it should be noted that oxidative damage observed in infectious diseases is mostly due the inflammatory response than to the oxidative potential of the pathogenic agent, this last point is exemplified in cases of respiratory distress and in glomerulonephritis. This review analyzes these controversial facts of infectious pathology in relation with oxidative stress.

Infectious disease agents mediate interaction in food webs and ecosystems

PubMed Central

Selakovic, Sanja; de Ruiter, Peter C.; Heesterbeek, Hans

2014-01-01

Infectious agents are part of food webs and ecosystems via the relationship with their host species that, in turn, interact with both hosts and non-hosts. Through these interactions, infectious agents influence food webs in terms of structure, functioning and stability. The present literature shows a broad range of impacts of infectious agents on food webs, and by cataloguing that range, we worked towards defining the various mechanisms and their specific effects. To explore the impact, a direct approach is to study changes in food-web properties with infectious agents as separate species in the web, acting as additional nodes, with links to their host species. An indirect approach concentrates not on adding new nodes and links, but on the ways that infectious agents affect the existing links across host and non-host nodes, by influencing the ‘quality’ of consumer–resource interaction as it depends on the epidemiological state host involved. Both approaches are natural from an ecological point of view, but the indirect approach may connect more straightforwardly to commonly used tools in infectious disease dynamics. PMID:24403336

[Ecology of vector systems: a tangle of complexity].

PubMed

Rodhain, F

2008-06-01

The long co-evolutionary process between arthropods and microorganisms has resulted in a wide variety of relationships. One such relationship involves a wide range of infectious agents (virus, bacteria, protozoa, helminthes) that use blood-feeding arthropods (insects and mites) as vectors for transmission from one vertebrate to another. Transmission involves three components, i.e., microorganism, vector(s), and vertebrate host(s). Study under natural conditions has shown that the underlying mechanisms are extremely complex with circulation of the infectious agents depending on numerous conditions linked not only to bioecology but also to genetic factors in all three component populations. The role of arthropods sometimes goes beyond that of a transmitter of disease. In some cases they also serve as reservoirs or disseminators. In addition changes in the environment whether due to natural causes or human activities (e.g. pollution, agropastoralism, urbanization, transportation network development, and climate change) can have profound and rapid effects on the mechanisms underlying these vector systems. In short the ecology of vector systems closely reflects the extreme complexity of epidemiological studies on diseases caused by infectious agents depending on this type of transmission. As a result prediction of infectious risks and planning of preventive action are difficult. It appears obvious that a good understanding of vector systems in their natural context will require a truly ecological approach to the diseases that must be the focus of extremely close epidemiologic surveillance. Achieving this goal will necessitate more than the skills of physicians and veterinarians. It will require the contribution of specialists from a variety of fields such as microbiology, entomology, systematics, climatology, ecology, urbanism, social sciences, economic development, and many others.

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance pattern of bacterial meningitis in Egypt

PubMed Central

Shaban, Lamyaa; Siam, Rania

2009-01-01

Infectious diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the developing world. In Egypt bacterial diseases constitute a great burden, with several particular bacteria sustaining the leading role of multiple serious infections. This article addresses profound bacterial agents causing a wide array of infections including but not limited to pneumonia and meningitis. The epidemiology of such infectious diseases and the prevalence of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae are reviewed in the context of bacterial meningitis. We address prevalent serotypes in Egypt, antimicrobial resistance patterns and efficacy of vaccines to emphasize the importance of periodic surveillance for appropriate preventive and treatment strategies. PMID:19778428

Infectious Mononucleosis Hepatitis in Young Adults: Two Case Reports

PubMed Central

Kang, Min-Jung; Kim, Tae-Hun; Shim, Ki-Nam; Jung, Sung-Ae; Cho, Min-Sun; Yoo, Kwon

2009-01-01

Infectious mononucleosis due to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection sometimes causes acute hepatitis, which is usually self-limiting with mildly elevated transaminases, but rarely with jaundice. Primary EBV infection in children is usually asymptomatic, but in a small number of healthy individuals, typically young adults, EBV infection results in a clinical syndrome of infectious mononucleosis with hepatitis, with typical symptoms of fever, pharyngitis, lymphadenopathy, and hepatosplenomegaly. EBV is rather uncommonly confirmed as an etiologic agent of acute hepatitis in adults. Here, we report two cases: the first case with acute hepatitis secondary to infectious mononucleosis and a second case, with acute hepatitis secondary to infectious mononucleosis concomitantly infected with hepatitis A. Both cases involved young adults presenting with fever, pharyngitis, lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, and atypical lymphocytosis confirmed by serologic tests, liver biopsy and electron microscopic study. PMID:19949739

Infectious mononucleosis hepatitis in young adults: two case reports.

PubMed

Kang, Min-Jung; Kim, Tae-Hun; Shim, Ki-Nam; Jung, Sung-Ae; Cho, Min-Sun; Yoo, Kwon; Chung, Kyu Won

2009-12-01

Infectious mononucleosis due to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection sometimes causes acute hepatitis, which is usually self-limiting with mildly elevated transaminases, but rarely with jaundice. Primary EBV infection in children is usually asymptomatic, but in a small number of healthy individuals, typically young adults, EBV infection results in a clinical syndrome of infectious mononucleosis with hepatitis, with typical symptoms of fever, pharyngitis, lymphadenopathy, and hepatosplenomegaly. EBV is rather uncommonly confirmed as an etiologic agent of acute hepatitis in adults. Here, we report two cases: the first case with acute hepatitis secondary to infectious mononucleosis and a second case, with acute hepatitis secondary to infectious mononucleosis concomitantly infected with hepatitis A. Both cases involved young adults presenting with fever, pharyngitis, lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, and atypical lymphocytosis confirmed by serologic tests, liver biopsy and electron microscopic study.

Manzamine alkaloids: isolation, cytotoxicity, antimalarial activity and SAR studies.

PubMed

Ashok, Penta; Ganguly, Swastika; Murugesan, Sankaranarayanan

2014-11-01

The infectious disease Malaria is caused by different species of the genus Plasmodium. Resistance to quinoline antimalarial drugs and decreased susceptibility to artemisinin-based combination therapy have increased the need for novel antimalarial agents. Historically, natural products have been used for the treatment of infectious diseases. Identification of natural products and their semi-synthetic derivatives with potent antimalarial activity is an important method for developing novel antimalarial agents. Manzamine alkaloids are a unique group of β-carboline alkaloids isolated from various species of marine sponge displaying potent antimalarial activity against drug-sensitive and -resistant strains of Plasmodium. In this review, we demonstrate antimalarial potency, cytotoxicity and antimalarial SAR of manzamine alkaloids. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Treatment of severe neutropenias in dogs and cats with filgrastim].

PubMed

Kraft, W; Kuffer, M

1995-12-01

The recombinant hG-CSF Filgrastim was used in severe cases of neutropenia in the dog caused by parvovirosis, hyperestrogenism, treatment with antineoplastic agents, an aplastic syndrome and in the cat in cases of infectious panleukopenia. Increases of the numbers of leukocytes were observed in all groups of diseases in the dog, but not in feline infectious panleukopenia. Filgrastim is indicated in neutropenias associated with disturbance of the general condition accompanied by fever, but not in cases of transitory leukopenias.

INFECTIOUS DOSE OF NORWALK VIRUS

EPA Science Inventory

The Norwalk virus and related viruses (caliciviruses) have been identified as a common cause of waterborne disease. Moreover, there are many outbreaks of waterborne disease every year where the causative agent was never identified, and it is thought that many of these are due to ...

Viruses and Multiple Sclerosis

PubMed Central

Owens, Gregory P.; Gilden, Don; Burgoon, Mark P.; Yu, Xiaoli; Bennett, Jeffrey L.

2012-01-01

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic demyelinating disorder of unknown etiology, possibly caused by a virus or virus-triggered immunopathology. The virus might reactivate after years of latency and lyse oligodendrocytes, as in progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or initiate immunopathological demyelination, as in animals infected with Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus or coronaviruses. The argument for a viral cause of MS is supported by epidemiological analyses and studies of MS in identical twins, indicating that disease is acquired. However, the most important evidence is the presence of bands of oligoclonal IgG (OCBs) in MS brain and CSF that persist throughout the lifetime of the patient. OCBs are found almost exclusively in infectious CNS disorders, and antigenic targets of OCBs represent the agent that causes disease. Here, the authors review past attempts to identify an infectious agent in MS brain cells and discuss the promise of using recombinant antibodies generated from clonally expanded plasma cells in brain and CSF to identify disease-relevant antigens. They show how this strategy has been used successfully to analyze antigen specificity in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a chronic encephalitis caused by measles virus, and in neuromyelitis optica, a chronic autoimmune demyelinating disease produced by antibodies directed against the aquaporin-4 water channel. PMID:22130640

The Infectious Pathogenesis Of Prostate Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-01

agents in the genesis of inflammation. For prostate cancer, several lines of evidence point to a role of infections as important agents , although no...specific infection has consistently been identified. In this project, we are examining two specific infectious agents with respect to prostate cancer: T...Infectious agents are likely targets involved in the initiation and exacerbation of chronic inflammation, and infections can lead to increased risk of

Dembo polymerase chain reaction technique for detection of bovine abortion, diarrhea, and respiratory disease complex infectious agents in potential vectors and reservoirs.

PubMed

Rahpaya, Sayed Samim; Tsuchiaka, Shinobu; Kishimoto, Mai; Oba, Mami; Katayama, Yukie; Nunomura, Yuka; Kokawa, Saki; Kimura, Takashi; Kobayashi, Atsushi; Kirino, Yumi; Okabayashi, Tamaki; Nonaka, Nariaki; Mekata, Hirohisa; Aoki, Hiroshi; Shiokawa, Mai; Umetsu, Moeko; Morita, Tatsushi; Hasebe, Ayako; Otsu, Keiko; Asai, Tetsuo; Yamaguchi, Tomohiro; Makino, Shinji; Murata, Yoshiteru; Abi, Ahmad Jan; Omatsu, Tsutomu; Mizutani, Tetsuya

2018-05-31

Bovine abortion, diarrhea, and respiratory disease complexes, caused by infectious agents, result in high and significant economic losses for the cattle industry. These pathogens are likely transmitted by various vectors and reservoirs including insects, birds, and rodents. However, experimental data supporting this possibility are scarce. We collected 117 samples and screened them for 44 bovine abortive, diarrheal, and respiratory disease complex pathogens by using Dembo polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which is based on TaqMan real-time PCR. Fifty-seven samples were positive for at least one pathogen, including bovine viral diarrhea virus, bovine enterovirus, Salmonella enterica ser. Dublin, Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium, and Neospora caninum ; some samples were positive for multiple pathogens. Bovine viral diarrhea virus and bovine enterovirus were the most frequently detected pathogens, especially in flies, suggesting an important role of flies in the transmission of these viruses. Additionally, we detected the N. caninum genome from a cockroach sample for the first time. Our data suggest that insects (particularly flies), birds, and rodents are potential vectors and reservoirs of abortion, diarrhea, and respiratory infectious agents, and that they may transmit more than one pathogen at the same time.

Infectious Causes of Encephalitis and Meningoencephalitis in Thailand, 2003–2005

PubMed Central

Campbell, Angela P.; Supawat, Krongkaew; Liamsuwan, Sahas; Chotpitayasunondh, Tawee; Laptikulthum, Somsak; Viriyavejakul, Akravudh; Tantirittisak, Tasanee; Tunlayadechanont, Supoch; Visudtibhan, Anannit; Vasiknanonte, Punnee; Janjindamai, Supachai; Boonluksiri, Pairoj; Rajborirug, Kiatsak; Watanaveeradej, Veerachai; Khetsuriani, Nino; Dowell, Scott F.

2015-01-01

Acute encephalitis is a severe neurologic syndrome. Determining etiology from among ≈100 possible agents is difficult. To identify infectious etiologies of encephalitis in Thailand, we conducted surveillance in 7 hospitals during July 2003–August 2005 and selected patients with acute onset of brain dysfunction with fever or hypothermia and with abnormalities seen on neuroimages or electroencephalograms or with cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid were tested for >30 pathogens. Among 149 case-patients, median age was 12 (range 0–83) years, 84 (56%) were male, and 15 (10%) died. Etiology was confirmed or probable for 54 (36%) and possible or unknown for 95 (64%). Among confirmed or probable etiologies, the leading pathogens were Japanese encephalitis virus, enteroviruses, and Orientia tsutsugamushi. No samples were positive for chikungunya, Nipah, or West Nile viruses; Bartonella henselae; or malaria parasites. Although a broad range of infectious agents was identified, the etiology of most cases remains unknown. PMID:25627940

hTERT-immortalized ovine microglia propagate natural scrapie isolates

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Scrapie is a transmissible fatal neurodegenerative disease of sheep that is caused by a novel infectious agent called a prion. The study of prions under controlled culture conditions is crucial to advancing knowledge regarding prion processes of replication and accumulation within cells. Unfortunate...

Rift Valley fever: a mosquito-borne emerging disease

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Rift Valley fever (RVF) (Bunyaviridae: Phlebovirus) is mosquito-borne zoonotic emerging infectious viral disease caused by RVF virus (RVFV) that presents significant threats to global public health and agriculture in Africa and the Middle East. RVFV is listed as a select agent with significant conce...

Tenosynovitis caused by Scedosporium apiospermum infection misdiagnosed as an Alternaria species: a case report.

PubMed

Kim, Choon-Mee; Lim, Sung-Chul; Kim, Joa; Jang, Hoe-Soo; Chung, Jong-Hun; Yun, Na-Ra; Kim, Dong-Min; Jha, Piyush; Jha, Babita; Kim, Seok Won; Jang, Sook Jin; Shin, Jong Hee

2017-01-14

Scedosporium apiospermum, which can usually be isolated from soil, polluted stream water and decaying vegetation, is increasingly recognized as an opportunistic dematiaceous fungus. The mortality rate of infection in immunocompromised hosts is over 50%. S. apiospermum is commonly responsible for dermal and epidermal infections (i.e., mycetoma) after traumatic penetration. A 73-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital complaining of painful swelling and tenderness on the dorsum of the proximal left wrist and hand. The symptoms had persisted for approximately 2 months. A physical examination revealed a 4 x 3 cm, poorly defined, erythematous papule, which was fluctuant, with pustules and crusts on the dorsum of the left hand. We report a very rare case of tenosynovitis caused by S. apiospermum infection. We identified the infectious agent via molecular DNA sequencing. The infectious agent was initially misidentified as an Alternaria species by microscopic examination with lactophenol cotton blue (LPCB) staining. The infection was successfully treated with debridement and adjuvant fluconazole therapy.

Spatiotemporal trends in the discovery of new swine infectious agents.

PubMed

Fournié, Guillaume; Kearsley-Fleet, Lianne; Otte, Joachim; Pfeiffer, Dirk Udo

2015-09-28

A literature review was conducted to assess the spatiotemporal trend and diversity of infectious agents that were newly found in pigs between 1985 and 2010. We identified 173 new variants from 91 species, of which 73 species had not been previously described in pigs. These new species, of which one third was zoonotic, were taxonomically diverse. They were identified throughout the study period, predominantly in the main pork producing countries, with the rate of discovery of new virus variants doubling within the last 10 years of the study period. Whilst infectious agent species newly detected in high-income countries were more likely to be associated with higher virulence, zoonotic agents prevailed in low- and middle-income countries. Although this trend is influenced by factors conditioning infectious agent detection - diagnostic methods, surveillance efforts, research interests -, it may suggest that different scales and types of production systems promote emergence of certain types of infectious agents. Considering the rapid transformation of the swine industry, concerted efforts are needed for improving our understanding of the factors influencing the emergence of infectious agents. This information then needs to inform the design of risk-based surveillance systems and strategies directly mitigating the risk associated with these factors.

Host-directed therapies for infectious diseases: current status, recent progress, and future prospects.

PubMed

Zumla, Alimuddin; Rao, Martin; Wallis, Robert S; Kaufmann, Stefan H E; Rustomjee, Roxana; Mwaba, Peter; Vilaplana, Cris; Yeboah-Manu, Dorothy; Chakaya, Jeremiah; Ippolito, Giuseppe; Azhar, Esam; Hoelscher, Michael; Maeurer, Markus

2016-04-01

Despite extensive global efforts in the fight against killer infectious diseases, they still cause one in four deaths worldwide and are important causes of long-term functional disability arising from tissue damage. The continuing epidemics of tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, and influenza, and the emergence of novel zoonotic pathogens represent major clinical management challenges worldwide. Newer approaches to improving treatment outcomes are needed to reduce the high morbidity and mortality caused by infectious diseases. Recent insights into pathogen-host interactions, pathogenesis, inflammatory pathways, and the host's innate and acquired immune responses are leading to identification and development of a wide range of host-directed therapies with different mechanisms of action. Host-directed therapeutic strategies are now becoming viable adjuncts to standard antimicrobial treatment. Host-directed therapies include commonly used drugs for non-communicable diseases with good safety profiles, immunomodulatory agents, biologics (eg monoclonal antibodies), nutritional products, and cellular therapy using the patient's own immune or bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells. We discuss clinically relevant examples of progress in identifying host-directed therapies as adjunct treatment options for bacterial, viral, and parasitic infectious diseases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pathogenic bacteria carried by companion animals and their susceptibility to antibacterial agents.

PubMed

Buma, Ryoko; Maeda, Takuya; Kamei, Masaharu; Kourai, Hiroki

2006-03-01

Results of the investigation showed that there was a difference in the bacteria isolated from dogs, cats and their living environment. The number and species isolated from the hair and front paw samples from dogs kept outdoors and from cats were greater and more varied than those from the samples from dogs kept indoors. Staphylococcus, Micrococcus and Bacillus were frequently detected from skin surfaces. On the other hand, Escherichia, Pseudomonas, Proteus and others were detected on each sampling area on dogs kept outdoors and on cats. About 60% of the bacteria commonly causes infectious diseases and carries a risk of food poisoning. Moreover, Pasteurella multocida, which causes pasteurellasis, a kind of zoonosis, was isolated from dogs and cats. These pathogenic bacteria were transmitted from animals to humans by direct contact. This result suggests that direct contact with dogs and cats and contact with aerosols can possibly transmit infectious diseases. Most of the isolates (75.9%, 60/79) were resistant to antibacterial agents. We then investigated the effect of household detergents and pet care deodorant sprays containing antibacterial agents on isolates from dogs and cats. They were effective in preventing the transmission of pathogens from dogs and cats to humans.

Beyond osteoarthritis: recognizing and treating infectious and other inflammatory arthropathies in your practice.

PubMed

Haile, Zewdu; Khatua, Sanjeeb

2010-12-01

About 15% of patients presenting in a primary care clinic have joint pain as their primary complaint (level B). Disseminated gonorrhea is the most common cause of infectious arthritis in sexually active, previously healthy patients (level B). Prompt arthrocentesis, microscopic examination, and the culture of any purulent material plus appropriate antibiotic therapy are the mainstay of treatment in infectious arthritis (level C). Detailed history, including family history and comprehensive examination, is more useful in accurate diagnosis than expensive laboratory and radiological investigations for noninfectious arthritis (level C). Regarding inflammatory noninfectious arthritis with the potential to cause destructive joint damage, early referral to a subspecialist, when indicated, increases the likelihood of optimal outcome (level C). Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs are the first line of therapeutic agents to reduce pain and swelling in the management of most noninfectious inflammatory arthritis seen in the primary care office (level C). Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Infectious microbial diseases and host defense responses in Sydney rock oysters

PubMed Central

Raftos, David A.; Kuchel, Rhiannon; Aladaileh, Saleem; Butt, Daniel

2014-01-01

Aquaculture has long been seen as a sustainable solution to some of the world's growing food shortages. However, experience over the past 50 years indicates that infectious diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, and eukaryotes limit the productivity of aquaculture. In extreme cases, these types of infectious agents threaten the viability of entire aquaculture industries. This article describes the threats from infectious diseases in aquaculture and then focuses on one example (QX disease in Sydney rock oysters) as a case study. QX appears to be typical of many emerging diseases in aquaculture, particularly because environmental factors seem to play a crucial role in disease outbreaks. Evidence is presented that modulation of a generic subcellular stress response pathway in oysters is responsible for both resistance and susceptibility to infectious microbes. Understanding and being able to manipulate this pathway may be the key to sustainable aquaculture. PMID:24795701

Could inhibition of the proteasome cause mad cow disease?

PubMed

Hooper, Nigel M

2003-04-01

The proteasome is the cellular machinery responsible for the degradation of normal and misfolded proteins. Inhibitors of the proteasome are being evaluated as therapeutic agents and recent work suggests that such inhibition might promote the neurotoxic properties of the prion protein (the causative agent of mad cow disease) and its conformational conversion to the infectious form, thus raising the question as to whether proteasome inhibitors might facilitate the development of prion diseases.

Clinical and cerebrospinal fluid findings contribute to the early differentiation between infectious and noninfectious encephalitis.

PubMed

Wilken, Miguel; Ameghino, Lucía; Cammarota, Ángel; Nogués, Martín A; Del Castillo, Marcelo; Farez, Mauricio F

2017-01-01

Early recognition and prompt specific treatment are crucial factors influencing the outcome of patients with acute encephalitis. The aim of this study was to determine the main causes of acute encephalitis in our population and to find predictors that may lead to specific diagnosis. Adult patients admitted to our hospital with suspected diagnosis of encephalitis in the period 2006-2013 were included. One hundred and five medical records were analyzed. Eighty-two patients with infectious encephalitis were identified (78% of total cases), 53 (65%) men and 29 (35%) women, mean age 47.8 years. The most common microorganisms identified were: HSV-1 (11%), VZV (10%), HSV-2 (5%) and EBV (5%). Twenty-three patients (22% of the series) had non-infectious encephalitis. Headache (p < 0.0001) and fever (p = 0.008) were more frequent in encephalitis of infectious origin. Protein levels and white blood cell counts in the cerebrospinal fluid were significantly higher in patients affected by infectious encephalitis than in those affected by noninfectious encephalitis (OR 95% CI 12.3 [2.9-51.7] and OR 95% CI 7.4 [2-27], respectively). Identifying specific causal agents of acute encephalitis remains a major challenge. Cerebrospinal fluid markers, as well as specific clinical findings, may however contribute to initial differentiation between infectious and noninfectious causes.

Potentials and limits for the use of ozone as a fish disease control agent

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wedemeyer, Gary A.; Nelson, Nancy C.; Yasutake, Wm. T.

1979-01-01

Ozone and chlorine inactivation curves were determined in three types of freshwater at 20 C for the destruction of the fish pathogens Aeromonas salmonicida the etiologic agent of furunculosis, and Yersinia ruckeri the enteric redmouth bacterium (ERM). Ozone and chlorine inactivation curves were also obtained in the same water types at 10 C for the fish pathogenic viruses infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHNV), and infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPNV). Acute toxicity tests using the rainbow trout as a representative salmonid revealed that ozone was highly toxic at the dose levels used. Partial chronic (3. mo.) testing revealed that ozone exposure at 2 μg/L causes only minimal physiological changes, none of which would be expected to compromise biological function.

10 x '20 Progress--development of new drugs active against gram-negative bacilli: an update from the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

PubMed

Boucher, Helen W; Talbot, George H; Benjamin, Daniel K; Bradley, John; Guidos, Robert J; Jones, Ronald N; Murray, Barbara E; Bonomo, Robert A; Gilbert, David

2013-06-01

Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, especially the "ESKAPE" pathogens, continue to increase in frequency and cause significant morbidity and mortality. New antimicrobial agents are greatly needed to treat infections caused by gram-negative bacilli (GNB) resistant to currently available agents. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) continues to propose legislative, regulatory, and funding solutions to this continuing crisis. The current report updates the status of development and approval of systemic antibiotics in the United States as of early 2013. Only 2 new antibiotics have been approved since IDSA's 2009 pipeline status report, and the number of new antibiotics annually approved for marketing in the United States continues to decline. We identified 7 drugs in clinical development for treatment of infections caused by resistant GNB. None of these agents was included in our 2009 list of antibacterial compounds in phase 2 or later development, but unfortunately none addresses the entire spectrum of clinically relevant GNB resistance. Our survey demonstrates some progress in development of new antibacterial drugs that target infections caused by resistant GNB, but progress remains alarmingly elusive. IDSA stresses our conviction that the antibiotic pipeline problem can be solved by the collaboration of global leaders to develop creative incentives that will stimulate new antibacterial research and development. Our aim is the creation of a sustainable global antibacterial drug research and development enterprise with the power in the short term to develop 10 new, safe, and efficacious systemically administered antibiotics by 2020 as called for in IDSA's "10 × '20 Initiative."

The role of pattern recognition receptors in lung sarcoidosis.

PubMed

Mortaz, Esmaeil; Adcock, Ian M; Abedini, Atefhe; Kiani, Arda; Kazempour-Dizaji, Mehdi; Movassaghi, Masoud; Garssen, Johan

2017-08-05

Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disorder of unknown etiology. Infection, genetic factors, autoimmunity and an aberrant innate immune system have been explored as potential causes of sarcoidosis. The etiology of sarcoidosis remains unknown, and it is thought that it might be caused by an infectious agent in a genetically predisposed, susceptible host. Inflammation results from recognition of evolutionarily conserved structures of pathogens (Pathogen-associated molecular patterns, PAMPs) and/or from reaction to tissue damage associated patterns (DAMPs) through recognition by a limited number of germ line-encoded pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). Due to the similar clinical and histopathological picture of sarcoidosis and tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens such early secreted antigen (ESAT-6), heat shock proteins (Mtb-HSP), catalase-peroxidase (katG) enzyme and superoxide dismutase A peptide (sodA) have been often considered as factors in the etiopathogenesis of sarcoidosis. Potential non-TB-associated PAMPs include lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, peptidoglycan, lipoteichoic acid, bacterial DNA, viral DNA/RNA, chitin, flagellin, leucine-rich repeats (LRR), mannans in the yeast cell wall, and microbial HSPs. Furthermore, exogenous non-organic antigens such as metals, silica, pigments with/without aluminum in tattoos, pesticides, and pollen have been evoked as potential causes of sarcoidosis. Exposure of the airways to diverse infectious and non-infectious agents may be important in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis. The current review provides and update on the role of PPRs and DAMPs in the pathogenesis of sarcoidsis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Human Parvovirus 4 as Potential Cause of Encephalitis in Children, India

PubMed Central

Benjamin, Laura A.; Lewthwaite, Penny; Vasanthapuram, Ravi; Zhao, Guoyan; Sharp, Colin; Simmonds, Peter; Wang, David

2011-01-01

To investigate whether uncharacterized infectious agents were associated with neurologic disease, we analyzed cerebrospinal fluid specimens from 12 children with acute central nervous system infection. A high-throughput pyrosequencing screen detected human parvovirus 4 DNA in cerebrospinal fluid of 2 children with encephalitis of unknown etiology. PMID:21801629

Epilepsy; A Review of Basic and Clinical Research. NINDB Monograph Number 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robb, Preston

A discussion of the incidence of epilepsy is followed by a discussion of etiology including the following causes: genetic and birth factors, infectious diseases, toxic factors, trauma or physical agents, heredofamilial and degenerative disorders, circulatory disturbances, metabolic and nutritional disturbances, and neoplasms. Epileptic seizures…

Chlamydia trachomatis proctitis masquerading as carcinoma rectum: First case report from India.

PubMed

Dhawan, Benu; Makharia, Govind Kumar; Juyal, Deepak; Sebastian, Sujeesh; Bhatia, Riti; Khanna, Neena

2017-01-01

While proctitis is caused both by infectious and noninfectious causes, infectious causes are acquired typically sexually. Chlamydia trachomatis, which is the most frequent bacterial pathogen causing sexually transmitted infections worldwide, is one of the causative agents of proctitis. We report a case history of a bisexual male who presented to us with rectal bleeding. The colonoscopy showed a nodular ulcerated lesion in the rectum suggestive of rectal malignancy, but biopsies from rectal mass did not reveal malignancy. A rectal biopsy was positive for C. trachomatis by polymerase chain reaction assay, and a diagnosis of C. trachomatis proctitis was made. Considering the invasive anorectal disease and patient's sexual history, he was treated with prolonged doxycycline therapy as per Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's treatment recommendation for lymphogranuloma venereum. A high index of clinical suspicion along with appropriate microbiological testing can clinch the diagnosis of C. trachomatis infection.

Infections in the differential diagnosis of Bell's palsy: a plea for performing CSF analysis.

PubMed

Henkel, Katrin; Lange, Peter; Eiffert, Helmut; Nau, Roland; Spreer, Annette

2017-04-01

Peripheral facial nerve palsy (FP) is the most common single nerve affection. Most cases are idiopathic, but a relevant fraction is caused by potentially treatable aetiologies including infections. Not all current diagnosis and treatment guidelines recommend routine cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis in the diagnostic workup of this symptom. In this study, we evaluated frequency of aetiologies and relevance of CSF analysis in an interdisciplinary cohort. We retrospectively analysed all cases of newly diagnosed FP treated at a German university medical centre in a 3-year period. Diagnostic certainty was classified for infectious aetiologies according to clinical and CSF parameters. 380 patients with FP were identified, 63 children and 317 adults. Idiopathic Bell´s palsy was predominant in 61 %. 25 % of FP was attributed to infections, and other causes were identified in 14 %. Clinical presentation alone was not conclusive for infectious aetiology, in almost half of patients with infection-attributed FP the reported symptoms or clinical signs did not differ from common symptoms of idiopathic Bell`s palsy. Determination of C-reactive protein or white blood cell count was not helpful in the identification of infectious causes, and radiological imaging was performed in a high proportion of adult patients without conclusive results. Nuchal rigidity was found only in 7 % of patients with CSF pleocytosis. The predominant infectious agents were Borrelia burgdorferi, VZV and HSV, and in most of these cases diagnosis relied on the findings of CSF analysis. This study outlines the importance of careful differential diagnosis to identify infectious causes of facial nerve palsy. The high incidence and frequent unspecific clinical presentation of infectious FP underlines the importance of including CSF analysis in the diagnostic routine workup of FP.

Tuberculosis: Is the landscape changing?

PubMed

Khatua, Sutapa; Geltemeyer, Abby M; Gourishankar, Anand

2017-01-01

Robert Heinrich Herman Koch, a German physician and microbiologist, received Nobel Prize in 1905 for identifying the specific causative agent of tuberculosis (TB). During his time it was believed that TB was an inherited disease. However he was convinced that the disease was caused by a bacterium and was infectious, tested his postulates using guinea pigs, and found the causative agent to be slow growing mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB is the second most common cause of death from infectious diseases after HIV/AIDS. Drug-resistant TB poses serious challenge to effective management of TB worldwide. Multidrug-resistant TB accounted for about half a million new cases and over 200,000 deaths in 2013. Whole-genome sequencing (first done in 1998) technologies have provided new insight into the mechanism of drug resistance. For the first time in 50 y, new anti TB drugs have been developed. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently revised their treatment guidelines based on 32 studies. In United States, latent TB affects between 10 and 15 million people, 10% of whom may develop active TB disease. QuantiFERON TB Gold and T-SPOT.TB test are used for diagnosis. Further research will look into the importance of newly discovered gene mutations in causing drug resistance.

Ultraviolet-ozone treatment reduces levels of disease-associated prion protein and prion infectivity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, C.J.; Gilbert, P.; McKenzie, D.; Pedersen, J.A.; Aiken, Judd M.

2009-01-01

Background. Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a group of fatal neurodegenerative diseases caused by novel infectious agents referred to as prions. Prions appear to be composed primarily, if not exclusively, of a misfolded isoform of the cellular prion protein. TSE infectivity is remarkably stable and can resist many aggressive decontamination procedures, increasing human, livestock and wildlife exposure to TSEs. Findings. We tested the hypothesis that UV-ozone treatment reduces levels of the pathogenic prion protein and inactivates the infectious agent. We found that UV-ozone treatment decreased the carbon and prion protein content in infected brain homogenate to levels undetectable by dry-ashing carbon analysis or immunoblotting, respectively. After 8 weeks of ashing, UV-ozone treatment reduced the infectious titer of treated material by a factor of at least 105. A small amount of infectivity, however, persisted despite UV-ozone treatment. When bound to either montmorillonite clay or quartz surfaces, PrPTSE was still susceptible to degradation by UV-ozone. Conclusion. Our findings strongly suggest that UV-ozone treatment can degrade pathogenic prion protein and inactivate prions, even when the agent is associated with surfaces. Using larger UV-ozone doses or combining UV-ozone treatment with other decontaminant methods may allow the sterilization of TSE-contaminated materials. ?? 2009 Aiken et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities of Spices

PubMed Central

Liu, Qing; Meng, Xiao; Li, Ya; Zhao, Cai-Ning; Tang, Guo-Yi; Li, Hua-Bin

2017-01-01

Infectious diseases caused by pathogens and food poisoning caused by spoilage microorganisms are threatening human health all over the world. The efficacies of some antimicrobial agents, which are currently used to extend shelf-life and increase the safety of food products in food industry and to inhibit disease-causing microorganisms in medicine, have been weakened by microbial resistance. Therefore, new antimicrobial agents that could overcome this resistance need to be discovered. Many spices—such as clove, oregano, thyme, cinnamon, and cumin—possessed significant antibacterial and antifungal activities against food spoilage bacteria like Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens, pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, harmful fungi like Aspergillus flavus, even antibiotic resistant microorganisms such as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Therefore, spices have a great potential to be developed as new and safe antimicrobial agents. This review summarizes scientific studies on the antibacterial and antifungal activities of several spices and their derivatives. PMID:28621716

Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities of Spices.

PubMed

Liu, Qing; Meng, Xiao; Li, Ya; Zhao, Cai-Ning; Tang, Guo-Yi; Li, Hua-Bin

2017-06-16

Infectious diseases caused by pathogens and food poisoning caused by spoilage microorganisms are threatening human health all over the world. The efficacies of some antimicrobial agents, which are currently used to extend shelf-life and increase the safety of food products in food industry and to inhibit disease-causing microorganisms in medicine, have been weakened by microbial resistance. Therefore, new antimicrobial agents that could overcome this resistance need to be discovered. Many spices-such as clove, oregano, thyme, cinnamon, and cumin-possessed significant antibacterial and antifungal activities against food spoilage bacteria like Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens , pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, harmful fungi like Aspergillus flavus, even antibiotic resistant microorganisms such as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Therefore, spices have a great potential to be developed as new and safe antimicrobial agents. This review summarizes scientific studies on the antibacterial and antifungal activities of several spices and their derivatives.

Frequency and causes of infectious abortion in a dairy herd in Queretaro, Mexico.

PubMed

Escamilla, H Patricia; Martínez, M José Juan; Medina, C Mario; Morales, S Elizabeth

2007-10-01

The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of infectious bovine abortion and to identify some of its causes, specifically brucellosis, leptospirosis, bovine viral diarrhea, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, and neosporosis. The study was carried out in a dairy herd in the state of Queretaro, Mexico, between September 2002 and March 2003. At the beginning of the study, blood samples were taken from a random 33% of the 300 lactating or pregnant cows; antibodies against Leptospira interrogans were the most commonly identified, in 91% of the 99 samples. Blood samples were also taken 14 to 28 d after the 26 subsequent abortions in the herd in the 6-mo study period, as well as from 22 cows that had not aborted within 5 d after the abortions in the other group. Seroconversion was most frequent for L. hardjo, occurring in 8 (67%) of the 12 dams that aborted after the initial serologic sampling and for which paired serum samples were therefore available. Of the 16 collected fetuses, 10 had histologic lesions suggesting infection in various organs, the features correlating with the serologic results for the dams in 7 cases. Thus, the abortions may have been caused by more than 1 infectious agent.

Frequency and causes of infectious abortion in a dairy herd in Queretaro, Mexico

PubMed Central

Escamilla, H. Patricia; Martínez, M. José Juan; Medina, C. Mario; Morales, S. Elizabeth

2007-01-01

The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of infectious bovine abortion and to identify some of its causes, specifically brucellosis, leptospirosis, bovine viral diarrhea, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, and neosporosis. The study was carried out in a dairy herd in the state of Queretaro, Mexico, between September 2002 and March 2003. At the beginning of the study, blood samples were taken from a random 33% of the 300 lactating or pregnant cows; antibodies against Leptospira interrogans were the most commonly identified, in 91% of the 99 samples. Blood samples were also taken 14 to 28 d after the 26 subsequent abortions in the herd in the 6-mo study period, as well as from 22 cows that had not aborted within 5 d after the abortions in the other group. Seroconversion was most frequent for L. hardjo, occurring in 8 (67%) of the 12 dams that aborted after the initial serologic sampling and for which paired serum samples were therefore available. Of the 16 collected fetuses, 10 had histologic lesions suggesting infection in various organs, the features correlating with the serologic results for the dams in 7 cases. Thus, the abortions may have been caused by more than 1 infectious agent. PMID:17955907

Lurking in the Shadows: Emerging Rodent Infectious Diseases

PubMed Central

Besselsen, David G.; Franklin, Craig L.; Livingston, Robert S.; Riley, Lela K.

2013-01-01

Rodent parvoviruses, Helicobacter spp., murine norovirus, and several other previously unknown infectious agents have “emerged” in laboratory rodents relatively recently. These agents have been discovered serendipitously or through active investigation of atypical serology results, cell culture contamination, unexpected histopathology, or previously unrecognized clinical disease syndromes. The potential research impact of these agents is not fully known. Infected rodents have demonstrated immunomodulation, tumor suppression, clinical disease (particularly in immunodeficient rodents), and histopathology. Perturbations of organismal and cellular physiology also likely occur. These agents posed unique challenges to laboratory animal resource programs once discovered; it was necessary to develop specific diagnostic assays and an understanding of their epidemiology and transmission routes before attempting eradication, and then evaluate eradication methods for efficacy. Even then management approaches varied significantly, from apathy to total exclusion, and such inconsistency has hindered the sharing and transfer of rodents among institutions, particularly for genetically modified rodent models that may not be readily available. As additional infectious agents are discovered in laboratory rodents in coming years, much of what researchers have learned from experiences with the recently identified pathogens will be applicable. This article provides an overview of the discovery, detection, and research impact of infectious agents recently identified in laboratory rodents. We also discuss emerging syndromes for which there is a suspected infectious etiology, and the unique challenges of managing newly emerging infectious agents. PMID:18506061

Agroterrorism: the risks to the United States food supply and national security.

PubMed

Gill, Kevin M

2015-01-01

Agroterrorism is a collective term that describes an intentional criminal attack against crops or mankind using viral, bacterial, fungal, or insect-borne agents. Agroterrorism also includes attacks against animals using infectious pathogens such as Burkholderia mallei (glanders), Bacillus anthracis (anthrax), viral avian influenza, foot and mouth disease, and several equine encephalitis viruses. Agents that could be used against crops include the causative agents of wheat blast, rice blast, rice brown spot disease, and wheat stem rust. The primary goal of terrorists using agroterrorism is to spread fear and cause massive economic loss. Subsequent goals include causing disease and death to humans and animals. The use of bioterrorism agents is a much more practical approach than using explosives, for example, to achieve those results since many of these biological agents are commonly found naturally in the environment and are difficult to detect with modern technology. The effective use of biological warfare dates back centuries and can still can be employed by terrorist groups, lone wolves, and political and religious groups to cause death and mayhem on a grand scale.

Simultaneous acute deep vein thrombosis and acute brucellosis. A case report.

PubMed

Salihi, Salih; Andaç, Şeyda; Kalender, Mehmet; Yıldırım, Onur; İmre, Ayfer

2016-06-01

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease common in developing countries. Vascular complications, including arterial and venous, associated with Brucella infection have rarely been reported. A case of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) developing after a diagnosis of acute brucellosis in a young milkman is presented. A 26-year-old man presented with pain in the right leg. The patient's medical history included a diagnosis of brucellosis in our hospital where he had presented with complaints of weakness and fever. Peripheral venous Doppler ultrasound showed DVT, and the patient was treated with anticoagulants. The patient was discharged with warfarin therapy and anti-brucellosis treatment. Although rare, some infectious agents may cause vascular pathologies. Patients presenting with symptoms of DVT or similar vascular pathologies should be assessed for infectious agents, particularly in those coming from Brucella-endemic areas.

The role of infectious disease in marine communities: chapter 5

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lafferty, Kevin D.; Harvell, C. Drew

2014-01-01

Marine ecologists recognize that infectious diseases play and important role in ocean ecosystems. This role may have increased in some host taxa over time (Ward and Lafferty 2004). We begin this chapter by introducing infectious agents and their relationships with their hosts in marine systems. We then put infectious disease agents with their hosts in marine systems. We then put infectious disease agents in the perspective of marine biodiversity and discuss the various factors that affect parasites. Specifically, we introduce some basin epidemiological concepts, including the effects of stress and free-living diversity on parasites. Following this, we give brief consideration to communities of parasites within their hosts, particularly as these can lead to general insights into community ecology. We also give examples of how infectious diseases affect host populations, scaling up to marine communities. Finally, we present examples of marine infectious disease that impair conservation and fisheries.

Replication and spread of CJD, kuru and scrapie agents in vivo and in cell culture

PubMed Central

Miyazawa, Kohtaro; Emmerling, Kaitlin

2011-01-01

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) agents are defined by their virulence for particular species, their spread in the population, their incubation time to cause disease, and their neuropathological sequelae. Murine adapted human agents, including sporadic CJD (sCJD), New Guinea kuru, and Japanese CJD agents, display particularly distinct incubation times and maximal infectious brain titers. They also induce agent-specific patterns of neurodegeneration. When these TSE agents are transmitted to cultured hypothalamic GT1 cells they maintain their unique identities. Nevertheless, the human kuru (kCJD) and Japanese FU-CJD agents, as well as the sheep 22L and 263K scrapie agents display doubling times that are 8× to 33× faster in cells than in brain, indicating release from complex innate immune responses. These data are most consistent with a foreign viral structure, rather than an infectious form of host prion protein (PrP-res). Profound agent-specific inhibitory effects are also apparent in GT1 cells, and maximal titer plateau in kCJD and FU-CJD differed by 1,000-fold in a cell-based assay. Remarkably, the lower titer kCJD agent rapidly induced de novo PrP-res in GT1 cells, whereas the high titer FU-CJD agent replicated silently for multiple passages. Although PrP-res is often considered to be toxic, PrP-res instead may be part of a primal defense and/or clearance mechanism against TSE environmental agents. Limited spread of particular TSE agents through nanotubes and cell-to-cell contacts probably underlies the long peripheral phase of human CJD. PMID:21527829

Experimental Transmission of Bighorn Sheep Sinus Tumors to Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis) and Domestic Sheep.

PubMed

Fox, K A; Wootton, S; Marolf, A; Rouse, N; LeVan, I; Spraker, T; Miller, M; Quackenbush, S

2016-11-01

Bighorn sheep sinus tumors are a recently described disease affecting the paranasal sinuses of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis). Several features of this disease suggest an infectious cause, although a specific etiologic agent has not been identified. To test the hypothesis that bighorn sheep sinus tumors are caused by an infectious agent, we inoculated 4 bighorn sheep lambs and 4 domestic sheep lambs intranasally with a cell-free filtrate derived from a naturally occurring bighorn sheep sinus tumor; we held 1 individual of each species as a control. Within 18 months after inoculation, all 4 inoculated domestic sheep (100%) and 1 of the 4 inoculated bighorn sheep (25%) developed tumors within the ethmoid sinuses or nasal conchae, with features similar to naturally occurring bighorn sheep sinus tumors. Neither of the uninoculated sheep developed tumors. Histologically, the experimentally transmitted tumors were composed of stellate to spindle cells embedded within a myxoid matrix, with marked bone production. Tumor cells stained positively with vimentin, S100, alpha smooth muscle actin, and osteocalcin, suggesting origin from a multipotent mesenchymal cell. A periosteal origin for these tumors is suspected. Immunohistochemical staining for the envelope protein of JSRV (with cross-reactivity to ENTV) was equivocal, and PCR assays specific for these agents were negative. © The Author(s) 2016.

Serosurveillance of infectious agents in equines of the Central Valley of Costa Rica.

PubMed

Jiménez, D; Romero-Zuñiga, J J; Dolz, G

2014-01-01

Blood samples from 181 equines from the Central Valley of Costa Rica were collected in the year 2012 to determine the presence of antibodies against selected infectious agents in horses and to determine the risk factors associated with these agents. The presence of antibodies against Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (EIAV), Equine Herpes Virus 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4), West Nile Virus (WNV), Influenza A Virus (IAV), Equine Viral Arteritis Virus (EVAV), Babesia caballi, Theileria equi, Neospora caninum and Chlamydia abortus was determined using commercial assays, and risk factors associated with seropositivity to the different infectious agents was established. The most seroprevalent agent detected was EHV-4 (96.7%), followed by WNV (44.2%), and IAV (41.8%). Horses >3 years, used for work or sports, and with access to pastures, had significantly increased probability to be seropositive to WNV, whereas horses used for breeding and recreational purposes, being stabled, and without access to pastures, had significantly greater probability to be seropositive to IAV. Seroprevalence to B. caballi (19.9%) was lower than to T. equi (38.1%). For B. caballi, access to pastures was determined as a risk factor, whereas being older than 3 years was established as a risk factor for T. equi. Low seroprevalences were determined for EHV-1 (5.0%), EVAV (5.0%), C. abortus (4.8%), and N. caninum (4.4%). Mares having history of abortion were more likely to be seropositive to EHV-1, whereas horses >3 years, used for work and sports, and mares having multiple parturitions, were more likely to be seropositive to N. caninum. None of the horses were seropositive to EIAV. Earlier, only diseases caused by EIAV, WNV and piroplasmosis were reported in Costa Rica. The present study however, determined the presence of carriers for EHV-1, EHV-4, and EIAV.

Serosurveillance of infectious agents in equines of the Central Valley of Costa Rica

PubMed Central

Jiménez, D.; Romero-Zuñiga, J.J.; Dolz, G.

2014-01-01

Blood samples from 181 equines from the Central Valley of Costa Rica were collected in the year 2012 to determine the presence of antibodies against selected infectious agents in horses and to determine the risk factors associated with these agents. The presence of antibodies against Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (EIAV), Equine Herpes Virus 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4), West Nile Virus (WNV), Influenza A Virus (IAV), Equine Viral Arteritis Virus (EVAV), Babesia caballi, Theileria equi, Neospora caninum and Chlamydia abortus was determined using commercial assays, and risk factors associated with seropositivity to the different infectious agents was established. The most seroprevalent agent detected was EHV-4 (96.7%), followed by WNV (44.2%), and IAV (41.8%). Horses >3 years, used for work or sports, and with access to pastures, had significantly increased probability to be seropositive to WNV, whereas horses used for breeding and recreational purposes, being stabled, and without access to pastures, had significantly greater probability to be seropositive to IAV. Seroprevalence to B. caballi (19.9%) was lower than to T. equi (38.1%). For B. caballi, access to pastures was determined as a risk factor, whereas being older than 3 years was established as a risk factor for T. equi. Low seroprevalences were determined for EHV-1 (5.0%), EVAV (5.0%), C. abortus (4.8%), and N. caninum (4.4%). Mares having history of abortion were more likely to be seropositive to EHV-1, whereas horses >3 years, used for work and sports, and mares having multiple parturitions, were more likely to be seropositive to N. caninum. None of the horses were seropositive to EIAV. Earlier, only diseases caused by EIAV, WNV and piroplasmosis were reported in Costa Rica. The present study however, determined the presence of carriers for EHV-1, EHV-4, and EIAV. PMID:26623349

Immunopharmacotherapy of non-infectious uveitis: where do we stand?

PubMed

Agrawal, Rupesh; Lee, Cecilia; Phatak, Sumita; Pavesio, Carlos

2014-12-01

With ever-evolving concept of personalised medicine backed up with specific biomarkers for ocular inflammatory disease, there is a sudden surge of using biologics in non-infectious recalcitrant posterior uveitis. Have we understood these biologic agents enough to embark on this long enduring journey with the patient to optimise control of intraocular inflammation? On the other hand, there is still a strong inhibition of using these novel agents in management of uveitis even at tertiary referral centres. Immunopharmacotherapy of non-infectious uveitis poses a significant conundrum for both physicians and patients as it is like a two-edged sword effective to control inflammation but at the same time potentially toxic, suspected of causing long-term adverse effects. Systemic immunosuppressive therapy is used in a substantial number of most vision-threatening ocular inflammatory diseases. There is lack of randomised control trials establishing the safety of this therapy and our current practice pattern is based on retrospective studies and personal experience in using this treatment modality. This overview will highlight on the current dilemma faced by the clinicians in opting for steroid-sparing immunosuppressive therapy.

Infections on Cruise Ships.

PubMed

Kak, Vivek

2015-08-01

The modern cruise ship is a small city on the seas, with populations as large as 5,000 seen on large ships. The growth of the cruise ship industry has continued in the twenty-first century, and it was estimated that nearly 21.3 million passengers traveled on cruise ships in 2013, with the majority of these sailing from North America. The presence of large numbers of individuals in close proximity to each other facilitates transmission of infectious diseases, often through person-to-person spread or via contaminated food or water. An infectious agent introduced into the environment of a cruise ship has the potential to be distributed widely across the ship and to cause significant morbidity. The median cruise ship passenger is over 45 years old and often has chronic medical problems, so it is important that, to have a safe cruise ship experience, any potential for the introduction of an infecting agent as well as its transmission be minimized. The majority of cruise ship infections involve respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. This article discusses infectious outbreaks on cruise ships and suggests preventative measures for passengers who plan to travel on cruise ships.

Parasitic causes of prolonged diarrhoea in travellers - diagnosis and management.

PubMed

Slack, Andrew

2012-10-01

Prolonged infectious diarrhoea in the returning traveller is generally caused by protozoal and occasionally by helminth parasites. This article provides a framework for the diagnosis, management and prevention of the diseases that cause persistent diarrhoea in the traveller. A large proportion of disease is caused by Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporidium parvum and Entamoeba histolytica. However, given the ease of travel with comorbid conditions such as human immunodeficiency virus, there is an expanding list of organisms that can cause persistent diarrhoea. An awareness of the likely aetiological agents and their clinical features enables a more effective diagnosis and management of the patient's condition using an appropriate antiparasitic agent. Prevention strategies need to be initiated before travel and should consist of simple but memorable advice. Noninfectious causes of diarrhoea should be considered as diarrhoea can be a prominent feature of conditions such as hyperthyroidism or coeliac disease.

Update on Tick-Borne Bacterial Diseases in Travelers.

PubMed

Eldin, Carole; Parola, Philippe

2018-05-22

Ticks are the second most important vectors of infectious diseases after mosquitoes worldwide. The growth of international tourism including in rural and remote places increasingly exposes travelers to tick bite. Our aim was to review the main tick-borne infectious diseases reported in travelers in the past 5 years. In recent years, tick-borne bacterial diseases have emerged in travelers including spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsioses, borrelioses, and diseases caused by bacteria of the Anaplasmataceae family. African tick-bite fever, due to Rickettsia africae, is the most frequent agent reported in travelers returned from Sub-Saharan areas. Other SFG agents are increasingly reported in travelers, and clinicians should be aware of them. Lyme disease can be misdiagnosed in Southern countries. Organisms causing tick-borne relapsing fever are neglected pathogens worldwide, and reports in travelers have allowed the description of new species. Infections due to Anaplasmataceae bacteria are more rarely described in travelers, but a new species of Neoehrlichia has recently been detected in a traveler. The treatment of these infections relies on doxycycline, and travelers should be informed before the trip about prevention measures against tick bites.

Predicting the characteristics of the aetiological agent for Kawasaki disease from other paediatric infectious diseases in Japan.

PubMed

Nagao, Y; Urabe, C; Nakamura, H; Hatano, N

2016-02-01

Although Kawasaki disease (KD), which was first reported in the 1960s, is assumed to be infectious, its aetiological agent(s) remains unknown. We compared the geographical distribution of the force of infection and the super-annual periodicity of KD and seven other paediatric infectious diseases in Japan. The geographical distribution of the force of infection, which was estimated as the inverse of the mean patient age, was similar in KD and other paediatric viral infections. This similarity was due to the fact that the force of infection was determined largely by the total fertility rate. This finding suggests that KD shares a transmission route, i.e. sibling-to-sibling infection, with other paediatric infections. The super-annual periodicity, which is positively associated with the sum of an infectious disease's incubation period and infectious period, was much longer for KD and exanthema subitum than other paediatric infectious diseases. The virus for exanthema subitum is known to persist across the host's lifespan, which suggests that the aetiological agent for KD may also be capable of persistent infection. Taken together, these findings suggest that the aetiological agent for KD is transmitted through close contact and persists asymptomatically in most hosts.

Antibody therapy for Ebola

PubMed Central

Qiu, Xiangguo; Kobinger, Gary P

2014-01-01

Ebola viruses can cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates with fatality rates up to 90%, and are identified as biosafety level 4 pathogens and CDC Category A Agents of Bioterrorism. To date, there are no approved therapies and vaccines available to treat these infections. Antibody therapy was estimated to be an effective and powerful treatment strategy against infectious pathogens in the late 19th, early 20th centuries but has fallen short to meet expectations to widely combat infectious diseases. Passive immunization for Ebola virus was successful in 2012, after over 15 years of failed attempts leading to skepticism that the approach would ever be of potential benefit. Currently, monoclonal antibody (mAbs)-based therapies are the most efficient at reversing the progression of a lethal Ebola virus infection in nonhuman primates, which recapitulate the human disease with the highest similarity. Novel combinations of mAbs can even fully cure lethally infected animals after clinical symptoms and circulating virus have been detected, days into the infection. These new developments have reopened the door for using antibody-based therapies for filovirus infections. Furthermore, they are reigniting hope that these strategies will contribute to better control the spread of other infectious agents and provide new tools against infectious diseases. PMID:24503566

Mortality Surveillance for Infectious Diseases in the U.S. Department of Defense (1998-2013).

PubMed

Potter, Robert N; Tremaine, Ladd A; Gaydos, Joel C

2017-03-01

The Mortality Surveillance Division (MSD) of the U.S. Armed Forces Medical Examiner System was established in 1998 to improve surveillance for all military deaths although emphasizing deaths from infectious diseases. Establishment of the MSD was part of the 1997 Department of Defense initiative to improve surveillance and response for emerging infectious diseases. Before 1998, mortality surveillance was limited to compiling information from death certificates, a system that provided limited useful information and lacked the timeliness needed to take meaningful action to address emerging infectious disease threats. The MSD was tasked to quickly identify all infectious disease deaths and the infecting agents. The system developed by the MSD staff identified deaths in near real-time and immediately notified military Public Health authorities of situations that warranted an investigation. Autopsy, medical, and investigative reports were collected. Testing specimens for agent identification was encouraged. The data and information collected were archived in the MSD-developed Medical Mortality Registry (MMR), a database that included all active duty Service Member deaths and contained manner and cause of death with medical, demographic, circumstantial, and diagnostic information. The MMR was the only comprehensive, autopsy-based source for mortality information on active duty military deaths. During 1998-2013, 217 (1.3%) infectious disease deaths were identified among 16,192 noncombat deaths. Of the 217 deaths, 29.5% were classified as respiratory, 18.0% cardiac, 15.2% blood borne, 12.9% nervous system, and 12.4% sepsis. A pathogen was identified for 64.5%. Agents of military interest identified included Neisseria meningitidis, influenza viruses, adenoviruses, and malaria. Neisseria meningitidis was identified in 10 fatal cases; grouping of the agent was done for eight cases. Four were group B, two were C, and two were Y. All eight had been immunized with a quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine. The most commonly detected respiratory agent was influenza virus (nine deaths), three of which were the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus. Adenoviruses were identified as the infectious agents in a total of nine deaths. Two deaths resulted from Plasmodium falciparum malaria infections acquired in Africa during military deployments. An important but unexplained finding was that Black Service Members made up only16.3% of all military personnel but accounted for 28.6% of all infectious disease deaths. The time lag between death and notification of the MSD at the start of this surveillance program was 24 to 48 hours. The lag at the end of the reported surveillance period was 8 to 24 hours. The MSD surveillance system identified an agent in 140 of 217 (64.5%) uniformed deaths. In a similar program by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 122 cases with specimens, an agent could be identified in 34 (28%). MMR data and information provided strong support for re-establishing the military recruit adenovirus vaccination program, which ceased in 1999 and was finally re-established in 2011. MMR data and information also assisted in monitoring the military meningococcal vaccine program, helped to describe the virulence of circulating influenza viruses, and identified areas where deadly malaria infections were not being prevented. Reprint & Copyright © 2017 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

10 × '20 Progress—Development of New Drugs Active Against Gram-Negative Bacilli: An Update From the Infectious Diseases Society of America

PubMed Central

Boucher, Helen W.; Talbot, George H.; Benjamin, Daniel K.; Bradley, John; Guidos, Robert J.; Jones, Ronald N.; Murray, Barbara E.; Bonomo, Robert A.; Gilbert, David

2013-01-01

Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, especially the “ESKAPE” pathogens, continue to increase in frequency and cause significant morbidity and mortality. New antimicrobial agents are greatly needed to treat infections caused by gram-negative bacilli (GNB) resistant to currently available agents. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) continues to propose legislative, regulatory, and funding solutions to this continuing crisis. The current report updates the status of development and approval of systemic antibiotics in the United States as of early 2013. Only 2 new antibiotics have been approved since IDSA's 2009 pipeline status report, and the number of new antibiotics annually approved for marketing in the United States continues to decline. We identified 7 drugs in clinical development for treatment of infections caused by resistant GNB. None of these agents was included in our 2009 list of antibacterial compounds in phase 2 or later development, but unfortunately none addresses the entire spectrum of clinically relevant GNB resistance. Our survey demonstrates some progress in development of new antibacterial drugs that target infections caused by resistant GNB, but progress remains alarmingly elusive. IDSA stresses our conviction that the antibiotic pipeline problem can be solved by the collaboration of global leaders to develop creative incentives that will stimulate new antibacterial research and development. Our aim is the creation of a sustainable global antibacterial drug research and development enterprise with the power in the short term to develop 10 new, safe, and efficacious systemically administered antibiotics by 2020 as called for in IDSA's “10 × '20 Initiative.” PMID:23599308

Non-Clostridium perfringens infectious agents producing necrotic enteritis-like lesions in poultry.

PubMed

Uzal, F A; Sentíes-Cué, C G; Rimoldi, G; Shivaprasad, H L

2016-06-01

Necrotic enteritis (NE) produced by Clostridium perfringens is amongst the most prevalent enteric diseases of chickens and turkeys. However, several other bacterial, parasitic and viral agents can cause clinical signs, gross and microscopic lesions in poultry very similar to those of NE and the diseases produced by those agents need to be differentiated from NE. The main differential diagnoses for C. perfringens NE include bacterial (Clostridium colinum, Clostridium sordellii, Clostridium difficile, Pasteurella multocida, Brachyspira spp.), parasitic (Eimeria spp., Histomonas meleagridis) and viral (Duck Herpesvirus type 1, Avian Paramyxovirus type 1) diseases. Confirmation of the diagnosis of these diseases requires identification of the aetiological agents by morphological, cultural and/or molecular methods.

To understand coral disease, look at coral cells

USGS Publications Warehouse

Work, Thierry M.; Meteyer, Carol U.

2014-01-01

Diseases threaten corals globally, but 40 years on their causes remain mostly unknown. We hypothesize that inconsistent application of a complete diagnostic approach to coral disease has contributed to this slow progress. We quantified methods used to investigate coral disease in 492 papers published between 1965 and 2013. Field surveys were used in 65% of the papers, followed by biodetection (43%), laboratory trials (20%), microscopic pathology (21%), and field trials (9%). Of the microscopic pathology efforts, 57% involved standard histopathology at the light microscopic level (12% of the total investigations), with the remainder dedicated to electron or fluorescence microscopy. Most (74%) biodetection efforts focused on culture or molecular characterization of bacteria or fungi from corals. Molecular and immunological tools have been used to incriminate infectious agents (mainly bacteria) as the cause of coral diseases without relating the agent to specific changes in cell and tissue pathology. Of 19 papers that declared an infectious agent as a cause of disease in corals, only one (5%) used microscopic pathology, and none fulfilled all of the criteria required to satisfy Koch’s postulates as applied to animal diseases currently. Vertebrate diseases of skin and mucosal surfaces present challenges similar to corals when trying to identify a pathogen from a vast array of environmental microbes, and diagnostic approaches regularly used in these cases might provide a model for investigating coral diseases. We hope this review will encourage specialists of disease in domestic animals, wildlife, fish, shellfish, and humans to contribute to the emerging field of coral disease.

Identification, characterization, and in vitro culture of highly divergent arenaviruses from boa constrictors and annulated tree boas: candidate etiological agents for snake inclusion body disease.

PubMed

Stenglein, Mark D; Sanders, Chris; Kistler, Amy L; Ruby, J Graham; Franco, Jessica Y; Reavill, Drury R; Dunker, Freeland; Derisi, Joseph L

2012-01-01

Inclusion body disease (IBD) is an infectious fatal disease of snakes typified by behavioral abnormalities, wasting, and secondary infections. At a histopathological level, the disease is identified by the presence of large eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions in multiple tissues. To date, no virus or other pathogen has been definitively characterized or associated with the disease. Using a metagenomic approach to search for candidate etiologic agents in snakes with confirmed IBD, we identified and de novo assembled the complete genomic sequences of two viruses related to arenaviruses, and a third arenavirus-like sequence was discovered by screening an additional set of samples. A continuous boa constrictor cell line was established and used to propagate and isolate one of the viruses in culture. Viral nucleoprotein was localized and concentrated within large cytoplasmic inclusions in infected cells in culture and tissues from diseased snakes. In total, viral RNA was detected in 6/8 confirmed IBD cases and 0/18 controls. These viruses have a typical arenavirus genome organization but are highly divergent, belonging to a lineage separate from that of the Old and New World arenaviruses. Furthermore, these viruses encode envelope glycoproteins that are more similar to those of filoviruses than to those of other arenaviruses. These findings implicate these viruses as candidate etiologic agents of IBD. The presence of arenaviruses outside mammals reveals that these viruses infect an unexpectedly broad range of species and represent a new reservoir of potential human pathogens. Inclusion body disease (IBD) is a common infectious disease of captive snakes. IBD is fatal and can cause the loss of entire animal collections. The cause of the disease has remained elusive, and no treatment exists. In addition to being important to pet owners, veterinarians, breeders, zoological parks, and aquariums, the study of animal disease is significant since animals are the source of virtually every emerging infectious human disease. We searched for candidate causative agents in snakes diagnosed with IBD and found a group of novel viruses distantly related mainly to arenaviruses but also to filoviruses, both of which can cause fatal hemorrhagic fevers when transmitted from animals to humans. In addition to providing evidence that strongly suggests that these viruses cause snake IBD, this discovery reveals a new and unanticipated domain of virus biology and evolution.

[Reservation forms of plague infectious agent in Tuva natural focus].

PubMed

Bazanova, L P; Innokent'eva, T I

2012-01-01

Data characterizing the reservation forms of plague infectious agent in Tuva natural focus are presented in the review. Yersinia pestis was shown to persist most of the year in Citellophilus tesquorum altaicus imago --the main carrier, getting into the animal organism only for a short time. An increased ability to aggregate in autumn and accumulate in clumps of C. tesquorum altaicus females that are more adapted to survive the cold season compared with males promote the persistence of the microorganism. The plague infectious agent in the altered form survives in the organism of females not only the winter period but also longer periods of time that is demonstrated by the facts of detection of it after 646 days of staying in the carrier. Moreover Yersinia pestis can persist for more than 400 days in the substrate of the nest of long-tailed ground squirrel infected by excrements and corpses of plague fleas. The substrate of the nest infected in summer-autumn period of the previous year may determine the primary infection of ground squirrels by plague infectious agent in the next epizootic season. On ground squirrels infected during contact with nest substrate, infection of intact fleas may be possible, and so the initiation of a new cycle of transmission of the infectious agent. Adaptation of the plague infectious agent to unfavorable existence conditions in the carrier is expressed in the changes of its morphology and ultrastructure that is evidenced by the facts of isolation of the infectious agent from corpses of fleas situated in the substrate, in the L-form, as well as results of phase-contrast and electron microscopy of the digestive tract of C. tesquorum altaicus.

Circulating microRNAs as Potential Biomarkers of Infectious Disease

PubMed Central

Correia, Carolina N.; Nalpas, Nicolas C.; McLoughlin, Kirsten E.; Browne, John A.; Gordon, Stephen V.; MacHugh, David E.; Shaughnessy, Ronan G.

2017-01-01

microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding endogenous RNA molecules that regulate a wide range of biological processes by post-transcriptionally regulating gene expression. Thousands of these molecules have been discovered to date, and multiple miRNAs have been shown to coordinately fine-tune cellular processes key to organismal development, homeostasis, neurobiology, immunobiology, and control of infection. The fundamental regulatory role of miRNAs in a variety of biological processes suggests that differential expression of these transcripts may be exploited as a novel source of molecular biomarkers for many different disease pathologies or abnormalities. This has been emphasized by the recent discovery of remarkably stable miRNAs in mammalian biofluids, which may originate from intracellular processes elsewhere in the body. The potential of circulating miRNAs as biomarkers of disease has mainly been demonstrated for various types of cancer. More recently, however, attention has focused on the use of circulating miRNAs as diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers of infectious disease; for example, human tuberculosis caused by infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, sepsis caused by multiple infectious agents, and viral hepatitis. Here, we review these developments and discuss prospects and challenges for translating circulating miRNA into novel diagnostics for infectious disease. PMID:28261201

Recommendations for control of pathogens and infectious diseases in fish research facilities☆

PubMed Central

Kent, Michael L.; Feist, Stephen W.; Harper, Claudia; Hoogstraten-Miller, Shelley; Mac Law, J.; Sánchez-Morgado, José M.; Tanguay, Robert L.; Sanders, George E.; Spitsbergen, Jan M.; Whipps, Christopher M.

2012-01-01

Concerns about infectious diseases in fish used for research have risen along with the dramatic increase in the use of fish as models in biomedical research. In addition to acute diseases causing severe morbidity and mortality, underlying chronic conditions that cause low-grade or subclinical infections may confound research results. Here we present recommendations and strategies to avoid or minimize the impacts of infectious agents in fishes maintained in the research setting. There are distinct differences in strategies for control of pathogens in fish used for research compared to fishes reared as pets or in aquaculture. Also, much can be learned from strategies and protocols for control of diseases in rodents used in research, but there are differences. This is due, in part, the unique aquatic environment that is modified by the source and quality of the water provided and the design of facilities. The process of control of pathogens and infectious diseases in fish research facilities is relatively new, and will be an evolving process over time. Nevertheless, the goal of documenting, detecting, and excluding pathogens in fish is just as important as in mammalian research models. PMID:18755294

Recommendations for control of pathogens and infectious diseases in fish research facilities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kent, M.L.; Feist, S.W.; Harper, C.; Hoogstraten-Miller, S.; Law, J.M.; Sanchez-Morgado, J. M.; Tanguay, R.L.; Sanders, G.E.; Spitsbergen, J.M.; Whipps, Christopher M.

2009-01-01

Concerns about infectious diseases in fish used for research have risen along with the dramatic increase in the use of fish as models in biomedical research. In addition to acute diseases causing severe morbidity and mortality, underlying chronic conditions that cause low-grade or subclinical infections may confound research results. Here we present recommendations and strategies to avoid or minimize the impacts of infectious agents in fishes maintained in the research setting. There are distinct differences in strategies for control of pathogens in fish used for research compared to fishes reared as pets or in aquaculture. Also, much can be learned from strategies and protocols for control of diseases in rodents used in research, but there are differences. This is due, in part, the unique aquatic environment that is modified by the source and quality of the water provided and the design of facilities. The process of control of pathogens and infectious diseases in fish research facilities is relatively new, and will be an evolving process over time. Nevertheless, the goal of documenting, detecting, and excluding pathogens in fish is just as important as in mammalian research models.

Giant scrotal elephantiasis: an idiopathic case.

PubMed

Dianzani, C; Gaspardini, F; Persichetti, P; Brunetti, B; Pizzuti, A; Margiotti, K; Degener, A M

2010-01-01

Scrotal elephantiasis is very rare disease in industrialized countries, where it is mainly due to surgery, irradiation or malignancies. It can be defined as idiopathic only when the possible congenital, infectious and compressive causes are excluded. We report a case of massive scrotal lymphoedema in an adult Caucasian patient, in Italy. He presented an extremely voluminous scrotal mass measuring 50 x 47 x 13 cm (weight 18 kg), which extended below his knees, invalidating all his daily activities. The patient was hospitalized in order to undergo to surgical treatment. Although genetic causes were searched and the possible role of infectious agents and compressive factors was evaluated, no etiology was ascertained. Histopathologic examination showed non-specific chronic inflammation, confirming the diagnosis of idiopathic elephantiasis. One year after surgical treatment, the patient is healthy without recurrence signs.

Some infectious causes of diarrhea in young farm animals.

PubMed Central

Holland, R E

1990-01-01

Escherichia coli, rotaviruses, and Cryptosporidium parvum are discussed in this review as they relate to enteric disease in calves, lambs, and pigs. These microorganisms are frequently incriminated as causative agents in diarrheas among neonatal food animals, and in some cases different strains or serotypes of the same organism cause diarrhea in humans. E. coli causes diarrhea by mechanisms that include production of heat-labile or heat-stable enterotoxins and synthesis of potent cytotoxins, and some strains cause diarrhea by yet undetermined mechanisms. Rotaviruses and C. parvum induce various degrees of villous atrophy. Rotaviruses infect and replicate within the cytoplasm of enterocytes, whereas C. parvum resides in an intracellular, extracytoplasmic location. E. coli, rotavirus, and C. parvum infections are of concern to producers, veterinarians, and public health officials. These agents are a major cause of economic loss to the producer because of costs associated with therapy, reduced performance, and high morbidity and mortality rates. Moreover, diarrheic animals may harbor, incubate, and act as a source to healthy animals and humans of some of these agents. Images PMID:2224836

Potential strategies and biosafety protocols used for dual-use research on highly pathogenic influenza viruses

PubMed Central

Du, Lanying; Li, Ye; Gao, Jimin; Zhou, Yusen; Jiang, Shibo

2013-01-01

Summary Influenza A viruses (IAVs), particularly the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, have posed a substantial threat to public health worldwide. Although the laboratory generation of the mutant influenza virus H5N1 with airborne transmissibility among mammals, which has been considered as a dual-use research, may benefit the development of effective vaccines and therapeutics against the emerging infectious agents, it may also pose threats to national biosecurity, laboratory biosafety, and/or public health. This review introduces the classification and characterization of IAVs, pinpoints historic pandemics and epidemics caused by IAVs, emphasizes the significance and necessity of biosafety, summarizes currently established biosafety-related protocols for IAV research, and provides potential strategies to improve biosafety protocols for dual-use research on the highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses and other emerging infectious agents. PMID:22987727

Potential strategies and biosafety protocols used for dual-use research on highly pathogenic influenza viruses.

PubMed

Du, Lanying; Li, Ye; Gao, Jimin; Zhou, Yusen; Jiang, Shibo

2012-11-01

Influenza A viruses (IAVs), particularly the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, have posed a substantial threat to public health worldwide. Although the laboratory generation of the mutant influenza virus H5N1 with airborne transmissibility among mammals, which has been considered as a dual-use research, may benefit the development of effective vaccines and therapeutics against the emerging infectious agents, it may also pose threats to national biosecurity, laboratory biosafety, and/or public health. This review introduces the classification and characterization of IAVs, pinpoints historic pandemics and epidemics caused by IAVs, emphasizes the significance and necessity of biosafety, summarizes currently established biosafety-related protocols for IAV research, and provides potential strategies to improve biosafety protocols for dual-use research on the highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses and other emerging infectious agents. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Severe diarrhoea caused by Aeromonas veronii biovar sobria in a patient with metastasised GIST.

PubMed

Gröbner, Sabine; Bissinger, Alfred L; Raible, Armin; Heeg, Peter; Autenrieth, Ingo B; Schmidt, Susanne M

2007-01-01

This report describes the isolation of Aeromonas veronii biovar sobria as the causative enteropathogen of diarrhoea in an oncological patient after failure of detection of other infectious agents. The case points out the severe and long course of the infection, the diagnostic dilemma, and the prompt recovery after antibiotic treatment.

Classical scrapie prions in ovine blood are associated with B lymphocytes and platelets-rich plasma

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Classical scrapie is a naturally occurring fatal brain disease of sheep and goats which is caused by prions, a novel class of infectious agent, and is accompanied by the accumulation of abnormal isoforms of prion protein (PrP-Sc) in certain neural and lymphoid tissues. Although collection of a blood...

Accumulation of PrP-Sc in hemal nodes of naturally and experimentally scrapie-infected sheep

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Classical scrapie is a naturally occurring fatal disease of sheep and goats which is caused by prions, a novel class of infectious agent. Infection is accompanied by accumulation of abnormal isoforms of the prion protein (PrP-Sc) in certain neural and lymphoid tissues. Hemal nodes, which are unique ...

The Microbial Rosetta Stone Database: A compilation of global and emerging infectious microorganisms and bioterrorist threat agents

PubMed Central

Ecker, David J; Sampath, Rangarajan; Willett, Paul; Wyatt, Jacqueline R; Samant, Vivek; Massire, Christian; Hall, Thomas A; Hari, Kumar; McNeil, John A; Büchen-Osmond, Cornelia; Budowle, Bruce

2005-01-01

Background Thousands of different microorganisms affect the health, safety, and economic stability of populations. Many different medical and governmental organizations have created lists of the pathogenic microorganisms relevant to their missions; however, the nomenclature for biological agents on these lists and pathogens described in the literature is inexact. This ambiguity can be a significant block to effective communication among the diverse communities that must deal with epidemics or bioterrorist attacks. Results We have developed a database known as the Microbial Rosetta Stone. The database relates microorganism names, taxonomic classifications, diseases, specific detection and treatment protocols, and relevant literature. The database structure facilitates linkage to public genomic databases. This paper focuses on the information in the database for pathogens that impact global public health, emerging infectious organisms, and bioterrorist threat agents. Conclusion The Microbial Rosetta Stone is available at . The database provides public access to up-to-date taxonomic classifications of organisms that cause human diseases, improves the consistency of nomenclature in disease reporting, and provides useful links between different public genomic and public health databases. PMID:15850481

[Bacteremia and sepsis in patients hospitalized at the Dr. Fran Mihaljevíc Clinic for Infectious Diseases in Zagreb 1987-1991].

PubMed

Skerk, V; Schönwald, S; Bobinac, E; Bejuk, D; Zrinsćak, J

1995-01-01

A total number of 836 episodes of bacteremia and fungemia were examined in 823 hospitalized patients in the University Hospital of Infectious Diseases "Dr Fran Mihaljević" Zagreb from the beginning of 1987 to the end of 1991. Twenty-five percent of them were nosocomial bacteremias and 5% were polymicrobial bacteremias. The most frequently isolated causative agents were Salmonella spp. (26%), Escherichia coli (17%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (11%) and Staphylococcus aureus (8%). There were 34% of gram-positive bacteremias. The increased frequency of nosocomial bacteremias caused by coagulase-negative staphylococci was recorded. The frequency of coagulase-negative staphylococci strains resistant to gentamicin and Klebsiella spp. strains resistant to cefotaxime was increased. Shock was present in 19% of episodes. Relation between septic shock occurrence and causative agent of bacteremia was not proved. Mortality in patients with bacteremia was 13%, and total mortality was 20%. The outcome of the disease was in direct relation with causative agent of bacteremia. The initial empiric antimicrobial therapy was prolonged in 91% of episodes of bacteremia after blood culture results were known.

Sapronosis: a distinctive type of infectious agent

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kuris, Armand M.; Lafferty, Kevin D.; Sokolow, Susanne H.

2014-01-01

Sapronotic disease agents have evolutionary and epidemiological properties unlike other infectious organisms. Their essential saprophagic existence prevents coevolution, and no host–parasite virulence trade-off can evolve. However, the host may evolve defenses. Models of pathogens show that sapronoses, lacking a threshold of transmission, cannot regulate host populations, although they can reduce host abundance and even extirpate their hosts. Immunocompromised hosts are relatively susceptible to sapronoses. Some particularly important sapronoses, such as cholera and anthrax, can sustain an epidemic in a host population. However, these microbes ultimately persist as saprophages. One-third of human infectious disease agents are sapronotic, including nearly all fungal diseases. Recognition that an infectious disease is sapronotic illuminates a need for effective environmental control strategies.

Effectiveness and safety of Saccharomyces boulardii for acute infectious diarrhea.

PubMed

Dinleyici, Ener Cagri; Eren, Makbule; Ozen, Metehan; Yargic, Zeynel Abidin; Vandenplas, Yvan

2012-04-01

Acute diarrhea continues to be a leading cause of morbidity, hospitalization and mortality worldwide and probiotics have been proposed as a complementary therapy in the treatment of acute diarrhea. Regarding the treatment of acute diarrhea, a few probiotics including Saccharomyces boulardii seem to be promising therapeutic agents. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis regarding the use of S. boulardii in the treatment of acute infectious diarrhea with relevant studies that searched with the PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Google Scholar, the Cochrane Controlled Trials Library, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews through October 2011. This review describes the effects of S. boulardii on the duration of diarrhea, the risk of diarrhea during the treatment (especially at the third day) and duration of hospitalization in patients with acute infectious diarrhea. This review also focused on the potential effects of S. boulardii for acute infectious diarrhea due to different etiological causes. S. boulardii significantly reduced the duration of diarrhea approximately 24 h and that of hospitalization approximately 20 h. S. boulardii shortened the initial phase of watery stools; mean number of stools started to decrease at day 2; moreover, a significant reduction was reported at days 3 and 4. This systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of S. boulardii in the treatment of acute infectious diarrhea show that there is strong evidence that this probiotic has a clinically significant benefit, whatever the cause, including in developing countries. Therefore, with S. boulardii, the shortened duration of diarrhea and the reduction in hospital stay result in social and economic benefits.

Personalized Medicine for Chronic Respiratory Infectious Diseases: Tuberculosis, Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Diseases, and Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis.

PubMed

Salzer, Helmut J F; Wassilew, Nasstasja; Köhler, Niklas; Olaru, Ioana D; Günther, Gunar; Herzmann, Christian; Kalsdorf, Barbara; Sanchez-Carballo, Patricia; Terhalle, Elena; Rolling, Thierry; Lange, Christoph; Heyckendorf, Jan

2016-01-01

Chronic respiratory infectious diseases are causing high rates of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Tuberculosis, a major cause of chronic pulmonary infection, is currently responsible for approximately 1.5 million deaths per year. Although important advances in the fight against tuberculosis have been made, the progress towards eradication of this disease is being challenged by the dramatic increase in multidrug-resistant bacilli. Nontuberculous mycobacteria causing pulmonary disease and chronic pulmonary aspergillosis are emerging infectious diseases. In contrast to other infectious diseases, chronic respiratory infections share the trait of having highly variable treatment outcomes despite longstanding antimicrobial therapy. Recent scientific progress indicates that medicine is presently at a transition stage from programmatic to personalized management. We explain current state-of-the-art management concepts of chronic pulmonary infectious diseases as well as the underlying methods for therapeutic decisions and their implications for personalized medicine. Furthermore, we describe promising biomarkers and techniques with the potential to serve future individual treatment concepts in this field of difficult-to-treat patients. These include candidate markers to improve individual risk assessment for disease development, the design of tailor-made drug therapy regimens, and individualized biomarker-guided therapy duration to achieve relapse-free cure. In addition, the use of therapeutic drug monitoring to reach optimal drug dosing with the smallest rate of adverse events as well as candidate agents for future host-directed therapies are described. Taken together, personalized medicine will provide opportunities to substantially improve the management and treatment outcome of difficult-to-treat patients with chronic respiratory infections. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Selected Pathogens of Concern to Industrial Food Processors: Infectious, Toxigenic, Toxico-Infectious, Selected Emerging Pathogenic Bacteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behling, Robert G.; Eifert, Joseph; Erickson, Marilyn C.; Gurtler, Joshua B.; Kornacki, Jeffrey L.; Line, Erick; Radcliff, Roy; Ryser, Elliot T.; Stawick, Bradley; Yan, Zhinong

This chapter, written by several contributing authors, is devoted to discussing selected microbes of contemporary importance. Microbes from three categories are described by the following: (1) infectious invasive agents like Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Campylobacter; (2) toxigenic pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Clostridium botulinum; and (3) toxico-infectious agents like enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens. In addition, emerging pathogens, like Cronobacter (Enterobacter) sakazakii, Arcobacter spp., and Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis are also described.

Profoundly different prion diseases in knock-in mice carrying single PrP codon substitutions associated with human diseases.

PubMed

Jackson, Walker S; Borkowski, Andrew W; Watson, Nicki E; King, Oliver D; Faas, Henryk; Jasanoff, Alan; Lindquist, Susan

2013-09-03

In man, mutations in different regions of the prion protein (PrP) are associated with infectious neurodegenerative diseases that have remarkably different clinical signs and neuropathological lesions. To explore the roots of this phenomenon, we created a knock-in mouse model carrying the mutation associated with one of these diseases [Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)] that was exactly analogous to a previous knock-in model of a different prion disease [fatal familial insomnia (FFI)]. Together with the WT parent, this created an allelic series of three lines, each expressing the same protein with a single amino acid difference, and with all native regulatory elements intact. The previously described FFI mice develop neuronal loss and intense reactive gliosis in the thalamus, as seen in humans with FFI. In contrast, CJD mice had the hallmark features of CJD, spongiosis and proteinase K-resistant PrP aggregates, initially developing in the hippocampus and cerebellum but absent from the thalamus. A molecular transmission barrier protected the mice from any infectious prion agents that might have been present in our mouse facility and allowed us to conclude that the diseases occurred spontaneously. Importantly, both models created agents that caused a transmissible neurodegenerative disease in WT mice. We conclude that single codon differences in a single gene in an otherwise normal genome can cause remarkably different neurodegenerative diseases and are sufficient to create distinct protein-based infectious elements.

Early-phase transmission of Yersinia pestis by unblocked fleas as a mechanism explaining rapidly spreading plague epizootics.

PubMed

Eisen, Rebecca J; Bearden, Scott W; Wilder, Aryn P; Montenieri, John A; Antolin, Michael F; Gage, Kenneth L

2006-10-17

Plague is a highly virulent disease believed to have killed millions during three historic human pandemics. Worldwide, it remains a threat to humans and is a potential agent of bioterrorism. Dissemination of Yersinia pestis, the etiological agent of plague, by blocked fleas has been the accepted paradigm for flea-borne transmission. However, this mechanism, which requires a lengthy extrinsic incubation period before a short infectious window often followed by death of the flea, cannot sufficiently explain the rapid rate of spread that typifies plague epidemics and epizootics. Inconsistencies between the expected rate of spread by blocked rat fleas and that observed during the Black Death has even caused speculation that plague was not the cause of this medieval pandemic. We used the primary vector to humans in North America, Oropsylla montana, which rarely becomes blocked, as a model for studying alternative flea-borne transmission mechanisms. Our data revealed that, in contrast to the classical blocked flea model, O. montana is immediately infectious, transmits efficiently for at least 4 d postinfection (early phase) and may remain infectious for a long time because the fleas do not suffer block-induced mortality. These factors match the criteria required to drive plague epizootics as defined by recently published mathematical models. The scenario of efficient early-phase transmission by unblocked fleas described in our study calls for a paradigm shift in concepts of how Y. pestis is transmitted during rapidly spreading epizootics and epidemics, including, perhaps, the Black Death.

BioWar: A City-Scale Multi-Agent Network Model of Weaponized Biological Attacks

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-01-01

Simplex Encephalitis Hypertensive Heart Disease Hypovolemic Shock Immune Deficiency Syndrome Acquired Aids Infectious Mononucleosis Malaria...mitigation and recovery strategies. Models developed for the spread of infectious diseases in human populations can be harnessed for the predicting the...Restaurant s Eating location University Post secondary education institutions Military Military bases Indiv infectious idual a ) agents each tick

Dendrimer-conjugated peptide vaccine enhances clearance of Chlamydia trachomatis genital infection.

PubMed

Ganda, Ingrid S; Zhong, Qian; Hali, Mirabela; Albuquerque, Ricardo L C; Padilha, Francine F; da Rocha, Sandro R P; Whittum-Hudson, Judith A

2017-07-15

Peptide-based vaccines have emerged in recent years as promising candidates in the prevention of infectious diseases. However, there are many challenges to maintaining in vivo peptide stability and enhancement of peptide immunogenicity to generate protective immunity which enhances clearance of infections. Here, a dendrimer-based carrier system is proposed for peptide-based vaccine delivery, and shows its anti-microbial feasibility in a mouse model of Chlamydia trachomatis. Chlamydiae are the most prevalent sexually transmitted bacteria worldwide, and also the causal agent of trachoma, the leading cause of preventable infectious blindness. In spite of the prevalence of this infectious agent and the many previous vaccine-related studies, there is no vaccine commercially available. The carrier system proposed consists of generation 4, hydroxyl-terminated, polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers (G4OH), to which a peptide mimic of a chlamydial glycolipid antigen-Peptide 4 (Pep4, AFPQFRSATLLL) was conjugated through an ester bond. The ester bond between G4OH and Pep4 is expected to break down mainly in the intracellular environment for antigen presentation. Pep4 conjugated to dendrimer induced Chlamydia-specific serum antibodies after subcutaneous immunizations. Further, this new vaccine formulation significantly protected immunized animals from vaginal challenge with infectious Chlamydia trachomatis, and it reduced infectious loads and tissue (genital tract) damage. Pep4 conjugated to G4OH or only mixed with peptide provided enhanced protection compared to Pep4 and adjuvant (i.e. alum), suggesting a potential adjuvant effect of the PAMAM dendrimer. Combined, these results demonstrate that hydroxyl-terminated PAMAM dendrimer is a promising polymeric nanocarrier platform for the delivery of peptide vaccines and this approach has potential to be expanded to other infectious intracellular bacteria and viruses of public health significance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Physical Relationship between Infectivity and Prion Protein Aggregates Is Strain-Dependent

PubMed Central

Tixador, Philippe; Herzog, Laëtitia; Reine, Fabienne; Jaumain, Emilie; Chapuis, Jérôme; Le Dur, Annick; Laude, Hubert; Béringue, Vincent

2010-01-01

Prions are unconventional infectious agents thought to be primarily composed of PrPSc, a multimeric misfolded conformer of the ubiquitously expressed host-encoded prion protein (PrPC). They cause fatal neurodegenerative diseases in both animals and humans. The disease phenotype is not uniform within species, and stable, self-propagating variations in PrPSc conformation could encode this ‘strain’ diversity. However, much remains to be learned about the physical relationship between the infectious agent and PrPSc aggregation state, and how this varies according to the strain. We applied a sedimentation velocity technique to a panel of natural, biologically cloned strains obtained by propagation of classical and atypical sheep scrapie and BSE infectious sources in transgenic mice expressing ovine PrP. Detergent-solubilized, infected brain homogenates were used as starting material. Solubilization conditions were optimized to separate PrPSc aggregates from PrPC. The distribution of PrPSc and infectivity in the gradient was determined by immunoblotting and mouse bioassay, respectively. As a general feature, a major proteinase K-resistant PrPSc peak was observed in the middle part of the gradient. This population approximately corresponds to multimers of 12–30 PrP molecules, if constituted of PrP only. For two strains, infectivity peaked in a markedly different region of the gradient. This most infectious component sedimented very slowly, suggesting small size oligomers and/or low density PrPSc aggregates. Extending this study to hamster prions passaged in hamster PrP transgenic mice revealed that the highly infectious, slowly sedimenting particles could be a feature of strains able to induce a rapidly lethal disease. Our findings suggest that prion infectious particles are subjected to marked strain-dependent variations, which in turn could influence the strain biological phenotype, in particular the replication dynamics. PMID:20419156

Emerging infectious diseases at the beginning of the 21st century.

PubMed

Lashley, Felissa R

2006-01-31

The emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases involves many interrelated factors. Global interconnectedness continues to increase with international travel and trade; economic, political, and cultural interactions; and human-to-human and animal-to-human interactions. These interactions include the accidental and deliberate sharing of microbial agents and antimicrobial resistance and allow the emergence of new and unrecognized microbial disease agents. As the 21st century begins, already new agents have been identified, and new outbreaks have occurred. Solutions to limiting the spread of emerging infectious diseases will require cooperative efforts among many disciplines and entities worldwide. This article defines emerging infectious diseases, summarizes historical background, and discusses factors that contribute to emergence. Seven agents that have made a significant appearance, particularly in the 21st century, are reviewed, including: Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic fevers, human monkeypox, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), West Nile virus, and avian influenza. The article provides for each agent a brief historical background, case descriptions, and health care implications.

Short communication: Determination of the ability of Thymox to kill or inhibit various species of microorganisms associated with infectious causes of bovine lameness in vitro.

PubMed

Kulow, Megan; Zibaee, Fahimeh; Allard, Marianne; Döpfer, Dörte

2015-11-01

Infectious claw diseases continue to plague cattle in intensively managed husbandry systems. Poor foot hygiene and constant moist environments lead to the infection and spread of diseases such as digital dermatitis (hairy heel warts), interdigital dermatitis, and interdigital phlegmon (foot rot). Currently, copper sulfate and formalin are the most widely used disinfecting agents in bovine footbaths; however, the industry could benefit from more environmentally and worker friendly substitutes. This study determined the in vitro minimum inhibitory concentrations and minimum bactericidal concentrations of Thymox (Laboratoire M2, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada) for a selection of microorganisms related to infectious bovine foot diseases. Thymox is a broad-spectrum agricultural disinfectant that is nontoxic, noncorrosive, and readily biodegradable. The values for minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration indicated that Thymox inhibited growth and killed the various species of microorganisms under study at much lower concentrations compared with the recommended working concentration of a 1% solution. Overall, the values found in this study of minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration of Thymox show its potential as an alternative antibacterial agent used in bovine footbaths; however, field trials are needed to determine its effectiveness for the control and prevention of infectious claw diseases. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Emerging nanotechnology-based strategies for the identification of microbial pathogenesis.

PubMed

Kaittanis, Charalambos; Santra, Santimukul; Perez, J Manuel

2010-03-18

Infectious diseases are still a major healthcare problem. From food intoxication and contaminated water, to hospital-acquired diseases and pandemics, infectious agents cause disease throughout the world. Despite advancements in pathogens' identification, some of the gold-standard diagnostic methods have limitations, including laborious sample preparation, bulky instrumentation and slow data readout. In addition, new field-deployable diagnostic modalities are urgently needed in first responder and point-of-care applications. Apart from compact, these sensors must be sensitive, specific, robust and fast, in order to facilitate detection of the pathogen even in remote rural areas. Considering these characteristics, researchers have utilized innovative approaches by employing the unique properties of nanomaterials in order to achieve detection of infectious agents, even in complex media like blood. From gold nanoparticles and their plasmonic shifts to iron oxide nanoparticles and changes in magnetic properties, detection of pathogens, toxins, antigens and nucleic acids has been achieved with impressive detection thresholds. Additionally, as bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, nanotechnology has achieved the rapid determination of bacterial drug susceptibility and resistance using novel methods, such as amperometry and magnetic relaxation. Overall, these promising results hint to the adoption of nanotechnology-based diagnostics for the diagnosis of infectious diseases in diverse settings throughout the globe, preventing epidemics and safeguarding human and economic wellness. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An infant with concurrent serotype 6C invasive pneumococcal disease and infectious mononucleosis.

PubMed

Nishikawa-Nakamura, Naoko; Okada, Takafumi; Nishimura, Keiko; Iwai, Tsuyako; Ubukata, Kimiko; Iwata, Satoshi; Iwai, Asayuki

2017-11-01

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a main causative agent of serious invasive bacterial infections. However, concurrent infection with invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and viral infectious mononucleosis (IM) is rare. We report an infant with serotype 6C infection causing IPD occurring simultaneously with IM. A previously healthy 11-month-old girl referred to our hospital because of fever, leukopenia, and elevated C-reactive protein presented to us with disturbance of consciousness, tachycardia, tachypnea and agranulocytosis. Other findings included tonsillitis with purulent exudates and white spots, bilateral cervical adenopathy, and hepatosplenomegaly. We diagnosed her illness as sepsis and administered a broad-spectrum antibiotic, an antiviral agent, and granulocyte transfusions. After treatment was initiated, fever gradually decreased and general condition improved. IPD was diagnosed based upon isolation of S. pneumoniae of serotype 6C from blood cultures obtained on admission. Concurrently the girl had IM, based upon quantitation of Epstein-Barr viral DNA copies in blood and fluctuating serum antibody titers. Although simultaneous IPD and IM is a rare occurrence, this possibility is important to keep in mind. Copyright © 2017 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Fascioliasis and brucellosis in same patient].

PubMed

Deveci, Özcan; Aslan, Emel; Tekin, Alicem; Toka Özer, Türkan; Tekin, Recep; Bozkurt, Fatma; Çetinçakmak, Mehmet Guli

2014-01-01

Brucellosis is a zoonotic infectious disease that can affect many organs and systems and leads to very different clinical circumstances. Brucellosis is rare in association with various infectious agents. Fascioliasis is a zoonotic disease caused by Fasciola hepatica, popularly referred to as a large leaf-shaped liver fluke. This case is a 39-year-old male patient, and his complaints began a week ago, which were chills, fever, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, weakness, sweating, and widespread pain. The patient was considered brucellosis in the preliminary diagnosis. Rose Bengal test and Wright test (1/640) were detected as positive. Due to patients having elevated liver enzymes, abdominal ultrasound was taken. A liver lesion was seen with abdominal ultrasound. So, abdominal computed tomography (CT) was taken. The CT result report came in the form that at the left lobe of the liver segment 2, largely necrosis that showed no contrast enhancement, approximately 61x63 mm in size (compatible with fascioliasis) is viewed. The patient's IHA test results, required for fascioliasis, were detected as 1/320 positive. Especially for zoonotic diseases in areas with high endemicity, it should be considered that more than one infectious agent can be present together in high-risk patients.

Antimicrobial property of zinc based nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiriac, V.; Stratulat, D. N.; Calin, G.; Nichitus, S.; Burlui, V.; Stadoleanu, C.; Popa, M.; Popa, I. M.

2016-06-01

Pathogen bacteria strains with wide spectrum can cause serious infections with drastic damages on humans. There are studies reflecting antibacterial effect of nanoparticles type metal or metal oxides as an alternative or concurrent treatment to the diseases caused by infectious agents. Synthesised nanoparticles using different methods like sol-gel, hydrothermal or plant extraction were tested following well-established protocols with the regard to their antimicrobial activity. It was found that zinc based nanoparticles possess strong synergistic effect with commonly used antibiotics on infection tratment.

Avian and simian malaria: do they have a cancer connection?

PubMed

Ward, Martin; Benelli, Giovanni

2017-03-01

It has been claimed that infectious agents transmitted by mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) may have a greater connection to cancer then hitherto supposed and that the immune system struggles to recognize and fight some of these infectious agents. One of the claims made is that there is a connection between human malaria and brain cancers in the USA. However, the USA declared itself free of human malaria in the last century, yet cancer incidences remain high, suggesting any overall cancer connection is slight. Two fundamental questions arise from the possible mosquito-cancer connection. Firstly, if mosquitoes are able to vector some pathogens and parasites linked with cancer pathogenesis, why has the fact not been discovered decades ago? Secondly, if there is a connection (other than in relation to Burkett's lymphoma), what is its extent? The answers may well lie with the various types of malarias known to exist. The discovery in humans of the simian malaria, caused by Plasmodium knowlesi, suggests that other forms of simian or even avian malaria may be capable of survival in humans, albeit at low levels of parasitemia, and humans may be a dead-end host. Other carcinogenic infectious agents transmitted by mosquitoes may also go undetected because either no one is looking for them, or they are looking in wrong anatomical locations and/or with inadequate tools. Research on false negative test results with respect to many infectious agents is sadly lacking, so its extent is unknown. However, electronic and other media provide numerous instances of patients failing to be diagnosed for both human malaria and Lyme's disease, to take just two examples. This review suggests that to shed light on a potential mosquito-cancer connection, more research is required to establish whether other simian and avian forms of malaria play a part. If so, then they potentially provide unique markers for early cancer detection.

Cell surface expression of PrP-c and the presence of scrapie prions in the blood of goats

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Classical scrapie is a naturally occurring fatal brain disease of goats and sheep which is caused by prions, a novel class of infectious agent, and is accompanied by the accumulation of abnormal isoforms of prion protein (PrP-Sc) in certain neural and lymphoid tissues. Although collection of a blood...

Pertussis-like syndrome associated with adenovirus presenting with hyperleukocytosis: Case report

PubMed Central

Sarbay, Hakan; Polat, Aziz; Mete, Emin; Balci, Yasemin Isik; Akin, Mehmet

2016-01-01

Adenovirus is an infectious viral agent that causes variety of clinical presentations such as respiratory disease, conjunctivitis, and gastroenteritis. Hepatitis, pancreatitis, myocarditis, encephalitis, and disseminated infection are primarily seen in immunocompromised patients. Rarely, adenovirus infection can present with pertussis-like syndrome. Described here is case of pertussis-like syndrome associated with adenovirus presenting with hyperleukocytosis. PMID:28058402

[Effect of Trichoderma species fungi on soil micromycetes, causing infectious conifer seedling lodging in Siberian tree nurseries].

PubMed

Iakimenko, E E; Grodinitskaia, I D

2000-01-01

Soils in the tree nurseries studied were characterized by a lower species diversity of fungi than adjacent virgin soils. In particular, the relative abundances of representatives of the genera Mucor, Chaetomium, and Trichoderma in the nursery soil were two times lower than in adjacent virgin soils. On the other hand, the nursery soil exhibited greater abundances of fungi of the genus Fusarium, which are causative agents of many diseases of conifer seedlings. To appreciate the efficiency of biocontrol of the infectious diseases of conifer seedlings, we introduced several indigenous Trichoderma strains into the nursery soil and found that this affected the species composition of soil microflora considerably. Changes in the species composition of mycobiota beneficially influenced the phytosanitary state of soils and reduced the infectious lodging of conifer seedlings.

Co-infection with cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus in mononucleosis: case report and review of literature.

PubMed

Olson, Douglas; Huntington, Mark K

2009-09-01

A 25-year-old woman presented with infectious mononucleosis. Serological studies demonstrated elevated IgM titres to both cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The role of each of these agents in infectious mononucleosis is reviewed, as are literature reports of co-infection by these two viruses. Both near-simultaneous infections and temporally remote sequential infections with acute CMV triggering an immunoreactivation of EBV are reported in the literature. We believe the current case is most consistent with the latter. Infectious mononucleosis is a common infection of childhood and young adulthood. Although a variety of agents may be associated with infectious mononucleosis, EBV is the most common etiology. We encountered a patient with serological findings that were suggestive of the simultaneous presence of two etiological agents of infectious mononucleosis: EBV and CMV. This prompted an inquiry into how commonly dual infections are encountered and their significance.

Generation of improved humanized mouse models for human infectious diseases

PubMed Central

Brehm, Michael A.; Wiles, Michael V.; Greiner, Dale L.; Shultz, Leonard D.

2014-01-01

The study of human-specific infectious agents has been hindered by the lack of optimal small animal models. More recently development of novel strains of immunodeficient mice has begun to provide the opportunity to utilize small animal models for the study of many human-specific infectious agents. The introduction of a targeted mutation in the IL2 receptor common gamma chain gene (IL2rgnull) in mice already deficient in T and B cells led to a breakthrough in the ability to engraft hematopoietic stem cells, as well as functional human lymphoid cells and tissues, effectively creating human immune systems in immunodeficient mice. These humanized mice are becoming increasingly important as pre-clinical models for the study of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) and other human-specific infectious agents. However, there remain a number of opportunities to further improve humanized mouse models for the study of human-specific infectious agents. This is being done by the implementation of innovative technologies, which collectively will accelerate the development of new models of genetically modified mice, including; i) modifications of the host to reduce innate immunity, which impedes human cell engraftment; ii) genetic modification to provide human-specific growth factors and cytokines required for optimal human cell growth and function; iii) and new cell and tissue engraftment protocols. The development of “next generation” humanized mouse models continues to provide exciting opportunities for the establishment of robust small animal models to study the pathogenesis of human-specific infectious agents, as well as for testing the efficacy of therapeutic agents and experimental vaccines. PMID:24607601

Evolution, revolution and heresy in the genetics of infectious disease susceptibility

PubMed Central

Hill, Adrian V. S.

2012-01-01

Infectious pathogens have long been recognized as potentially powerful agents impacting on the evolution of human genetic diversity. Analysis of large-scale case–control studies provides one of the most direct means of identifying human genetic variants that currently impact on susceptibility to particular infectious diseases. For over 50 years candidate gene studies have been used to identify loci for many major causes of human infectious mortality, including malaria, tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, bacterial pneumonia and hepatitis. But with the advent of genome-wide approaches, many new loci have been identified in diverse populations. Genome-wide linkage studies identified a few loci, but genome-wide association studies are proving more successful, and both exome and whole-genome sequencing now offer a revolutionary increase in power. Opinions differ on the extent to which the genetic component to common disease susceptibility is encoded by multiple high frequency or rare variants, and the heretical view that most infectious diseases might even be monogenic has been advocated recently. Review of findings to date suggests that the genetic architecture of infectious disease susceptibility may be importantly different from that of non-infectious diseases, and it is suggested that natural selection may be the driving force underlying this difference. PMID:22312051

Evidence for the role of infectious disease in species extinction and endangerment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Katherine F.; Sax, Dov F.; Lafferty, Kevin D.

2006-01-01

Infectious disease is listed among the top five causes of global species extinctions. However, the majority of available data supporting this contention is largely anecdotal. We used the IUCN Red List of Threatened and Endangered Species and literature indexed in the ISI Web of Science to assess the role of infectious disease in global species loss. Infectious disease was listed as a contributing factor in <4% of species extinctions known to have occurred since 1500 (833 plants and animals) and as contributing to a species' status as critically endangered in <8% of cases (2852 critically endangered plants and animals). Although infectious diseases appear to play a minor role in global species loss, our findings underscore two important limitations in the available evidence: uncertainty surrounding the threats to species survival and a temporal bias in the data. Several initiatives could help overcome these obstacles, including rigorous scientific tests to determine which infectious diseases present a significant threat at the species level, recognition of the limitations associated with the lack of baseline data for the role of infectious disease in species extinctions, combining data with theory to discern the circumstances under which infectious disease is most likely to serve as an agent of extinction, and improving surveillance programs for the detection of infectious disease. An evidence-based understanding of the role of infectious disease in species extinction and endangerment will help prioritize conservation initiatives and protect global biodiversity.

Computerized bioterrorism education and training for nurses on bioterrorism attack agents.

PubMed

Nyamathi, Adeline M; Casillas, Adrian; King, Major L; Gresham, Louise; Pierce, Elaine; Farb, Daniel; Wiechmann, Carrie; Weichmann, Carrie

2010-08-01

Biological agents have the ability to cause large-scale mass casualties. For this reason, their likely use in future terrorist attacks is a concern for national security. Recent studies show that nurses are ill prepared to deal with agents used in biological warfare. Achieving a goal for bioterrorism preparedness is directly linked to comprehensive education and training that enables first-line responders such as nurses to diagnose infectious agents rapidly. The study evaluated participants' responses to biological agents using a computerized bioterrorism education and training program versus a standard bioterrorism education and training program. Both programs improved participants' ability to complete and solve case studies involving the identification of specific biological agents. Participants in the computerized bioterrorism education and training program were more likely to solve the cases critically without reliance on expert consultants. However, participants in the standard bioterrorism education and training program reduced the use of unnecessary diagnostic tests.

IDENTIFICATION, ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE INFECTIOUS HEPATITIS (HEPATITIS A) AGENT

EPA Science Inventory

The research program has the overall objective of combining the techniques of electron microscopy, ultracentrifugation, column chromatography, tissue culture and serology to identify, isolate and characterize the etiologic agent of infectious hepatitis, to propagate it in cell cu...

Control of Hemotropic Diseases of Dogs.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-12-31

and Kobayashi, Y.: Studies on Infectious Mononucleosis . I. Isolation of Etiologic Agent from Blood, Bone Marrow and Lymph Node of a Patient with... Infectious Mononucleosis by Using Mice. Tokyo Iji Shinshi, 71 (1954): 683-686. Ristic, M., Huxsoll, D.L., IWeisiger, R.M., Hildebrandt, P.K., Nyindo, M. B...1030-1036. Tanaka, H. and Hanoaka, M.: Ultrastructurc and Taxonomy of Rickettsia sennetsu (the Causative Agent of "Sennetsu" or Infectious Mononucleosis

The Infectious Pathogenesis of Prostate Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-01

of cancers, including prostate. Infections are important agents in the genesis of inflammation. For prostate cancer, several lines of evidence point...to a role of infections as important agents , although no specific infection has consistently been identified. In this project, we are examining two...specific infectious agents with respect to prostate cancer: T vaginalis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection, and the recently

Ophidian Spectaculitis and Spectacular Dysecdysis: A Histologic Description.

PubMed

Da Silva, M O; Bertelsen, M F; Heegaard, S; Garner, M M

2015-11-01

The histologic features of abnormal spectacles in 60 snakes from the 5 families of Boidae, Colubridae, Elapidae, Pythonidae, and Viperidae are described in a retrospective study conducted on specimens submitted to a private diagnostic service during a period of 15 years. Fifty-two snakes had inflammatory reactions in the spectacle. The stroma and outer epithelium of the spectacle were the layers most often involved in inflammatory disease. Lesions of the outer epithelium included edema, hyperkeratosis, and granulocyte infiltration occasionally with bacterial colonies and fungal elements. The stroma had infectious agents and inflammatory reactions in vessels and between the collagen fibrils. The inner epithelium had varying degrees of hyperplasia and hypertrophy, but no infectious agents were seen. Infectious agents in these cases included mites, bacterial disease, fungal disease, or a combination of bacterial and fungal disease. Special stains identified the bacteria most commonly involved to be Gram-positive cocci. Thirteen snakes had dysecdysis of the spectacle. Of these, 5 displayed a concurrent inflammatory reaction of the spectacle, while the remaining 8 snakes had extra keratin layers on a spectacle with an otherwise normal appearance. These keratin layers were attached to serocellular crusts located on the inner surface of the periocular scales. The cause for dyskeratotic lesions of the spectacle was not always apparent, and concurrent acariasis, other forms of dermatitis, trauma, suboptimal husbandry, and visceral disease were considered possible contributing factors. It was notable that only 4% of the submitted cases were found to have spectaculitis and/or spectacular dysecdysis. © The Author(s) 2015.

Second Chance.

PubMed

Torrey, E Fuller

2017-01-30

My second career as a schizophrenia researcher will focus on infectious agents as a cause. It will include the collection of serial sera, cerebrospinal fluid, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and diffusion tensor imaging on a cohort of affected individuals over 20 years. Since I believe that the initial transmission of these agents occurs in childhood, I will also follow a cohort of children from birth to age 20. Additional projects will focus on rheumatoid arthritis, geographic case clusters, immigrants, and epidemiology. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Expression of chicken parvovirus VP2 in chicken embryo fibroblasts requires codon optimization for production of naked DNA and vectored Meleagrid herpesvirus type 1 vaccines

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Meleagrid herpesvirus type 1 (MeHV-1) is an ideal vector for the expression of antigens from pathogenic avian organisms in order to generate vaccines. Chicken parvovirus (ChPV) is a widespread infectious virus that causes serious disease in chickens. It is one of the etiological agents largely suspe...

Current perspectives in transfusion-transmitted infectious diseases: emerging and re-emerging infections.

PubMed

Stramer, S L

2014-07-01

In August 2009, a group from the AABB (Stramer et al., Transfusion 2009;99:1S-29S, Emerging Infectious Disease Agents and their Potential Threat to Transfusion Safety; http://www.aabb.org/resources/bct/eid/Pages/default.aspx) published a Supplement to Transfusion that reviewed emerging infectious disease (EID) agents that pose a real or theoretical threat to transfusion safety, but for which an existing effective intervention is lacking. The necessary attributes for transfusion transmission were outlined including: presence of the agent in blood during the donor's asymptomatic phase, the agent's survival/persistence in blood during processing/storage, and lastly that the agent must be recognized as responsible for a clinically apparent outcome in at least a proportion of recipients who become infected. Without these attributes, agents are not considered as a transfusion-transmission threat and were excluded. Sixty-eight such agents were identified with enough evidence/likelihood of transfusion transmission (e.g., blood phase) and potential for clinical disease to warrant further consideration. In the Supplement, Fact Sheets (FS) were published providing information on: agent classification; disease agent's importance; clinical syndromes/diseases caused; transmission modes (including vectors/reservoirs); likelihood of transfusion transmission, and if proven to be transfusion-transmitted, information on known cases; the feasibility/predicted success of interventions for donor screening (questioning) and tests available for diagnostics/ adapted for donor screening; and finally, the efficacy, if known, of inactivation methods for plasma-derived products. The Supplement included a separate section on pathogen reduction using published data. Agents were prioritized relative to their scientific/epidemiologic threat and their perceived threat to the community including concerns expressed by the regulators of blood. Agents given the highest priority due to a known transfusion-transmission threat and severe/fatal disease in recipients were the vCJD prion, dengue viruses and the obligate red-cell parasite that causes babesiosis ( B. microti and related Babesia ). Although the focus of the Supplement was towards the United States and Canada, many of the agents (and the process) are applicable worldwide. Since the publication of the Supplement, six new FSs (yellow fever viruses-including vaccine breakthrough infections, miscellaneous arboviruses, XMRV, human parvoviruses/bocaviruses other than B19, and most recently the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, MERS-CoV) were added and 14 existing FSs updated (Anaplasma, Babesia, Bartonella, Erhlichia, chronic wasting disease-CWD, human prions other than vCJD, vCJD, Coxiella burnetii -the agent of Q fever, dengue viruses, HAV, HEV, Japanese encephalitis-JE complex, tick-borne encephalitis viruses-TBEV, and human parvovirus B19). Also, tables were released outlining pathogen reduction clinical trials/results (published) and availability/commercial routine use of such technologies by country. Of necessity, the list of EID agents is not, and can never be, complete due to the nature of emergence. We recognized that a system of assessing the risk/threat of EIDs for their potential impact on blood safety and availability must include processes for monitoring, identifying, evaluating, estimating severity, assessing risk and developing interventions. Thus, a 'toolkit' containing the necessary 'tools' from EID monitoring (horizon scanning) to validation/effectiveness evaluations of interventions is being developed. The goal is, to develop a systematic approach to risk assessment and intervention development for the impact of emerging infectious upon blood safety intended to educate and provide advise about risks/interventions in a timely/accurate fashion. The process and final product (toolkit) including methods to monitor EID agent emergence, identification/recognition of a transfusion-transmission threat, methods for quantitative risk assessments, and the appropriate management of such threats should be considered for implementation by all blood systems.

Viral Susceptibility Range of the Fathead Minnow (Pimephales promelas) Poikilothermic Cell Line 1

PubMed Central

Solis, Juan; Mora, Emilio C.

1970-01-01

The viral susceptibility range of a poikilothermic cell line derived from the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) (FHM) to infection by a number of homoiothermic viruses representing most of the presently recognized viral groups and a member of the psittacosis-lymphogranuloma-trachoma group of agents was studied. All infectious agents, except poliovirus types 1 and 3, infectious bursal agent, and an avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) strain, readily multiplied in the FHM cell culture system, producing a detectable cytopathic effect. Although inconclusive evidence was obtained with two other avian IBV strains, these results indicated the ability of the FHM cell culture system to readily support the propagation of a variety of cytopathogenic homoiothermic viral agents. PMID:5461163

Extrachromosomal Inheritance of Carbon Dioxide Sensitivity in the Mosquito CULEX QUINQUEFASCIATUS

PubMed Central

Shroyer, Donald A.; Rosen, Leon

1983-01-01

Mosquitoes from a laboratory colony of Culex quinquefasciatus from Matsu Island, China, develop irreversible paralytic symptoms after exposure to carbon dioxide at 1°. This CO2 sensitivity is caused by an inherited infectious agent, probably a virus. Crossing studies between CO2-sensitive and -resistant mosquitoes showed that the sensitivity trait is inherited extrachromosomally in a fashion strictly analogous to the hereditary transmission of sigma virus in Drosophila melanogaster. Sensitivity could be maintained through maternal transmission alone, despite nine generations of backcrossing of "stabilized" CO2-sensitive females to males from a resistant strain. CO2-sensitive males crossed to resistant females transmitted sensitivity to a portion of their F 1 progeny, and only the female F1 sensitives were capable of further hereditary transmission.—Matsu, or a very similar hereditary infectious agent, is common in natural populations of Cx. quinquefasciatus on Oahu, Hawaii. Fifty-nine percent of the families reared from field-collected egg rafts contained CO2-sensitive mosquitoes, and some families contained only sensitive mosquitoes. PMID:6413297

Biosecurity practices and causes of enteritis on Ontario meat rabbit farms

PubMed Central

Kylie, Jennifer; Brash, Marina; Whiteman, Ashley; Tapscott, Brian; Slavic, Durda; Weese, J. Scott; Turner, Patricia V.

2017-01-01

Infectious enterocolitis is a significant cause of mortality in meat rabbits. Disease risk is enhanced by intensive rearing practices and poor on-farm biosecurity. This investigation was undertaken in farmed meat rabbits during an Ontario-wide outbreak of enteritis with high mortality to determine the prevalence of causative agents. A survey evaluating on-farm biosecurity practices was also conducted to identify potential means of pathogen contamination and zoonotic risks. Gross and microscopic pathology evaluations combined with microbiologic testing were conducted on 95 rabbits over spring and winter months. Escherichia coli and Clostridium spiroforme were most commonly associated with enteritis in rabbits regardless of age or season and lesions were significantly more severe in mature does (P < 0.0001). The survey results demonstrated a lack of consistent on-farm biosecurity practices. The infectious nature of enteric disease of rabbits combined with poor biosecurity practices may contribute to disease transmission within and between farms. PMID:28588327

Biosecurity practices and causes of enteritis on Ontario meat rabbit farms.

PubMed

Kylie, Jennifer; Brash, Marina; Whiteman, Ashley; Tapscott, Brian; Slavic, Durda; Weese, J Scott; Turner, Patricia V

2017-06-01

Infectious enterocolitis is a significant cause of mortality in meat rabbits. Disease risk is enhanced by intensive rearing practices and poor on-farm biosecurity. This investigation was undertaken in farmed meat rabbits during an Ontario-wide outbreak of enteritis with high mortality to determine the prevalence of causative agents. A survey evaluating on-farm biosecurity practices was also conducted to identify potential means of pathogen contamination and zoonotic risks. Gross and microscopic pathology evaluations combined with microbiologic testing were conducted on 95 rabbits over spring and winter months. Escherichia coli and Clostridium spiroforme were most commonly associated with enteritis in rabbits regardless of age or season and lesions were significantly more severe in mature does ( P < 0.0001). The survey results demonstrated a lack of consistent on-farm biosecurity practices. The infectious nature of enteric disease of rabbits combined with poor biosecurity practices may contribute to disease transmission within and between farms.

[Cytomegalovirus-associated infectious mononucleosis-like syndrome accompanied by transient monoclonal expansion of CD8+ T-cells].

PubMed

Yonezawa, Akihito; Onaka, Takashi; Imada, Kazunori

2009-08-01

Most cases of infectious mononucleosis (IM) are caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Other pathogens have been reported to cause heterophile-negative mononucleosis-like syndrome, including cytomegalovirus (CMV) and human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1). Primary CMV infection is often asymptomatic in immunocompetent individuals. In this article, we describe a patient with prolonged fever and fatigue, who developed transient monoclonal CD8+ T-cell lymphocytosis after primary CMV infection. Monoclonal gene rearrangement of T-cell receptor (TCR) beta locus was transiently detected in DNA from peripheral lymphocytes. Monoclonal rearrangement and atypical lymphocytosis disappeared after treatment with anti-viral agents. These observations imply that monoclonal expansion of T-cells could be a reactive phenomenon of primary CMV infection and TCR gene rearrangement is not specific for malignancy. Physicians should carefully follow patients with monoclonal expansion of CD8+ T-cells after CMV-IM in order to rule out T cell malignancy.

Emerging viruses in the Felidae: shifting paradigms.

PubMed

O'Brien, Stephen J; Troyer, Jennifer L; Brown, Meredith A; Johnson, Warren E; Antunes, Agostinho; Roelke, Melody E; Pecon-Slattery, Jill

2012-02-01

The domestic cat is afflicted with multiple viruses that serve as powerful models for human disease including cancers, SARS and HIV/AIDS. Cat viruses that cause these diseases have been studied for decades revealing detailed insight concerning transmission, virulence, origins and pathogenesis. Here we review recent genetic advances that have questioned traditional wisdom regarding the origins of virulent Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) diseases, the pathogenic potential of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) in wild non-domestic Felidae species, and the restriction of Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) mediated immune impairment to domestic cats rather than other Felidae species. The most recent interpretations indicate important new evolutionary conclusions implicating these deadly infectious agents in domestic and non-domestic felids.

Emerging Viruses in the Felidae: Shifting Paradigms

PubMed Central

O’Brien, Stephen J.; Troyer, Jennifer L.; Brown, Meredith A.; Johnson, Warren E.; Antunes, Agostinho; Roelke, Melody E.; Pecon-Slattery, Jill

2012-01-01

The domestic cat is afflicted with multiple viruses that serve as powerful models for human disease including cancers, SARS and HIV/AIDS. Cat viruses that cause these diseases have been studied for decades revealing detailed insight concerning transmission, virulence, origins and pathogenesis. Here we review recent genetic advances that have questioned traditional wisdom regarding the origins of virulent Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) diseases, the pathogenic potential of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) in wild non-domestic Felidae species, and the restriction of Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) mediated immune impairment to domestic cats rather than other Felidae species. The most recent interpretations indicate important new evolutionary conclusions implicating these deadly infectious agents in domestic and non-domestic felids. PMID:22470834

Periodontology: past, present, perspectives.

PubMed

Slots, Jørgen

2013-06-01

Periodontitis is an infectious disease that affects the tooth-supporting tissues and exhibits a wide range of clinical, microbiological and immunological manifestations. The disease is associated with and is probably caused by a multifaceted dynamic interaction of specific infectious agents, host immune responses, harmful environmental exposure and genetic susceptibility factors. This volume of Periodontology 2000 covers key subdisciplines of periodontology, ranging from etiopathogeny to therapy, with emphasis on diagnosis, classification, epidemiology, risk factors, microbiology, immunology, systemic complications, anti-infective therapy, reparative treatment, self-care and affordability issues. Learned and unlearned concepts of periodontitis over the past 50 years have shaped our current understanding of the etiology of the disease and of clinical practice. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Experimental Evidence for Reduced Rodent Diversity Causing Increased Hantavirus Prevalence

PubMed Central

Suzán, Gerardo; Marcé, Erika; Giermakowski, J. Tomasz; Mills, James N.; Ceballos, Gerardo; Ostfeld, Richard S.; Armién, Blas; Pascale, Juan M.; Yates, Terry L.

2009-01-01

Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases have become a major global environmental problem with important public health, economic, and political consequences. The etiologic agents of most emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, and anthropogenic environmental changes that affect wildlife communities are increasingly implicated in disease emergence and spread. Although increased disease incidence has been correlated with biodiversity loss for several zoonoses, experimental tests in these systems are lacking. We manipulated small-mammal biodiversity by removing non-reservoir species in replicated field plots in Panama, where zoonotic hantaviruses are endemic. Both infection prevalence of hantaviruses in wild reservoir (rodent) populations and reservoir population density increased where small-mammal species diversity was reduced. Regardless of other variables that affect the prevalence of directly transmitted infections in natural communities, high biodiversity is important in reducing transmission of zoonotic pathogens among wildlife hosts. Our results have wide applications in both conservation biology and infectious disease management. PMID:19421313

Encephalitis Surveillance through the Emerging Infections Program, 1997–2010

PubMed Central

Glaser, Carol A.

2015-01-01

Encephalitis is a devastating illness that commonly causes neurologic disability and has a case fatality rate >5% in the United States. An etiologic agent is identified in <50% of cases, making diagnosis challenging. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Emerging Infections Program (EIP) Encephalitis Project established syndromic surveillance for encephalitis in New York, California, and Tennessee, with the primary goal of increased identification of causative agents and secondary goals of improvements in treatment and outcome. The project represents the largest cohort of patients with encephalitis studied to date and has influenced case definition and diagnostic evaluation of this condition. Results of this project have provided insight into well-established causal pathogens and identified newer causes of infectious and autoimmune encephalitis. The recognition of a possible relationship between enterovirus D68 and acute flaccid paralysis with myelitis underscores the need for ongoing vigilance for emerging causes of neurologic disease. PMID:26295485

Development of infectious cDNA clones of citrus yellow vein clearing virus using a novel and rapid strategy.

PubMed

Cui, Tian Tian; Bin, Yu; Yan, Jian Hong; Mei, Peng Ying; Li, Zhong An; Zhou, Chang Yong; Song, Zhen

2018-05-04

Yellow vein clearing disease (YVCD) causes significant economic losses in lemon and other species of citrus. Usually, citrus yellow vein clearing virus (CYVCV) is considered to be the causal agent of YVCD. However, mixed infection of CYVCV and Indian citrus ringspot virus (ICRSV) or other pathogens is often detected in citrus plants with YVCD. In this study, we re-examined the causal agent of YVCD to fulfill Koch's postulates. First, the full-length genome of CYVCV isolate AY (CYVCV-AY) was amplified by long-distance RT-PCR from a Eureka lemon [Citrus limon (L) Brum. f.] tree with typical YVCD symptoms. The genomic cDNAs were then cloned into a ternary Yeast-Escherichia coli-Agrobacterium tumefaciens shuttle vector, pCY, using transformation-associated recombination (TAR) strategy, and 15 full-length cDNA clones of CYVCV-AY were obtained. Subsequently, four of these clones were selected randomly and inoculated on Jincheng [C. sinensis (L) Osbeck] seedlings through Agrobacterium-mediated vacuum-infiltration, and it was found that 80 to 100% of inoculated plants were infected with CYVCV by RT-PCR at 20 to 40 days post inoculation (dpi) and by direct tissue blot immunoassay at 60 dpi. The progeny of CYVCV-AY from cDNA clones caused typical symptoms of YVCD such as yellow vein clearing, leaf distortion, and chlorosis, which were the same as that elicited by wild-type virus. Finally, the regeneration of CYVCV-AY genome was confirmed by long-distance RT-PCR in lemon trees inoculated with the infectious cDNA clone. These results proved that CYVCV was the primary causal agent of YVCD. This is the first report on the development of infectious cDNA clones of CYVCV, which lays the foundation for further studies on viral gene functions and virus-host interactions.

Multiscale Modeling of Virus Structure, Assembly, and Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

May, Eric R.; Arora, Karunesh; Mannige, Ranjan V.; Nguyen, Hung D.; Brooks, Charles L.

Viruses are traditionally considered as infectious agents that attack cells and cause illnesses like AIDS, Influenza, Hepatitis, etc. However, recent advances have illustrated the potential for viruses to play positive roles for human health, instead of causing disease [1, 2]. For example, viruses can be employed for a variety of biomedical and biotechnological applications, including gene therapy[3], drug delivery[4], tumor targeting[5], and medical imaging[6]. Therefore, it is important to understand quantitatively how viruses operate such that they can be engineered in a predictive manner for beneficial roles.

A case of Candida albicans fungus balls in the urinary tract appeared during the course of antifungal treatment for Candida endophthalmitis.

PubMed

Onozawa, Kyoko; Miyake, Noriko; Iwasaki, Noriko; Nishida, Ruriko; Chong, Yong; Shimoda, Shinji; Shimono, Nobuyuki; Akashi, Koichi

2015-09-01

Fungus balls have been rarely implicated as a cause of urinary tract obstruction. Here, we report a case of Candida albicans fungus balls in the urinary tract after the treatment of Candida endophthalmitis that has enough periods and adequate amount of antifungal agents. The patient completely recovered from this rare complication by irrigating through single-J stent and changing antifungal agents. Here we emphasize that we should take into account not only the susceptibility test results but also the difference in excretion route and tissue distribution of antifungal agents. Copyright © 2015 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microbial origins of chronic diseases.

PubMed

Gargano, Lisa M; Hughes, James M

2014-01-01

Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer are among the leading causes of death worldwide and have been on the rise over the past decade. Associations between microbial agents and development of chronic diseases have been made in the past, and new connections are currently being assessed. Investigators are examining the relationship between infectious agents and chronic disease using new technologies with more rigor and specificity. This review examines microbial agents' links to and associations with cardiovascular diseases, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, renal diseases, psychiatric disorders, and obesity and addresses the important role of the human microbiome in maintenance of health and its potential role in chronic diseases. These associations and relationships will impact future research priorities, surveillance approaches, treatment strategies, and prevention programs for chronic diseases.

Histopathology and immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis of bioterrorism agents.

PubMed

Guarner, Jeannette; Zaki, Sherif R

2006-01-01

From October to November 2001, the inhalational and cutaneous anthrax cases that occurred in the U.S. underscored the importance of recognizing the clinical and pathological features of infectious agents that can be used in acts of terrorism. Early confirmation of bio-terrorist acts can only be performed by making organism-specific diagnosis of cases with clinical and pathologic syndromes that could be caused by possible bioterrorism weapons. Recognition and diagnosis of these cases is central to establish adequate responses. This review will examine the events that occurred during the anthrax bio-terrorist attack with specific emphasis on the role of pathology and immunohistochemistry and will describe the histopathologic features of category A bioterrorism agents (anthrax, plague, tularemia, botulism, smallpox, and viral hemorrhagic fevers).

A gastrointestinal anti-infectious biotherapeutic agent: the heat-treated Lactobacillus LB

PubMed Central

Liévin-Le Moal, Vanessa

2016-01-01

Experimental in vitro and in vivo studies support the hypothesis that heat-treated, lyophilized Lactobacillus acidophilus LB cells and concentrated, neutralized spent culture medium conserve the variety of pharmacological, antimicrobial activities of the live probiotic strain against several infectious agents involved in well-established acute and persistent watery diarrhoea and gastritis. Heat-treated cells and heat-stable secreted molecules trigger multiple strain-specific activities explaining the therapeutic efficacy of L. acidophilus LB. This review discusses the current body of knowledge on the antimicrobial mechanisms of action exerted by L. acidophilus LB demonstrated in in vitro and in vivo experimental studies, and the evidence for the therapeutic efficacy of this anti-infectious biotherapeutic agent proved in randomized clinical trials for the treatment of acute and persistent watery diarrhoea associated with several intestinal infectious diseases in humans. PMID:26770268

Immunosuppressive Treatment of Non-infectious Uveitis: History and Current Choices.

PubMed

Zhao, Chan; Zhang, Meifen

2017-04-10

Non-infectious uveitis is one of the leading causes of preventable blindness worldwide. Long-term immunosuppressive treatment is generally required to achieve durable control of inflammation in posterior and panuveitis. Although systemic corticosteroids have been the gold standard of immunosup- pressive treatment for uveitis since first introduced in 1950s, its side effects of long-term use often warrant an adjuvant treatment to reduce the dosage/duration of corticosteroids needed to maintain disease control. Conventional immunosuppressive drugs, classified into alkylating agent, antimetabolites and T cell inhibitors, have been widely used as corticosteroid-sparing agents, each with characteristic safety/tolerance profiles on different uveitis entities. Recently, biologic agents, which target specific molecules in immunopathogenesis of uveitis, have gained great interest as alternative treatments for refractory uveitis based on their favorable safety and effectiveness in a variety of uveitis entities. However, lack of large randomized controlled clinical trials, concerns about efficacy and safety of long-term usage, and economic burden are limiting the use of biologics in non-infectious uveitis. Local administration of immunosuppressive drugs (from corticosteroids to biologics) through intraocular drug delivery systems represent another direction for drug development and is now under intense investigation, but more evidences are needed to support their use as regular alternative treatments for uveitis. With the numerous choices belonging to different treatment modalities (conventional immunosuppressive agents, biologics and local drug delivery systems) on hand, the practice patterns have been reported to vary greatly from center to center. Factors influence uveitis specialists' choices of immunosuppressive agents may be complex and may include personal familiarity, treatment availability, safety/tolerability, effectiveness, patient compliance, cost concerns and suggestions from related specialists such as rheumatologists and pediatricians. The focus of this review is to provide an overview of each treatment modality on safety/tolerability and effectiveness, which are believed to be the two most important factors affecting treatment decision making.

Heterologous Prime-Boost Immunisation Regimens Against Infectious Diseases

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-08-01

of these cells by boosting. DNA vaccines are good priming agents since they are internalised by antigen presenting cells and can induce antigen...presentation via both MHC class I and class II, thereby inducing both cytotoxic T lymphocytes and type 1-helper T lymphocytes. Successful boosting agents ...assessing prime-boost vaccine combinations for protection against infectious agents . • In a number of prime - boost studies, the inclusion of growth

The major epidemic infections: a gift from the Old World to the New?

PubMed

Sessa, R; Palagiano, C; Scifoni, M G; di Pietro, M; Del Piano, M

1999-03-01

With the discovery of the New World, the Europeans flocked to America and with them spread infectious diseases. During long sea voyages the agents of these diseases increased their diffusion capacity in a suitable environment. Lack of hygiene, fatigue and privations, a diet without vitamins and many persons kept in confined spaces were the essential features of this environment. Sick persons, whose health conditions worsened during the journey to the New World, carried the germs of infectious diseases. The first disease to appear in the New World was smallpox described in 1518 in Hispaniola. From there the disease moved rapidly to Mexico in 1520, exterminating most of the Aztecs, Guatemala and to the territories of Incas from 1525-26, killing most of them and the King himself. The second disease, influenza, appeared in La Isabela, a few years later, causing a heavy epidemic between 1558 and 1559. Other diseases followed such as yellow fever and malaria. So Europeans and these invisible and mortal agents caused enormous destruction of American populations. In fact historians have estimated that beginning from early 1500, in only 50 years the population of Peru and Mexico fell from 60 to 10 million; in the latter country, in one century, the populations fell from an initial 10 million to only 2 million.

A possible link between the Epstein-Barr virus infection and autoimmune thyroid disorders

PubMed Central

Gwizdek, Katarzyna; Michalski, Marek; Wojnicz, Romuald

2016-01-01

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), also known as human herpesvirus 4, is a member of the Herpesviridae virus family. EBV infection can cause infectious mononucleosis (IM) in the lytic phase of EBV’s life cycle. Past EBV infection is associated with lymphomas, and may also result in certain allergic and autoimmune diseases. Although potential mechanisms of autoimmune diseases have not been clearly elucidated, both genetic and environmental factors, such as infectious agents, are considered to be responsible for their development. In addition, EBV modifies the host immune response. The worldwide prevalence of autoimmune diseases shows how common this pathogen is. Normally, the virus stays in the body and remains dormant throughout life. However, this is not always the case, and a serious EBV-related illness may develop later in life. This explains the chronic course of autoimmune diseases that is often accompanied by exacerbations of symptoms. Based on the present studies, EBV infection can cause autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Sjögren’s syndrome, and autoimmune hepatitis. The EBV has also been reported in patients with autoimmune thyroid disorders. Although EBV is not the only agent responsible for the development of autoimmune thyroid diseases, it can be considered a contributory factor. PMID:27833448

A possible link between the Epstein-Barr virus infection and autoimmune thyroid disorders.

PubMed

Dittfeld, Anna; Gwizdek, Katarzyna; Michalski, Marek; Wojnicz, Romuald

2016-01-01

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), also known as human herpesvirus 4, is a member of the Herpesviridae virus family. EBV infection can cause infectious mononucleosis (IM) in the lytic phase of EBV's life cycle. Past EBV infection is associated with lymphomas, and may also result in certain allergic and autoimmune diseases. Although potential mechanisms of autoimmune diseases have not been clearly elucidated, both genetic and environmental factors, such as infectious agents, are considered to be responsible for their development. In addition, EBV modifies the host immune response. The worldwide prevalence of autoimmune diseases shows how common this pathogen is. Normally, the virus stays in the body and remains dormant throughout life. However, this is not always the case, and a serious EBV-related illness may develop later in life. This explains the chronic course of autoimmune diseases that is often accompanied by exacerbations of symptoms. Based on the present studies, EBV infection can cause autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Sjögren's syndrome, and autoimmune hepatitis. The EBV has also been reported in patients with autoimmune thyroid disorders. Although EBV is not the only agent responsible for the development of autoimmune thyroid diseases, it can be considered a contributory factor.

Attributable causes of cancer in Japan in 2005--systematic assessment to estimate current burden of cancer attributable to known preventable risk factors in Japan.

PubMed

Inoue, M; Sawada, N; Matsuda, T; Iwasaki, M; Sasazuki, S; Shimazu, T; Shibuya, K; Tsugane, S

2012-05-01

To contribute to evidence-based policy decision making for national cancer control, we conducted a systematic assessment to estimate the current burden of cancer attributable to known preventable risk factors in Japan in 2005. We first estimated the population attributable fractions (PAFs) of each cancer attributable to known risk factors from relative risks derived primarily from Japanese pooled analyses and large-scale cohort studies and the prevalence of exposure in the period around 1990. Using nationwide vital statistics records and incidence estimates, we then estimated the attributable cancer incidence and mortality in 2005. In 2005, ≈ 55% of cancer among men was attributable to preventable risk factors in Japan. The corresponding figure was lower among women, but preventable risk factors still accounted for nearly 30% of cancer. In men, tobacco smoking had the highest PAF (30% for incidence and 35% for mortality, respectively) followed by infectious agents (23% and 23%). In women, in contrast, infectious agents had the highest PAF (18% and 19% for incidence and mortality, respectively) followed by tobacco smoking (6% and 8%). In Japan, tobacco smoking and infections are major causes of cancer. Further control of these factors will contribute to substantial reductions in cancer incidence and mortality in Japan.

CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES ON INFECTIOUS DISEASE AGENTS IN SEWAGE SLUDGE AND MANURE

EPA Science Inventory

The USEPA and the USDA convened a three-day Workshop on Emerging Infectious Disease Agents and Issues Associated with Sewage Sludge, Animal Manures, and Other Organic By-Products on June 4-6, 2001 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The purpose of the workshop was to review and discuss the effe...

A quantitative risk assessment of exposure to adventitious agents in a cell culture-derived subunit influenza vaccine.

PubMed

Gregersen, Jens-Peter

2008-06-19

A risk-assessment model has demonstrated the ability of a new cell culture-based vaccine manufacturing process to reduce the level of any adventitious agent to a million-fold below infectious levels. The cell culture-derived subunit influenza vaccine (OPTAFLU), Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics) is produced using Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells to propagate seasonal viral strains, as an alternative to embryonated chicken-eggs. As only a limited range of mammalian viruses can grow in MDCK cells, similar to embryonated eggs, MDCK cells can act as an effective filter for a wide range of adventitious agents that might be introduced during vaccine production. However, the introduction of an alternative cell substrate (for example, MDCK cells) into a vaccine manufacturing process requires thorough investigations to assess the potential for adventitious agent risk in the final product, in the unlikely event that contamination should occur. The risk assessment takes into account the entire manufacturing process, from initial influenza virus isolation, through to blending of the trivalent subunit vaccine and worst-case residual titres for the final vaccine formulation have been calculated for >20 viruses or virus families. Maximum residual titres for all viruses tested were in the range of 10(-6) to 10(-16) infectious units per vaccine dose. Thus, the new cell culture-based vaccine manufacturing process can reduce any adventitious agent to a level that is unable to cause infection.

Detection, Isolation and Characterization of an Agent from Febrile Patients in Malaysia Serologically Reactive with Rickettsia sennetsu.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-12-01

sennetsu by inoculating mice with the blood and bone marrow homogenates of a patient suffering from "Japanese infectious mononucleosis ." Tanaka and...Rickettsia sennetsu in Cell Culture System. Jpn. J. Microbiol. 9:75-86. Misao, T., and Kobayashi, Y. 1954. Studies on Infectious Mononucleosis . I...Isolation of Etiologic Agent from Blood, Bone Marrow and Lymph Node of a Patient with Infectious Mononucleosis by Using Mice. Tokyo Iji Shinshi 71:683-686

Screening and Monitoring for Infectious Complications When Immunosuppressive Agents Are Studied in the Treatment of Autoimmune Disorders.

PubMed

Loechelt, Brett J; Green, Michael; Gottlieb, Peter A; Blumberg, Emily; Weinberg, Adriana; Quinlan, Scott; Baden, Lindsey R

2015-09-01

Significant progress has been made in the development, investigation, and clinical application of immunosuppressive agents to treat a variety of autoimmune disorders. The expansion of clinical applications of these new agents requires the performance of large multicenter clinical trials. These large clinical trials are particularly important as one considers these agents for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, which although autoimmune in its pathogenesis, is not classically treated as an autoimmune disorder. Although these agents hold promise for amelioration or cure of this disease, they have the potential to facilitate infectious complications. There are limited data regarding the prospective assessment of infectious risks with these agents in trials of this nature. Pediatric subjects may be at greater risk due to the higher likelihood of primary infection. A subgroup of experts associated with TrialNet (a National Institutes of Health [NIH]-funded Type 1 diabetes mellitus research network) with expertise in infectious diseases, immunology, and diagnostics developed an approach for screening and monitoring of immunosuppression-associated infections for prospective use in clinical trials. The goals of these recommendations are to provide a structured approach to monitor for infections, to identify specific laboratory testing and surveillance methods, and to consider therapies for treatment of these potential complications. Prospective evaluations of these infectious risks allow for greater scientific rigor in the evaluation of risk, which must be balanced with the potential benefits of these therapies. Our experience supports an important role for investigators with expertise in infections in immunocompromised individuals in protocol development of immunosuppressive trials in type 1diabetes and potentially other autoimmune diseases.

Investigation of functional selenium nanoparticles as potent antimicrobial agents against superbugs.

PubMed

Huang, Xiaoquan; Chen, Xu; Chen, Qingchang; Yu, Qianqian; Sun, Dongdong; Liu, Jie

2016-01-01

Developing highly effective antibacterial agents is important for a wide range of applications. However, the emergence of multiple antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses a public health threat. Many developed agents have limited practical application due to chemical instability, low biocompatibility, and poor long-term antibacterial efficiency. In the following study, we synthesize a synergistic nanocomposite by conjugating quercetin (Qu) and acetylcholine (Ach) to the surface of Se nanoparticles (Qu-Ach@SeNPs). Quercetin has been reported to exhibit a wide range of biological activities related to their antibacterial activity and acetylcholine as a neurotransmitter, which can combine with the receptor on the bacterial cell. Arrows indicate NPs and arrowheads indicate compromised cell walls. The study demonstrated how Qu-Ach@SeNPs exhibit a synergistically enhanced antibacterial performance against the multidrug-resistant superbugs (MDRs) compared to Qu@SeNPs and Ach@SeNPs alone. Qu-Ach@SeNPs are effective against MDRs, such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), at a low dose. The mechanistic studies showed that Qu-Ach@SeNPs attach to the bacterial cell wall, causing irreversible damage to the membrane, and thereby achieving a remarkable synergistic antibacterial effect to inhibit MRSA. The findings suggested that the synergistic properties of quercetin and acetylcholine enhance the antibacterial activity of SeNPs. In this way, Qu-Ach@SeNPs comprise a new class of inorganic nano-antibacterial agents that can be used as useful applications in biomedical devices. The Qu-Ach@SeNPs have low cytotoxicity when tested on normal human cells in vitro. Qu-Ach@SeNPs are effective against MDRs, such as Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), at a low dose. Importantly, Qu-Ach@SeNPs showed no emergence of resistance. These results suggest that Qu-Ach@SeNPs have excellent antibacterial activities. These agents can serve as good antibacterial agents against superbugs. Our data suggest that these antibacterial agents may have widespread application in the field of medicine for combating infectious diseases caused by MDRs, as well as other infectious diseases. Copyright © 2015 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Unusual Presentation of Melioidosis in a Case of Pseudoaneurysm of Descending Thoracic Aorta: Review of Two Case Reports

PubMed Central

Padmaja, Kanne; Lakshmi, Vemu; Sudhaharan, Sukanya; Venkata Surya Malladi, Subbalaxmi; Gopal, Palanki; Venkata Ravinuthala, Kumar

2015-01-01

Introduction: Melioidosis is a rapidly fatal infectious disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, an agent of potential biothreat, endemic in several parts of India. Most melioidosis-induced infected aneurysms are located in the abdominal or thoracic aorta. Case Presentation: We reported two unusual cases of melioidosis resulting in pseudoaneurysm of the descending thoracic aorta. In both cases, blood cultures yielded B. pseudomallei. The first patient was managed with resection of aneurysm and reconstruction with Dacron graft followed by medical treatment and was discharged uneventfully. The second patient died within one week of admission before the infecting etiological agent was identified and aneurysmal repair was planned. Conclusions: A high clinical index of suspicion, especially in areas of endemicity is essential for timely management of intracavitary infected pseudoaneurysms caused by B. pseudomallei and use of rapid microbiological techniques, such as bact/alert 3D system, which enables rapid and early recovery of the etiological agent. PMID:26380820

The evolution of infectious agents in relation to sex in animals and humans: brief discussions of some individual organisms

PubMed Central

Reed, David L.; Currier, Russell W.; Walton, Shelley F.; Conrad, Melissa; Sullivan, Steven A.; Carlton, Jane M.; Read, Timothy D.; Severini, Alberto; Tyler, Shaun; Eberle, R.; Johnson, Welkin E.; Silvestri, Guido; Clarke, Ian N.; Lagergård, Teresa; Lukehart, Sheila A.; Unemo, Magnus; Shafer, William M.; Beasley, R. Palmer; Bergström, Tomas; Norberg, Peter; Davison, Andrew J.; Sharp, Paul M.; Hahn, Beatrice H.; Blomberg, Jonas

2013-01-01

The following series of concise summaries addresses the evolution of infectious agents in relation to sex in animals and humans from the perspective of three specific questions: (1) what have we learned about the likely origin and phylogeny, up to the establishment of the infectious agent in the genital econiche, including the relative frequency of its sexual transmission; (2) what further research is needed to provide additional knowledge on some of these evolutionary aspects; and (3) what evolutionary considerations might aid in providing novel approaches to the more practical clinical and public health issues facing us currently and in the future? PMID:21824167

Enterobius vermicularis: Can it be a possible pathogen in Bartholin gland abscess formation?

PubMed

Dönmez, Melahat Emine; Özlü, Tülay; Yılmaz, Fahri; Ayaz, Erol

2014-01-01

The most frequent disorders of the Bartholin glands are cysts or abscesses. Bartholin gland abscesses occur generally as a result of polymicrobial infections or agents that cause sexually transmitted diseases. But as far as we know, no parasite has been previously reported among the infectious agents that are detected from the abscesses of the Bartholin gland. Here, we report a 45-year-old woman, in the Bartholin abscess aspirate of whom Enterobius vermicularis eggs were detected in between the inflammatory infiltrate by cytological examination. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research © 2013 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Who acquires infection from whom and how? Disentangling multi-host and multi-mode transmission dynamics in the ‘elimination’ era

PubMed Central

Borlase, Anna; Rudge, James W.

2017-01-01

Multi-host infectious agents challenge our abilities to understand, predict and manage disease dynamics. Within this, many infectious agents are also able to use, simultaneously or sequentially, multiple modes of transmission. Furthermore, the relative importance of different host species and modes can itself be dynamic, with potential for switches and shifts in host range and/or transmission mode in response to changing selective pressures, such as those imposed by disease control interventions. The epidemiology of such multi-host, multi-mode infectious agents thereby can involve a multi-faceted community of definitive and intermediate/secondary hosts or vectors, often together with infectious stages in the environment, all of which may represent potential targets, as well as specific challenges, particularly where disease elimination is proposed. Here, we explore, focusing on examples from both human and animal pathogen systems, why and how we should aim to disentangle and quantify the relative importance of multi-host multi-mode infectious agent transmission dynamics under contrasting conditions, and ultimately, how this can be used to help achieve efficient and effective disease control. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Opening the black box: re-examining the ecology and evolution of parasite transmission’. PMID:28289259

HIGHLIGHTS, INSIGHTS, AND PERSPECTIVES ON INFECTIOUS DISEASE AGENTS IN SEWAGE SLUDGE AND ANIMAL MANURE IN THE U.S.

EPA Science Inventory

The purpose of this chapter is: 1) Highlight the core principles and findings from the Workshop on Emerging Infectious Disease Agents and Issues Associated With Sewage Sludge, Animal Manures and Other Organic By-Products held June 4-6, 2001, Cincinnati, Ohio, so that all readers,...

WORKSHOP ON EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASE AGENTS AND ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH ANIMAL MANURES, BIOSOLIDS, AND OTHER SIMILAR BY-PRODUCTS: THE REST OF THE STORY

EPA Science Inventory

This presentation will:

Discuss the purpose of the workshop
Discussion publication of "Contemporary Perspectives on Infectious Disease Agents in Sewage Sludge and Manure.
Present Table of Contents
Discuss summary
Discuss synthesis document

Infectious Mononucleosis

PubMed Central

Joncas, J.

1967-01-01

A short review of past and recent works pertinent to the etiology and pathogenesis of infectious mononucleosis is presented. Epidemiological studies have led to the elaboration of hypotheses concerning the etiology, the length of the incubation period and the mode of transmission of the disease. An unusual type of infectious mononucleosis of rickettsial origin has been reported by Japanese workers. Studies of accidental and experimental transmission suggest that more than one agent may give rise to the same disease. Isolation attempts in tissue cultures have been unrewarding except for the uncovering of possible agents by interference and immunofluorescence. The atypical lymphocyte is the site of increased RNA and DNA synthesis. It does not seem to be involved in antibody synthesis. The heterophile agglutinins and other mononucleosis-associated antibodies apparently account for only part of the excess 19S antibody material found in mononucleosis sera. The origin and function of these antibodies and of the atypical lymphocyte are the subject of speculation. The final elucidation of the pathogenesis of the disease and the confirmation of the reviewed hypotheses are all dependent on the eventual discovery of the elusive etiological agent(s) of infectious mononucleosis. PMID:5336955

Nucleic acid in-situ hybridization detection of infectious agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Curtis T.

2000-04-01

Limitations of traditional culture methods and newer polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods for detection and speciation of infectious agents demonstrate the need for more rapid and better diagnostics. Nucleic acid hybridization is a detection technology that has gained wide acceptance in cancer and prenatal cytogenetics. Using a modification of the nucleic acid hybridization technique known as fluorescence in-situ hybridization, infectious agents can be detected in a variety of specimens with high sensitivity and specificity. The specimens derive from all types of human and animal sources including body fluids, tissue aspirates and biopsy material. Nucleic acid hybridization can be performed in less than one hour. The result can be interpreted either using traditional fluorescence microscopy or automated platforms such as micro arrays. This paper demonstrates proof of concept for nucleic acid hybridization detection of different infectious agents. Interpretation within a cytologic and histologic context is possible with fluorescence microscopic analysis, thereby providing confirmatory evidence of hybridization. With careful probe selection, nucleic acid hybridization promises to be a highly sensitive and specific practical diagnostic alternative to culture, traditional staining methods, immunohistochemistry and complicated nucleic acid amplification tests.

The efficacy of the direct clinical intervention for infectious diseases by a pediatric infectious disease specialist in the pediatric ward of a tertiary medical facility without a pediatric antimicrobial stewardship program.

PubMed

Hoshina, T; Yamamoto, N; Ogawa, M; Nakamoto, T; Kusuhara, K

2017-08-01

Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) have been introduced in most hospital complexes; however, they are not always useful for pediatric patients. The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of direct clinical intervention for infectious diseases by a pediatric infectious disease specialist in a tertiary medical facility without pediatric ASP. This retrospective study included 1,821 patients who were hospitalized in the pediatric ward of a large metropolitan hospital from 2010 to 2015. The clinical course, the use of intravenous antimicrobial agents and the results of a microbiological analysis were compared between the period after the beginning of direct intervention by the specialist (post-intervention period) and the previous period (pre-intervention period). In the post-intervention period, the proportion of the patients who received intravenous antimicrobial agents, the number of antimicrobial agents used for each episode, and the proportion of episodes in which an antimicrobial agent was re-administrated were significantly lower (P = 0.006, P = 0.004, P = 0.036, respectively), and the duration of antimicrobial treatment was significantly shorter (P < 0.001). In addition, narrower spectrum antimicrobial agents were used, and the incidence of meropenem-sensitive Pseudomonas aeruginosa significantly increased (P = 0.037) in the post-intervention period. There was no change of mortality between the two periods. Direct clinical intervention by a pediatric infectious diseases specialist is useful for the treatment of infectious diseases in the pediatric ward of a tertiary medical facility without a pediatric ASP. The creation of a pediatric ASP is recommended in hospital complexes.

Infectious Agents as Stimuli of Trained Innate Immunity.

PubMed

Rusek, Paulina; Wala, Mateusz; Druszczyńska, Magdalena; Fol, Marek

2018-02-03

The discoveries made over the past few years have modified the current immunological paradigm. It turns out that innate immunity cells can mount some kind of immunological memory, similar to that observed in the acquired immunity and corresponding to the defense mechanisms of lower organisms, which increases their resistance to reinfection. This phenomenon is termed trained innate immunity. It is based on epigenetic changes in innate immune cells (monocytes/macrophages, NK cells) after their stimulation with various infectious or non-infectious agents. Many infectious stimuli, including bacterial or fungal cells and their components (LPS, β-glucan, chitin) as well as viruses or even parasites are considered potent inducers of innate immune memory. Epigenetic cell reprogramming occurring at the heart of the phenomenon may provide a useful basis for designing novel prophylactic and therapeutic strategies to prevent and protect against multiple diseases. In this article, we present the current state of art on trained innate immunity occurring as a result of infectious agent induction. Additionally, we discuss the mechanisms of cell reprogramming and the implications for immune response stimulation/manipulation.

Mad dogs, vampires, and zombie ants: a multidisciplinary approach to teaching neuroscience, behavior, and microbiology.

PubMed

Esteban, David J; Holloway, Kevin S

2015-01-01

Viruses, parasites, and some bacteria use host organisms to complete their lifecycle. These infectious agents are able to hijack host processes to replicate and transmit to the next host. While we tend to think of infections as just making us sick, they are also capable of changing host behavior. In fact, many infectious agents are able to mediate host behavior in ways that can enhance transmission of the disease. In this course we explore the process of host behavior mediation by infectious agents, combining aspects of multiple fields including neurobiology, animal behavior, infectious disease microbiology, and epidemiology. The goals for this course are: 1) To explore the neurological and behavioral effects of infectious organisms on their hosts, in particular pathogen mediation of host behavior to the benefit of the pathogen, 2) to introduce students to primary literature in a multidisciplinary field, and 3) when applicable, to address cultural/historical/mythological perspectives that might alter societal norms and pressures and influence the impact of the biological processes of behavior modification by infections.

Mad Dogs, Vampires, and Zombie Ants: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Teaching Neuroscience, Behavior, and Microbiology

PubMed Central

Esteban, David J.; Holloway, Kevin S.

2015-01-01

Viruses, parasites, and some bacteria use host organisms to complete their lifecycle. These infectious agents are able to hijack host processes to replicate and transmit to the next host. While we tend to think of infections as just making us sick, they are also capable of changing host behavior. In fact, many infectious agents are able to mediate host behavior in ways that can enhance transmission of the disease. In this course we explore the process of host behavior mediation by infectious agents, combining aspects of multiple fields including neurobiology, animal behavior, infectious disease microbiology, and epidemiology. The goals for this course are: 1) To explore the neurological and behavioral effects of infectious organisms on their hosts, in particular pathogen mediation of host behavior to the benefit of the pathogen, 2) to introduce students to primary literature in a multidisciplinary field, and 3) when applicable, to address cultural/historical/mythological perspectives that might alter societal norms and pressures and influence the impact of the biological processes of behavior modification by infections. PMID:25838806

Successful treatment of mitral valve endocarditis in a dog associated with 'Actinomyces canis-like' infection.

PubMed

Balakrishnan, N; Alexander, K; Keene, B; Kolluru, S; Fauls, M L; Rawdon, I; Breitschwerdt, E B

2016-09-01

Infective endocarditis, an inflammation of the endocardial surface due to invasion by an infectious agent, is more common in middle sized to large breed dogs. We herein report a case of mitral valve endocarditis in a 9-year-old male-castrated Weimaraner caused by an Actinomyces canis-like bacterium, not previously reported in association with infection in dogs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Trunkloads of Viruses

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Elephant populations are under intense pressure internationally from habitat destruction and poaching for ivory and meat. They also face pressure from infectious agents, including elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus 1 (EEHV1), which kills ∼20% of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) born in zoos and causes disease in the wild. EEHV1 is one of at least six distinct EEHV in a phylogenetic lineage that appears to represent an ancient but newly recognized subfamily (the Deltaherpesvirinae) in the family Herpesviridae. PMID:25231304

Pellino enhances innate immunity in Drosophila.

PubMed

Haghayeghi, Amirhossein; Sarac, Amila; Czerniecki, Stefan; Grosshans, Jörg; Schöck, Frieder

2010-01-01

The innate immune response is a defense mechanism against infectious agents in both vertebrates and invertebrates, and is in part mediated by the Toll pathway. Toll receptor activation upon exposure to bacteria causes stimulation of Pelle/IRAK kinase, eventually resulting in translocation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB to the nucleus. Here we show that Pellino, a highly conserved protein interacting with activated Pelle/IRAK, acts as a positive regulator of innate immunity in Drosophila.

Acute parvovirus B19 infection causes nonspecificity frequently in Borrelia and less often in Salmonella and Campylobacter serology, posing a problem in diagnosis of infectious arthropathy.

PubMed

Tuuminen, Tamara; Hedman, Klaus; Söderlund-Venermo, Maria; Seppälä, Ilkka

2011-01-01

Several infectious agents may cause arthritis or arthropathy. For example, infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, may in the late phase manifest as arthropathy. Infections with Campylobacter, Salmonella, or Yersinia may result in a postinfectious reactive arthritis. Acute infection with parvovirus B19 (B19V) may likewise initiate transient or chronic arthropathy. All these conditions may be clinically indistinguishable from rheumatoid arthritis. Here, we present evidence that acute B19V infection may elicit IgM antibodies that are polyspecific or cross-reactive with a variety of bacterial antigens. Their presence may lead to misdiagnosis and improper clinical management, exemplified here by two case descriptions. Further, among 33 subjects with proven recent B19V infection we found IgM enzyme immunoassay (EIA) positivity for Borrelia only; for Borrelia and Salmonella; for Borrelia and Campylobacter; and for Borrelia, Campylobacter, and Salmonella in 26 (78.7%), 1 (3%), 2 (6%), and 1 (3%), respectively; however, when examined by Borrelia LineBlot, all samples were negative. These antibodies persisted over 3 months in 4/13 (38%) patients tested. Likewise, in a retrospective comparison of the results of a diagnostic laboratory, 9/11 (82%) patients with confirmed acute B19V infection showed IgM antibody to Borrelia. However, none of 12 patients with confirmed borreliosis showed any serological evidence of acute B19V infection. Our study demonstrates that recent B19V infection can be misinterpreted as secondary borreliosis or enteropathogen-induced reactive arthritis. To obtain the correct diagnosis, we emphasize caution in interpretation of polyreactive IgM and exclusion of recent B19V infection in patients examined for infectious arthritis or arthropathy.

Screening and Monitoring for Infectious Complications When Immunosuppressive Agents Are Studied in the Treatment of Autoimmune Disorders

PubMed Central

Loechelt, Brett J.; Green, Michael; Gottlieb, Peter A.; Blumberg, Emily; Weinberg, Adriana; Quinlan, Scott; Baden, Lindsey R.

2015-01-01

Significant progress has been made in the development, investigation, and clinical application of immunosuppressive agents to treat a variety of autoimmune disorders. The expansion of clinical applications of these new agents requires the performance of large multicenter clinical trials. These large clinical trials are particularly important as one considers these agents for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, which although autoimmune in its pathogenesis, is not classically treated as an autoimmune disorder. Although these agents hold promise for amelioration or cure of this disease, they have the potential to facilitate infectious complications. There are limited data regarding the prospective assessment of infectious risks with these agents in trials of this nature. Pediatric subjects may be at greater risk due to the higher likelihood of primary infection. A subgroup of experts associated with TrialNet (a National Institutes of Health [NIH]-funded Type 1 diabetes mellitus research network) with expertise in infectious diseases, immunology, and diagnostics developed an approach for screening and monitoring of immunosuppression-associated infections for prospective use in clinical trials. The goals of these recommendations are to provide a structured approach to monitor for infections, to identify specific laboratory testing and surveillance methods, and to consider therapies for treatment of these potential complications. Prospective evaluations of these infectious risks allow for greater scientific rigor in the evaluation of risk, which must be balanced with the potential benefits of these therapies. Our experience supports an important role for investigators with expertise in infections in immunocompromised individuals in protocol development of immunosuppressive trials in type 1diabetes and potentially other autoimmune diseases. PMID:26336066

Use of experimental airborne infections for monitoring altered host defenses.

PubMed Central

Gardner, D E

1982-01-01

The success or failure of the respiratory system to defend itself against airborne infectious agents largely depends upon the efficiency of the pulmonary defenses to maintain sterility and to dispose of unwanted substances. Both specific and nonspecific host defenses cooperate in the removal and inactivation of such agents. Several studies have shown that these defenses are vulnerable to a wide range of environmental agents and that there is a good relationship between exposure to pollutant and the impaired resistance to pulmonary disease. There are numerous immunological, biochemical and physiological techniques that are routinely used to identify and to characterize individual impairments of these defenses. Based on these effects, various hypotheses are proposed as to what health consequences could be expected from these effects. The ultimate test is whether the host, with its compromised defense mechanisms, is still capable of sustaining the total injury and continuing to defend itself against opportunistic pathogens. This paper describes the use of an experimental airborne infectious disease model capable of predicting subtle changes in host defenses at concentrations below which there are any other overt toxicological effects. Such sensitivity is possible because the model measure not just a single "health" parameter, but instead is capable of reflecting the total responses caused by the test chemical. Images FIGURE 3. PMID:7060549

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and mad cows: lessons learnt from yeast cells.

PubMed

Hofmann, J; Wolf, H; Grassmann, A; Arndt, V; Graham, J; Vorberg, I

2012-01-24

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are fatal neurodegenerative diseases that affect mammals including humans. The proteinaceous nature of the infectious agent, the prion, and its propagation, challenge established dogmas in biology. It is now widely accepted that prion diseases are caused by unconventional agents principally composed of a misfolded host-encoded protein, PrP. Surprisingly, major break-throughs in prion research came from studies on functionally unrelated proteins in yeast and filamentous fungi. Aggregates composed of these proteins act as epigenetic elements of inheritance that can propagate their alternative states by a conformational switch into an ordered ß-sheet rich polymer just like mammalian prions. Since their discovery prions of lower eukaryotes have provided invaluable insights into all aspects of prion biogenesis. Importantly, yeast prions provide proof-of-principle that distinct protein conformers can be infectious and can serve as genetic elements that have the capacity to encipher strain specific information. As a powerful and tractable model system, yeast prions will continue to increase our understanding of prion-host cell interaction and potential mechanisms of protein-based epigenetic inheritance.

Global climate change and infectious diseases.

PubMed Central

Shope, R

1991-01-01

The effects of global climate change on infectious diseases are hypothetical until more is known about the degree of change in temperature and humidity that will occur. Diseases most likely to increase in their distribution and severity have three-factor (agent, vector, and human being) and four-factor (plus vertebrate reservoir host) ecology. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes may move northward and have more rapid metamorphosis with global warming. These mosquitoes transmit dengue virus, and Aedes aegypti transmits yellow fever virus. The faster metamorphosis and a shorter extrinsic incubation of dengue and yellow fever viruses could lead to epidemics in North America. Vibrio cholerae is harbored persistently in the estuaries of the U.S. Gulf Coast. Over the past 200 years, cholera has become pandemic seven times with spread from Asia to Europe, Africa, and North America. Global warming may lead to changes in water ecology that could enhance similar spread of cholera in North America. Some other infectious diseases such as LaCrosse encephalitis and Lyme disease are caused by agents closely dependent on the integrity of their environment. These diseases may become less prominent with global warming because of anticipated modification of their habitats. Ecological studies will help us to understand more fully the possible consequences of global warming. New and more effective methods for control of vectors will be needed. PMID:1820262

Epidemic spreading on dual-structure networks with mobile agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Yiyang; Zhou, Yinzuo

2017-02-01

The rapid development of modern society continually transforms the social structure which leads to an increasingly distinct dual structure of higher population density in urban areas and lower density in rural areas. Such structure may induce distinctive spreading behavior of epidemics which does not happen in a single type structure. In this paper, we study the epidemic spreading of mobile agents on dual structure networks based on SIRS model. First, beyond the well known epidemic threshold for generic epidemic model that when the infection rate is below the threshold a pertinent infectious disease will die out, we find the other epidemic threshold which appears when the infection rate of a disease is relatively high. This feature of two thresholds for the SIRS model may lead to the elimination of infectious disease when social network has either high population density or low population density. Interestingly, however, we find that when a high density area is connected to a low density may cause persistent spreading of the infectious disease, even though the same disease will die out when it spreads in each single area. This phenomenon indicates the critical role of the connection between the two areas which could radically change the behavior of spreading dynamics. Our findings, therefore, provide new understanding of epidemiology pertinent to the characteristic modern social structure and have potential to develop controlling strategies accordingly.

Global climate change and infectious diseases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shope, R.

1991-12-01

The effects of global climate change on infectious diseases are hypothetical until more is known about the degree of change in temperature and humidity that will occur. Diseases most likely to increase in their distribution and severity have three-factor (agent, vector, and human being) and four-factor (plus vertebrate reservoir host) ecology. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes may move northward and have more rapid metamorphosis with global warming. These mosquitoes transmit dengue virus, and Aedes aegypti transmits yellow fever virus. The faster metamorphosis and a shorter extrinsic incubation of dengue and yellow fever viruses could lead to epidemics in Northmore » America. Vibrio cholera is harbored persistently in the estuaries of the U.S. Gulf Coast. Over the past 200 years, cholera has become pandemic seven times with spread from Asia to Europe, Africa, and North America. Global warming may lead to changes in water ecology that could enhance similar spread of cholera in North America. Some other infectious diseases such as LaCrosse encephalitis and Lyme disease are caused by agents closely dependent on the integrity of their environment. These diseases may become less prominent with global warming because of anticipated modification of their habitats. Ecological studies will help as to understand more fully the possible consequences of global warming. New and more effective methods for control of vectors will be needed. 12 refs., 1 tab.« less

Overview and recent developments in the medical management of paediatric uveitis.

PubMed

Pilly, Bertrand; Heath, Greg; Tschuor, Patrizia; Lightman, Susan; Gale, Richard P

2013-09-01

Although rarer than its adult counterpart, non-infectious uveitis remains a significant cause of ocular morbidity in children. Owing to the chronicity of the disorder and when refractory to first-line treatment, namely corticosteroids, systemic immunosuppressive treatment may be required to control the disease. Following a literature search using the keywords 'paediatric uveitis', 'juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis', 'immunosuppression' and 'treatment', we reviewed the range and effectiveness of treatments employed in the management of non-infectious, paediatric uveitis. Corticosteroids (topical, periocular, intraocular or systemic) remain the initial drug of choice in ameliorating the signs and symptoms of non-infectious paediatric uveitis. Failure to control the disease and/or failure to reduce the oral dose of prednisolone at least 0.15 mg/kg within 4 weeks often requires additional immunosuppressant therapy. Methotrexate and azathioprine have shown to be effective in the management of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)-associated uveitis with the former considered the first-line corticosteroid-sparing agent. Biologic therapies are increasingly used earlier in the disease with investigators in the UK currently recruiting patients for the SYCAMORE trial evaluating the efficacy of methotrexate and adalimumab vs methotrexate alone for the treatment for JIA-associated uveitis. Until further randomised controlled trials are conducted, the use of other biologic agents should only be used with an appreciation that there are potentially unknown side-effects and that there is not a full knowledge of their efficacy.

Impact of genetic variations in C-C chemokine receptors and ligands on infectious diseases.

PubMed

Qidwai, Tabish; Khan, M Y

2016-10-01

Chemokine receptors and ligands are crucial for extensive immune response against infectious diseases such as malaria, leishmaniasis, HIV and tuberculosis and a wide variety of other diseases. Role of chemokines are evidenced in the activation and regulation of immune cell migration which is important for immune response against diseases. Outcome of disease is determined by complex interaction among pathogen, host genetic variability and surrounding milieu. Variation in expression or function of chemokines caused by genetic polymorphisms could be associated with attenuated immune responses. Exploration of chemokine genetic polymorphisms in therapeutic response, gene regulation and disease outcome is important. Infectious agents in human host alter the expression of chemokines via epigenetic alterations and thus contribute to disease pathogenesis. Although some fragmentary data are available on chemokine genetic variations and their contribution in diseases, no unequivocal conclusion has been arrived as yet. We therefore, aim to investigate the association of CCR5-CCL5 and CCR2-CCL2 genetic polymorphisms with different infectious diseases, transcriptional regulation of gene, disease severity and response to therapy. Furthermore, the role of epigenetics in genes related to chemokines and infectious disease are also discussed. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hypertrophic Cranial Pachymeningitis and Skull Base Osteomyelitis by Pseudomonas Aeruginosa: Case Report and Review of the Literature

PubMed Central

Caldas, Ana Rita; Brandao, Mariana; Paula, Filipe Seguro; Castro, Elsa; Farinha, Fatima; Marinho, Antonio

2012-01-01

Hypertrophic cranial pachymeningitis (HCP) is an uncommon disorder characterized by localized or diffuse thickening of the dura mater, and it usually presents with multiple cranial neurophaties. It has been associated with a variety of inflammatory, infectious, traumatic, toxic and neoplasic diseases, when no specific cause is found the process is called idiopathic. The infectious cases occur in patients under systemic immunosuppression, which have an evident contiguous source or those who have undergone neurosurgical procedures. We describe a case of a 62-year-old immunosuppressed woman with diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, which had HCP and osteomyelitis of the skull base caused by pseudomonas aeruginosa, presenting with headache and diplopia. We believe this is the second documented case of pachymeningitis secondary to this microorganism. As a multifactorial disease, it is essencial to determine the specific causative agent of HCP before making treatment decisions, and great care is needed with immunocompromised patients. Keywords Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Hypertrophic pachymeningitis; Ophtalmoplegia, optical neuropathy; Osteomyelitis; Skull base PMID:22505989

First step in the differential diagnosis of folliculitis: cytology.

PubMed

Durdu, Murat; Ilkit, Macit

2013-02-01

Folliculitis is a superficial inflammation of the hair follicles, and can be observed in individuals of any age or race. The incidence of folliculitis is unknown because most patients only consult a doctor in cases of increasing lesions. There are various infectious and non-infectious causes of folliculitis, and the most common causative agent is Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, several Gram-negative bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and viral pathogens can cause follicular papules and pustules. In routine practice, however, these lesions are usually thought to be bacterial. Therefore, topical and/or systemic antibacterial treatment is recommended, but this involves the risk of being misused for months or even years. Cytology, a simple, rapid, inexpensive, and repeatable diagnostic method, can reveal various bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic pathogens. This review discusses the use of clinical sampling and staining of cytologic samples for the differential diagnosis of folliculitis, cytologic findings, and the frequency with which dermatologists use cytology to diagnose folliculitis, particularly in the age of molecular biology and more expensive, sophisticated investigations.

Global amphibian declines: perspectives from the United States and beyond

USGS Publications Warehouse

Densmore, Christine L.; Cipriano, R.C.; Bruckner, A.W.; Shchelkunov, I.S.

2011-01-01

Over recent decades, amphibians have experienced population declines, extirpations and species-level extinctions at an alarming rate. Numerous potential etiologies for amphibian declines have been postulated including climate and habitat degradation. Other potential anthropogenic causes including overexploitation and the frequent introductions of invasive predatory species have also been blamed for amphibian declines. Still other underlying factors may include infectious diseases caused by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, pathogenic viruses (Ranavirus), and other agents. It is nearly certain that more than one etiology is to blame for the majority of the global amphibian declines, and that these causal factors include some combination of climatological or physical habitat destabilization and infectious disease, most notably chytridiomycosis. Scientific research efforts are aimed at elucidating these etiologies on local, regional, and global scales that we might better understand and counteract the driving forces behind amphibian declines. Conservation efforts as outlined in the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan of 2005 are also being made to curtail losses and prevent further extinctions wherever possible.

[Imported diseases, the epidemiological challenge of communicable diseases (author's transl)].

PubMed

Gsell, O

1978-06-01

Imported infectious diseases being seen more often in consequence of intensive human contacts with developing countries through labourers and tourists, but also in consequence of immigration and of import of exotic diseases and of food, favoured by the quick air traffic, can be divided into 5 groups: 1. Imported diseases from the tropics (exotic diseases) 2. Imported agents from the tropics with human infection in the native country 3. Re-importation of diseases which were eliminated in the homelands 4. Diseases which are as well imported as also native 5. Single disease importations from neighboured countries. The imported infections are discussed systematically, caused by viruses, rickettsias, bacteries, protozoes, fungi, and followed by references to statistics, laboratory infection reports, questions of insurance. Imported diseases of the future are especially mentioned. Knowledge of the tropical infections as a main danger for our "civilized" world should be part of the medical training, since imported infectious diseases cause an epidemiologic challenge in the modern picture of communicable infections.

Invasion and Persistence of Infectious Agents in Fragmented Host Populations

PubMed Central

Jesse, Marieke; Mazzucco, Rupert; Dieckmann, Ulf; Heesterbeek, Hans; Metz, Johan A. J.

2011-01-01

One of the important questions in understanding infectious diseases and their prevention and control is how infectious agents can invade and become endemic in a host population. A ubiquitous feature of natural populations is that they are spatially fragmented, resulting in relatively homogeneous local populations inhabiting patches connected by the migration of hosts. Such fragmented population structures are studied extensively with metapopulation models. Being able to define and calculate an indicator for the success of invasion and persistence of an infectious agent is essential for obtaining general qualitative insights into infection dynamics, for the comparison of prevention and control scenarios, and for quantitative insights into specific systems. For homogeneous populations, the basic reproduction ratio plays this role. For metapopulations, defining such an ‘invasion indicator’ is not straightforward. Some indicators have been defined for specific situations, e.g., the household reproduction number . However, these existing indicators often fail to account for host demography and especially host migration. Here we show how to calculate a more broadly applicable indicator for the invasion and persistence of infectious agents in a host metapopulation of equally connected patches, for a wide range of possible epidemiological models. A strong feature of our method is that it explicitly accounts for host demography and host migration. Using a simple compartmental system as an example, we illustrate how can be calculated and expressed in terms of the key determinants of epidemiological dynamics. PMID:21980339

[Public health pests. Arthropods and rodents as causative disease agents as well as reservoirs and vectors of pathogens].

PubMed

Faulde, M; Freise, J

2014-05-01

Globally, infectious diseases pose the most important cause of death. Among known human pathogenic diseases, approximately 50 % are zoonoses. When considering emerging infectious diseases separately 73 % currently belong to the group of zoonoses. In Central Europe, hard ticks show by far the biggest potential as vectors of agents of human disease. Lyme borreliosis, showing an estimated annual incidence between 60,000 and 214,000 cases is by far the most frequent tick-borne disease in Germany. Continually, formerly unknown disease agents could be discovered in endemic vector species. Additionally, introduction of new arthropod vectors and/or agents of disease occur constantly. Recently, five mosquito species of the genus Aedes have been newly introduced to Europe where they are currently spreading in different regions. Uncommon autochthonous transmission of dengue and chikungunya fever viruses in Southern Europe could be directly linked to these vector species and of these Ae. albopictus and Ae. japonicus are currently reported to occur in Germany. The German Protection against Infection Act only covers the control of public health pests which are either active hematophagous vectors or mechanical transmitters of agents of diseases. Use of officially recommended biocidal products aiming to interrupt transmission cycles of vector-borne diseases, is confined to infested buildings only, including sewage systems in the case of Norway rat control. Outdoor vectors, such as hard ticks and mosquitoes, are currently not taken into consideration. Additionally, adjustments of national public health regulations, detailed arthropod vector and rodent reservoir mapping, including surveillance of vector-borne disease agents, are necessary in order to mitigate future disease risks.

Infectious agents and inflammation in donated hearts and dilated cardiomyopathies related to cardiovascular diseases, Chagas' heart disease, primary and secondary dilated cardiomyopathies.

PubMed

Mangini, Sandrigo; Higuchi, Maria de Lourdes; Kawakami, Joyce Tiyeko; Reis, Marcia Martins; Ikegami, Renata Nishiyama; Palomino, Suely Aparecida Pinheiro; Pomerantzeff, Pablo Maria Alberto; Fiorelli, Alfredo Inácio; Marcondes-Braga, Fabiana Goulart; Bacal, Fernando; Ferreira, Sílvia Moreira Ayub; Issa, Victor Sarli; Souza, Germano Emílio Conceição; Chizzola, Paulo Roberto; Bocchi, Edimar Alcides

2015-01-15

Clinical and experimental conflicting data have questioned the relationship between infectious agents, inflammation and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of infectious agents and inflammation in endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) specimens from patients with idiopathic DCM, explanted hearts from different etiologies, including Chagas' disease, compared to donated hearts. From 2008 to 2011, myocardial samples from 29 heart donors and 55 patients with DCMs from different etiologies were studied (32 idiopathic, 9 chagasic, 6 ischemic and 8 other specific etiologies). Inflammation was investigated by immunohistochemistry and infectious agents by immunohistochemistry, molecular biology, in situ hybridization and electron microscopy. There were no differences regarding the presence of macrophages, expression of HLA class II and ICAM-I in donors and DCM. Inflammation in Chagas' disease was predominant. By immunohistochemistry, in donors, there was a higher expression of antigens of enterovirus and Borrelia, hepatitis B and C in DCMs. By molecular biology, in all groups, the positivity was elevated to microorganisms, including co-infections, with a higher positivity to adenovirus and HHV6 in donors towards DCMs. This study was the first to demonstrate the presence of virus in the heart tissue of chagasic DCM. The presence of inflammation and infectious agents is frequent in donated hearts, in the myocardium of patients with idiopathic DCM, myocardial dysfunction related to cardiovascular diseases, and primary and secondary cardiomyopathies, including Chagas' disease. The role of co-infection in Chagas' heart disease physiopathology deserves to be investigated in future studies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Infectious and non-infectious neurologic complications in heart transplant recipients.

PubMed

Muñoz, Patricia; Valerio, Maricela; Palomo, Jesús; Fernández-Yáñez, Juan; Fernández-Cruz, Ana; Guinea, Jesús; Bouza, Emilio

2010-05-01

Neurologic complications are important causes of morbidity and mortality in heart transplant (HT) recipients. New immunomodulating agents have improved survival rates, although some have been associated with a high rate of neurologic complications (infectious and non-infectious). We conducted this study to analyze the frequency of these complications, before and after the use of daclizumab induction therapy. We reviewed all neurologic complications in our HT cohort, comparing infectious with non-infectious complications over 2 periods of time in which different induction therapies were used (316 patients with OKT3 or antithymocyte globulin from 1988 to 2002, and 68 patients with daclizumab from 2003 to 2006). Neurologic complications were found in 75/384 patients (19.5%) with a total of 78 episodes. Non-infectious complications accounted for 68% of the 78 episodes of neurologic complications. A total of 51 patients and 53 episodes were detailed as follows: 25 episodes of stroke (25 of 78 total episodes, 32%; 19 ischemic, 6 hemorrhagic); 7 neuropathies; 6 seizures; 4 episodes of transient ischemic attack (TIA); 3 anoxic encephalopathy; 2 each brachial plexus palsy and metabolic encephalopathy; and 1 each myoclonia, central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma, subdural hematoma, and Cotard syndrome. Mean time to presentation of stroke, TIA, and encephalopathy was 1 day (range, 1-19 d) posttransplant. Mortality rate among non-infectious complications was 12/53 (22.6%). Infectious complications accounted for 32% of the 78 total episodes. We found 25 episodes in 24 patients: 17 herpes zoster (median, 268 d after HT), 3 CNS aspergillosis (median, 90 d after HT), 1 CNS toxoplasmosis and tuberculosis (51 d after HT), 1 pneumococcal meningitis (402 d after HT), and 2 Listeria meningitis (median, 108 d after HT). The 3 patients with CNS aspergillosis died. The mortality rate among patients with infectious neurologic complications was 12% (42.8% if the CNS was involved). When we compared the OKT3-ATG and daclizumab groups, we found that the incidence of non-infectious complications was 15.1% vs. 7.3%, respectively, and the incidence of infectious complications was 7.5% vs. 1.4%, respectively. All but 1 opportunistic infection occurred in the OKT3-ATG time period. In conclusion, a wide variety of neurologic complications affected 19.5% of HT recipients. Non-infectious causes clearly predominated, but infections still accounted for 32% of the episodes. New monoclonal induction therapies have contributed to diminished CNS opportunistic infections in our program.

Infections, inflammation and epilepsy

PubMed Central

Vezzani, Annamaria; Fujinami, Robert S.; White, H. Steve; Preux, Pierre-Marie; Blümcke, Ingmar; Sander, Josemir W.; Löscher, Wolfgang

2016-01-01

Epilepsy is the tendency to have unprovoked epileptic seizures. Anything causing structural or functional derangement of brain physiology may lead to seizures, and different conditions may express themselves solely by recurrent seizures and thus be labelled “epilepsy.” Worldwide, epilepsy is the most common serious neurological condition. The range of risk factors for the development of epilepsy varies with age and geographic location. Congenital, developmental and genetic conditions are mostly associated with the development of epilepsy in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. Head trauma, infections of the central nervous system (CNS) and tumours may occur at any age and may lead to the development of epilepsy. Infections of the CNS are a major risk factor for epilepsy. The reported risk of unprovoked seizures in population-based cohorts of survivors of CNS infections from developed countries is between 6.8 and 8.3 %, and is much higher in resource-poor countries. In this review, the various viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infectious diseases of the CNS which result in seizures and epilepsy are discussed. The pathogenesis of epilepsy due to brain infections, as well as the role of experimental models to study mechanisms of epileptogenesis induced by infectious agents, is reviewed. The sterile (non-infectious) inflammatory response that occurs following brain insults is also discussed, as well as its overlap with inflammation due to infections, and the potential role in epileptogenesis. Furthermore, autoimmune encephalitis as a cause of seizures is reviewed. Potential strategies to prevent epilepsy resulting from brain infections and non-infectious inflammation are also considered. PMID:26423537

Infectious diseases affect marine fisheries and aquaculture economics

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lafferty, Kevin D.; Harvell, C. Drew; Conrad, Jonathan M.; Friedman, Carolyn S.; Kent, Michael L.; Kuris, Armand M.; Powell, Eric N.; Rondeau, Daniel; Saksida, Sonja M.

2015-01-01

Seafood is a growing part of the economy, but its economic value is diminished by marine diseases. Infectious diseases are common in the ocean, and here we tabulate 67 examples that can reduce commercial species' growth and survivorship or decrease seafood quality. These impacts seem most problematic in the stressful and crowded conditions of aquaculture, which increasingly dominates seafood production as wild fishery production plateaus. For instance, marine diseases of farmed oysters, shrimp, abalone, and various fishes, particularly Atlantic salmon, cost billions of dollars each year. In comparison, it is often difficult to accurately estimate disease impacts on wild populations, especially those of pelagic and subtidal species. Farmed species often receive infectious diseases from wild species and can, in turn, export infectious agents to wild species. However, the impact of disease export on wild fisheries is controversial because there are few quantitative data demonstrating that wild species near farms suffer more from infectious diseases than those in other areas. The movement of exotic infectious agents to new areas continues to be the greatest concern.

Infectious Diseases Affect Marine Fisheries and Aquaculture Economics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lafferty, Kevin D.; Harvell, C. Drew; Conrad, Jon M.; Friedman, Carolyn S.; Kent, Michael L.; Kuris, Armand M.; Powell, Eric N.; Rondeau, Daniel; Saksida, Sonja M.

2015-01-01

Seafood is a growing part of the economy, but its economic value is diminished by marine diseases. Infectious diseases are common in the ocean, and here we tabulate 67 examples that can reduce commercial species' growth and survivorship or decrease seafood quality. These impacts seem most problematic in the stressful and crowded conditions of aquaculture, which increasingly dominates seafood production as wild fishery production plateaus. For instance, marine diseases of farmed oysters, shrimp, abalone, and various fishes, particularly Atlantic salmon, cost billions of dollars each year. In comparison, it is often difficult to accurately estimate disease impacts on wild populations, especially those of pelagic and subtidal species. Farmed species often receive infectious diseases from wild species and can, in turn, export infectious agents to wild species. However, the impact of disease export on wild fisheries is controversial because there are few quantitative data demonstrating that wild species near farms suffer more from infectious diseases than those in other areas. The movement of exotic infectious agents to new areas continues to be the greatest concern.

Infectious diseases affect marine fisheries and aquaculture economics.

PubMed

Lafferty, Kevin D; Harvell, C Drew; Conrad, Jon M; Friedman, Carolyn S; Kent, Michael L; Kuris, Armand M; Powell, Eric N; Rondeau, Daniel; Saksida, Sonja M

2015-01-01

Seafood is a growing part of the economy, but its economic value is diminished by marine diseases. Infectious diseases are common in the ocean, and here we tabulate 67 examples that can reduce commercial species' growth and survivorship or decrease seafood quality. These impacts seem most problematic in the stressful and crowded conditions of aquaculture, which increasingly dominates seafood production as wild fishery production plateaus. For instance, marine diseases of farmed oysters, shrimp, abalone, and various fishes, particularly Atlantic salmon, cost billions of dollars each year. In comparison, it is often difficult to accurately estimate disease impacts on wild populations, especially those of pelagic and subtidal species. Farmed species often receive infectious diseases from wild species and can, in turn, export infectious agents to wild species. However, the impact of disease export on wild fisheries is controversial because there are few quantitative data demonstrating that wild species near farms suffer more from infectious diseases than those in other areas. The movement of exotic infectious agents to new areas continues to be the greatest concern.

Gene Transfer in Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Shuttle Phasmids to Enlightenment

PubMed Central

JACOBS, WILLIAM R.

2016-01-01

Infectious diseases have plagued humankind throughout history and have posed serious public health problems. Yet vaccines have eradicated smallpox and antibiotics have drastically decreased the mortality rate of many infectious agents. These remarkable successes in the control of infections came from knowing the causative agents of the diseases, followed by serendipitous discoveries of attenuated viruses and antibiotics. The discovery of DNA as genetic material and the understanding of how this information translates into specific phenotypes have changed the paradigm for developing new vaccines, drugs, and diagnostic tests. Knowledge of the mechanisms of immunity and mechanisms of action of drugs has led to new vaccines and new antimicrobial agents. The key to the acquisition of the knowledge of these mechanisms has been identifying the elemental causes (i.e., genes and their products) that mediate immunity and drug resistance. The identification of these genes is made possible by being able to transfer the genes or mutated forms of the genes into causative agents or surrogate hosts. Such an approach was limited in Mycobacterium tuberculosis by the difficulty of transferring genes or alleles into M. tuberculosis or a suitable surrogate mycobacterial host. The construction of shuttle phasmids—chimeric molecules that replicate in Escherichia coli as plasmids and in mycobacteria as mycobacteriophages—was instrumental in developing gene transfer systems for M. tuberculosis. This review will discuss M. tuberculosis genetic systems and their impact on tuberculosis research. “I had to know my enemy in order to prevail against him.”Nelson Mandela PMID:26105819

Infectious crystalline keratopathy caused by Serratia marcescens.

PubMed

Chen, Ching-Long; Tai, Ming-Cheng; Chen, Jiann-Torng; Chen, Chiao-Hong; Lu, Da-Wen

2007-09-01

To report the case of a 70-year-old woman with Serratia infectious crystalline keratopathy. Case report. This is a report of a 70-year-old woman with a history of chronic open-angle glaucoma and trachoma with lagophthalmos, entropion, and trichiasis in both eyes who developed crystalline keratopathy after penetrating keratoplasty and cataract extraction in the right eye followed up with treatment with long-term topical steroids. Ten months after the initial penetrating keratoplasty and cataract extraction, the patient had decreased visual acuity, intense pain, and tearing in the right eye. Corneal cultures showed Serratia marcescens. Topical steroids were discontinued, and treatment with tobramycin and vancomycin ophthalmic solution every hour was initiated. Despite 1 week of aggressive therapy, there was an increase in corneal infiltrate, epithelial defects, and melting, which eventually involved the peripheral recipient cornea. Therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty, debridement of the peripheral cornea, and amniotic membrane transplantation were performed. Antibiotic agents were used postoperatively. There has been no evidence of recurrent infection. The best-corrected visual acuity improved to 6/15 at the 6-month follow-up period after the second intervention. S. marcescens may cause infectious crystalline keratopathy after penetrating keratoplasty in patients treated with long-term topical steroids. Therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty, surgical debridement, and amniotic membrane transplantation may be necessary when the clinical response to intensive medical treatment is inadequate.

Pathogen-driven selection in the human genome.

PubMed

Cagliani, Rachele; Sironi, Manuela

2013-01-01

Infectious diseases and epidemics have always accompanied and characterized human history, representing one of the main causes of death. Even today, despite progress in sanitation and medical research, infections are estimated to account for about 15% of deaths. The hypothesis whereby infectious diseases have been acting as a powerful selective pressure was formulated long ago, but it was not until the availability of large-scale genetic data and the development of novel methods to study molecular evolution that we could assess how pervasively infectious agents have shaped human genetic diversity. Indeed, recent evidences indicated that among the diverse environmental factors that acted as selective pressures during the evolution of our species, pathogen load had the strongest influence. Beside the textbook example of the major histocompatibility complex, selection signatures left by pathogen-exerted pressure can be identified at several human loci, including genes not directly involved in immune response. In the future, high-throughput technologies and the availability of genetic data from different populations are likely to provide novel insights into the evolutionary relationships between the human host and its pathogens. Hopefully, this will help identify the genetic determinants modulating the susceptibility to infectious diseases and will translate into new treatment strategies.

Epidemiological characteristics of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV): a review.

PubMed

Dixon, Peter; Paley, Richard; Alegria-Moran, Raul; Oidtmann, Birgit

2016-06-10

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV, Rhabdoviridae), is the causative agent of infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHN), a disease notifiable to the World Organisation for Animal Health, and various countries and trading areas (including the European Union). IHNV is an economically important pathogen causing clinical disease and mortalities in a wide variety of salmonid species, including the main salmonid species produced in aquaculture, Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). We reviewed the scientific literature on IHNV on a range of topics, including geographic distribution; host range; conditions required for infection and clinical disease; minimum infectious dose; subclinical infection; shedding of virus by infected fish; transmission via eggs; diagnostic tests; pathogen load and survival of IHNV in host tissues. This information is required for a range of purposes including import risk assessments; parameterisation of disease models; for surveillance planning; and evaluation of the chances of eradication of the pathogen to name just a few. The review focuses on issues that are of relevance for the European context, but many of the data summarised have relevance to IHN globally. Examples for application of the information is presented and data gaps highlighted.

Pityriasis Rosea, Gianotti-Crosti Syndrome, Asymmetric Periflexural Exanthem, Papular-Purpuric Gloves and Socks Syndrome, Eruptive Pseudoangiomatosis, and Eruptive Hypomelanosis: Do Their Epidemiological Data Substantiate Infectious Etiologies?

PubMed Central

Zawar, Vijay; Sciallis, Gabriel F.; Kempf, Werner; Lee, Albert

2016-01-01

Many clinical and laboratory-based studies have been reported for skin rashes which may be due to viral infections, namely pityriasis rosea (PR), Gianotti-Crosti syndrome (GCS), asymmetric periflexural exanthem/unilateral laterothoracic exanthem (APE/ULE), papular-purpuric gloves and socks syndrome (PPGSS), and eruptive pseudo-angiomatosis (EP). Eruptive hypomelanosis (EH) is a newly discovered paraviral rash. Novel tools are now available to investigate the epidemiology of these rashes. To retrieve epidemiological data of these exanthema and analyze whether such substantiates or refutes infectious etiologies. We searched for articles published over the last 60 years and indexed by PubMed database. We then analyzed them for universality, demography, concurrent patients, temporal and spatial-temporal clustering, mini-epidemics, epidemics, and other clinical and geographical associations. Based on our criteria, we selected 55, 60, 29, 36, 20, and 4 articles for PR, GCS, APE/ULE, PPGSS, EP, and EH respectively. Universality or multiple-continental reports are found for all exanthema except EH. The ages of patients are compatible with infectious causes for PR, GCS, APE/ULE, and EH. Concurrent patients are reported for all. Significant patient clustering is demonstrated for PR and GCS. Mini-epidemics and epidemics have been reported for GCS, EP, and EH. The current epidemiological data supports, to a moderate extent, that PR, GCS, and APE could be caused by infectious agents. Support for PPGSS is marginal. Epidemiological evidences for infectious origins for EP and EH are inadequate. There might be growing epidemiological evidence to substantiate or to refute our findings in the future. PMID:27103975

Gryphon: A Hybrid Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation Platform for Infectious Diseases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Bin; Wang, Jijun; McGowan, Michael; Vaidyanathan, Ganesh; Younger, Kristofer

In this paper we present Gryphon, a hybrid agent-based stochastic modeling and simulation platform developed for characterizing the geographic spread of infectious diseases and the effects of interventions. We study both local and non-local transmission dynamics of stochastic simulations based on the published parameters and data for SARS. The results suggest that the expected numbers of infections and the timeline of control strategies predicted by our stochastic model are in reasonably good agreement with previous studies. These preliminary results indicate that Gryphon is able to characterize other future infectious diseases and identify endangered regions in advance.

Neospora caninum is the leading cause of bovine fetal loss in British Columbia, Canada.

PubMed

Wilson, Devon J; Orsel, Karin; Waddington, Josh; Rajeev, Malavika; Sweeny, Amy R; Joseph, Tomy; Grigg, Michael E; Raverty, Stephen A

2016-03-15

The protozoan pathogen Neospora caninum is recognized as a leading cause of infectious abortions in cattle worldwide. To evaluate the impact of neosporosis on dairy and beef herd production, a retrospective, longitudinal study was performed to identify the impact of neosporosis alongside other causes of fetal abortion in British Columbia, Canada. Retrospective analysis of pathology records of bovine fetal submissions submitted to the Animal Health Centre, Abbotsford, British Columbia, a provincial veterinary diagnostic laboratory, from January 2007 to July 2013 identified 182 abortion cases (passive surveillance). From July 2013 to May 2014, an active surveillance program identified a further 54 abortion cases from dairy farmers in the Upper Fraser Valley, British Columbia. Of the total 236 fetal submissions analyzed, N. caninum was diagnosed in 18.2% of cases, making it the most commonly identified infectious agent associated with fetal loss. During active surveillance, N. caninum was associated with 41% of fetuses submitted compared to 13.3% during passive surveillance (p<0.001). Breed of dam was significantly associated with N. caninum diagnosis, with a higher prevalence in dairy versus beef breeds, and fetuses of 3-6 months gestational age had the highest prevalence of N. caninum. There was no significant association with dam parity. N. caninum was diagnosed in every year except 2009 and cases were geographically widespread throughout the province. Furthermore, the active surveillance program demonstrates that N. caninum is highly prevalent in the Upper Fraser Valley and is a major causal agent of production losses in this dairy intensive region. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neospora caninum is the leading cause of bovine fetal loss in British Columbia, Canada

PubMed Central

Wilson, Devon J; Orsel, Karin; Waddington, Josh; Rajeev, Malavika; Sweeny, Amy R.; Joseph, Tomy; Grigg, Michael E; Raverty, Stephen A.

2016-01-01

The protozoan pathogen Neospora caninum is recognized as a leading cause of infectious abortions in cattle worldwide. To evaluate the impact of neosporosis on dairy and beef herd production, a retrospective, longitudinal study was performed to identify the impact of neosporosis alongside other causes of fetal abortion in British Columbia, Canada. Retrospective analysis of pathology records of bovine fetal submissions submitted to the Animal Health Centre, Abbotsford, British Columbia, a provincial veterinary diagnostic laboratory, from January 2007– July 2013 identified 182 abortion cases (passive surveillance). From July 2013–May 2014, an active surveillance program identified a further 54 abortion cases from dairy farmers in the Upper Fraser Valley, British Columbia. Of the total 236 fetal submissions analyzed, N. caninum was diagnosed in 18.2% of cases, making it the most commonly identified infectious agent associated with fetal loss. During active surveillance, N. caninum was associated with 41% of fetuses submitted compared to 13.3% during passive surveillance (P<0.001). Breed of dam was significantly associated with N. caninum diagnosis, with a higher prevalence in dairy versus beef breeds, and fetuses of 3–6 months gestational age had the highest prevalence of N. caninum. There was no significant association with dam parity. Neospora caninum was diagnosed in every year except 2009 and cases were geographically widespread throughout the province. Furthermore, the active surveillance program demonstrates that N. caninum is highly prevalent in the Upper Fraser Valley and is a major causal agent of production losses in this dairy intensive region. PMID:26872927

7 CFR 319.37-5 - Special foreign inspection and certification requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... necrosis agent. (xxxiv) Flavescence-doree agent. (xxxv) Black wood agent (bois-noir). (xxxvi) Grapevine infectious necrosis bacterium. (xxxvii) Grapevine yellows disease bacterium. (xxxviii) Xanthomonas ampelina...

7 CFR 319.37-5 - Special foreign inspection and certification requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... necrosis agent. (xxxiv) Flavescence-doree agent. (xxxv) Black wood agent (bois-noir). (xxxvi) Grapevine infectious necrosis bacterium. (xxxvii) Grapevine yellows disease bacterium. (xxxviii) Xanthomonas ampelina...

7 CFR 319.37-5 - Special foreign inspection and certification requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... necrosis agent. (xxxiv) Flavescence-doree agent. (xxxv) Black wood agent (bois-noir). (xxxvi) Grapevine infectious necrosis bacterium. (xxxvii) Grapevine yellows disease bacterium. (xxxviii) Xanthomonas ampelina...

Defining the Antigenic Structure of the Henipavirus Attachment (G) Glycoprotein: Implications for the Fusion Mechanism

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

and therapeutic modalities resulting in significant global decreases in the health burden of infectious agents . As early as the mid 1940s widespread...of rapid development in prophylactic and therapeutic modalities resulting in significant global decreases in the health burden of infectious agents ...Human herpesvirus 8 pathogen detection/ identification Human metapneumovirus technology Group A Streptococcus (toxic shock syndrome

[Hantavirus as important emerging agents in South America].

PubMed

Ondoño, Andrés F; Levis, Silvana; Rodas, Juan D

2011-01-01

The dawning of the 20th century was marked by the emergence of new infectious disease agents and the appearance of others previously thought controlled. Both phenomena were possibly connected with ecological disturbances that led to the recognition of a dramatic climate change, of which the effects are only now becoming noticeable. Among the variety of agents to be considered, the many new viruses stand out, not only for their numerical proliferation, but also for their genetic versatility. It is this quality that provides them dexterity for evolving new strategies and adaptations to changing environmental conditions. Recently, some of the most ubiquitous and well-publicized viral agents in the American continents have been the rodent-borne viruses, and among these are the hantaviruses, etiological agents of pulmonary syndromes. Approximately 18 hantaviruses (belonging to the family Bunyaviridae), have been discovered in South America during the last 20 years, and although most of them cause persistent infections and subclinical infections in wild rodents (particularly members of the subfamily Sigmodontinae) and humans respectively; some others might also be highly lethal for humans. The goal herein is to review the state of the art regarding general aspects of hantaviruses and the diseases they cause around the world, highlighting the most recent findings in Colombia. Finally, the many unanswered questions will be recognized and highlighted concerning clinical importance and socio-economic impact of these agents on quality of public health in Colombia.

[Viral biosafety, biosecurity, and bioterrorism].

PubMed

Garin, D

2010-02-01

Intentional release of infectious agents has always been considered as a possible weapon. Today this risk has expanded from use for wartime mass destruction to small-scale terrorist acts. Viruses, some of tropical origin, constitute a special biological hazard for several reasons: great infectious potential, adaptability to the host, difficulty for diagnosis in the hospital, and absence of specific treatment for the main agents involved. Handling of the dangerous biological agents requires special biocontainment laboratories equipped and classified according to increasing risk up to level 4. This article discusses the modalities of classification.

[Meningitis and encephalitis in Poland in 2010].

PubMed

Parda, Natalia; Polkowska, Aleksandra

2012-01-01

Annually 2 000-3 000 cases of meningitis and encephalitis are notified to the Polish surveillance system. The leading etiologic agents of the bacterial infections are: N. meningitidis, S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae type B and L. monocytogenes. The most common causes of bacterial infections in children are: E. coli, S. agalactiae and H. influenzae type B. The viral infections are mainly caused by the following pathogens: Echovirus, Coxsackie virus group A and B. The agents responsible for the viral infections are also: arboviruses, Herpes simplex virus and mumps virus. The objectives of the present article are to analyze the epidemiology of meningitis and encephalitis in Poland in 2010 and to present the information on the vaccines used to prevent the discussed infections. The analysis was based on the data retrieved from the questionnaires used for the surveillance purposes, aggregated data on meningitis and encephalitis published in "Infectious diseases and poisonings in Poland in 2010", aggregated data on the vaccination coverage published in "Vaccinations in Poland in 2010", "Case definitions for the infectious diseases used for the surveillance purposes in 2009-2011" and Polish Immunization Programme for 2010. In 2010, Poland reported 3 063 neuroinfections--nearly 22% more than in 2009. The incidence rate was 8.03 cases per 100 000 population. From the analysis of data transpired that of the notified cases, 1 619 were of viral etiology, 846--were bacterial and 598 of other or unknown origin. Given the bacterial infections of determined etiology, the leading pathogenic agent was S. pneumoniae (180 cases), following by N. meningitidis (146 cases) and Haemophilus influenzae typu B (11 cases). Among confirmed cases of the viral infections, the predominant were tick-borne encephalitis cases (294). Compared to the data from 2009, the epidemiologic situation of the meningitis and encephalitis in Poland in 2010 has not changed significantly.

The serological screening of deceased tissue donors within the English Blood Service for infectious agents--a review of current outcomes and a more effective strategy for the future.

PubMed

Kitchen, A D; Gillan, H L

2010-04-01

The overall effectiveness of the NHSBT screening programme for infectious agents in deceased tissue donors is examined and evaluated in terms of current outcomes and how to improve upon these outcomes. The screening results and any subsequent confirmatory results from a total of 1659 samples from NHSBT deceased donors referred to NTMRL for screening for infectious agents were included in the analysis. Overall 1566/1659 (94.4%) of the samples were screen negative. A total of 93 were repeat reactive on screening for one or more of the mandatory markers screened for, of which only 12 (13%) were subsequently confirmed to be positive on confirmatory testing. The majority of the repeat reactive samples were demonstrating non-specific reactivity with the screening assays in use. Overall, the NHSBT screening programme for infectious agents in deceased tissue donors is very effective with a relatively low overall loss of donors because of non-specific reactivity. However, unnecessary loss of tissue products is not acceptable, and although this programme compares favourably with the outcomes of other such programmes, the confirmatory results obtained demonstrate both the need and the potential for improving the outcomes. This is particularly important as one donor may donate more than one product, and can be achieved very easily with a change to the screening algorithm followed, using the confirmatory data obtained to support and validate this change. CONTENTS SUMMARY: Critical analysis of the NHSBT screening programme for infectious agents in deceased tissue donors and a strategy involving the design and use of a different screening algorithm to improve these outcomes.

75 FR 24835 - Infectious Diseases

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-06

...., severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza], compliance with routine... infectious agents, radiation and chemicals. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that for 2008, the...

Trunkloads of viruses.

PubMed

Pellett, Philip E

2014-12-01

Elephant populations are under intense pressure internationally from habitat destruction and poaching for ivory and meat. They also face pressure from infectious agents, including elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus 1 (EEHV1), which kills ~20% of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) born in zoos and causes disease in the wild. EEHV1 is one of at least six distinct EEHV in a phylogenetic lineage that appears to represent an ancient but newly recognized subfamily (the Deltaherpesvirinae) in the family Herpesviridae. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Virus diseases of fish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Watson, Stanley W.

1954-01-01

The degenerative or non-neoplastic diseases of possible virus origin give the fish-culturist the most concern because of the severe mortalities resulting from infection. Epizootics of this nature have been reported in carp (Cyprinus carpio) and rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) in Europe, in acara (Geophagus brasiliensis) in South America, in kokanee, (Oncorhynchus nerka kennerlyi) and in sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka nerka) in the State of Washington. It has been demonstrated that each epizootic was caused by an infectious filterable agent, probably a virus.

Altered Antibody Profiles against Common Infectious Agents in Chronic Disease

PubMed Central

Burbelo, Peter D.; Ching, Kathryn H.; Morse, Caryn G.; Alevizos, Ilias; Bayat, Ahmad; Cohen, Jeffrey I.; Ali, Mir A.; Kapoor, Amit; Browne, Sarah K.; Holland, Steven M.; Kovacs, Joseph A.; Iadarola, Michael J.

2013-01-01

Despite the important diagnostic value of evaluating antibody responses to individual human pathogens, antibody profiles against multiple infectious agents have not been used to explore health and disease mainly for technical reasons.  We hypothesized that the interplay between infection and chronic disease might be revealed by profiling antibodies against multiple agents. Here, the levels of antibodies against a panel of 13 common infectious agents were evaluated with the quantitative Luciferase Immunoprecipitation Systems (LIPS) in patients from three disease cohorts including those with pathogenic anti-interferon-γ autoantibodies (IFN-γ AAB), HIV and Sjögren’s syndrome (SjS) to determine if their antibody profiles differed from control subjects.  The IFN-γ AAB patients compared to controls demonstrated statistically higher levels of antibodies against VZV (p=0.0003), EBV (p=0.002), CMV (p=0.003), and C. albicans (p=0.03), but lower antibody levels against poliovirus (p=0.04). Comparison of HIV patients with blood donor controls revealed that the patients had higher levels of antibodies against CMV (p=0.0008), HSV-2 (p=0.0008), EBV (p=0.001), and C. albicans (p=0.01), but showed decreased levels of antibodies against coxsackievirus B4 (p=0.0008), poliovirus (p=0.0005),   and HHV-6B (p=0.002). Lastly, SjS patients had higher levels of anti-EBV antibodies (p=0.03), but lower antibody levels against several enteroviruses including a newly identified picornavirus, HCoSV-A (p=0.004), coxsackievirus B4 (p=0.04), and poliovirus (p=0.02). For the IFN-γ AAB and HIV cohorts, principal component analysis revealed unique antibody clusters that showed the potential to discriminate patients from controls.  The results suggest that antibody profiles against these and likely other common infectious agents may yield insight into the interplay between exposure to infectious agents, dysbiosis, adaptive immunity and disease activity. PMID:24312567

Recent advances in rapid and ultrasensitive biosensors for infectious agents: lesson from Bacillus anthracis diagnostic sensors.

PubMed

Kim, Joungmok; Yoon, Moon-Young

2010-06-01

Here, we review the cumulative efforts to develop rapid and ultrasensitive diagnostic systems, especially for the infectious agent, Bacillus anthracis, as a model system. This Minireview focuses on demonstrating the features of various probes for target molecule detection and recent methods of signal generation within the biosensors. Also, we discuss the possibility of using peptides as next-generation probe molecules.

Borna disease: a possible emerging zoonosis.

PubMed

Boucher, J M; Barbillon, E; Cliquet, F

1999-01-01

The Borna disease virus (BDV) causes a disease of the central nervous system (CNS) in several vertebrate species. The progress made over the last 30 years in molecular biology has allowed us to identify the unique characteristics of the virus, such as its persistence in the CNS and the way it is expressed. This has allowed scientists to classify this pathogenic agent in a new family of RNA viruses. BDV affects a very large spectrum of hosts and is responsible for a disease characterised by behavioural anomalies. The large range of intra- or inter-specific symptoms of this disease (from persistence of the virus without clinical symptoms to CNS destruction) make epidemiological studies very difficult. Different diagnostic tools have allowed the detection of this infectious agent in different species around the world (central Europe, USA, UK, Japan, Iran, etc.). The disease can be fatal for sheep and horses (its primary natural hosts) and can infect other species such as rats, cattle, dogs, cats or pigeons. In human beings, BDV could be responsible for certain psychiatric disorders. In France, the limited number of epidemiological studies that have been conducted up until now (in veterinary and medical fields) does not allow scientists to ascertain whether the disease is present in France or not. Due to the suspected large geographical distribution of this infectious agent, however, we could expect the presence of BDV in France.

Exposure of free-ranging maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) to infectious and parasitic disease agents in the Noël Kempff Mercado National Park, Bolivia.

PubMed

Deem, Sharon L; Emmons, Louise H

2005-06-01

Maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) are neotropic mammals, listed as a CITES Appendix II species, with a distribution south of the Amazon forest from Bolivia, through northern Argentina and Paraguay and into eastern Brazil and northern Uruguay. Primary threats to the survival of free-ranging maned wolves include habitat loss, road kills, and shooting by farmers. An additional threat to the conservation of maned wolves is the risk of morbidity and mortality due to infectious and parasitic diseases. Captive maned wolves are susceptible to, and die from, common infectious diseases of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) including canine distemper virus (CDV), canine parvovirus (CPV), rabies virus, and canine adenovirus (CAV). Results from this study show that free-ranging maned wolves in a remote area of Bolivia have been exposed to multiple infectious and parasitic agents of domestic carnivores, including CAV, CDV, CPV, canine coronavirus, rabies virus, Leptospira interrogans spp., Toxoplasma gondii, and Dirofilaria immitis, and may be at increased risk for disease due to these agents.

A Multiplex PCR/LDR Assay for the Simultaneous Identification of Category A Infectious Pathogens: Agents of Viral Hemorrhagic Fever and Variola Virus

PubMed Central

Das, Sanchita; Rundell, Mark S.; Mirza, Aashiq H.; Pingle, Maneesh R.; Shigyo, Kristi; Garrison, Aura R.; Paragas, Jason; Smith, Scott K.; Olson, Victoria A.; Larone, Davise H.; Spitzer, Eric D.; Barany, Francis; Golightly, Linnie M.

2015-01-01

CDC designated category A infectious agents pose a major risk to national security and require special action for public health preparedness. They include viruses that cause viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) syndrome as well as variola virus, the agent of smallpox. VHF is characterized by hemorrhage and fever with multi-organ failure leading to high morbidity and mortality. Smallpox, a prior scourge, has been eradicated for decades, making it a particularly serious threat if released nefariously in the essentially non-immune world population. Early detection of the causative agents, and the ability to distinguish them from other pathogens, is essential to contain outbreaks, implement proper control measures, and prevent morbidity and mortality. We have developed a multiplex detection assay that uses several species-specific PCR primers to generate amplicons from multiple pathogens; these are then targeted in a ligase detection reaction (LDR). The resultant fluorescently-labeled ligation products are detected on a universal array enabling simultaneous identification of the pathogens. The assay was evaluated on 32 different isolates associated with VHF (ebolavirus, marburgvirus, Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, Lassa fever virus, Rift Valley fever virus, Dengue virus, and Yellow fever virus) as well as variola virus and vaccinia virus (the agent of smallpox and its vaccine strain, respectively). The assay was able to detect all viruses tested, including 8 sequences representative of different variola virus strains from the CDC repository. It does not cross react with other emerging zoonoses such as monkeypox virus or cowpox virus, or six flaviviruses tested (St. Louis encephalitis virus, Murray Valley encephalitis virus, Powassan virus, Tick-borne encephalitis virus, West Nile virus and Japanese encephalitis virus). PMID:26381398

A Multiplex PCR/LDR Assay for the Simultaneous Identification of Category A Infectious Pathogens: Agents of Viral Hemorrhagic Fever and Variola Virus.

PubMed

Das, Sanchita; Rundell, Mark S; Mirza, Aashiq H; Pingle, Maneesh R; Shigyo, Kristi; Garrison, Aura R; Paragas, Jason; Smith, Scott K; Olson, Victoria A; Larone, Davise H; Spitzer, Eric D; Barany, Francis; Golightly, Linnie M

2015-01-01

CDC designated category A infectious agents pose a major risk to national security and require special action for public health preparedness. They include viruses that cause viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) syndrome as well as variola virus, the agent of smallpox. VHF is characterized by hemorrhage and fever with multi-organ failure leading to high morbidity and mortality. Smallpox, a prior scourge, has been eradicated for decades, making it a particularly serious threat if released nefariously in the essentially non-immune world population. Early detection of the causative agents, and the ability to distinguish them from other pathogens, is essential to contain outbreaks, implement proper control measures, and prevent morbidity and mortality. We have developed a multiplex detection assay that uses several species-specific PCR primers to generate amplicons from multiple pathogens; these are then targeted in a ligase detection reaction (LDR). The resultant fluorescently-labeled ligation products are detected on a universal array enabling simultaneous identification of the pathogens. The assay was evaluated on 32 different isolates associated with VHF (ebolavirus, marburgvirus, Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, Lassa fever virus, Rift Valley fever virus, Dengue virus, and Yellow fever virus) as well as variola virus and vaccinia virus (the agent of smallpox and its vaccine strain, respectively). The assay was able to detect all viruses tested, including 8 sequences representative of different variola virus strains from the CDC repository. It does not cross react with other emerging zoonoses such as monkeypox virus or cowpox virus, or six flaviviruses tested (St. Louis encephalitis virus, Murray Valley encephalitis virus, Powassan virus, Tick-borne encephalitis virus, West Nile virus and Japanese encephalitis virus).

Disclosing respiratory co-infections: a broad-range panel assay for avian respiratory pathogens on a nanofluidic PCR platform.

PubMed

Croville, Guillaume; Foret, Charlotte; Heuillard, Pauline; Senet, Alexis; Delpont, Mattias; Mouahid, Mohammed; Ducatez, Mariette F; Kichou, Faouzi; Guerin, Jean-Luc

2018-06-01

Respiratory syndromes (RS) are among the most significant pathological conditions in edible birds and are caused by complex coactions of pathogens and environmental factors. In poultry, low pathogenic avian influenza A viruses, metapneumoviruses, infectious bronchitis virus, infectious laryngotracheitis virus, Mycoplasma spp. Escherichia coli and/or Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale in turkeys are considered as key co-infectious agents of RS. Aspergillus sp., Pasteurella multocida, Avibacterium paragallinarum or Chlamydia psittaci may also be involved in respiratory outbreaks. An innovative quantitative PCR method, based on a nanofluidic technology, has the ability to screen up to 96 samples with 96 pathogen-specific PCR primers, at the same time, in one run of real-time quantitative PCR. This platform was used for the screening of avian respiratory pathogens: 15 respiratory agents, including viruses, bacteria and fungi potentially associated with respiratory infections of poultry, were targeted. Primers were designed and validated for SYBR green real-time quantitative PCR and subsequently validated on the Biomark high throughput PCR nanofluidic platform (Fluidigm©, San Francisco, CA, USA). As a clinical assessment, tracheal swabs were sampled from turkeys showing RS and submitted to this panel assay. Beside systematic detection of E. coli, avian metapneumovirus, Mycoplasma gallisepticum and Mycoplasma synoviae were frequently detected, with distinctive co-infection patterns between French and Moroccan flocks. This proof-of-concept study illustrates the potential of such panel assays for unveiling respiratory co-infection profiles in poultry.

Microbiological Monitoring for the Constellation Program: Current Requirements and Future Considerations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ott, C. Mark

2007-01-01

Microbiological requirements for spaceflight are based on assessments of infectious disease risk which could impact crew health or mission success. The determination of risk from infectious disease is composed of several factors including (1) crew susceptibility, (2) crew exposure to the infectious disease agent, (3) the concentration of the infectious agent, and (4) the characteristics of the infectious agent. As a result of the Health Stabilization Program, stringent monitoring, and cleaning protocols, in-flight environmental microbial monitoring is not necessary for short-duration spaceflights. However, risk factors change for long-duration missions, as exemplified by the presence of medically significant organisms in the environments of both the Mir and International Space Station (ISS). Based upon this historical evidence, requirements for short duration usage aboard the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle and Lunar Lander Vehicle will not require in-flight monitoring; however, as mission duration increases with a Lunar Outpost, an ability to detect microbial hazard will be necessary. The nature of the detection requirements will depend on the maturity of technology in a rapidly evolving marketplace. Regardless, the hardware will still need to maximize information to discipline experts and the crew, while minimizing the size, mass, power consumption, and crew time usage. The refinement of these monitors will be a major goal in our efforts to travel successfully to Mars.

ESCMID Study Group for Infections in Compromised Hosts (ESGICH) Consensus Document on the safety of targeted and biological therapies: an infectious diseases perspective (Agents targeting lymphoid or myeloid cells surface antigens [II]: CD22, CD30, CD33, CD38, CD40, SLAMF-7 and CCR4).

PubMed

Drgona, L; Gudiol, C; Lanini, S; Salzberger, B; Ippolito, G; Mikulska, M

2018-03-20

The present review is part of the ESCMID Study Group for Infections in Compromised Hosts (ESGICH) Consensus Document on the safety of targeted and biological therapies. To review, from an Infectious Diseases perspective, the safety profile of agents targeting CD22, CD30, CD33, CD38, CD40, SLAMF-7 and CCR4 and to suggest preventive recommendations. Computer-based MEDLINE searches with MeSH terms pertaining to each agent or therapeutic family. The risk and spectrum of infections in patients receiving CD22-targeted agents (i.e. inotuzumab ozogamicin) are similar to those observed with anti-CD20 antibodies. Anti-Pneumocystis prophylaxis and monitoring for cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is recommended for patients receiving CD30-targeted agents (brentuximab vedotin). Due to the scarcity of data, the risk posed by CD33-targeted agents (gemtuzumab ozogamicin) cannot be assessed. Patients receiving CD38-targeted agents (i.e. daratumumab) face an increased risk of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection. Therapy with CD40-targeted agents (lucatumumab or dacetuzumab) is associated with opportunistic infections similar to those observed in hyper-IgM syndrome, and prevention strategies (including anti-Pneumocystis prophylaxis and pre-emptive therapy for CMV infection) are warranted. SLAMF-7 (CD319)-targeted agents (elotuzumab) induce lymphopenia and increase the risk of infection (particularly due to VZV). The impact of CCR4-targeted agents (mogamulizumab) on infection susceptibility is difficult to distinguish from the effect of underlying diseases and concomitant therapies. However, anti-Pneumocystis and anti-herpesvirus prophylaxis and screening for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection are recommended. Specific management strategies should be put in place to reduce the risk and/or the severity of infectious complications associated to the reviewed agents. Copyright © 2018 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis, chronic fatigue syndrome: An infectious disease.

PubMed

Underhill, R A

2015-12-01

The etiology of myalgic encephalomyelitis also known as chronic fatigue syndrome or ME/CFS has not been established. Controversies exist over whether it is an organic disease or a psychological disorder and even the existence of ME/CFS as a disease entity is sometimes denied. Suggested causal hypotheses have included psychosomatic disorders, infectious agents, immune dysfunctions, autoimmunity, metabolic disturbances, toxins and inherited genetic factors. Clinical, immunological and epidemiological evidence supports the hypothesis that: ME/CFS is an infectious disease; the causal pathogen persists in patients; the pathogen can be transmitted by casual contact; host factors determine susceptibility to the illness; and there is a population of healthy carriers, who may be able to shed the pathogen. ME/CFS is endemic globally as sporadic cases and occasional cluster outbreaks (epidemics). Cluster outbreaks imply an infectious agent. An abrupt flu-like onset resembling an infectious illness occurs in outbreak patients and many sporadic patients. Immune responses in sporadic patients resemble immune responses in other infectious diseases. Contagion is shown by finding secondary cases in outbreaks, and suggested by a higher prevalence of ME/CFS in sporadic patients' genetically unrelated close contacts (spouses/partners) than the community. Abortive cases, sub-clinical cases, and carrier state individuals were found in outbreaks. The chronic phase of ME/CFS does not appear to be particularly infective. Some healthy patient-contacts show immune responses similar to patients' immune responses, suggesting exposure to the same antigen (a pathogen). The chronicity of symptoms and of immune system changes and the occurrence of secondary cases suggest persistence of a causal pathogen. Risk factors which predispose to developing ME/CFS are: a close family member with ME/CFS; inherited genetic factors; female gender; age; rest/activity; previous exposure to stress or toxins; various infectious diseases preceding the onset of ME/CFS; and occupational exposure of health care professionals. The hypothesis implies that ME/CFS patients should not donate blood or tissue and usual precautions should be taken when handling patients' blood and tissue. No known pathogen has been shown to cause ME/CFS. Confirmation of the hypothesis requires identification of a causal pathogen. Research should focus on a search for unknown and known pathogens. Finding a causal pathogen could assist with diagnosis; help find a biomarker; enable the development of anti-microbial treatments; suggest preventive measures; explain pathophysiological findings; and reassure patients about the validity of their symptoms.

EXPERIMENTS ON THE TRANSMISSION OF SCARLET FEVER TO THE LOWER MONKEYS

PubMed Central

Draper, George; Hanford, John M.

1913-01-01

1. The reported successful transfer of scarlet fever to both higher and lower monkeys is not definitely established. 2. In the course of the experiments here reported, the infectious agent can be assumed to have been carried over to the monkeys. The failure to cause infection probably proceeds from the insusceptibility of the monkeys employed, or to the manner of introducing the agent. 3. The temperature curve and leucocyte count of monkeys are unsatisfactory criteria for the diagnosis of disease in those animals. 4. Monkeys frequently have transient blotchy, erythematous eruptions on the face and neck, and almost always a bran-like desquamation. 5. Monkeys are highly resistant to infection with microorganisms from human beings. PMID:19867663

Understanding the Mechanism of Bacterial Biofilms Resistance to Antimicrobial Agents

PubMed Central

Singh, Shriti; Singh, Santosh Kumar; Chowdhury, Indrajit; Singh, Rajesh

2017-01-01

A biofilm is a group of microorganisms, that causes health problems for the patients with indwelling medical devices via attachment of cells to the surface matrix. It increases the resistance of a microorganism for antimicrobial agents and developed the human infection. Current strategies are removed or prevent the microbial colonies from the medical devices, which are attached to the surfaces. This will improve the clinical outcomes in favor of the patients suffering from serious infectious diseases. Moreover, the identification and inhibition of genes, which have the major role in biofilm formation, could be the effective approach for health care systems. In a current review article, we are highlighting the biofilm matrix and molecular mechanism of antimicrobial resistance in bacterial biofilms. PMID:28553416

Epidemiology of childhood leukemia in New Zealand: studies of infectious hypotheses.

PubMed

Dockerty, John D

2009-01-01

The etiology of childhood leukemia remains an enigma despite decades of research. Hypotheses of an infectious etiology have been around for a long time, and in the last 20 years there have been two main theoretical contenders. One of these involves the possibility of a specific infectious agent having a causative role, and animal leukemia viruses would be analogous to this. Another theory relates to the possible involvement of unusual patterns of infections in infancy and how they might relate to aberrant immune responses. The first of these is easier to test. In New Zealand, since the early 1990s we have embarked on a program of research on the epidemiology of childhood leukemia. One of the goals has been to test hypotheses about the role of infection in causation. A variety of study designs have been employed, including descriptive, clustering, case-control and contributions to pooled international analyses. Some of the more interesting findings include: there has been a marked increase in the incidence of acute lymphoblastic leukemia among young children in New Zealand since the mid 1960s, poorer families are at greater risk, and there is no clear support for hypotheses of an infectious cause from the New Zealand data. However because of our small total population (4 million people) we cannot produce clear results on our own. Hence our current international collaborations, for example in CLIC (the Childhood Leukemia International Consortium) represent an important step forward. As countries work together across international boundaries we have a renewed hope that the causes of the childhood leukemias will be unlocked in the foreseeable future.

Epidemic spreading induced by diversity of agents' mobility.

PubMed

Zhou, Jie; Chung, Ning Ning; Chew, Lock Yue; Lai, Choy Heng

2012-08-01

In this paper, we study the impact of the preference of an individual for public transport on the spread of infectious disease, through a quantity known as the public mobility. Our theoretical and numerical results based on a constructed model reveal that if the average public mobility of the agents is fixed, an increase in the diversity of the agents' public mobility reduces the epidemic threshold, beyond which an enhancement in the rate of infection is observed. Our findings provide an approach to improve the resistance of a society against infectious disease, while preserving the utilization rate of the public transportation system.

Ticks and Tick-Borne Infections: Complex Ecology, Agents, and Host Interactions.

PubMed

Wikel, Stephen K

2018-06-20

Ticks transmit the most diverse array of infectious agents of any arthropod vector. Both ticks and the microbes they transmit are recognized as significant threats to human and veterinary public health. This article examines the potential impacts of climate change on the distribution of ticks and the infections they transmit; the emergence of novel tick-borne pathogens, increasing geographic range and incidence of tick-borne infections; and advances in the characterization of tick saliva mediated modulation of host defenses and the implications of those interactions for transmission, establishment, and control of tick infestation and tick-borne infectious agents.

Microbiologic study of soft contact lenses after laser subepithelial keratectomy for myopia.

PubMed

Hondur, Ahmet; Bilgihan, Kamil; Cirak, Meltem Yalinay; Dogan, Ozgur; Erdinc, Alper; Hasanreisoglu, Berati

2008-01-01

To evaluate the extent and agents of bacterial contamination of bandage disposable soft contact lenses after laser subepithelial keratectomy (LASEK) and to correlate the findings with clinical data. Disposable soft contact lenses were collected from 52 eyes of 26 consecutive patients treated with LASEK for myopia. The patients were treated with a fixed combination of tobramycin and diclofenac until epithelial closure. The lenses were removed on the fourth or fifth postoperative day with sterile forceps and immediately placed in sterile tubes containing culture media brain-heart infusion broth. The lenses were evaluated for microbial colonization. Of the 52 contact lenses analyzed, six (11.5%) had positive cultures. However, no clinical finding of infection was noted. Isolated microorganisms were coagulase-negative staphylococci (two lenses), Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (two lenses), Acinetobacter species (one lens), and Aeromonas hydrophila (one lens). Except for one case, the microorganisms were sensitive to the administered antibiotic. The risk of infectious keratitis after LASEK seems to be low. Except for staphylococci, the isolated microorganisms have not been previously reported to colonize the ocular surface or cause keratitis after refractive surgery. These findings may suggest a changing trend of potentially infectious agents after surface ablation.

Obesity and infection: reciprocal causality.

PubMed

Hainer, V; Zamrazilová, H; Kunešová, M; Bendlová, B; Aldhoon-Hainerová, I

2015-01-01

Associations between different infectious agents and obesity have been reported in humans for over thirty years. In many cases, as in nosocomial infections, this relationship reflects the greater susceptibility of obese individuals to infection due to impaired immunity. In such cases, the infection is not related to obesity as a causal factor but represents a complication of obesity. In contrast, several infections have been suggested as potential causal factors in human obesity. However, evidence of a causal linkage to human obesity has only been provided for adenovirus 36 (Adv36). This virus activates lipogenic and proinflammatory pathways in adipose tissue, improves insulin sensitivity, lipid profile and hepatic steatosis. The E4orf1 gene of Adv36 exerts insulin senzitizing effects, but is devoid of its pro-inflammatory modalities. The development of a vaccine to prevent Adv36-induced obesity or the use of E4orf1 as a ligand for novel antidiabetic drugs could open new horizons in the prophylaxis and treatment of obesity and diabetes. More experimental and clinical studies are needed to elucidate the mutual relations between infection and obesity, identify additional infectious agents causing human obesity, as well as define the conditions that predispose obese individuals to specific infections.

Disease Transmission by Misfolded Prion-Protein Isoforms, Prion-Like Amyloids, Functional Amyloids and the Central Dogma

PubMed Central

Daus, Martin L.

2016-01-01

In 1982, the term “prions” (proteinaceous infectious particles) was coined to specify a new principle of infection. A misfolded isoform of a cellular protein has been described as the causative agent of a fatal neurodegenerative disease. At the beginning of prion research scientists assumed that the infectious agent causing transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) was a virus, but some unconventional properties of these pathogens were difficult to bring in line with the prevailing viral model. The discovery that prions (obviously devoid of any coding nucleic acid) can store and transmit information similarly to DNA was initially even denoted as being “heretical” but is nowadays mainly accepted by the scientific community. This review describes, from a historical point of view, how the “protein-only hypothesis” expands the Central Dogma. Definition of both, the prion principle and the Central Dogma, have been essential steps to understand information storage and transfer within and among cells and organisms. Furthermore, the current understanding of the infectivity of prion-proteins after misfolding is summarized succinctly. Finally, prion-like amyloids and functional amyloids, as found in yeast and bacteria, will be discussed. PMID:26742083

Disease Transmission by Misfolded Prion-Protein Isoforms, Prion-Like Amyloids, Functional Amyloids and the Central Dogma.

PubMed

Daus, Martin L

2016-01-04

In 1982, the term "prions" (proteinaceous infectious particles) was coined to specify a new principle of infection. A misfolded isoform of a cellular protein has been described as the causative agent of a fatal neurodegenerative disease. At the beginning of prion research scientists assumed that the infectious agent causing transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) was a virus, but some unconventional properties of these pathogens were difficult to bring in line with the prevailing viral model. The discovery that prions (obviously devoid of any coding nucleic acid) can store and transmit information similarly to DNA was initially even denoted as being "heretical" but is nowadays mainly accepted by the scientific community. This review describes, from a historical point of view, how the "protein-only hypothesis" expands the Central Dogma. Definition of both, the prion principle and the Central Dogma, have been essential steps to understand information storage and transfer within and among cells and organisms. Furthermore, the current understanding of the infectivity of prion-proteins after misfolding is summarized succinctly. Finally, prion-like amyloids and functional amyloids, as found in yeast and bacteria, will be discussed.

Antibiofilm agents: A new perspective for antimicrobial strategy.

PubMed

Li, Xi-Hui; Lee, Joon-Hee

2017-10-01

Biofilms are complex microbial architectures that attach to surfaces and encase microorganisms in a matrix composed of self-produced hydrated extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs). In biofilms, microorganisms become much more resistant to antimicrobial treatments, harsh environmental conditions, and host immunity. Biofilm formation by microbial pathogens greatly enhances survival in hosts and causes chronic infections that result in persistent inflammation and tissue damages. Currently, it is believed over 80% of chronic infectious diseases are mediated by biofilms, and it is known that conventional antibiotic medications are inadequate at eradicating these biofilm-mediated infections. This situation demands new strategies for biofilm-associated infections, and currently, researchers focus on the development of antibiofilm agents that are specific to biofilms, but are nontoxic, because it is believed that this prevents the development of drug resistance. Here, we review the most promising antibiofilm agents undergoing intensive research and development.

Discovery of Multitarget Agents Active as Broad-Spectrum Antivirals and Correctors of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator for Associated Pulmonary Diseases.

PubMed

Tassini, Sabrina; Sun, Liang; Lanko, Kristina; Crespan, Emmanuele; Langron, Emily; Falchi, Federico; Kissova, Miroslava; Armijos-Rivera, Jorge I; Delang, Leen; Mirabelli, Carmen; Neyts, Johan; Pieroni, Marco; Cavalli, Andrea; Costantino, Gabriele; Maga, Giovanni; Vergani, Paola; Leyssen, Pieter; Radi, Marco

2017-02-23

Enteroviruses (EVs) are among the most frequent infectious agents in humans worldwide and represent the leading cause of upper respiratory tract infections. No drugs for the treatment of EV infections are currently available. Recent studies have also linked EV infection with pulmonary exacerbations, especially in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, and the importance of this link is probably underestimated. The aim of this work was to develop a new class of multitarget agents active both as broad-spectrum antivirals and as correctors of the F508del-cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) folding defect responsible for >90% of CF cases. We report herein the discovery of the first small molecules able to simultaneously act as correctors of the F508del-CFTR folding defect and as broad-spectrum antivirals against a panel of EVs representative of all major species.

Vaccines against viral hemorrhagic fevers: non-human primate models.

PubMed

Carrion, Ricardo; Patterson, Jean L

2011-06-01

Viral hemorrhagic fevers are a group of disease syndromes caused by infection with certain RNA viruses. The disease is marked by a febrile response, malaise, coagulopathy and vascular permeability culminating in death. Case fatality rates can reach 90% depending on the etiologic agent. Currently, there is no approved antiviral treatment. Because of the high case fatality, risk of importation and the potential to use these agents as biological weapons, development of countermeasures to these agents is a high priority. The sporadic nature of disease outbreaks and the ethical issues associated with conducting a human trial for such diseases make human studies impractical; therefore, development of countermeasures must occur in relevant animal models. Non-human primates are superior models to study infectious disease because their immune system is similar to humans and they are good predictors of efficacy in vaccine development and other intervention strategies. This review article summarizes viral hemorrhagic fever non-human primate models.

42 CFR 73.3 - HHS select agents and toxins.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... been genetically modified. (d) HHS select agents or toxins that meet any of the following criteria are... Recombinant Organisms: (1) Nucleic acids that can produce infectious forms of any of the select agent viruses...

Epidemiology of infectious diseases transmitted by drinking water in developed countries.

PubMed

Hartemann, P; Newman, R; Foliguet, J M

1986-01-01

Research on the epidemiology of infectious diseases attributable to drinking water, common in the US during the past 20 years at least, is not yet really widespread in France. The role played by water in the transmission of certain infectious agents was important in European countries during past centuries but at present the incidence of waterborne diseases can be considered as very low. The absence of well-established data is due to the difficulty in reporting correctly a few minor outbreaks in a situation of very low endemicity. After a survey of the reported outbreaks, this paper deals with risk assessment of waterborne diseases in developed countries as well as special problems linked with proving transmission via water and with the nature of the infectious agents, and the development of monitoring methods for increasing our knowledge of this epidemiology.

Does biodiversity protect humans against infectious disease?

PubMed

Wood, Chelsea L; Lafferty, Kevin D; DeLeo, Giulio; Young, Hillary S; Hudson, Peter J; Kuris, Armand M

2014-04-01

Control of human infectious disease has been promoted as a valuable ecosystem service arising from the conservation of biodiversity. There are two commonly discussed mechanisms by which biodiversity loss could increase rates of infectious disease in a landscape. First, loss of competitors or predators could facilitate an increase in the abundance of competent reservoir hosts. Second, biodiversity loss could disproportionately affect non-competent, or less competent reservoir hosts, which would otherwise interfere with pathogen transmission to human populations by, for example, wasting the bites of infected vectors. A negative association between biodiversity and disease risk, sometimes called the "dilution effect hypothesis," has been supported for a few disease agents, suggests an exciting win-win outcome for the environment and society, and has become a pervasive topic in the disease ecology literature. Case studies have been assembled to argue that the dilution effect is general across disease agents. Less touted are examples in which elevated biodiversity does not affect or increases infectious disease risk for pathogens of public health concern. In order to assess the likely generality of the dilution effect, we review the association between biodiversity and public health across a broad variety of human disease agents. Overall, we hypothesize that conditions for the dilution effect are unlikely to be met for most important diseases of humans. Biodiversity probably has little net effect on most human infectious diseases but, when it does have an effect, observation and basic logic suggest that biodiversity will be more likely to increase than to decrease infectious disease risk.

Infectious diseases in competitive sports.

PubMed

Goodman, R A; Thacker, S B; Solomon, S L; Osterholm, M T; Hughes, J M

1994-03-16

Participation in competitive sports is popular and widely encouraged throughout the United States. Reports of infectious disease outbreaks among competitive athletes and recent publicity regarding infectious disease concerns in sports underscore the need to better characterize the occurrence of these problems. To identify reports of infectious diseases in sports, we performed a comprehensive search of the medical literature (MEDLINE) and newspaper databases in two on-line services (NEXIS and DIALOG PAPERS). Articles selected from the literature review included those describing cases or outbreaks of disease in which exposure to an infectious agent was likely to have occurred during training for competitive sports or during actual competition. Articles from the newspaper review included reports of outbreaks, exposures, or preventive measures that directly or indirectly involved teams or spectators. The literature review identified 38 reports of infectious disease outbreaks or other instances of transmission through person-to-person (24 reports), common-source (nine reports), or airborne (five reports) routes; the newspaper search identified 28 reports. Infectious agents included predominantly viruses but also a variety of fungi and gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Our findings indicate that strategies to prevent transmission of infectious diseases in sports must recognize risks at three levels: the individual athlete, the team, and spectators or others who may become exposed to infectious diseases as a result of sports-related activities. Team physicians and others who are responsible for the health of athletes should be especially familiar with the features of infectious diseases that occur in sports and measures for the prevention of these problems.

Meta-Analysis of Infectious Agents and Depression

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiao; Zhang, Liang; Lei, Yang; Liu, Xia; Zhou, Xinyu; Liu, Yiyun; Wang, Mingju; Yang, Liu; Zhang, Lujun; Fan, Songhua; Xie, Peng

2014-01-01

Depression is a debilitating psychiatric disorder and a growing global public health issue. However, the relationships between microbial infections and depression remains uncertain. A computerized literature search of Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library was conducted up to May 2013, and 6362 studies were initially identified for screening. Case-control studies detected biomarker of microorganism were included. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 28 studies were finally included to compare the detection of 16 infectious agents in unipolar depressed patients and healthy controls with a positive incident being defined as a positive biochemical marker of microbial infection. A customized form was used for data extraction. Pooled analysis revealed that the majority of the 16 infectious agents were not significantly associated with depression. However, there were statistically significant associations between depression and infection with Borna disease virus, herpes simplex virus-1, varicella zoster virus, Epstein-Barr virus, and Chlamydophila trachomatis. PMID:24681753

Exploitation of microbial forensics and nanotechnology for the monitoring of emerging pathogens.

PubMed

Bokhari, Habib

2018-03-07

Emerging infectious diseases remain among the leading causes of global mortality. Traditional laboratory diagnostic approaches designed to detect and track infectious disease agents provide a framework for surveillance of bio threats. However, surveillance and outbreak investigations using such time-consuming approaches for early detection of pathogens remain the major pitfall. Hence, reasonable real-time surveillance systems to anticipate threats to public health and environment are critical for identifying specific aetiologies and preventing the global spread of infectious disease. The current review discusses the growing need for monitoring and surveillance of pathogens with the same zeal and approach as adopted by microbial forensics laboratories, and further strengthening it by integrating with the innovative nanotechnology for rapid detection of microbial pathogens. Such innovative diagnostics platforms will help to track pathogens from high risk areas and environment by pre-emptive approach that will minimize damages. The various scenarios with the examples are discussed where the high risk associated human pathogens in particular were successfully detected using various nanotechnology approaches with potential future prospects in the field of microbial forensics.

Evidence for louse-transmitted diseases in soldiers of Napoleon's Grand Army in Vilnius.

PubMed

Raoult, Didier; Dutour, Olivier; Houhamdi, Linda; Jankauskas, Rimantas; Fournier, Pierre-Edouard; Ardagna, Yann; Drancourt, Michel; Signoli, Michel; La, Vu Dang; Macia, Yves; Aboudharam, Gerard

2006-01-01

Many soldiers in Napoleon's Grand Army died of infectious diseases during its retreat from Russia. Because soldiers were commonly infested with body lice, it has been speculated that louse-borne infectious diseases, such as epidemic typhus (caused by Rickettsia prowazekii), were common. We investigated this possibility during recent excavations of a mass grave of Napoleon's soldiers in Vilnius, Lithuania. Segments of 5 body lice, identified morphologically and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequencing, were found in earth from the grave that also contained fragments of soldiers' uniforms. DNA of Bartonella quintana (the agent of trench fever) was identified by PCR and sequencing in 3 of the lice. Similarly, PCR and sequencing of dental pulp from the remains of 35 soldiers revealed DNA of B. quintana in 7 soldiers and DNA of R. prowazekii in 3 other soldiers. Our results show that louse-borne infectious diseases affected nearly one-third of Napoleon's soldiers buried in Vilnius and indicate that these diseases might have been a major factor in the French retreat from Russia.

DNAemia detection by multiplex PCR and biomarkers for infection in systemic inflammatory response syndrome patients.

PubMed

Fitting, Catherine; Parlato, Marianna; Adib-Conquy, Minou; Memain, Nathalie; Philippart, François; Misset, Benoît; Monchi, Mehran; Cavaillon, Jean-Marc; Adrie, Christophe

2012-01-01

Fast and reliable assays to precisely define the nature of the infectious agents causing sepsis are eagerly anticipated. New molecular biology techniques are now available to define the presence of bacterial or fungal DNA within the bloodstream of sepsis patients. We have used a new technique (VYOO®) that allows the enrichment of microbial DNA before a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for pathogen detection provided by SIRS-Lab (Jena, Germany). We analyzed 72 sepsis patients and 14 non-infectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) patients. Among the sepsis patients, 20 had a positive blood culture and 35 had a positive microbiology in other biological samples. Of these, 51.4% were positive using the VYOO® test. Among the sepsis patients with a negative microbiology and the non-infectious SIRS, 29.4% and 14.2% were positive with the VYOO® test, respectively. The concordance in bacterial identification between microbiology and the VYOO® test was 46.2%. This study demonstrates that these new technologies offer great hopes, but improvements are still needed.

[Sensitivity of patients to immunomodulators in immunodeficiency diseases].

PubMed

Stasenko, A A; Zhulaĭ, V V; Novopol'tseva, I Iu; Dontsova, L S; Zaiats, N V; Negievich, V I

2014-08-01

There were examined 198 patients, in whom immunodeficient (inflammatory, infectious and viral) diseases were revealed, as well as 10 healthy persons--for investigation of sensitivity of the blood neutrophils to immunomodulators (timalin, immunofan, polyoxidonium, timogen, erbisol). Most active one, in accordance to the investigation data, have evolved a synthetic preparation polyoxidonium, action mechanism of which is caused by direct activating impact on phagocytosis. Absence of sensitivity of the blood neutrophils towards activating stimuli (immunomodulators) in some patients was caused by a phenomenon, according to which the blood neutrophils, persisting durably in a preactivated state, further (while examining of the patients) have a reduced capacity for answering to stimulation. Such factors, as persisting in organism components of cellular wall of microorganisms or viruses, as well as antiinflammatory citokines, which are secreted in answer to the infectious agent introduction, are altogether promote the blood neutrophils preactivated state persistence. In patients, suffering viral infections, the blood neutrophils are mostly sensitive to immunofan and timalin. Immunologic preparations must be selected individually, taking into account the data of tests for sensitivity.

Cloning the Antibody Response in Humans with Chronic Inflammatory Disease: Immunopanning of Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE) Brain Sections with Antibody Phage Libraries Prepared from SSPE Brain Enriches for Antibody Recognizing Measles Virus Antigens In Situ

PubMed Central

Owens, Gregory P.; Williamson, R. Anthony; Burgoon, Mark P.; Ghausi, Omar; Burton, Dennis R.; Gilden, Donald H.

2000-01-01

In central nervous system (CNS) infectious and inflammatory diseases of known cause, oligoclonal bands represent antibody directed against the causative agent. To determine whether disease-relevant antibodies can be cloned from diseased brain, we prepared an antibody phage display library from the brain of a human with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a chronic encephalitis caused by measles virus, and selected the library against SSPE brain sections. Antibodies that were retrieved reacted strongly with measles virus cell extracts by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and were specific for the measles virus nucleocapsid protein. These antibodies immunostained cells in different SSPE brains but not in control brain. Our data provide the first demonstration that diseased brain can be used to select in situ for antibodies directed against the causative agent of disease and point to the potential usefulness of this approach in identifying relevant antibodies in chronic CNS or systemic inflammatory diseases of unknown cause. PMID:10627565

Microarrays--new possibilities for detecting biological factors hazardous for humans and animals, and for use in environmental protection.

PubMed

Mirski, Tomasz; Bartoszcze, Michał; Bielawska-Drózd, Agata; Gryko, Romuald; Kocik, Janusz; Niemcewicz, Marcin; Chomiczewski, Krzysztof

2016-01-01

Both the known biological agents that cause infectious diseases, as well as modified (ABF-Advanced Biological Factors) or new, emerging agents pose a significant diagnostic problem using previously applied methods, both classical, as well as based on molecular biology methods. The latter, such as PCR and real-time PCR, have significant limitations, both quantitative (low capacity), and qualitative (limited number of targets). The article discusses the results of studies on using the microarray method for the identification of viruses (e.g. Orthopoxvirus group, noroviruses, influenza A and B viruses, rhino- and enteroviruses responsible for the FRI (Febrile Respiratory Illness), European bunyaviruses, and SARS-causing viruses), and bacteria (Mycobacterium spp., Yersinia spp., Campylobacter spp., Streptococcus pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Neisseria meningitidis, Clostridium difficile , Helicobacter pylori), including multiple antibiotic-resistant strains. The method allows for the serotyping and genotyping of bacteria, and is useful in the diagnosis of genetically modified agents. It allows the testing of thousands of genes in one experiment. In addition to diagnosis, it is applicable for gene expression studies, analysis of the function of genes, microorganisms virulence, and allows the detection of even single mutations. The possibility of its operational application in epidemiological surveillance, and in the detection of disease outbreak agents is demonstrated.

The Soriano Award Lecture. Emerging infections of the nervous system.

PubMed

Johnson, R T

1994-06-01

The epidemic of acquired immunodeficiency disease [AIDS] has focused interest on the origins of "new" infectious agents. Great plagues are well known from the distant past, but a number of novel diseases affecting the nervous system infections have emerged in recent years. The causes of such new disorders are diverse: whereas rapid mutations of microbes allow the evolution of truly novel agents, the appearance of new diseases is more often due to changes in human or vector populations or changes in societal mores that result in dissemination of preexistent microbes. Examples of recently emerging infections that involve the nervous system include the enterovirus 70 epidemics with poliomyelitis-like disease, the appearance of California virus encephalitis in the midwestern United States, the rapid spread of Lyme disease with its many neurological complications in the eastern United States, and the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the United Kingdom, in addition to the devastating epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which will cause nervous system disease in over half of those infected. As the world population increases and modern transportation brings us closer into a "global village" more new agents will emerge and more will be sustained. Knowledge of the molecular biology and ecology of the agents and awareness of how our actions can alter their behavior are our best defense.

Sore throat in primary care project: a clinical score to diagnose viral sore throat.

PubMed

Mistik, Selcuk; Gokahmetoglu, Selma; Balci, Elcin; Onuk, Fahri A

2015-06-01

Viral agents cause the majority of sore throats. However, there is not currently a score to diagnose viral sore throat. The aims of this study were (i) to find the rate of bacterial and viral causes, (ii) to show the seasonal variations and (iii) to form a new scoring system to diagnose viral sore throat. A throat culture for group A beta haemolytic streptococci (GABHS) and a nasopharyngeal swab to detect 16 respiratory viruses were obtained from each patient. Over a period of 52 weeks, a total of 624 throat cultures and polymerase chain reaction analyses were performed. Logistic regression analysis was performed to find the clinical score. Viral infection was found in 277 patients (44.3%), and GABHS infection was found in 116 patients (18.5%). An infectious cause was found in 356 patients (57.1%). Rhinovirus was the most commonly detected infectious agent overall (highest in November, 34.5%), and the highest GABHS rate was in November (32.7%). Analysis of data provided a scoring system, called the Mistik Score, to diagnose viral sore throat. The predictive model for positive viral analysis included the following variables: absence of headache, stuffy nose, sneezing, temperature of ≥37.5°C on physical examination, and the absence of tonsillar exudate and/or swelling. The probability of a positive viral analysis for a score of 5 was 82.1%. The Mistik Score may be useful to diagnose viral sore throat. We suggest its use either alone or in combination with the Modified Centor Score. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

[Epidemiology of toxic and infectious risk related to shellfish consumption].

PubMed

Desenclos, J C

1996-10-01

For feeding purposes shellfish filter large amounts of water but also concentrate infectious agents and toxins that are present in the marine environment either naturally or because of pollution. Thus, the consumption of raw or undercooked shellfish is a substantial source of foodborne poisoning, mostly epidemic and sometimes sporadic. Most of shellfish-borne infectious diseases are linked to fecal contamination of the marine environment; they include: thyphoid fever, salmonellosis, shigellosis, campylobacteriosis, cholera, Norwalk or Norwalk-like gastroenteritis and hepatitis A. In warm climates, shellfish contains naturally occurring halopilic Vibrios and may cause severe sporadic infections (septicemias) among very susceptible consumers (immunocompromised). Shellfish also causes outbreaks of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) and diarrheic shellfish poisoning (DSP) when they are contaminated by toxins produced when Dinophisis, a marine plancton, proliferates. Chemical compounds (heavy metals and organic toxins) that are dumped in the environment (soil, air, and water) also reach shellfish harvesting waters where they are cocentrated. Although acute or chronic effects of the chemical contamination of shellfish have not been clearly documented, the cadmium pollution of some shellfish harvesting waters raises a serious problem. Since it is impossible to prevent completely the contamination of coastal waters by any of the agents cited above, the prevention of shellfish-borne diseases requires monitoring of the marine environment and shellfish flesh (coliform count, Dinophysis toxins, heavy metals...). This surveillance allows the classification of growing areas as suitable or not for harvesting and distribution of shellfish. However, this surveillance is not always sensitive enough. Indicators of fecal pollution are particularly not reliable for shellfish viral contamination. A better knowledge of marine biology, the limitation of coastal waters pollution, improved surveillance, the development of more sensitive indicators, the responsabilisation of the industry and the information of the public on the health hazards associated with shellfish consumption are the key issues for the improvement of shellfish-borne disease prevention.

A Nonfatal Case of Dobrava Hantavirus Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome Combined with Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome.

PubMed

Dreshaj, Shemsedin; Ajazaj, Lindita; Hasani, Nderim; Halili, Bahrije; Ponosheci, Albina; Jakupi, Xhevat

2018-01-01

Among hantaviruses (HTNV), 22 are known as pathogenic for humans. HTNV can cause two clinical entities: hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome or hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS). In most countries of Eastern Europe as well as in Kosovo, HTNV infection is presented mainly as HFRS. Here, we report a 20-year-old man with HFRS and HCPS caused by Dobrava hantavirus strain, successfully treated in Intensive Care Unit of Infectious Diseases Clinic, University Clinical Center of Kosovo. In HFRS endemic areas, patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome need to be evaluated for Dobrava hantavirus strain as a possible causative agent.

Electrochemical magnetic microbeads-based biosensor for point-of-care serodiagnosis of infectious diseases.

PubMed

Cortina, María E; Melli, Luciano J; Roberti, Mariano; Mass, Mijal; Longinotti, Gloria; Tropea, Salvador; Lloret, Paulina; Serantes, Diego A Rey; Salomón, Francisco; Lloret, Matías; Caillava, Ana J; Restuccia, Sabrina; Altcheh, Jaime; Buscaglia, Carlos A; Malatto, Laura; Ugalde, Juan E; Fraigi, Liliana; Moina, Carlos; Ybarra, Gabriel; Ciocchini, Andrés E; Comerci, Diego J

2016-06-15

Access to appropriate diagnostic tools is an essential component in the evaluation and improvement of global health. Additionally, timely detection of infectious agents is critical in early diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. Conventional pathogen detection methods such as culturing, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) require long assay times, and complex and expensive instruments making them not adaptable to point-of-care (PoC) needs at resource-constrained places and primary care settings. Therefore, there is an unmet need to develop portable, simple, rapid, and accurate methods for PoC detection of infections. Here, we present the development and validation of a portable, robust and inexpensive electrochemical magnetic microbeads-based biosensor (EMBIA) platform for PoC serodiagnosis of infectious diseases caused by different types of microorganisms (parasitic protozoa, bacteria and viruses). We demonstrate the potential use of the EMBIA platform for in situ diagnosis of human (Chagas disease and human brucellosis) and animal (bovine brucellosis and foot-and-mouth disease) infections clearly differentiating infected from non-infected individuals or animals. For Chagas disease, a more extensive validation of the test was performed showing that the EMBIA platform displayed an excellent diagnostic performance almost indistinguishable, in terms of specificity and sensitivity, from a fluorescent immunomagnetic assay and the conventional ELISA using the same combination of antigens. This platform technology could potentially be applicable to diagnose other infectious and non-infectious diseases as well as detection and/or quantification of biomarkers at the POC and primary care settings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determination of buoyant density and sensitivity to chloroform and freon for the etiological agent of infectious salmonid anaemia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Christie, K.E.; Hjeltnes, B.; Uglenes , I.; Winton, J.R.

1993-01-01

Plasma was collected from Atlantic salmon Salrno salar with acute infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) and used to challenge Atlantic salmon parr by intraperitoneal injection. Treatment of plasma with the lipid solvent, chloroform, showed that the etiological agent of ISA contained essential lipids, probably as a viral envelope. Some infectivity remained following treatment with freon. Injection challenges using fractions from equilibrium density gradient centrifugation of plasma from fish with acute ISA revealed a band of infectivity in the range 1.184 to 1.262 g cm-3. The band was believed to conta~n both complete ISA-virus particles and infectious particles lacking a complete envelope, nucleocapsid or genome. Density gradient centrifugation of infectious plasma for enrichment of the putative ISA virus appeared to offer a suitable method for obtaining virus-specific nucleic acid for use in the construction of cDNA libraries. 

More experiences with the Tzanck smear test: cytologic findings in cutaneous granulomatous disorders.

PubMed

Durdu, Murat; Baba, Mete; Seçkin, Deniz

2009-09-01

Granulomatous dermatitis is a distinctive histopathologic cutaneous reaction pattern against various infectious and noninfectious agents. Cytologically, granulomatous dermatitis shows granulomas and multinucleated giant cells. Various etiologic agents of granulomatous diseases can also be identified. We aimed to investigate Tzanck smear findings in granulomatous skin diseases. Patients who had granulomas and/or multinucleated giant cells of Langhans, foreign body- and/or Touton type in Tzanck smear tests were included in the study. In these patients, Tzanck preparations were then further evaluated for additional cytologic findings. Samples stained with May-Grünwald-Giemsa stain were evaluated by the same dermatologist throughout the study. In some patients, methylene blue, Gram and/or Erlich-Ziehl-Nielsen stains were also performed. In all of the study cases, the final diagnosis was established after the evaluation of clinical and laboratory findings (including, when appropriate, potassium hydroxide examination; bacterial, leishmanial, and fungal cultures; histopathology; tuberculosis and leishmania polymerase chain reaction). We also calculated the sensitivity and specificity of the Leishman-Donovan body for cutaneous leishmaniasis. Over a 2-year period, 94 of 950 patients (9.9%) in whom Tzanck smear tests were performed had cytologic findings consistent with a granulomatous reaction. In 74 (78.7%) and 20 (21.3%) patients, the granulomatous reaction was due to infectious and noninfectious causes, respectively. Infectious causes included cutaneous leishmaniasis in 65 patients (87.8%), candidal granuloma in two patients, botyromycosis in two patients, and aspergillosis, blastomycosis, mucormycosis, leprosy, and cutaneous tuberculosis in one patient each. In 58 of 74 patients (78.4%) with infectious granulomatous dermatitis, the causes of the granulomas were identified. Noninfectious granulomatous reactions were due to granuloma annulare in 7 patients, sarcoidosis in 5 patients, a foreign body in 4 patients, necrobiosis lipoidica in 2 patients, and juvenile xanthogranuloma in 2 patients. In 17 of 20 patients (85%) with noninfectious granulomatous reactions, the cytologic findings were characteristic of the final diagnoses. The sensitivity and specificity of Leishman-Donovan bodies for cutaneous leishmaniasis were 76.9% and 100%, respectively. All of the samples were evaluated by the same dermatologist throughout the study; therefore no comment could be made regarding the reliability of the Tzanck smear test. In addition, the sensitivity and specificity of Tzanck smear test findings for diseases other than cutaneous leishmaniasis could not be calculated because of an insufficient number of patients. The Tzanck smear test may be a useful diagnostic tool for certain granulomatous skin diseases.

Parasitic, fungal and prion zoonoses: an expanding universe of candidates for human disease.

PubMed

Akritidis, N

2011-03-01

Zoonotic infections have emerged as a burden for millions of people in recent years, owing to re-emerging or novel pathogens often causing outbreaks in the developing world in the presence of inadequate public health infrastructure. Among zoonotic infections, those caused by parasitic pathogens are the ones that affect millions of humans worldwide, who are also at risk of developing chronic disease. The present review discusses the global effect of protozoan pathogens such as Leishmania sp., Trypanosoma sp., and Toxoplasma sp., as well as helminthic pathogens such as Echinococcus sp., Fasciola sp., and Trichinella sp. The zoonotic aspects of agents that are not essentially zoonotic are also discussed. The review further focuses on the zoonotic dynamics of fungal pathogens and prion diseases as observed in recent years, in an evolving environment in which novel patient target groups have developed for agents that were previously considered to be obscure or of minimal significance. © 2011 The Author. Clinical Microbiology and Infection © 2011 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

Varicella zoster with erythema multiforme in a young girl: a rare association.

PubMed

Kishore, B Nanda; Ankadavar, Nandini S; Kamath, Ganesh H; Martis, Jacintha

2014-05-01

Erythema multiforme (EM) is an acute, self-limited, mucocutaneous disorder regarded as a hypersensitivity reaction which is triggered by various factors like infection, drugs, and food. Infectious agents are considered to be a major cause of EM other than idiopathic cause. A young girl presented with fluid-filled lesions all over the body of 3 days duration with history of similar lesions with fever in her sibling 2 weeks prior to admission. This was followed by large fluid-filled lesions with halo 3 days thereafter over the trunk, extremities suggesting target lesions of EM. The diagnosis was confirmed by cytology and positive serology. Varicella zoster virus (VZV) has rarely been reported as an etiological agent, despite its high incidence in childhood. VZV as an etiology of EM in a young girl has not been reported so far. This case was reported for its rare association of EM and varicella zoster and also for its rare presentation in a young girl.

The Infectious Pathogenesis of Prostate Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

Press, 2002:385. 11. Sutcliffe S, Giovannucci E, Alderete JF, et al. Plasma antibodies against Trichomonas vaginalis and subsequent risk of...consistently been identified. In this project, we are examining two specific infectious agents with respect to prostate cancer: T vaginalis , the...of the newly identified XMRV virus in prostate carcinogenesis and progression; 2-) To characterize the role of the infectious protozoa T. vaginalis

[Infectious risk related to the formation of multi-species biofilms (Candida - bacteria) on peripheral vascular catheters].

PubMed

Seghir, A; Boucherit-Otmani, Z; Sari-Belkharroubi, L; Boucherit, K

2017-03-01

The Candida yeasts are the fourth leading cause of death from systemic infections, the risk may increase when the infection also involves bacteria. Yeasts and bacteria can adhere to medical implants, such as peripheral vascular catheters, and form a multicellular structures called "mixed biofilms" more resistant to antimicrobials agents. However, the formation of mixed biofilms on implants leads to long-term persistent infections because they can act as reservoirs of pathogens that have poorly understood interactions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Gastrointestinal infections in children.

PubMed

Mönkemüller, K E; Wilcox, C M

2001-01-01

Gastrointestinal infections in children are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Children living in developing countries are particularly susceptible to infectious diarrhea because of poor standards of hygiene and sanitation. Although the magnitude of diarrheal illnesses in developed countries is less, costly hospital admissions are still frequent. The causal agent of infectious diarrhea is most frequently related to age, geographical location, lifestyle habits, use of antibiotics, associated medical conditions, social circumstances, and degree of immune competence. In this article we present some of the most important articles published in the field during the last year. The role of Helicobacter pylori in the pathogenesis of gastritis and peptic ulcer disease has been shown in adults and children. Information about the natural history of H. pylori, symptomatology, and diagnostic therapeutic approaches for children are being generated constantly; we discuss some of the most relevant information in this review.

Sociomicrobiology and Pathogenic Bacteria.

PubMed

Xavier, Joao B

2016-06-01

The study of microbial pathogenesis has been primarily a reductionist science since Koch's principles. Reductionist approaches are essential to identify the causal agents of infectious disease, their molecular mechanisms of action, and potential drug targets, and much of medicine's success in the treatment of infectious disease stems from that approach. But many bacteria-caused diseases cannot be explained by a single bacterium. Several aspects of bacterial pathogenesis will benefit from a more holistic approach that takes into account social interaction among bacteria of the same species and between species in consortia such as the human microbiome. The emerging discipline of sociomicrobiology provides a framework to dissect microbial interactions in single and multi-species communities without compromising mechanistic detail. The study of bacterial pathogenesis can benefit greatly from incorporating concepts from other disciplines such as social evolution theory and microbial ecology, where communities, their interactions with hosts, and with the environment play key roles.

Progress in the understanding and utilization of biologic response modifiers in the treatment of uveitis.

PubMed

Maleki, Arash; Meese, Halea; Sahawneh, Haitham; Foster, C Stephen

2016-07-01

Uveitis is the third most common cause of blindness in developed countries. Considering the systemic and local complications of long-term corticosteroid therapy and the intolerance due to side effects and ineffectiveness of conventional chemotherapy, use of biologic response modifiers is a reasonable alternative in the treatment of non-infectious uveitis and persistent uveitic macular edema. The majority of the evidence presented here comes from open uncontrolled analyses. Based on these studies, tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors, especially infliximab and adalimumab, have been shown to be effective in the treatment of non-infectious uveitis in numerous studies. More research is necessary, particularly multi-center randomized clinical trials, to address the choice of biologic response modifier agent and the length of treatment as we employ biologic response modifiers in different types of uveitis and persistent uveitic macular edema.

Transmission and dose–response experiments for social animals: a reappraisal of the colonization biology of Campylobacter jejuni in chickens

PubMed Central

Conlan, Andrew J. K.; Line, John E.; Hiett, Kelli; Coward, Chris; Van Diemen, Pauline M.; Stevens, Mark P.; Jones, Michael A.; Gog, Julia R.; Maskell, Duncan J.

2011-01-01

Dose–response experiments characterize the relationship between infectious agents and their hosts. These experiments are routinely used to estimate the minimum effective infectious dose for an infectious agent, which is most commonly characterized by the dose at which 50 per cent of challenged hosts become infected—the ID50. In turn, the ID50 is often used to compare between different agents and quantify the effect of treatment regimes. The statistical analysis of dose–response data typically makes the assumption that hosts within a given dose group are independent. For social animals, in particular avian species, hosts are routinely housed together in groups during experimental studies. For experiments with non-infectious agents, this poses no practical or theoretical problems. However, transmission of infectious agents between co-housed animals will modify the observed dose–response relationship with implications for the estimation of the ID50 and the comparison between different agents and treatments. We derive a simple correction to the likelihood for standard dose–response models that allows us to estimate dose–response and transmission parameters simultaneously. We use this model to show that: transmission between co-housed animals reduces the apparent value of the ID50 and increases the variability between replicates leading to a distinctive all-or-nothing response; in terms of the total number of animals used, individual housing is always the most efficient experimental design for ascertaining dose–response relationships; estimates of transmission from previously published experimental data for Campylobacter spp. in chickens suggest that considerable transmission occurred, greatly increasing the uncertainty in the estimates of dose–response parameters reported in the literature. Furthermore, we demonstrate that accounting for transmission in the analysis of dose–response data for Campylobacter spp. challenges our current understanding of the differing response of chickens with respect to host-age and in vivo passage of bacteria. Our findings suggest that the age-dependence of transmissibility between hosts—rather than their susceptibility to colonization—is the mechanism behind the ‘lag-phase’ reported in commercial flocks, which are typically found to be Campylobacter free for the first 14–21 days of life. PMID:21593028

Development of sandwich-form biosensor to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in clinical sputum specimens.

PubMed

Shojaei, Taha Roodbar; Mohd Salleh, Mohamad Amran; Tabatabaei, Meisam; Ekrami, Alireza; Motallebi, Roya; Rahmani-Cherati, Tavoos; Hajalilou, Abdollah; Jorfi, Raheleh

2014-01-01

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causing agent of tuberculosis, comes second only after HIV on the list of infectious agents slaughtering many worldwide. Due to the limitations behind the conventional detection methods, it is therefore critical to develop new sensitive sensing systems capable of quick detection of the infectious agent. In the present study, the surface modified cadmium-telluride quantum dots and gold nanoparticles conjunct with two specific oligonucleotides against early secretory antigenic target 6 were used to develop a sandwich-form fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based biosensor to detect M. tuberculosis complex and differentiate M. tuberculosis and M. bovis Bacille Calmette-Guerin simultaneously. The sensitivity and specificity of the newly developed biosensor were 94.2% and 86.6%, respectively, while the sensitivity and specificity of polymerase chain reaction and nested polymerase chain reaction were considerably lower, 74.2%, 73.3% and 82.8%, 80%, respectively. The detection limits of the sandwich-form fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based biosensor were far lower (10 fg) than those of the polymerase chain reaction and nested polymerase chain reaction (100 fg). Although the cost of the developed nanobiosensor was slightly higher than those of the polymerase chain reaction-based techniques, its unique advantages in terms of turnaround time, higher sensitivity and specificity, as well as a 10-fold lower detection limit would clearly recommend this test as a more appropriate and cost-effective tool for large scale operations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Infectious mononucleosis #3 (image)

MedlinePlus

Infectious mononucleosis is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. It is a viral infection causing high temperature, sore throat, and swollen lymph glands. Infectious mononucleosis can be contagious if the infected person comes ...

Infectivity of prion protein bound to stainless steel wires: a model for testing decontamination procedures for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

PubMed

Yan, Zheng-Xin; Stitz, Lothar; Heeg, Peter; Pfaff, Eberhard; Roth, Klaus

2004-04-01

To establish an animal model to study transmissible spongiform encephalopathy using hamsters and steel wires contaminated with infectious brain materials as transfer vehicles, and, based on this model, to test decontamination procedures against the infectious prion proteins on the steel wires as a near real situation bioassay. Infectious brain materials were given to healthy hamsters intracerebrally either as a suspension or as dried materials on the surface of steel wires. The animals were observed for 18 months. During this period, animals showing definitive clinical signs were euthanized. Decontamination studies were performed by reprocessing contaminated steel wires with different disinfection agents and procedures before implantation. Pathological prion proteins were able to bind to the steel wires and caused disease after the contaminated wires were implanted in the brains of hamsters. When the contaminated wires were treated with different reprocessing procedures before implantation, infectivity was reduced, which was manifested directly by prolonged survival time of the test animals. These results show that this model can be used as a bioassay to validate reprocessing procedures for surgical instruments. At the time of submission of this article, only the group of hamsters incubated with wires reprocessed with an alkaline detergent, followed by sterilization with a modified cycle in a hydrogen peroxide gas plasma sterilizer (4 injections), showed no clinical signs of disease and remained alive. Two animals from the group receiving sodium hydroxide followed by autoclaving (at 134 degrees C for 18 minutes) died. Furthermore, the tested enzymatic cleaning agent seemed to have no positive effect.

Bona fide evidence for natural vertical transmission of infectious salmon anemia virus in freshwater brood stocks of farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in Southern Chile.

PubMed

Marshall, Sergio H; Ramírez, Ramón; Labra, Alvaro; Carmona, Marisela; Muñoz, Cristián

2014-06-01

Infectious salmon anemia (ISA) is a severe disease that affects farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), causing outbreaks in seawater in most salmon-producing countries worldwide, with particular aggressiveness in southern Chile. The etiological agent of this disease is a virus belonging to the Orthomyxoviridae family, named infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV). Although it has been suggested that this virus can be vertically transmitted, even in freshwater, there is a lack of compelling experimental evidence to confirm this. Here we demonstrate significant putative viral loads in the ovarian fluid as well as in the eggs of two brood stock female adult specimens that harbored the virus systemically but without clinical signs. The target virus corresponded to a highly polymorphic region 3 (HPR-3) variant, which is known to be virulent in seawater and responsible for recent and past outbreaks of this disease in Chile. Additionally, the virus recovered from the fluid as well as from the interior of the eggs was fully infective to a susceptible fish cell line. To our knowledge, this is the first robust evidence demonstrating mother-to-offspring vertical transmission of the infective virus on the one hand and the asymptomatic transmission of a virulent form of the virus in freshwater fish on the other hand. The robustness of the data presented here will contribute to a better understanding of the biology of the virus but most importantly will constitute a key management tool in the control of an aggressive agent constantly threatening the sustainability of the global salmon industry.

Estimation of Cancer Burden Attributable to Infection in Asia

PubMed Central

Huang, He; Hu, Xiao-Feng; Zhao, Fang-Hui; Garland, Suzanne M.; Bhatla, Neerja; Qiao, You-Lin

2015-01-01

Background Some infectious agents have been shown to be human carcinogens. The current study focused on estimation of cancer burden attributable to infection in different regions of Asia. Methods By systematically reviewing previous studies of the infection prevalence data of 13 countries in Asia and relative risks of specific cancers, we calculated the population attributable fraction of carcinogenic infections. Using data from GLOBOCAN 2012, the overall country-specific and gender-specific number of new cancer cases and deaths resulting from infection were estimated. Results Across 13 principal Asian countries, the average prevalence and range was 6.6% (0.5% in Japanese women to 15.0% in Vietnamese men) for hepatitis B virus (HBV), 2.6% (0.3% in Iran to 5.1% in Saudi Arabia) for hepatitis C virus (HCV), 7.9% (2.8% in Pakistan to 17.7% in China) for human papillomavirus (HPV), and 61.8% (12.8% in Indonesia to 91.7% in Bangladesh) for Helicobacter pylori (HP). The estimated total number of cancer cases and deaths caused by infection in these 13 countries were 1 212 026 (19.6% of all new cancer cases) and 908 549 (22.0% of all deaths from cancer). The fractions of cancer incidence attributable to infection were 19.7% and 19.5% in men and women, respectively. The percentages of cancer deaths attributable to infection were 21.9% and 22.1% in men and women, respectively. Among the main infectious agents, HP was responsible for 31.5% of infection-related cancer cases and 32.8% of infection-related cancer deaths, followed by HBV (28.6% of new cases and 23.8% of deaths), HPV (22.0% of new cases and 27.3% of deaths), and HCV (12.2% of new cases and 10.6% of deaths). Conclusions Approximately one quarter of all cancer cases and deaths were infection-associated in Asia, which could be effectively prevented if appropriate long-term controls of infectious agents were applied. PMID:26399446

Inhibitory effect of aromatic geranyl derivatives isolated from Heliotropium filifolium on infectious pancreatic necrosis virus replication.

PubMed

Modak, Brenda; Sandino, Ana María; Arata, Loredana; Cárdenas-Jirón, Gloria; Torres, René

2010-02-24

Infectious pancreatic necrosis is a disease caused by a birnavirus affecting several wild and commercial aquatic organisms. This infectious disease results in significant losses in the farming industry and therefore effective therapeutic agents are needed to control outbreaks caused by this pathogen. Our goal was to evaluate in vitro antiviral effect of a group of natural compounds (geranyl aromatic derivatives) isolated from the resinous exudate of the plant Heliotropium filifolium (Heliotropiaceae), semi-synthetics compounds obtained from them, and the resinous exudate, on CHSE-214 cell line infected with infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) using a virus plaque inhibition assay at various concentrations. The compound ester filifolinyl senecionate was the best antiviral with EC(50) 160 microg/mL and a cytotoxic concentration required to reduce cell viability by 50% up to 400 microg/mL. In order to obtain information about the mechanism of the antiviral action, was evaluated the influence of ester filifolinyl senecionate on the viral RNA synthesis. This compound produced inhibition of the synthesis of viral genomic RNA, suggesting that the ester could be interacting with the viral RNA during the viral cycle. Additionally, a preliminary study of the interaction between ester and a sample of single-stranded RNA was studied at the level of theory Restricted Hartree Fock PM3 method. The results showed that the ester formed hydrogen bonds mainly with nitrogenous bases but not with ribose and phosphate. These results allow propose that the ester filifolinyl senecionate is a good candidate for used as antiviral therapy for IPN virus in salmon fry. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

"Nanoantibiotics": a new paradigm for treating infectious diseases using nanomaterials in the antibiotics resistant era.

PubMed

Huh, Ae Jung; Kwon, Young Jik

2011-12-10

Despite the fact that we live in an era of advanced and innovative technologies for elucidating underlying mechanisms of diseases and molecularly designing new drugs, infectious diseases continue to be one of the greatest health challenges worldwide. The main drawbacks for conventional antimicrobial agents are the development of multiple drug resistance and adverse side effects. Drug resistance enforces high dose administration of antibiotics, often generating intolerable toxicity, development of new antibiotics, and requests for significant economic, labor, and time investments. Recently, nontraditional antibiotic agents have been of tremendous interest in overcoming resistance that is developed by several pathogenic microorganisms against most of the commonly used antibiotics. Especially, several classes of antimicrobial nanoparticles (NPs) and nanosized carriers for antibiotics delivery have proven their effectiveness for treating infectious diseases, including antibiotics resistant ones, in vitro as well as in animal models. This review summarizes emerging efforts in combating against infectious diseases, particularly using antimicrobial NPs and antibiotics delivery systems as new tools to tackle the current challenges in treating infectious diseases. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Infectious disease prevalence in a feral cat population on Prince Edward Island, Canada

PubMed Central

Stojanovic, Vladimir; Foley, Peter

2011-01-01

Ninety-six feral cats from Prince Edward Island were used to determine the prevalence of selected infectious agents. The prevalence rates were 5.2% for feline immunodeficiency virus, 3.1% for feline leukemia virus, 3.1% for Mycoplasma haemofelis, 8.4% for Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum, 2.1% for Bartonella spp. and 29.8% for exposure to Toxoplasma gondii. Oocysts of T. gondii were detected in 1.3% of the fecal samples that were collected. Gender and retroviral status of the cats were significantly correlated with hemoplasma infections. Use of a flea comb showed that 9.6% of the cats had fleas; however, flea infestation was not associated with any of the infectious agents. PMID:22379197

Consensus summary of aerosolized antimicrobial agents: application of guideline criteria. Insights from the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists.

PubMed

Le, Jennifer; Ashley, Elizabeth Dodds; Neuhauser, Melinda M; Brown, Jack; Gentry, Chris; Klepser, Michael E; Marr, Ann Marie; Schiller, Daryl; Schwiesow, Joshua N; Tice, Sally; VandenBussche, Heather L; Wood, G Christopher

2010-06-01

Aerosolized delivery of antimicrobial agents is an attractive option for management of pulmonary infections, as this is an ideal method of providing high local drug concentrations while minimizing systemic exposure. With the paucity of consensus regarding the safety, efficacy, and means with which to use aerosolized antimicrobials, a task force was created by the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists to critically review and evaluate the literature on the use of aerosolized antiinfective agents. This article summarizes key findings and statements for preventing or treating a variety of infectious diseases, including cystic fibrosis, bronchiecstasis, hospital-acquired pneumonia, fungal infections, nontuberculosis mycobacterial infection, and Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia. Our intention was to provide guidance for clinicians on the use of aerosolized antibiotics through evidence-based pharmacotherapy. Further research with well-designed clinical trials is necessary to elucidate the optimal dosage and duration of therapy and, of equal importance, to appreciate the true risks associated with the use of aerosolized delivery systems.

[Microorganism test systems and antibiograms useful for the proper use of antibacterial agents].

PubMed

Takahashi, Shunji

2010-07-01

Antimicrobial agents are used for the accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases and effective implementation of antibacterial chemotherapy. The role of microbiological technologists is to provide data from microorganism tests useful for rapid infection treatment. Gram strain can be used to observe microorganisms and neutrophils from specimens of a patient. It is also possible to estimate the kinds of microorganism. If bacterial infectious disease is negative, there is no need for antibacterial chemotherapy. The applied dose of antibacterial agents is different in every hospital. Also, there is a difference in the percentage antibacterial agent susceptibility of isolates. Antibiograms must be created to investigate local factors. For empiric therapy, antibiograms are useful when choosing antibacterial agents showing marked efficacy against the clinical isolate. Microorganism test systems which are useful for the proper use of antibacterial agents are necessary to facilitate safe antibacterial chemotherapy and prevent the development of resistant bacteria. We report a microorganism test system employed at the Sapporo City General Hospital.

Molecular indices of viral disease development in wild migrating salmon†.

PubMed

Miller, Kristina M; Günther, Oliver P; Li, Shaorong; Kaukinen, Karia H; Ming, Tobi J

2017-01-01

Infectious diseases can impact the physiological performance of individuals, including their mobility, visual acuity, behavior and tolerance and ability to effectively respond to additional stressors. These physiological effects can influence competitiveness, social hierarchy, habitat usage, migratory behavior and risk to predation, and in some circumstances, viability of populations. While there are multiple means of detecting infectious agents (microscopy, culture, molecular assays), the detection of infectious diseases in wild populations in circumstances where mortality is not observable can be difficult. Moreover, if infection-related physiological compromise leaves individuals vulnerable to predation, it may be rare to observe wildlife in a late stage of disease. Diagnostic technologies designed to diagnose cause of death are not always sensitive enough to detect early stages of disease development in live-sampled organisms. Sensitive technologies that can differentiate agent carrier states from active disease states are required to demonstrate impacts of infectious diseases in wild populations. We present the discovery and validation of salmon host transcriptional biomarkers capable of distinguishing fish in an active viral disease state [viral disease development (VDD)] from those carrying a latent viral infection, and viral versus bacterial disease states. Biomarker discovery was conducted through meta-analysis of published and in-house microarray data, and validation performed on independent datasets including disease challenge studies and farmed salmon diagnosed with various viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases. We demonstrate that the VDD biomarker panel is predictive of disease development across RNA-viral species, salmon species and salmon tissues, and can recognize a viral disease state in wild-migrating salmon. Moreover, we show that there is considerable overlap in the biomarkers resolved in our study in salmon with those based on similar human viral influenza research, suggesting a highly conserved suite of host genes associated with viral disease that may be applicable across a broad range of vertebrate taxa.

Molecular indices of viral disease development in wild migrating salmon†

PubMed Central

Günther, Oliver P.; Li, Shaorong; Kaukinen, Karia H.; Ming, Tobi J.

2017-01-01

Abstract Infectious diseases can impact the physiological performance of individuals, including their mobility, visual acuity, behavior and tolerance and ability to effectively respond to additional stressors. These physiological effects can influence competitiveness, social hierarchy, habitat usage, migratory behavior and risk to predation, and in some circumstances, viability of populations. While there are multiple means of detecting infectious agents (microscopy, culture, molecular assays), the detection of infectious diseases in wild populations in circumstances where mortality is not observable can be difficult. Moreover, if infection-related physiological compromise leaves individuals vulnerable to predation, it may be rare to observe wildlife in a late stage of disease. Diagnostic technologies designed to diagnose cause of death are not always sensitive enough to detect early stages of disease development in live-sampled organisms. Sensitive technologies that can differentiate agent carrier states from active disease states are required to demonstrate impacts of infectious diseases in wild populations. We present the discovery and validation of salmon host transcriptional biomarkers capable of distinguishing fish in an active viral disease state [viral disease development (VDD)] from those carrying a latent viral infection, and viral versus bacterial disease states. Biomarker discovery was conducted through meta-analysis of published and in-house microarray data, and validation performed on independent datasets including disease challenge studies and farmed salmon diagnosed with various viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases. We demonstrate that the VDD biomarker panel is predictive of disease development across RNA-viral species, salmon species and salmon tissues, and can recognize a viral disease state in wild-migrating salmon. Moreover, we show that there is considerable overlap in the biomarkers resolved in our study in salmon with those based on similar human viral influenza research, suggesting a highly conserved suite of host genes associated with viral disease that may be applicable across a broad range of vertebrate taxa. PMID:28702195

Infectious Agents As Markers of Human Migration toward the Amazon Region of Brazil

PubMed Central

Ishak, Ricardo; Machado, Luiz F. A.; Cayres-Vallinoto, Izaura; Guimarães Ishak, Marluísa de O.; Vallinoto, Antonio C. R.

2017-01-01

Infectious agents are common companions of humans and since ancient times they follow human migration on their search for a better place to live. The study of paleomicrobiology was significantly improved in its accuracy of measurement with the constant development of better methods to detect and analyze nucleic acids. Human tissues are constantly used to trace ancient infections and the association of anthropological evidences are important to confirm the microbiological information. Infectious agents which establish human persistent infections are particularly useful to trace human migrations. In the present article, the evidence of infection by viral agents such as human T-lymphotropic virus 1, human T-lymphotropic virus 2, human herpes virus-8, JC virus, and a bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis, was described using different methodologies for their detection. Their presence was further used as biomarkers associated with anthropological and other relevant information to trace human migration into the Amazon region of Brazil. The approach also evidenced their microbiological origin, emergence, evolution, and spreading. The information obtained confirms much of the archeological information available tracing ancient and more recent human migration into this particular geographical region. In this article, the paleomicrobiological information on the subject was summarized and reviewed. PMID:28912770

Including the Group Quarters Population in the US Synthesized Population Database

PubMed Central

Chasteen, Bernadette M.; Wheaton, William D.; Cooley, Philip C.; Ganapathi, Laxminarayana; Wagener, Diane K.

2011-01-01

In 2005, RTI International researchers developed methods to generate synthesized population data on US households for the US Synthesized Population Database. These data are used in agent-based modeling, which simulates large-scale social networks to test how changes in the behaviors of individuals affect the overall network. Group quarters are residences where individuals live in close proximity and interact frequently. Although the Synthesized Population Database represents the population living in households, data for the nation’s group quarters residents are not easily quantified because of US Census Bureau reporting methods designed to protect individuals’ privacy. Including group quarters population data can be an important factor in agent-based modeling because the number of residents and the frequency of their interactions are variables that directly affect modeling results. Particularly with infectious disease modeling, the increased frequency of agent interaction may increase the probability of infectious disease transmission between individuals and the probability of disease outbreaks. This report reviews our methods to synthesize data on group quarters residents to match US Census Bureau data. Our goal in developing the Group Quarters Population Database was to enable its use with RTI’s US Synthesized Population Database in the Modeling of Infectious Diseases Agent Study. PMID:21841972

Mechanisms of infection in the respiratory tract.

PubMed

Baskerville, A

1981-12-01

Related to its potential vulnerability the respiratory tract has a very complex and effective defence apparatus. The interaction between these defence mechanisms and certain characteristics of aetiological agents results in a pattern in which initial infections by these agents tend to occur at specific sites in the tract. Infections in which the primary portal of entry is in the upper respiratory tract include Bordetella bronchiseptica and Haemophilus spp in pigs; Pasteurella spp in cattle, sheep, pigs; Mycoplasma spp in cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry; equine herpesvirus 1 in horses; infectious bovine rhinotracheitis in cattle; parainfluenza 3 in cattle and sheep; infectious laryngo-tracheitis and infectious bronchitis in poultry; feline viral rhinotracheitis and calicivirus in cats; Aujeszky's disease virus and swine influenza in pigs; and equine influenza in horses. Infections in which the primary portal of entry is in the lower respiratory tract include Aspergillus fumigatus in poultry and mammals, respiratory syncytial virus in cattle, distemper virus in dogs and adenovirus in cattle and dogs. A fuller understanding of the interactions between an agent and the host at the point of entry would make it much easier to develop effective vaccines and therapeutic agents.

Infectious Agents in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Diseases through Oxidative Stress

PubMed Central

Di Pietro, Marisa; Filardo, Simone; Falasca, Francesca; Turriziani, Ombretta; Sessa, Rosa

2017-01-01

Accumulating evidence demonstrates that vascular oxidative stress is a critical feature of atherosclerotic process, potentially triggered by several infectious agents that are considered as risk co-factors for the atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). C. pneumoniae has been shown to upregulate multiple enzymatic systems capable of producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as NADPH oxidase (NOX) and cyclooxygenase in vascular endothelial cells, NOX and cytochrome c oxidase in macrophages as well as nitric oxide synthase and lipoxygenase in platelets contributing to both early and late stages of atherosclerosis. P. gingivalis seems to be markedly involved in the atherosclerotic process as compared to A. actinomycetemcomitans contributing to LDL oxidation and foam cell formation. Particularly interesting is the evidence describing the NLRP3 inflammasome activation as a new molecular mechanism underlying P. gingivalis-induced oxidative stress and inflammation. Amongst viral agents, immunodeficiency virus-1 and hepatitis C virus seem to have a major role in promoting ROS production, contributing, hence, to the early stages of atherosclerosis including endothelial dysfunction and LDL oxidation. In conclusion, oxidative mechanisms activated by several infectious agents during the atherosclerotic process underlying CVDs are very complex and not well-known, remaining, thus, an attractive target for future research. PMID:29156574

Infectious Agents in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Diseases through Oxidative Stress.

PubMed

Di Pietro, Marisa; Filardo, Simone; Falasca, Francesca; Turriziani, Ombretta; Sessa, Rosa

2017-11-18

Accumulating evidence demonstrates that vascular oxidative stress is a critical feature of atherosclerotic process, potentially triggered by several infectious agents that are considered as risk co-factors for the atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). C. pneumoniae has been shown to upregulate multiple enzymatic systems capable of producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as NADPH oxidase (NOX) and cyclooxygenase in vascular endothelial cells, NOX and cytochrome c oxidase in macrophages as well as nitric oxide synthase and lipoxygenase in platelets contributing to both early and late stages of atherosclerosis. P. gingivalis seems to be markedly involved in the atherosclerotic process as compared to A. actinomycetemcomitans contributing to LDL oxidation and foam cell formation. Particularly interesting is the evidence describing the NLRP3 inflammasome activation as a new molecular mechanism underlying P. gingivalis -induced oxidative stress and inflammation. Amongst viral agents, immunodeficiency virus-1 and hepatitis C virus seem to have a major role in promoting ROS production, contributing, hence, to the early stages of atherosclerosis including endothelial dysfunction and LDL oxidation. In conclusion, oxidative mechanisms activated by several infectious agents during the atherosclerotic process underlying CVDs are very complex and not well-known, remaining, thus, an attractive target for future research.

Non-cancer mortality in poultry slaughtering/processing plant workers belonging to a union pension fund.

PubMed

Johnson, Eric S; Ndetan, Harrison

2011-02-01

The role of the biological environment in the occurrence of many chronic human diseases has been little studied. Humans are commonly exposed to transmissible agents that infect and cause a wide variety of subacute and chronic diseases in chickens and turkeys. The objective of this study is to investigate whether these agents cause similar diseases in humans, by studying workers in poultry slaughtering and processing plants who have one of the highest human exposures to these agents. Mortality in poultry workers was compared with that in the United States general population through the estimation of standardized mortality ratios. Excess mortality from infectious and parasitic diseases was observed in the poultry workers. In addition, excess occurrences of deaths involving several sites of the cardiovascular, neurological, endocrine, gastrointestinal and reproductive systems, were observed, although the numbers involved were few in some instances. The results indicate that poultry workers are at increased risk of dying from certain causes of death, including infections. This is consistent with other reports. Although it is possible that occupational exposure to transmissible agents present in poultry may be one of the causes of the excess occurrence of some of these diseases, other factors that were not considered because of the nature of the study design, could be equally important. Also, the small number of deaths involved in some instances calls for caution in interpreting the results. However, the study is important, as it has succeeded in newly identified areas that need further research, and which may have implications not only for workers, but also for the general population. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Management strategies in the treatment of neonatal and pediatric gastroenteritis

PubMed Central

Ciccarelli, Simona; Stolfi, Ilaria; Caramia, Giuseppe

2013-01-01

Acute gastroenteritis, characterized by the onset of diarrhea with or without vomiting, continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children in mostly resource-constrained nations. Although generally a mild and self-limiting disease, gastroenteritis is one of the most common causes of hospitalization and is associated with a substantial disease burden. Worldwide, up to 40% of children aged less than 5 years with diarrhea are hospitalized with rotavirus. Also, some microorganisms have been found predominantly in resource-constrained nations, including Shigella spp, Vibrio cholerae, and the protozoan infections. Prevention remains essential, and the rotavirus vaccines have demonstrated good safety and efficacy profiles in large clinical trials. Because dehydration is the major complication associated with gastroenteritis, appropriate fluid management (oral or intravenous) is an effective and safe strategy for rehydration. Continuation of breastfeeding is strongly recommended. New treatments such as antiemetics (ondansetron), some antidiarrheal agents (racecadotril), and chemotherapeutic agents are often proposed, but not yet universally recommended. Probiotics, also known as “food supplement,” seem to improve intestinal microbial balance, reducing the duration and the severity of acute infectious diarrhea. The European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and the European Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases guidelines make a stronger recommendation for the use of probiotics for the management of acute gastroenteritis, particularly those with documented efficacy such as Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Lactobacillus reuteri, and Saccharomyces boulardii. To date, the management of acute gastroenteritis has been based on the option of “doing the least”: oral rehydration-solution administration, early refeeding, no testing, no unnecessary drugs. PMID:24194646

Effective ways for the transmission of infection prevention data according to German legal specifications via the medical terminology SNOMED CT used with HL7 CDA templates.

PubMed

Dewenter, Heike; Heitmann, Kai U; Treinat, Lars; Thun, Sylvia

2014-01-01

According to German legal specifications each national federal state is obliged to transmit infection prevention data to the relevant health authority. In case of reasonable suspicion, affection or death by infectious diseases specific information is differently communicated by laboratories and physicians. Proprietary ways of transmission inherit threats like deficient or incomplete availability of data. At least these circumstances imply non-predictable health-related hazards for the population. The international established medical terminology SNOMED CT can contribute semantic interoperability and a highly specific description of diagnoses and procedures. The applicability of SNOMED CT shall be tested in the domain of diagnostic findings respective notifiable infectious agents. In addition, specific hierarchical links from the agents to the associated infectious diseases inside the terminology are expected and verified. As the carrier of the information, HL7's Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) is used by designing appropriate CDA templates to define the contents of the notifiable disease documentation. The results demonstrate that the entirety of the notifiable infectious agents is displayed in the terminology SNOMED CT by relating codes at 100 percent. Furthermore, each single term is hierarchically connected to the relating infectious diseases. The use of SNOMED CT for the purpose of infection prevention in Germany is tied to licensing and license costs. Irrespective of these facts, the use of SNOMED CT shows obvious advantages in this field and an implementation of the terminology can be recommended.

Role of Modulator of Inflammation Cyclooxygenase-2 in Gammaherpesvirus Mediated Tumorigenesis

PubMed Central

Gandhi, Jaya; Khera, Lohit; Gaur, Nivedita; Paul, Catherine; Kaul, Rajeev

2017-01-01

Chronic inflammation is recognized as a threat factor for cancer progression. Release of inflammatory molecules generates microenvironment which is highly favorable for development of tumor, cancer progression and metastasis. In cases of latent viral infections, generation of such a microenvironment is one of the major predisposing factors related to virus mediated tumorigenesis. Among various inflammatory mediators implicated in pathological process associated with cancer, the cyclooxygenase (COX) and its downstream effector molecules are of greater significance. Though the role of infectious agents in causing inflammation leading to transformation of cells has been more or less well established, however, the mechanism by which inflammation in itself modulates the events in life cycle of infectious agent is not very much clear. This is specifically important for gammaherpesviruses infections where viral life cycle is characterized by prolonged periods of latency when the virus remains hidden, immunologically undetectable and expresses only a very limited set of genes. Therefore, it is important to understand the mechanisms for role of inflammation in virus life cycle and tumorigenesis. This review is an attempt to summarize the latest findings highlighting the significance of COX-2 and its downstream signaling effectors role in life cycle events of gammaherpesviruses leading to progression of cancer. PMID:28400769

Prophylaxis of post-ERC infectious complications in patients with biliary obstruction by adding antimicrobial agents into ERC contrast media- a single center retrospective study.

PubMed

Wobser, Hella; Gunesch, Agnetha; Klebl, Frank

2017-01-13

Patients with biliary obstruction are at high risk to develop septic complications after endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC). We evaluated the benefits of local application of antimicrobial agents into ERC contrast media in preventing post-ERC infectious complications in a high-risk study population. Patients undergoing ERC at our tertiary referral center were retrospectively included. Addition of vancomycin, gentamicin and fluconazol into ERC contrast media was evaluated in a case-control design. Outcomes comprised infectious complications within 3 days after ERC. In total, 84 ERC cases were analyzed. Primarily indications for ERC were sclerosing cholangitis (75%) and malignant stenosis (9.5%). Microbial testing of collected bile fluid in the treatment group was positive in 91.4%. Detected organisms were sensitive to the administered antimicrobials in 93%. The use of antimicrobials in contrast media was associated with a significant decrease in post-ERC infectious complications compared to non-use (14.3% vs. 33.3%; odds ratio [OR]: 0.33, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.114-0.978). After adjusting for the variables acute cholangitis prior to ERC and incomplete biliary drainage, the beneficial effect of intraductal antibiotic prophylaxis was even more evident (OR = 0.153; 95% CI: 0.039-0.598, p = 0.007). Patients profiting most obviously from intraductal antimicrobials were those with secondary sclerosing cholangitis. Local application of a combination of antibiotic and antimycotic agents to ERC contrast media efficiently reduced post-ERC infectious events in patients with biliary obstruction. This is the first study that evaluates ERC-related infectious complications in patients with secondary sclerosing cholangitis. Our first clinical results should now be prospectively evaluated in a larger patient cohort to improve the safety of ERC, especially in patients with secondary sclerosing cholangitis.

The role of feral mammals on wildlife infectious disease prevalence in two nature reserves within Mexico City limits.

PubMed

Suzán, Gerardo; Ceballos, Gerardo

2005-09-01

Wild and feral medium-sized mammals were live trapped at two natural protected areas within the Mexico City limits to determine antibody prevalence for the most common infectious diseases (rabies, toxoplasmosis, and canine parvovirus) in dogs and cats. Mammals were trapped during the dry (March-April) and rainy seasons (July-August) of 1996 and 1997. A total of 68 individuals were captured, representing 8 species: opossums (Didelphis virginiana), ringtails (Bassariscus astutus), spotted skunks (Spilogale gracilis), weasels (Mustela frenata), rock squirrels (Spermophilus variegatus), Mexican gray squirrels (Sciurus aureogaster), feral cats (Felis catus), and feral dogs (Canis familiaris). There was marked seroprevalence for parvovirus (86.6%) and lower seroprevalences for both toxoplasma (23.9%) and rabies (17.9%). There were no significant prevalence differences among mammals in both protected areas, which were of contrasting size and isolation (i.e., small and isolated versus large and nonisolated). We suggest that high seroprevalence of these three infectious agents in wild mammals is a result of the high densities of feral dogs and cats in the two areas sampled. Feral dogs are able to maintain the infectious agents in these localities regardless of the protected area size and isolation. However, the native mammals of the small and isolated reserve are more vulnerable to infectious diseases because of small population size and genetic bottlenecks. Our results indicate that natural areas in and around Mexico City are a refugium for latent infectious agents, several of which are zoonotic. These findings suggest that conservation measures, such as eradication of feral mammals and vaccination programs, in the protected areas and surrounding areas could be beneficial.

Maintenance of Fish Health in Aquaculture: Review of Epidemiological Approaches for Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease of Fish.

PubMed

Assefa, Ayalew; Abunna, Fufa

2018-01-01

Aquaculture is rapidly growing part of agriculture worldwide. It makes up around 44 percent of total fish production globally. This increased growth of production is achieved despite facing many challenges in the aquaculture environment. Among production limiting challenges, the infectious disease takes the lion share by causing multibillion-dollar loss annually. To reduce the impact of the fish disease, it is necessary to address health constraints based on scientifically proven and recommended ways. This review aims at pointing out some of the best approaches to prevention and control of infectious disease in aquaculture. Among the effective prevention and control strategies, vaccination is one of the key practices. Types of vaccines for use in fish include killed vaccines, attenuated vaccines, DNA vaccines, recombinant technology vaccines, and synthetic peptide vaccines. Administration techniques of vaccines in fish include oral, injection, or immersion methods. Antibiotics are also in use in aquaculture despite their side effects in the development of drug resistance by microorganisms. Biological and chemical disease control strategies such as using probiotics, prebiotics, and medicinal plants are widely in use. Biosecurity measures in aquaculture can keep the safety of a facility from certain disease-causing agents that are absent in particular system. Farm-level biosecurity measures include strict quarantine measures, egg disinfection, traffic control, water treatments, clean feed, and disposal of mortalities. In conclusion, rather than trying to treat every disease case, it advisable to follow a preventive approach before the event of any disease outbreaks.

Helicobacter Pylori Transmission and Risk Factors for Infection in Rural China

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-12-08

of infectious mononucleosis , a common infection that is transmitted by the oral-oral route) share a common mode of transmission.93 Several...development of strategies for controlling and eventual eradication of this infectious disease. Epidemiology Because acute infection with H. pylori is...stressful home or work environments, poor nutrition, or exposure to other infectious agents that may increase the likelihood of an individual being exposed

[New etiological concepts in uveitis].

PubMed

Bodaghi, B

2005-05-01

Uveitis remains an important cause of visual impairment, particularly in young patients. Idiopathic forms of intraocular inflammation should no longer be regarded as a presumed clinical entity, and the ophthalmologist must reconsider the specific etiology of primary uveitis when the clinical examination does not yield a definitive diagnosis or when the course of the disease on corticosteroids remains atypical. Laboratory tests based on serum analysis have limited value and should not be considered as diagnostic proof in different clinical presentations. The diagnostic management of infectious uveitis has been greatly improved by the use of molecular techniques applied to ocular fluids and tissues. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology is a powerful tool that should be proposed in atypical cases of uveitis or retinitis of unclear but potentially infectious origin. This strategy is a major step before using unconventional and new immunomodulatory agents such as anti-TNF-alpha molecules. Under strict experimental conditions including adequate testing to rule out a possible contamination, PCR and its variants have changed our practical approach to intraocular inflammatory disorders and have provided new details for the understanding of infectious uveitis. The concept of pathogen-induced intraocular inflammation can be revisited in the light of molecular data obtained after anterior chamber paracentesis or diagnostic vitrectomy.

Sub-Optimal Treatment of Bacterial Biofilms

PubMed Central

Song, Tianyan; Duperthuy, Marylise; Wai, Sun Nyunt

2016-01-01

Bacterial biofilm is an emerging clinical problem recognized in the treatment of infectious diseases within the last two decades. The appearance of microbial biofilm in clinical settings is steadily increasing due to several reasons including the increased use of quality of life-improving artificial devices. In contrast to infections caused by planktonic bacteria that respond relatively well to standard antibiotic therapy, biofilm-forming bacteria tend to cause chronic infections whereby infections persist despite seemingly adequate antibiotic therapy. This review briefly describes the responses of biofilm matrix components and biofilm-associated bacteria towards sub-lethal concentrations of antimicrobial agents, which may include the generation of genetic and phenotypic variabilities. Clinical implications of bacterial biofilms in relation to antibiotic treatments are also discussed. PMID:27338489

The Jeremiah Metzger Lecture. The pathogenesis of fever in human subjects.

PubMed Central

Wolff, S. M.; Dinarello, C. A.

1980-01-01

The pathogenesis of fever in man begins with the production of endogenous pyrogen by phagocytic leukocytes in response to exogenous pyrogens (toxic, immunologic or infectious agents). Endogenous pyrogen, a protein, is released from a variety of phagocytic leukocytes and enters the circulation after new messenger RNA and protein are synthesized. Fever is caused by an interaction of endogenous pyrogen with specialized receptors on or near thermosensitive neurons in the thermoregulatory center of the anterior hypothalamus. This interaction may cause local hypothalamic production of prostaglandins, monoamines and, possibly, cyclic AMP. From the anterior hypothalamus, information is transmitted through the posterior hypothalamus to the vasomotor center, which directs sympathetic-nerve fibers to constrict peripheral vessels and decrease heat dissipation. PMID:552177

Exposure to infectious agents in dogs in remote coastal British Columbia: Possible sentinels of diseases in wildlife and humans

PubMed Central

Bryan, Heather M.; Darimont, Chris T.; Paquet, Paul C.; Ellis, John A.; Goji, Noriko; Gouix, Maëlle; Smits, Judit E.

2011-01-01

Ranked among the top threats to conservation worldwide, infectious disease is of particular concern for wild canids because domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) may serve as sources and reservoirs of infection. On British Columbia’s largely undeveloped but rapidly changing central and north coasts, little is known about diseases in wolves (Canis lupus) or other wildlife. However, several threats exist for transfer of diseases among unvaccinated dogs and wolves. To gain baseline data on infectious agents in this area, including those with zoonotic potential, we collected blood and stool samples from 107 dogs in 5 remote communities in May and September 2007. Serology revealed that the dogs had been exposed to canine parvovirus, canine distemper virus, Bordetella bronchiseptica, canine respiratory coronavirus, and Leptospira interrogans. No dogs showed evidence of exposure to Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi, Dirofilaria immitis, or Cryptococcus gattii. Of 75 stool samples, 31 contained at least 1 parasitic infection, including Taeniid tapeworms, the nematodes Toxocara canis and Toxascaris leonina, and the protozoans Isospora sp., Giardia sp., Cryptosporidium sp., and Sarcocystis sp. This work provides a sound baseline for future monitoring of infectious agents that could affect dogs, sympatric wild canids, other wildlife, and humans. PMID:21461190

Optimising the use of linked administrative data for infectious diseases research in Australia.

PubMed

Moore, Hannah C; Blyth, Christopher C

2018-06-14

Infectious diseases remain a major cause of morbidity in Australia. A wealth of data exists in administrative datasets, which are linked through established data-linkage infrastructure in most Australian states and territories. These linkages can support robust studies to investigate the burden of disease, the relative contribution of various aetiological agents to disease, and the effectiveness of population-based prevention policies - research that is critical to the success of current and future vaccination programs. At a recent symposium in Perth, epidemiologists, clinicians and policy makers in the infectious diseases field discussed the various benefits of, and barriers to, data-linkage research, with a focus on respiratory infection research. A number of issues and recommendations emerged. The demand for data-linkage projects is starting to outweigh the capabilities of exisiting data-linkage infrastructure. There is a need to further streamline processes relating to data access, increase data sharing and conduct nationally collaborative projects. Concerns about data security and sharing across jurisdictional borders can be addressed through multiple safe data solutions. Researchers need to do more to ensure that the benefits of linking datasets to answer policy-relevant questions are being realised for the benefit of community groups, government authorities, funding bodies and policy makers. Increased collaboration and engagement across all sectors can optimise the use of linked data to help reduce the burden of infectious diseases.

Vibrio Zinc-Metalloprotease Causes Photoinactivation of Coral Endosymbionts and Coral Tissue Lesions

PubMed Central

Sussman, Meir; Mieog, Jos C.; Doyle, Jason; Victor, Steven; Willis, Bette L.; Bourne, David G.

2009-01-01

Background Coral diseases are emerging as a serious threat to coral reefs worldwide. Of nine coral infectious diseases, whose pathogens have been characterized, six are caused by agents from the family Vibrionacae, raising questions as to their origin and role in coral disease aetiology. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we report on a Vibrio zinc-metalloprotease causing rapid photoinactivation of susceptible Symbiodinium endosymbionts followed by lesions in coral tissue. Symbiodinium photosystem II inactivation was diagnosed by an imaging pulse amplitude modulation fluorometer in two bioassays, performed by exposing Symbiodinium cells and coral juveniles to non-inhibited and EDTA-inhibited supernatants derived from coral white syndrome pathogens. Conclusion/Significance These findings demonstrate a common virulence factor from four phylogenetically related coral pathogens, suggesting that zinc-metalloproteases may play an important role in Vibrio pathogenicity in scleractinian corals. PMID:19225559

Detection of Protozoa in Surface and Finished Waters

EPA Science Inventory

Humans are known to be the host to approximately 1500 infectious agents, out of which 66 are protozoa and 287 are helminths. Therefore, from a global perspective helminths and protozoan parasites account for approximately one fourth of the total infectious diseases of humans. A s...

Atypical infectious mononucleosis in a patient receiving tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitory treatment.

PubMed

Sari, Ismail; Birlik, Merih; Akar, Servet; Onen, Fatos; Kargi, Aydanur; Akkoc, Nurullah

2009-05-01

The objective is to report a case of atypical acute infectious mononucleosis in a juvenile ankylosing spondylitis patient who was treated with infliximab. A 20-year-old man was hospitalized for the evaluation of lymphadenopathy and systemic symptoms. His symptoms developed at the eighth week of the infliximab treatment and he required hospitalization. Lymph node biopsy was performed and he was diagnosed as atypical infectious mononucleosis (absence of fever, pharyngitis, lymphocytosis and negative atypical lymphocytosis on blood smear). Infections have become major concerns in patients treated with TNF-blocking agents. In theoretical base, it is not surprising as TNF-alpha has a crucial role in the body's defense against both bacterial and viral invasion. Blocking the action of TNF may also change the course of the disease and could lead to a delay in the diagnosis. TNF-alpha-blocking treatment may mask the typical symptoms of infectious mononucleosis and atypical cases should be included in the differential diagnosis of lymphadenopathy in patients receiving anti-TNF-alpha agents.

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in non-domestic animals: origin, transmission and risk factors.

PubMed

Williams, E S; Miller, M W

2003-04-01

The transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), are serious diseases of domestic animals. Although not as significant in terms of numbers of animals affected or geographical distribution, TSEs also affect non-domestic animals. Transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) was the first TSE to be identified in non-domestic animals. This disease of captive mink (Mustela vison) is very rare and is associated with exposure through feed contaminated by a TSE agent. The second TSE to be identified in non-domestic animals was chronic wasting disease (CWD) of deer and elk. This disease is not known to be associated with feedstuffs contaminated with the agent of CWD, but the natural route of exposure appears to be oral, possibly through direct interaction between animals or through environmental contamination. Over the last five years, the known distribution of CWD across North America has expanded, increasing concerns over the impact of this disease on populations of free-ranging cervids and the viability of game farming industries. Concurrent with the epidemic of BSE, a variety of non-domestic ruminants and felid species were also affected in the United Kingdom, presumably through exposure to the agent in contaminated feed. These examples illustrate that when non-domestic animals are held in captivity, they depend upon feeds supplied by their caretakers and may show degrees of susceptibility to infectious agents in feeds which vary from those of domestic species. Although humans have less influence over exposure of free-ranging species to infectious agents, monitoring these populations for diseases may be important for managing the health of these animals. It is important to institute or continue surveillance for an entire range of infectious diseases, including TSEs, in free-ranging and captive non-domestic species. Study of diseases in these species may provide important information about infectious agents of concern for domestic animals and humans.

Cancer control and prevention: nutrition and epigenetics.

PubMed

Verma, Mukesh

2013-07-01

To evaluate recent developments in nutritional epigenomics and related challenges, opportunities, and implications for cancer control and prevention. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and understanding the factors that contribute to cancer development may facilitate the development of strategies for cancer prevention and control. Cancer development involves genetic and epigenetic alterations. Genetic marks are permanent, whereas epigenetic marks are dynamic, change with age, and are influenced by the external environment. Thus, epigenetics provides a link between the environment, diet, and cancer development. Proper food selection is imperative for better health and to avoid cancer and other diseases. Nutrients either contribute directly to cancer prevention or support the repair of genomic and epigenomic damage caused by exposure to cancer-causing agents such as toxins, free radicals, radiation, and infectious agents. Nutritional epigenomics provides an opportunity for cancer prevention because selected nutrients have the potential to reverse cancer-associated epigenetic marks in different tumor types. A number of natural foods and their bioactive components have been shown to have methylation-inhibitory and deacetylation-inhibitory properties. Natural foods and bioactive food components have characteristics and functions that are similar to epigenetic inhibitors and therefore have potential in cancer control and prevention.

Successes and failures in human tuberculosis vaccine development.

PubMed

Zenteno-Cuevas, Roberto

2017-12-01

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused mainly by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In 2016, the WHO estimated 10.5 million new cases and 1.8 million deaths, making this disease the leading cause of death by an infectious agent. The current and projected TB situation necessitates the development of new vaccines with improved attributes compared to the traditional BCG method. Areas covered: In this review, the authors describe the most promising candidate vaccines against TB and discuss additional key elements in vaccine development, such as animal models, new adjuvants and immunization routes and new strategies for the identification of candidate vaccines. Expert opinion: At present, around 13 candidate vaccines for TB are in the clinical phase of evaluation; however, there is still no substitute for the BCG vaccine. One major impediment to developing an effective vaccine is our lack of understanding of several of the mechanisms associated with infection and the immune response against TB. However, the recent implementation of an entirely new set of technological advances will facilitate the proposal of new candidates. Finally, development of a new vaccine will require a major coordination of effort in order to achieve its effective administration to the people most in need of it.

Three-dimensional structures of unligated uridine phosphorylase from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis at 1.4 Å resolution and its complex with an antibacterial drug

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balaev, V. V.; Lashkov, A. A.; Gabdulkhakov, A. G.; Dontsova, M. V.; Mironov, A. S.; Betzel, C.; Mikhailov, A. M.

2015-07-01

Uridine phosphorylases play an essential role in the cellular metabolism of some antibacterial agents. Acute infectious diseases (bubonic plague, yersiniosis, pseudotuberculosis, etc., caused by bacteria of the genus Yersinia) are treated using both sulfanilamide medicines and antibiotics, including trimethoprim. The action of an antibiotic on a bacterial cell is determined primarily by the character of its interactions with cellular components, including those which are not targets (for example, with pyrimidine phosphorylases). This type of interaction should be taken into account in designing drugs. The three-dimensional structure of uridine phosphorylase from the bacterium Yersinia pseudotuberculosis ( YptUPh) with the free active site was determined for the first time by X-ray crystallography and refined at 1.40 Å resolution (DPI = 0.062 Å; ID PDB: 4OF4). The structure of the complex of YptUPh with the bacteriostatic drug trimethoprim was studied by molecular docking and molecular dynamics methods. The trimethoprim molecule was shown to be buffered by the enzyme YptUPh, resulting in a decrease in the efficiency of the treatment of infectious diseases caused by bacteria of the genus Yersinia with trimethoprim.

Microbiological survey of mice (Mus musculus) purchased from commercial pet shops in Kanagawa and Tokyo, Japan.

PubMed

Hayashimoto, Nobuhito; Morita, Hanako; Ishida, Tomoko; Uchida, Ritsuki; Tanaka, Mai; Ozawa, Midori; Yasuda, Masahiko; Itoh, Toshio

2015-01-01

Information regarding the prevalence of infectious agents in mice in pet shops in Japan is scarce. This information is particularly useful for minimizing the risk of potential transmission of infections to laboratory mice. Therefore, we surveyed infectious agents in mice from pet shops in Kanagawa and Tokyo, Japan. The survey was conducted in 28 mice from 5 pet shops to screen for 47 items (17 viruses, 22 bacteria and fungi, 10 parasites) using culture tests, serology, PCR, and microscopy. The most common viral agent detected was murine norovirus (17 mice; 60.7%), followed by Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (13 mice; 46.4%), and mouse hepatitis virus (12 mice; 42.8%). The most common agent amongst the bacteria and fungi was Pasteurella pneumotropica (10 mice; 35.7%), followed by Helicobacter ganmani and Pneumocystis murina (8 mice; 28.5%, for both). Tritrichomonas muris was the most common parasite (19 mice; 67.8%), followed by Spironucleus muris (13 mice; 46.4%), Aspiculuris tetraptera, and Syphacia obvelata (8 mice each; 28.5%). Remarkably, a zoonotic agent, Hymenolepis nana, was found in 7 mice (25%). Given these results, we suggest that the workers in laboratory animal facilities should recognize again the potential risks of mice outside of the laboratory animal facilities as an infectious source, and avoid keeping mice as pets or as feed for carnivorous reptiles as much as possible for risk management.

9 CFR 121.3 - VS select agents and toxins.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... genetically modified. (d) VS select agents or toxins that meet any of the following criteria are excluded from... AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS POSSESSION, USE, AND... recombinant organisms: (1) Nucleic acids that can produce infectious forms of any of the select agent viruses...

Design, Synthesis, and Properties of a Potent Inhibitor of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Deacetylase LpxC.

PubMed

Piizzi, Grazia; Parker, David T; Peng, Yunshan; Dobler, Markus; Patnaik, Anup; Wattanasin, Som; Liu, Eugene; Lenoir, Francois; Nunez, Jill; Kerrigan, John; McKenney, David; Osborne, Colin; Yu, Donghui; Lanieri, Leanne; Bojkovic, Jade; Dzink-Fox, JoAnn; Lilly, Maria-Dawn; Sprague, Elizabeth R; Lu, Yipin; Wang, Hongming; Ranjitkar, Srijan; Xie, Lili; Wang, Bing; Glick, Meir; Hamann, Lawrence G; Tommasi, Ruben; Yang, Xia; Dean, Charles R

2017-06-22

Over the past several decades, the frequency of antibacterial resistance in hospitals, including multidrug resistance (MDR) and its association with serious infectious diseases, has increased at alarming rates. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading cause of nosocomial infections, and resistance to virtually all approved antibacterial agents is emerging in this pathogen. To address the need for new agents to treat MDR P. aeruginosa, we focused on inhibiting the first committed step in the biosynthesis of lipid A, the deacetylation of uridyldiphospho-3-O-(R-hydroxydecanoyl)-N-acetylglucosamine by the enzyme LpxC. We approached this through the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel hydroxamic acid LpxC inhibitors, exemplified by 1, where cytotoxicity against mammalian cell lines was reduced, solubility and plasma-protein binding were improved while retaining potent anti-pseudomonal activity in vitro and in vivo.

7 CFR 331.3 - PPQ select agents and toxins.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... (b) of this section that have been genetically modified. (d) Select agents or toxins that meet any of..., and recombinant and/or synthetic organisms: (1) Nucleic acids that can produce infectious forms of any...

7 CFR 331.3 - PPQ select agents and toxins.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... (b) of this section that have been genetically modified. (d) Select agents or toxins that meet any of..., and recombinant and/or synthetic organisms: (1) Nucleic acids that can produce infectious forms of any...

History and Practice: Antibodies in Infectious Diseases.

PubMed

Hey, Adam

2015-04-01

Antibodies and passive antibody therapy in the treatment of infectious diseases is the story of a treatment concept which dates back more than 120 years, to the 1890s, when the use of serum from immunized animals provided the first effective treatment options against infections with Clostridium tetani and Corynebacterium diphtheriae. However, after the discovery of penicillin by Fleming in 1928, and the subsequent introduction of the much cheaper and safer antibiotics in the 1930s, serum therapy was largely abandoned. However, the broad and general use of antibiotics in human and veterinary medicine has resulted in the development of multi-resistant strains of bacteria with limited to no response to existing treatments and the need for alternative treatment options. The combined specificity and flexibility of antibody-based treatments makes them very valuable tools for designing specific antibody treatments to infectious agents. These attributes have already caused a revolution in new antibody-based treatments in oncology and inflammatory diseases, with many approved products. However, only one monoclonal antibody, palivizumab, for the prevention and treatment of respiratory syncytial virus, is approved for infectious diseases. The high cost of monoclonal antibody therapies, the need for parallel development of diagnostics, and the relatively small markets are major barriers for their development in the presence of cheap antibiotics. It is time to take a new and revised look into the future to find appropriate niches in infectious diseases where new antibody-based treatments or combinations with existing antibiotics, could prove their value and serve as stepping stones for broader acceptance of the potential for and value of these treatments.

Release of a Wound-healing Agent from PLGA Microspheres in a Thermosensitive Gel

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

have been associated with infectious complications due to the nature of wounding, giving rise to significant devitalized tissue, con- tamination of...Command, Military Infectious Dis- eases, and Combat Casualty Care Research Directorates. References [1] C. K. Murray, “ Infectious disease complications...pluronic-based metronidazole in situ gelling formulations for vaginal application,” Acta Pharmaceutica, vol. 62, no. 1, pp. 59–70, 2012. [24] K. D. Thakker

Allergic, Immunological and Infectious Disease Problems in Aerospace Medicine Held in Rome, Italy on 21 - 25 October 1991 (Les Problemes Causes par les Maladies Allergiques, Immunologiques et Contagieuses en Mdecine Aerospatiale).

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-04-01

whose lymphocytes displayed, at the identified. When assays for antibacterial activity time of lowest immune responses, a surface IL2Ra were performed...with these two agents SSD demon- level around 50% of the first day level (Figure 5), strated superior antibacterial activity in in vitro tests the...day At day 30, a significative increase of direct antibacterial activity 0 and 28. The second group was treated with Ty2la (Neotif, Scla- was observed

Visceral leishmaniasis in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis treated with methotrexate.

PubMed

Loarce-Martos, Jesús; Garrote-Corral, Sandra; Gioia, Francesca; Bachiller-Corral, Javier

2017-09-25

A large number of complications have been associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), those of infectious etiology being of special relevance. Their high incidence is closely linked to the use of immunosuppressive medication. The spectrum of agents causing opportunistic infections in patients with RA is very broad; however, there are relatively few cases of Leishmania infection, especially in patients not being treated with biological drugs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Reumatología y Colegio Mexicano de Reumatología. All rights reserved.

Infective endocarditis and meningitis due to Scedosporium prolificans in a renal transplant recipient.

PubMed

Uno, Kenji; Kasahara, Kei; Kutsuna, Satoshi; Katanami, Yuichi; Yamamoto, Yoshifumi; Maeda, Koichi; Konishi, Mitsuru; Ogawa, Taku; Yoneda, Tatsuo; Yoshida, Katsunori; Kimura, Hiroshi; Mikasa, Keiichi

2014-02-01

Scedosporium prolificans is a ubiquitous filamentous fungi that may cause disseminated diseases in neutropenic patients with hematological malignancies. We report a fatal case of renal transplant recipient who developed both infective endocarditis and meningitis due to S. prolificans during treatment with micafungin and itraconazole for chronic necrotizing aspergillosis. Breakthrough Scedosporium infection should be considered among differential diagnosis of invasive fungal diseases in patients with renal transplant recipients receiving antifungal agents. Copyright © 2013 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tinea capitis caused by Trichophyton rubrum mimicking favus.

PubMed

Boyd, Alan S

2016-12-01

Favus is an uncommon form of tinea capitis (TC) currently seen in geographic areas with poor sanitation and limited access to health care such as emerging nations. Several variants of this condition have been described including one exhibiting a plaque composed of parchmentlike material. The makeup of this plaque has not been described. Tinea capitis is rare in adults, particularly when the infectious agent is Trichophyton rubrum , and affected patients often exhibit comorbidities associated with diminished immune surveillance. This case report describes an elderly woman with TC due to T rubrum mimicking a rare form of favus.

Septicaemia caused by Edwardsiella tarda and Plesiomonas shigelloides in captive penguin chicks.

PubMed

Nimmervoll, H; Wenker, C; Robert, N; Albini, S

2011-03-01

Three cases of fatal septicaemia due to Plesiomonas shigelloides and one due to Edwardsiella tarda were diagnosed in newborn penguins from the Basle Zoo, Switzerland from 2003 to 2007. The affected penguins were of two different species (king penguin, Aptenodytes patagonicus, and African penguin, Spheniscus demersus) and between 2 and 10 days old at the time of death. The causative agents, E. tarda and P. shigelloides are ubiquitous bacteria which are reported to be present in the normal intestinal flora of wild and captive aquatic animals, including penguins. Their occurrence and infectious potential is discussed.

The impact of "omic" and imaging technologies on assessing the host immune response to biodefence agents.

PubMed

Tree, Julia A; Flick-Smith, Helen; Elmore, Michael J; Rowland, Caroline A

2014-01-01

Understanding the interactions between host and pathogen is important for the development and assessment of medical countermeasures to infectious agents, including potential biodefence pathogens such as Bacillus anthracis, Ebola virus, and Francisella tularensis. This review focuses on technological advances which allow this interaction to be studied in much greater detail. Namely, the use of "omic" technologies (next generation sequencing, DNA, and protein microarrays) for dissecting the underlying host response to infection at the molecular level; optical imaging techniques (flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy) for assessing cellular responses to infection; and biophotonic imaging for visualising the infectious disease process. All of these technologies hold great promise for important breakthroughs in the rational development of vaccines and therapeutics for biodefence agents.

Is there any association between Sarcoidosis and infectious agents?: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Esteves, Tiago; Aparicio, Gloria; Garcia-Patos, Vicente

2016-11-28

During the last few years, investigators have debated the role that infectious agents may have in sarcoidosis pathogenesis. With the emergence of new molecular biology techniques, several studies have been conducted; therefore, we performed a meta-analysis in order to better explain this possible association. This review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement from the Cochrane collaboration guidelines. Four different databases (Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Collaboration) were searched for all original articles published from 1980 to 2015. The present meta-analysis included case-control studies that reported the presence of microorganisms in samples of patients with sarcoidosis using culture methods or molecular biology techniques. We used a random effects or a fixed-effect model to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were performed in order to explore the heterogeneity among studies. Fifty-eight studies qualified for the purpose of this analysis. The present meta-analysis, the first, to our knowledge, in evaluation of all infectious agents proposed to be associated with sarcoidosis and involving more than 6000 patients in several countries, suggests an etiological link between Propionibacterium acnes and sarcoidosis, with an OR of 18.80 (95% CI 12.62, 28.01). We also found a significant association between sarcoidosis and mycobacteria, with an OR of 6.8 (95% CI 3.73, 12.39). Borrelia (OR 4.82; 95% CI 0.98, 23.81), HHV-8 (OR 1.47; 95% CI 0.02, 110.06) as well as Rickettsia helvetica, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Epstein-barr virus and Retrovirus, although suggested by previous investigations, were not associated with sarcoidosis. This meta-analysis suggests that some infectious agents can be associated with sarcoidosis. What seems clear is that more than one infectious agent might be implicated in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis; probably the patient's geographical location might dictate which microorganisms are more involved. Future investigations and more clinical trials are need to bring these evidences to a more global level.

Characteristic Cytokine and Chemokine Profiles in Encephalitis of Infectious, Immune-Mediated, and Unknown Aetiology

PubMed Central

Michael, Benedict D.; Griffiths, Michael J.; Granerod, Julia; Brown, David; Davies, Nicholas W. S.; Borrow, Ray; Solomon, Tom

2016-01-01

Background Encephalitis is parenchymal brain inflammation due to infectious or immune-mediated processes. However, in 15–60% the cause remains unknown. This study aimed to determine if the cytokine/chemokine-mediated host response can distinguish infectious from immune-mediated cases, and whether this may give a clue to aetiology in those of unknown cause. Methods We measured 38 mediators in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients from the Health Protection Agency Encephalitis Study. Of serum from 78 patients, 38 had infectious, 20 immune-mediated, and 20 unknown aetiology. Of CSF from 37 patients, 20 had infectious, nine immune-mediated and eight unknown aetiology. Results Heat-map analysis of CSF mediator interactions was different for infectious and immune-mediated cases, and that of the unknown aetiology group was similar to the infectious pattern. Higher myeloperoxidase (MPO) concentrations were found in infectious than immune-mediated cases, in serum and CSF (p = 0.01 and p = 0.006). Serum MPO was also higher in unknown than immune-mediated cases (p = 0.03). Multivariate analysis selected serum MPO; classifying 31 (91%) as infectious (p = 0.008) and 17 (85%) as unknown (p = 0.009) as opposed to immune-mediated. CSF data also selected MPO classifying 11 (85%) as infectious as opposed to immune-mediated (p = 0.036). CSF neutrophils were detected in eight (62%) infective and one (14%) immune-mediated cases (p = 0.004); CSF MPO correlated with neutrophils (p<0.0001). Conclusions Mediator profiles of infectious aetiology differed from immune-mediated encephalitis; and those of unknown cause were similar to infectious cases, raising the hypothesis of a possible undiagnosed infectious cause. Particularly, neutrophils and MPO merit further investigation. PMID:26808276

Characteristic Cytokine and Chemokine Profiles in Encephalitis of Infectious, Immune-Mediated, and Unknown Aetiology.

PubMed

Michael, Benedict D; Griffiths, Michael J; Granerod, Julia; Brown, David; Davies, Nicholas W S; Borrow, Ray; Solomon, Tom

2016-01-01

Encephalitis is parenchymal brain inflammation due to infectious or immune-mediated processes. However, in 15-60% the cause remains unknown. This study aimed to determine if the cytokine/chemokine-mediated host response can distinguish infectious from immune-mediated cases, and whether this may give a clue to aetiology in those of unknown cause. We measured 38 mediators in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients from the Health Protection Agency Encephalitis Study. Of serum from 78 patients, 38 had infectious, 20 immune-mediated, and 20 unknown aetiology. Of CSF from 37 patients, 20 had infectious, nine immune-mediated and eight unknown aetiology. Heat-map analysis of CSF mediator interactions was different for infectious and immune-mediated cases, and that of the unknown aetiology group was similar to the infectious pattern. Higher myeloperoxidase (MPO) concentrations were found in infectious than immune-mediated cases, in serum and CSF (p = 0.01 and p = 0.006). Serum MPO was also higher in unknown than immune-mediated cases (p = 0.03). Multivariate analysis selected serum MPO; classifying 31 (91%) as infectious (p = 0.008) and 17 (85%) as unknown (p = 0.009) as opposed to immune-mediated. CSF data also selected MPO classifying 11 (85%) as infectious as opposed to immune-mediated (p = 0.036). CSF neutrophils were detected in eight (62%) infective and one (14%) immune-mediated cases (p = 0.004); CSF MPO correlated with neutrophils (p<0.0001). Mediator profiles of infectious aetiology differed from immune-mediated encephalitis; and those of unknown cause were similar to infectious cases, raising the hypothesis of a possible undiagnosed infectious cause. Particularly, neutrophils and MPO merit further investigation.

ESCMID Study Group for Infections in Compromised Hosts (ESGICH) Consensus Document on the safety of targeted and biological therapies: an infectious diseases perspective (Soluble immune effector molecules [II]: agents targeting interleukins, immunoglobulins and complement factors).

PubMed

Winthrop, K L; Mariette, X; Silva, J T; Benamu, E; Calabrese, L H; Dumusc, A; Smolen, J S; Aguado, J M; Fernández-Ruiz, M

2018-06-01

The present review is part of the ESCMID Study Group for Infections in Compromised Hosts (ESGICH) Consensus Document on the safety of targeted and biological therapies. To review, from an Infectious Diseases perspective, the safety profile of agents targeting interleukins, immunoglobulins and complement factors and to suggest preventive recommendations. Computer-based MEDLINE searches with MeSH terms pertaining to each agent or therapeutic family. Patients receiving interleukin-1 (IL-1) -targeted (anakinra, canakinumab or rilonacept) or IL-5-targeted (mepolizumab) agents have a moderate risk of infection and no specific prevention strategies are recommended. The use of IL-6/IL-6 receptor-targeted agents (tocilizumab and siltuximab) is associated with a risk increase similar to that observed with anti-tumour necrosis factor-α agents. IL-12/23-targeted agents (ustekinumab) do not seem to pose a meaningful risk of infection, although screening for latent tuberculosis infection may be considered and antiviral prophylaxis should be given to hepatitis B surface antigen-positive patients. Therapy with IL-17-targeted agents (secukinumab, brodalumab and ixekizumab) may result in the development of mild-to-moderate mucocutaneous candidiasis. Pre-treatment screening for Strongyloides stercoralis and other geohelminths should be considered in patients who come from areas where these are endemic who are receiving IgE-targeted agents (omalizumab). C5-targeted agents (eculizumab) are associated with a markedly increased risk of infection due to encapsulated bacteria, particularly Neisseria spp. Meningococcal vaccination and chemoprophylaxis must be administered 2-4 weeks before initiating eculizumab. Patients with high-risk behaviours and their partners should also be screened for gonococcal infection. Preventive strategies are particularly encouraged to minimize the occurrence of neisserial infection associated with eculizumab. Copyright © 2018 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microbial glycolipoprotein-capped silver nanoparticles as emerging antibacterial agents against cholera.

PubMed

Gahlawat, Geeta; Shikha, Sristy; Chaddha, Baldev Singh; Chaudhuri, Saumya Ray; Mayilraj, Shanmugam; Choudhury, Anirban Roy

2016-02-01

With the increased number of cholera outbreaks and emergence of multidrug resistance in Vibrio cholerae strains it has become necessary for the scientific community to devise and develop novel therapeutic approaches against cholera. Recent studies have indicated plausibility of therapeutic application of metal nano-materials. Among these, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have emerged as a potential antimicrobial agent to combat infectious diseases. At present nanoparticles are mostly produced using physical or chemical techniques which are toxic and hazardous. Thus exploitation of microbial systems could be a green eco-friendly approach for the synthesis of nanoparticles having similar or even better antimicrobial activity and biocompatibility. Hence, it would be worth to explore the possibility of utilization of microbial silver nanoparticles and their conjugates as potential novel therapeutic agent against infectious diseases like cholera. The present study attempted utilization of Ochrobactrum rhizosphaerae for the production of AgNPs and focused on investigating their role as antimicrobial agents against cholera. Later the exopolymer, purified from the culture supernatant, was used for the synthesis of spherical shaped AgNPs of around 10 nm size. Further the exopolymer was characterized as glycolipoprotein (GLP). Antibacterial activity of the novel GLP-AgNPs conjugate was evaluated by minimum inhibitory concentration, XTT reduction assay, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and growth curve analysis. SEM studies revealed that AgNPs treatment resulted in intracellular contents leakage and cell lysis. The potential of microbially synthesized nanoparticles, as novel therapeutic agents, is still relatively less explored. In fact, the present study first time demonstrated that a glycolipoprotein secreted by the O. rhizosphaerae strain can be exploited for production of AgNPs which can further be employed to treat infectious diseases. Although this type of polymer has been obtained earlier from marine fungi and bacteria, none of these reports have studied the role of this polymer in AgNPs synthesis and its application in cholera therapy. Interestingly, the microbial GLP-capped AgNPs exhibited antibacterial activity against V. cholerae comparable to ciprofloxacin. Thus the present study may open up new avenues for development of novel therapeutic agents for treatment of infectious diseases. Graphical abstract Development of novel therapeutic agents for treatment of cholera.

Variability in Pediatric Infectious Disease Consultants' Recommendations for Management of Community-Acquired Pneumonia

PubMed Central

Hersh, Adam L.; Shapiro, Daniel J.; Newland, Jason G.; Polgreen, Philip M.; Beekmann, Susan E.; Shah, Samir S.

2011-01-01

Background Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common childhood infection. CAP complications, such as parapneumonic empyema (PPE), are increasing and are frequently caused by antibiotic-resistant organisms. No clinical guidelines currently exist for management of pediatric CAP and no published data exist about variations in antibiotic prescribing patterns. Our objectives were to describe variation in CAP clinical management for hospitalized children by pediatric infectious disease consultants and to examine associations between recommended antibiotic regimens and local antibiotic resistance levels. Methods We surveyed pediatric members of the Emerging Infections Network, which consists of 259 pediatric infectious disease physicians. Participants responded regarding their recommended empiric antibiotic regimens for hospitalized children with CAP with and without PPE and their recommendations for duration of therapy. Participants also provided information about the prevalence of penicillin non-susceptible S. pneumoniae and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in their community. Results We received 148 responses (57%). For uncomplicated CAP, respondents were divided between recommending beta-lactams alone (55%) versus beta-lactams in combination with another class (40%). For PPE, most recommended a combination of a beta-lactam plus an anti-MRSA agent, however, they were divided between clindamycin (44%) and vancomycin (57%). The relationship between reported antibiotic resistance and empiric regimen was mixed. We found no relationship between aminopenicillin use and prevalence of penicillin non-suscepetible S. pneumoniae or clindamycin use and clindamycin resistance, however, respondents were more likely to recommend an anti-MRSA agent when MRSA prevalence increased. Conclusions Substantial variability exists in recommendations for CAP management. Development of clinical guidelines via antimicrobial stewardship programs and dissemination of data about local antibiotic resistance patterns represent opportunities to improve care. PMID:21655259

Bona Fide Evidence for Natural Vertical Transmission of Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus in Freshwater Brood Stocks of Farmed Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) in Southern Chile

PubMed Central

Ramírez, Ramón; Labra, Alvaro; Carmona, Marisela; Muñoz, Cristián

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT Infectious salmon anemia (ISA) is a severe disease that affects farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), causing outbreaks in seawater in most salmon-producing countries worldwide, with particular aggressiveness in southern Chile. The etiological agent of this disease is a virus belonging to the Orthomyxoviridae family, named infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV). Although it has been suggested that this virus can be vertically transmitted, even in freshwater, there is a lack of compelling experimental evidence to confirm this. Here we demonstrate significant putative viral loads in the ovarian fluid as well as in the eggs of two brood stock female adult specimens that harbored the virus systemically but without clinical signs. The target virus corresponded to a highly polymorphic region 3 (HPR-3) variant, which is known to be virulent in seawater and responsible for recent and past outbreaks of this disease in Chile. Additionally, the virus recovered from the fluid as well as from the interior of the eggs was fully infective to a susceptible fish cell line. To our knowledge, this is the first robust evidence demonstrating mother-to-offspring vertical transmission of the infective virus on the one hand and the asymptomatic transmission of a virulent form of the virus in freshwater fish on the other hand. IMPORTANCE The robustness of the data presented here will contribute to a better understanding of the biology of the virus but most importantly will constitute a key management tool in the control of an aggressive agent constantly threatening the sustainability of the global salmon industry. PMID:24623436

Comparative Virucidal Efficacy of Seven Disinfectants Against Murine Norovirus and Feline Calicivirus, Surrogates of Human Norovirus.

PubMed

Zonta, William; Mauroy, Axel; Farnir, Frederic; Thiry, Etienne

2016-03-01

Human noroviruses (HuNoV) are the leading cause of acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis in humans and can be transmitted either by person-to-person contact or by consumption of contaminated food. A knowledge of an efficient disinfection for both hands and food-contact surfaces is helpful for the food sector and provides precious information for public health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of seven disinfectants belonging to different groups of biocides (alcohol, halogen, oxidizing agents, quaternary ammonium compounds, aldehyde and biguanide) on infectious viral titre and on genomic copy number. Due to the absence of a cell culture system for HuNoV, two HuNoV surrogates, such as murine norovirus and feline calicivirus, were used and the tests were performed in suspension, on gloves and on stainless steel discs. When, as criteria of efficacy, a log reduction >3 of the infectious viral titre on both surrogates and in the three tests is used, the most efficacious disinfectants in this study appear to be biocidal products B, C and D, representing the halogens, the oxidizing agents group and a mix of QAC, alcohol and aldehyde, respectively. In addition, these three disinfectants also elicited a significant effect on genomic copy number for both surrogate viruses and in all three tests. The results of this study demonstrate that a halogen compound, oxidizing agents and a mix of QAC, alcohol and aldehyde are advisable for HuNoV disinfection of either potentially contaminated surfaces or materials in contact with foodstuffs.

Nitric oxide induced by Indian ginseng root extract inhibits Infectious Bursal Disease virus in chicken embryo fibroblasts in vitro.

PubMed

Ganguly, Bhaskar; Umapathi, Vijaypillai; Rastogi, Sunil Kumar

2018-01-01

Infectious Bursal Disease is a severe viral disease of chicken responsible for serious economic losses to poultry farmers. The causative agent, Infectious Bursal Disease virus, is inhibited by nitric oxide. Root extract of the Indian ginseng, Withania somnifera , inhibits Infectious Bursal Disease virus in vitro. Also, Withania somnifera root extract is known to induce nitric oxide production in vitro. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to determine if the inhibitory activity of Withania somnifera against Infectious Bursal Disease virus was based on the production of nitric oxide. We show that besides other mechanisms, the inhibition of Infectious Bursal Disease virus by Withania somnifera involves the production of nitric oxide. Our results also highlight the paradoxical role of nitric oxide in the pathogenesis of Infectious Bursal Disease.

Metal oxide nanoparticles as antimicrobial agents: a promise for the future.

PubMed

Raghunath, Azhwar; Perumal, Ekambaram

2017-02-01

Microbial infectious diseases are a global threat to human health. Excess and improper use of antibiotics has created antimicrobial-resistant microbes that can defy clinical treatment. The hunt for safe and alternate antimicrobial agents is on in order to overcome such resistant micro-organisms, and the birth of nanotechnology offers promise to combat infectious organisms. Over the past two decades, metal oxide nanoparticles (MeO-NPs) have become an attractive alternative source to combat microbes that are highly resistant to various classes of antibiotics. Their vast array of physicochemical properties enables MeO-NPs to act as antimicrobial agents through various mechanisms. Apart from exhibiting antimicrobial properties, MeO-NPs also serve as carriers of drugs, thus barely providing a chance for micro-organisms to develop resistance. These immense multiple properties exhibited by MeO-NPs will have an impact on the treatment of deadly infectious diseases. This review discusses the mechanisms of action of MeO-NPs against micro-organisms, safety concerns, challenges and future perspectives. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. and International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.

Medical and biohazardous waste generator`s guide: Revision 1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1994-09-01

This Guide describes the procedures required to comply with all federal and state laws and regulations and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) policy applicable to medical and biohazardous waste. The members of the LBL Biological Safety Subcommittee participated in writing these policies and procedures. The procedures and policies in this Guide apply to LBL personnel who work with infectious agents or potentially infectious agents, publicly perceived infectious items or materials (e.g., medical gloves, culture dishes), and sharps (e.g., needles, syringes, razor blades). If medical or biohazardous waste is contaminated or mixed with a hazardous chemical or material, with a radioactive material,more » or with both, the waste will be handled in accordance with the applicable federal and State of California laws and regulations for hazardous, radioactive, or mixed waste.« less

Cranberry for Urinary Tract Infection: From Bench to Bedside.

PubMed

Nabavi, Seyed Fazel; Sureda, Antoni; Daglia, Maria; Izadi, Morteza; Nabavi, Seyed Mohammad

2017-01-01

Urinary tract infections are common infectious diseases which can occur in any part of the urinary tract such as bladder, kidney, ureters, and urethra. They are commonly caused by bacteria that enter through the urethra. Urinary tract infections commonly develop in the bladder and spread to renal tissues. Up to now, there are different antimicrobial agents which have beneficial role on urinary tract infections. However, most of them cause different adverse effects and therefore, much attention has been paid to the search for effective therapeutic agents with negligible adverse effects. Cranberry is known as one of the most important edible plants, which possesses potent antimicrobial effects against the bacteria responsible for urinary tract infections. Growing evidence has shown that cranberry suppresses urinary tract infections and eradicates the bacteria. Therefore, the aim of this study is to critically review the available literature regarding the antimicrobial activities of cranberry against urinary tract infection microorganisms. In addition, we discuss etiology, epidemiology, risk factors, and current drugs of urinary tract infections to provide a more complete picture of this disease.

Rituximab-associated infections.

PubMed

Gea-Banacloche, Juan C

2010-04-01

After more than 10 years of use, rituximab has proven to be remarkably safe. However, accumulated evidence now suggests that under some circumstances it may significantly increase the risk of infections. This risk is difficult to quantify because of confounding factors (namely, concomitant use of immunosuppressive or chemotherapeutic agents and underlying conditions), as well as under-reporting. Increased number of infections has been documented in patients treated with maintenance rituximab for low-grade lymphoma and in patients with concomitant severe immunodeficiency, whether caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection or immunosuppressive agents like fludarabine. From the practical standpoint, the most important infection is hepatitis B reactivation, which may be delayed and result in fulminant liver failure and death. Special care should be placed on screening for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and preemptive antiviral treatment. Some investigators have reported an increase in Pneumocystis pneumonia. Finally, there is increasing evidence of a possible association with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a lethal encephalitis caused by the polyomavirus JC. This review enumerates the described infectious complications, summarizes the possible underlying mechanisms of the increased risk, and makes recommendations regarding prevention, diagnosis and management.

Foodborne illness: new developments concerning an old problem.

PubMed

Kasowski, Eric J; Gackstetter, Gary D; Sharp, Trueman W

2002-08-01

Foodborne illnesses continue to cause substantial morbidity and mortality in the United States, primarily as gastroenteritis but occasionally as other syndromes as well. Most of these illnesses are caused by a variety of widely known infectious agents, principally viruses, and are probably the result of common mistakes in food handling in the home or in restaurants. The epidemiology of foodborne illness is evolving. Major changes in food production, distribution, and consumption have created opportunities for new pathogens to emerge and for old ones to reemerge, and the potential for widespread outbreaks is increasing. Antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens resulting from the widespread use of antimicrobial agents in animal husbandry is also an important concern. Clinicians must be aware of the changing epidemiology of foodborne illness to recognize and manage these conditions in the clinical setting. In addition, clinicians are critical in the reporting of recognized or suspected foodborne illness, so that public health authorities are able to investigate, understand, and ultimately better control them. A number of new techniques have been employed, and others under development will improve our ability to recognize and cope with foodborne diseases.

Detection of bacterial contamination and DNA quantification in stored blood units in 2 veterinary hospital blood banks.

PubMed

Stefanetti, Valentina; Miglio, Arianna; Cappelli, Katia; Capomaccio, Stefano; Sgariglia, Elisa; Marenzoni, Maria L; Antognoni, Maria T; Coletti, Mauro; Mangili, Vittorio; Passamonti, Fabrizio

2016-09-01

Blood transfusions in veterinary medicine have become increasingly more common and are now an integral part of lifesaving and advanced treatment in small and large animals. Important risks associated with transfusion of blood products include the transmission of various infectious diseases. Several guidelines suggest what infectious agents to screen for in canine and feline transfusion medicine. However, while the risk of bacterial contamination of blood products during storage and administration has not been documented in veterinary medicine, it has emerged as a cause of morbidity and mortality in human transfusion medicine. Clinical experience shows that the majority of blood component bacterial contaminations are caused by only a few species. Unlike other types of bacteria, psychrotolerant species like Pseudomonas spp. and Serratia spp. can proliferate during the storage of blood units at 4°C from a very low titer at the time of blood collection to a clinically significant level (> 10(5) CFU/mL) causing clinical sepsis resulting from red blood cell concentrate transfusions in human medicine. The purpose of this report was to describe the detection and quantification procedures applied in 4 cases of bacterial contamination of canine and feline blood units, which suggest the need for further investigations to optimize patients' safety in veterinary transfusion medicine. © 2016 American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology.

Lumbar puncture requirement in acute hemiparesis: diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis after hemiparesis in a child.

PubMed

Sahin, Sevim; Cansu, Ali; Kamaşak, Tülay; Eyüboğlu, İlker; Esenülkü, Gülnur; Ökten, Ayşenur

2014-12-01

Infections are an important acquired cause of cerebral arteriopathy. Tuberculous (TB) meningitis leading to infectious cerebral vasculopathy is a rare cause of acute hemiparesis. A 14-year-old male patient was examined after acute hemiparesis developing within 1 day. Neurological examination revealed total hemiplegia on the left side. Brain MRI findings showed bilateral focal T2-weighted signal hyperintensity in the subcortical and deep white matter regions. There were also areas of restricted diffusion in the right basal ganglia. Although the father had a history of pulmonary TB, the patient had not been given TB prophylaxis because of PPD negativity. At lumbar puncture, opening cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure was 50 cm/H20, CSF protein 66.9 mg/dL, and glucose 54 mg/dL (concurrent blood glucose 93 mg/dL); 170 polymorphonuclear leukocytes per cubic millimeter were present in CSF. Following tests for TB, treatment was started immediately with four anti-TB drugs. TB PCR of CSF and acid-fast bacteria (AFB) staining in gastric aspirate were positive. At clinical follow-up, the patient was able to walk with support at the end of the first month. Various infectious agents have been reported as causes of cerebral vasculopathy. TB, which affects a significant number of patients worldwide, should be kept in mind in terms of cerebral vascular complications. Lumbar puncture is essential in order to diagnose TB meningitis.

Infections and cancer: debate about using vaccines as a cancer control tool.

PubMed

Mbulaiteye, Sam M; Buonaguro, Franco M

2013-05-04

In 2012, Infectious Agents and Cancer commissioned a thematic series collection of articles on Prevention of HPV related cancer. The articles have attracted wide interest and stimulated debate, including about the utility of vaccines in cancer control. The application of vaccines to cancer control fulfills a promise envisioned at the turn of the 20th century when remarkable experiments showed that some cancers were caused by infections. This suggested the possibility of applying infection-control strategies to cancer control. Vaccines represent the most practical cost-effective technology to prevent wide human suffering and death from many acute infectious diseases, such as small pox or polio. Hitherto applied to control of acute fatal infections, vaccines, if developed, might provide a potent way to control cancer. The articles in the HPV thematic series show success in developing and applying a vaccine against human papilloma virus (HPV). A vaccine is also available against hepatitis B virus (HBV), which causes liver cancer. These vaccines augment the tools available to control the associated cancers. Scientific endeavor continues for six other cancer-associated infections, mostly viruses. Not surprisingly, debate about the safety of vaccines targeting cancer has been triggered in the scientific community. Questions about safety have been raised for those populations where other means to control these cancers may be available. Although it is difficult to quantify risk from vaccines in individuals where other cancer control services exist, it is likely to be low. Vaccines are much safer today than before. Technological advancement in vaccine development and manufacture and improved regulatory review and efficient distribution have minimized substantially the risk for harm from vaccines. Formal and informal debate about the pros and cons of applying vaccines as a cancer control tools is ongoing in scientific journals and on the web. Infectious Agents and Cancer encourages evidence-based discussion to clarify understanding of the role of vaccines in cancer control. In a similar vein, the journal will not consider anecdotal reports and rhetorical arguments because they are unlikely to inform policy, regulation, or the public.

Genetic Factors Influence Serological Measures of Common Infections

PubMed Central

Rubicz, Rohina; Leach, Charles T.; Kraig, Ellen; Dhurandhar, Nikhil V.; Duggirala, Ravindranath; Blangero, John; Yolken, Robert; Göring, Harald H.H.

2011-01-01

Background/Aims Antibodies against infectious pathogens provide information on past or present exposure to infectious agents. While host genetic factors are known to affect the immune response, the influence of genetic factors on antibody levels to common infectious agents is largely unknown. Here we test whether antibody levels for 13 common infections are significantly heritable. Methods IgG antibodies to Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, Toxoplasma gondii, adenovirus 36 (Ad36), hepatitis A virus, influenza A and B, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 and −2, human herpesvirus-6, and varicella zoster virus were determined for 1,227 Mexican Americans. Both quantitative and dichotomous (seropositive/seronegative) traits were analyzed. Influences of genetic and shared environmental factors were estimated using variance components pedigree analysis, and sharing of underlying genetic factors among traits was investigated using bivariate analyses. Results Serological phenotypes were significantly heritable for most pathogens (h2 = 0.17–0.39), except for Ad36 and HSV-2. Shared environment was significant for several pathogens (c2 = 0.10–0.32). The underlying genetic etiology appears to be largely different for most pathogens. Conclusions Our results demonstrate, for the first time for many of these pathogens, that individual genetic differences of the human host contribute substantially to antibody levels to many common infectious agents, providing impetus for the identification of underlying genetic variants, which may be of clinical importance. PMID:21996708

Molecular survey of infectious agents associated with bovine respiratory disease in a beef cattle feedlot in southern Brazil.

PubMed

Headley, Selwyn A; Okano, Werner; Balbo, Luciana C; Marcasso, Rogério A; Oliveira, Thalita E; Alfieri, Alice F; Negri Filho, Luiz C; Michelazzo, Mariana Z; Rodrigues, Silvio C; Baptista, Anderson L; Saut, João Paulo E; Alfieri, Amauri A

2018-03-01

We investigated the occurrence of infectious pathogens during an outbreak of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in a beef cattle feedlot in southern Brazil that has a high risk of developing BRD. Nasopharyngeal swabs were randomly collected from steers ( n = 23) and assessed for the presence of infectious agents of BRD by PCR and/or RT-PCR assays. These included: Histophilus somni, Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, Mycoplasma bovis, bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), bovine coronavirus (BCoV), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), bovine alphaherpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1), and bovine parainfluenza virus 3 (BPIV-3). Pulmonary sections of one steer that died with clinical BRD were submitted for pathology and molecular testing. The frequencies of the pathogens identified from the nasopharyngeal swabs were: H. somni 39% (9 of 23), BRSV 35% (8 of 23), BCoV 22% (5 of 23), and M. haemolytica 13% (3 of 23). PCR or RT-PCR assays did not identify P. multocida, M. bovis, BoHV-1, BVDV, or BPIV-3 from the nasopharyngeal swabs. Single and concomitant associations of infectious agents of BRD were identified. Fibrinous bronchopneumonia was diagnosed in one steer that died; samples were positive for H. somni and M. haemolytica by PCR. H. somni, BRSV, and BCoV are important disease pathogens of BRD in feedlot cattle in Brazil, but H. somni and BCoV are probably under-reported.

National athletic trainers' association position statement: skin diseases.

PubMed

Zinder, Steven M; Basler, Rodney S W; Foley, Jack; Scarlata, Chris; Vasily, David B

2010-01-01

To present recommendations for the prevention, education, and management of skin infections in athletes. Trauma, environmental factors, and infectious agents act together to continually attack the integrity of the skin. Close quarters combined with general poor hygiene practices make athletes particularly vulnerable to contracting skin diseases. An understanding of basic prophylactic measures, clinical features, and swift management of common skin diseases is essential for certified athletic trainers to aid in preventing the spread of infectious agents. These guidelines are intended to provide relevant information on skin infections and to give specific recommendations for certified athletic trainers and others participating in athletic health care.

Water disinfection: microbes versus molecules - an introduction of issues

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fowle, J.R. III, Kopfler, F.C.

If the chemicals used to rid drinking water of disease-causing microbes are themselves potentially harmful, is drinking water safe. What trade-offs are acceptable with respect to microbial versus chemical water quality. This conference deals with current thinking about these topics. The subjects discussed reflect the evolution of thinking, both scientifically and socially, about how best to supply the public with safe, pure potable water. The goal of this paper is to introduce the issues associated with disinfectants and disinfectant by-products in water. This will be done by presenting a historical overview of the use of chemical disinfectants to purify drinkingmore » water and the subsequent awareness of potential health concerns. Historically, the major health issue associated with water has been the demonstrated role that water has played in spreading infectious disease. Waterborne infectious agents remain in the environment, and new ones emerge through evolution of humans and microorganisms and because of changing exposure patterns.« less

Cellular mechanisms responsible for cell-to-cell spreading of prions.

PubMed

Vilette, Didier; Courte, Josquin; Peyrin, Jean Michel; Coudert, Laurent; Schaeffer, Laurent; Andréoletti, Olivier; Leblanc, Pascal

2018-05-14

Prions are infectious agents that cause fatal neurodegenerative diseases. Current evidence indicates that they are essentially composed of an abnormally folded protein (PrP Sc ). These abnormal aggregated PrP Sc species multiply in infected cells by recruiting and converting the host PrP C protein into new PrP Sc . How prions move from cell to cell and progressively spread across the infected tissue is of crucial importance and may provide experimental opportunity to delay the progression of the disease. In infected cells, different mechanisms have been identified, including release of infectious extracellular vesicles and intercellular transfer of PrP Sc -containing organelles through tunneling nanotubes. These findings should allow manipulation of the intracellular trafficking events targeting PrP Sc in these particular subcellular compartments to experimentally address the relative contribution of these mechanisms to in vivo prion pathogenesis. In addition, such information may prompt further experimental strategies to decipher the causal roles of protein misfolding and aggregation in other human neurodegenerative diseases.

Nucleic acid-based diagnostics for infectious diseases in public health affairs.

PubMed

Yu, Albert Cheung-Hoi; Vatcher, Greg; Yue, Xin; Dong, Yan; Li, Mao Hua; Tam, Patrick H K; Tsang, Parker Y L; Wong, April K Y; Hui, Michael H K; Yang, Bin; Tang, Hao; Lau, Lok-Ting

2012-06-01

Infectious diseases, mostly caused by bacteria and viruses but also a result of fungal and parasitic infection, have been one of the most important public health concerns throughout human history. The first step in combating these pathogens is to get a timely and accurate diagnosis at an affordable cost. Many kinds of diagnostics have been developed, such as pathogen culture, biochemical tests and serological tests, to help detect and fight against the causative agents of diseases. However, these diagnostic tests are generally unsatisfactory because they are not particularly sensitive and specific and are unable to deliver speedy results. Nucleic acid-based diagnostics, detecting pathogens through the identification of their genomic sequences, have shown promise to overcome the above limitations and become more widely adopted in clinical tests. Here we review some of the most popular nucleic acid-based diagnostics and focus on their adaptability and applicability to routine clinical usage. We also compare and contrast the characteristics of different types of nucleic acid-based diagnostics.

Emerging zoonotic viral diseases.

PubMed

Wang, L-F; Crameri, G

2014-08-01

Zoonotic diseases are infectious diseases that are naturally transmitted from vertebrate animals to humans and vice versa. They are caused by all types of pathogenic agents, including bacteria, parasites, fungi, viruses and prions. Although they have been recognised for many centuries, their impact on public health has increased in the last few decades due to a combination of the success in reducing the spread of human infectious diseases through vaccination and effective therapies and the emergence of novel zoonotic diseases. It is being increasingly recognised that a One Health approach at the human-animal-ecosystem interface is needed for effective investigation, prevention and control of any emerging zoonotic disease. Here, the authors will review the drivers for emergence, highlight some of the high-impact emerging zoonotic diseases of the last two decades and provide examples of novel One Health approaches for disease investigation, prevention and control. Although this review focuses on emerging zoonotic viral diseases, the authors consider that the discussions presented in this paper will be equally applicable to emerging zoonotic diseases of other pathogen types.

Sequence analysis of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus isolated from Iranian reared rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in 2012.

PubMed

Dadar, Maryam; Peyghan, Rahim; Memari, Hamid Rajabi; Shapouri, Masod Reza Seifi Abad; Hasanzadeh, Reza; Goudarzi, Laleh Moazzami; Vakharia, Vikram N

2013-12-01

Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) is the causal agent of a highly contagious disease that affects many species of fish and shellfish. This virus causes economically significant diseases of farmed rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), in Iran, which is often associated with the transmission of pathogens from European resources. In this study, moribund rainbow trout fry samples were collected during an outbreak of IPNV in three different fish farms in north and west provinces of Iran in 2012; and we investigated the full genome sequence of Iranian IPNV and compared it with previously identified IPNV sequences. The sequences of different structural and nonstructural-protein genes were compared to those of other aquatic birnaviruses sequenced to date. Our results show that the Iranian isolate falls within genogroup 5, serotype A2 strain SP, having 99% identity with the strain 1146 from Spain. These results suggest that the Iranian isolate may have originated from Europe.

Canine Distemper Virus in Wild Felids of Costa Rica.

PubMed

Avendaño, Roberto; Barrueta, Flor; Soto-Fournier, Sofía; Chavarría, Max; Monge, Otto; Gutiérrez-Espeleta, Gustavo A; Chaves, Andrea

2016-04-28

Several highly infectious diseases can be transmitted through feces and cause elevated mortality among carnivore species. One such infectious agent, canine distemper virus (CDV; Paramyxoviridae: Morbillivirus), has been reported to affect wild carnivores, among them several felid species. We screened free-ranging and captive wild carnivores in Costa Rica for CDV. Between 2006 and 2012, we collected 306 fecal samples from 70 jaguars (Panther onca), 71 ocelots ( Leopardus pardalis ), five jaguarundis (Puma yaguaroundi), 105 pumas ( Puma concolor ), five margays ( Leopardus wiedii ), 23 coyotes ( Canis latrans ), and 27 undetermined Leopardus spp. We found CDV in six individuals: one captive jaguarundi (rescued in 2009), three free-ranging ocelots (samples collected in 2012), and two free-ranging pumas (samples collected in 2007). Phylogenetic analyses were performed using sequences of the phosphoprotein (P) gene. We provide evidence of CDV in wild carnivores in Costa Rica and sequence data from a Costa Rican CDV isolate, adding to the very few sequence data available for CDV isolates from wild Central American carnivores.

Massively multiplexed microbial identification using resequencing DNA microarrays for outbreak investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leski, T. A.; Ansumana, R.; Jimmy, D. H.; Bangura, U.; Malanoski, A. P.; Lin, B.; Stenger, D. A.

2011-06-01

Multiplexed microbial diagnostic assays are a promising method for detection and identification of pathogens causing syndromes characterized by nonspecific symptoms in which traditional differential diagnosis is difficult. Also such assays can play an important role in outbreak investigations and environmental screening for intentional or accidental release of biothreat agents, which requires simultaneous testing for hundreds of potential pathogens. The resequencing pathogen microarray (RPM) is an emerging technological platform, relying on a combination of massively multiplex PCR and high-density DNA microarrays for rapid detection and high-resolution identification of hundreds of infectious agents simultaneously. The RPM diagnostic system was deployed in Sierra Leone, West Africa in collaboration with Njala University and Mercy Hospital Research Laboratory located in Bo. We used the RPM-Flu microarray designed for broad-range detection of human respiratory pathogens, to investigate a suspected outbreak of avian influenza in a number of poultry farms in which significant mortality of chickens was observed. The microarray results were additionally confirmed by influenza specific real-time PCR. The results of the study excluded the possibility that the outbreak was caused by influenza, but implicated Klebsiella pneumoniae as a possible pathogen. The outcome of this feasibility study confirms that application of broad-spectrum detection platforms for outbreak investigation in low-resource locations is possible and allows for rapid discovery of the responsible agents, even in cases when different agents are suspected. This strategy enables quick and cost effective detection of low probability events such as outbreak of a rare disease or intentional release of a biothreat agent.

Investigations of kanuka and manuka essential oils for in vitro treatment of disease and cellular inflammation caused by infectious microorganisms.

PubMed

Chen, Chien-Chia; Yan, Sui-Hing; Yen, Muh-Yong; Wu, Pei-Fang; Liao, Wei-Ting; Huang, Tsi-Shu; Wen, Zhi-Hong; David Wang, Hui-Min

2016-02-01

Diseases caused by infectious and inflammatory microorganisms are among the most common and most severe nosocomial diseases worldwide. Therefore, developing effective agents for treating these illnesses is critical. In this study, essential oils from two tea tree species, kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) and manuka (Leptospermum scoparium), were evaluated for use in treating diseases and inflammation caused by microorganism infection. Isolates of clinically common bacteria and fungi were obtained from American Type Culture Collection and from Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital. Minimum inhibitory concentrations for Trichosporon mucoides, Malassezia furfur, Candida albicans, and Candida tropicalis were determined by the broth microdilution method with Sabouraud dextrose broth. The antibacterial susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sobrinus, Streptococcus mutans, and Escherichia coli were determined by the broth microdilution method. A human acute monocytic leukemia cell line (THP-1) was cultured to test the effects of the essential oils on the release of the two inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-4. Multiple analyses of microorganism growth confirmed that both essential oils significantly inhibited four fungi and the four bacteria. The potent fungicidal properties of the oils were confirmed by minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 0.78% to 3.13%. The oils also showed excellent bactericidal qualities with 100% inhibition of the examined bacteria. In THP-1 cells, both oils lowered tumor necrosis factor-α released after lipopolysaccharide stimulation. Finally, the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects of the oils were obtained without adversely affecting the immune system. These results indicate that the potent antimicroorganism and anti-inflammation properties of kanuka and manuka essential oils make them strong candidates for use in treating infections and immune-related disease. The data confirm the potential use of kanuka and manuka extracts as pharmaceutical antibiotics, medical cosmetology agents, and food supplements. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fryer, John L.

The Department of Microbiology at Oregon State University with funding from the Bonneville Power Administration conducted a study relating to the epidemiology and control of three fish diseases of salmonids in the Columbia River Basin. These three diseases were ceratomyxosis caused by the myxosporidan parasite Ceratomyxa Shasta, bacterial kidney disease, the causative agent Renibacterium salmoninarum, and infectious hematopoietic necrosis, caused by a rhabdovirus. Each of these diseases is highly destructive and difficult or impossible to treat with antimicrobial agents. The geographic range of the infectious stage of C. Shasta has been extended to include the Snake River to the Oxbowmore » and Hells Canyon Dams. These are the farthest upriver sites tested. Infections of ceratomyxosis were also initiated in the east fork of the Lewis River and in the Washougal River in Washington. Laboratory studies with this parasite failed to indicate that tubeficids are required in its life cycle. Bacterial kidney disease has been demonstrated in all life stages of salmonids: in the eggs, fry, smolts, juveniles and adults in the ocean, and in fish returning to fresh water. Monoclonal antibodies produced against R. salmoninarum demonstrated antigenic differences among isolates of the bacterium. Monoclonal antibodies also showed antigens of R. salmoninarum which are similar to those of a wide variety of gram positive and gram negative bacteria. A demonstration project at Round Butte Hatchery showed U V treatment to be an effective method for reducing the microbial population of the water supply and could reduce risks of IHNV. Tangential flow filtration was used successfully to concentrate IHNV from environmental water. At Round Butte Hatchery the carrier rate of IHNV in adults was very low and there was no subsequent mortality resulting from IHN in juveniles.« less

Human pediculosis: a critical health problem and what about nursing policy?

PubMed

El-Bahnasawy, Mamdouh M; Abdel, Fadil Eman Ebrahim; Morsy, Tosson A

2012-12-01

Lice infestation on the human body (also known as pediculosis) is very common. Cases number in the hundreds of millions worldwide. Three distinct presentations of lice infection exist and each is caused by a unique parasite. Head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) is by far and away the most common infestation and favors no particular socioeconomic group. A genetically close "cousin," Pediculus humanus corporis, is responsible for body lice and is more commonly associated with poverty, overcrowding, and poor hygiene. Pubic lice (crabs) are caused by Pthirus pubis and is transmitted by intimate and/or sexual contact. No doubt, human lice infestation is an increasing problem worldwide, Apart from being an irritating and a shaming human ecto-parasite, they transmit serious infectious diseases; epidemic or classical typhus, epidemic relapsing fever as well as Trench fever. Eradication of lice infestation prevents transmission of infectious diseases. People who live and work in close proximity to louse-infested individuals may secondarily acquire lice even if they regularly wash their clothes and have good hygiene. Thus, all louse-infested persons and workers in close contact with such persons should periodically inspected and use long-acting safe insecticides. Human lice can be treated with agents such as DDT, malathion, and lindane, but reports of resistance to one or more of them have recently appeared. Pyrethroid permethrin when applied as a dust or spray to clothing or bedding is highly effective against lice and is the delousing agent of choice. Fabric treated with permethrin retains toxicity to lice even after 20 washings, thereby offering significant long-term passive protection against epidemic typhus. Itching may continue even after all lice are destroyed. This happens because of a lingering allergic reactionto their bites. Over-the-counter cortisone (corticosteroid) creams or calamine lotion may help.

Northern infant syndrome: a deficiency state?

PubMed

Godel, J C; Hart, A G

1984-08-01

A syndrome is described that affected 16 Indian and Inuit infants roughly 3 months old, most of whom were born in settlements in the Canadian Arctic. The infants presented with a clinical picture that included hepatitis, hemolytic anemia, rickets and respiratory distress, a combination that resembled a syndrome first described in malnourished infants at the turn of the century by von Jaksch and Luzet. The clinical course was self-limited, and all the infants survived without sequelae. The cause of the syndrome was not determined; no infectious agents were discovered. However, low levels of vitamins A, C, D and E were found in a few infants in whom assays were done. The implications of these findings and their relation to the possible cause of this "northern infant syndrome" are discussed.

Evaluation of an Experimental Re-introduction of Sockeye Salmon into Skaha Lake; Year 2 of 3, 2001 Technical Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fisher, Christopher; Machin, Deanna; Wright, Howie

This report summarizes the findings from YEAR 2 of a three-year disease risk assessment. The Okanagan Nation Fisheries Commission (ONFC) and the Colville Confederated Tribes (CCT) are investigating the risks involved in re-introducing sockeye salmon into Skaha Lake, part of their historical range (Ernst and Vedan 2000). The disease risk assessment compares the disease and infection status of fish above and below McIntyre Dam (the present limit of sockeye migration). The disease agents identified that are of a particular concern are: infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV), infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus type 2 (IHNV type2), erythrocytic inclusion body syndrome virus (EIBSV),more » the whirling disease agent (Myxobolus cerebralis), and the ceratomyxosis agent (Ceratomyxa shasta).« less

Waste Water Management and Infectious Disease. Part II: Impact of Waste Water Treatment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Robert C.

1975-01-01

The ability of various treatment processes, such as oxidation ponds, chemical coagulation and filtration, and the soil mantle, to remove the agents of infectious disease found in waste water is discussed. The literature concerning the efficiency of removal of these organisms by various treatment processes is reviewed. (BT)

Prevotella intermedia infection causing acute and complicated aortitis-A case report.

PubMed

Boersma, C; Kampschreur, L M; Buter, H; Doorenbos, B M; Klinkert, P; Koning, G G

2017-01-01

Aortitis is a general term that refers to all conditions involving an inflammation of the aortic wall. This case report describes the surgical approach of a patient with infectious and symptomatic aortitis caused by the rare vector Prevotella intermedia. A 44-year old male patient was admitted with fever and general discomfort after a period of sore throat in a non-teaching hospital. After two weeks he developed acute abdominal and back pain accompanied by sweating and elevated infection parameters. Computed tomography angiography revealed atherosclerotic changes of the infrarenal aorta with a locally contained rupture of the aorta alongside peri-aortal signs of inflammation (and aortitis aspects). An urgent aortic reconstruction was performed according to Nevelsteen. The blood cultures turned out positive for Prevotella intermedia. Postoperatively the patient received antibiotics for six weeks. The patient recovered uneventful from this infection and surgical procedure. A complicated and acute aortitis is a rare but potentially life-threatening disease. The aetiology can be ordered into two main groups; inflammatory and infectious. Diagnosis is based upon symptoms, biochemical values, microbiological results and imaging modalities. Treatment depends on aetiology and should be discussed in an experienced multidisciplinary setting. Infectious aortitis should be treated with antibiotics for at least six weeks with close monitoring of the patient's clinic and biochemical values, even after surgery. Prevotella intermedia is a rare causative agent for aortitis. Acute aortitis is a challenging clinical entity which should be managed in an equipped medical center by an experienced multidisciplinary team. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

[Recurrent aseptic meningitis secondary to taking ibuprofen and ketorolac].

PubMed

Cano Vargas-Machuca, E; Mondéjar-Marín, B; Navarro-Muñoz, S; Pérez-Molina, I; Garrido-Robres, J A; Alvarez-Tejerina, A

Aseptic meningitis is a process that is characterised by an inflammatory reaction of the meninges that is not due to any infectious agent. Its aetiology is varied and is most frequently caused by rheumatologic and/or autoimmune processes, chemical or medication-induced meningitis, the most notable drugs involved being antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAI). We report the case of a 70-year-old male, with no relevant history, who was admitted to hospital five times over a period of 16 months because of acute meningitis with polymorphonuclear pleocytosis, high protein levels in cerebrospinal fluid and normal glucose in cerebrospinal fluid. No evidence of an infectious causation, chemical meningitis, carcinomatosis or autoimmune disease was found and the patient was diagnosed with recurrent aseptic meningitis. It was found that the patient had taken ibuprofen or ketorolac on several occasions, a few hours before the appearance of symptoms. These episodes were quickly resolved after withdrawal of this medication. A number of NSAI have been reported as inducers of aseptic meningitis, one of the most notable being ibuprofen. We report the case of a patient who, as a consequence of taking ibuprofen and ketorolac, presented episodes of recurrent aseptic meningitis. To our knowledge this side effect of ketorolac has not been reported before. Its clinical features are impossible to differentiate from those of infectious meningitis. Diagnosis is reached by exclusion and a careful pharmacological study, including over-the-counter drugs like some of the NSAI, must be performed in patients with this condition, since it is a problem that can easily be solved by withdrawing the drug that causes it.

76 FR 52328 - Single Source Cooperative Agreement Award for the Gorgas Memorial Institute of Health Studies

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-22

... infectious disease threats including select bio-terrorism agents and novel influenza viruses. The amount of... or actual spread of bio-terrorism agents or a pandemic to the United States, thereby enhancing the...

QUANTITATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT FOR MICROBIAL AGENTS

EPA Science Inventory

Compared to chemical risk assessment, the process for microbial agents and infectious disease is more complex because of host factors and the variety of settings in which disease transmission can occur. While the National Academy of Science has established a paradigm for performi...

[Bacterial toxic shock as a complication of calculous pyelonephritis].

PubMed

Lopatkin, N A; Rumiantsev, V B; Ianenko, E K

1994-01-01

The causes of bacteriotoxic shock were examined in 33 patients (11 lethal outcomes). It has arisen as a complication of treatment given to 7830 patients for urolithiasis. Aggravation of chronic pyelonephritis, occlusion of the urinary tracts, urogenital mucosal and parenchymal injuries, low resistance to infection contribute to microbacteria and their toxins entering blood with resultant bacteriotoxic shock. Transcutaneous operative interventions, therapeutic and diagnostic procedures also produce high risk of blood infection with gram-negative microflora, especially in violation of asepsis and antisepsis rules. As shown by microflora tests, the dominating bacteria consisted of opportunistic agents which had acquired the resistance to antibacterial drugs. In view of rapid progression of bacteriotoxic shock therapeutic efforts should be concentrated on fast normalization of hemodynamics, recovery of urine passage, introduction of sorption detoxication, prevention of DIC syndrome. The schemes of combined antibiotic treatment adjusted to the kind of infectious agent are suggested.

Birth defects: Risk factors and consequences

PubMed Central

Oliveira, Camila Ive Ferreira; Fett-Conte, Agnes Cristina

2013-01-01

Birth defects (BDs) or congenital anomalies include all structural and functional alterations in embryonic or fetal development resulting from genetic, environmental or unknown causes, which result in physical and/or mental impairment. BDs occur in about 3% of newborn babies and in most cases of pregnancy loss. BDs are a very complex and heterogeneous group of single or multiple changes that, in most cases, are of unknown etiology. Among the risk factors are advanced maternal and paternal ages, parental consanguinity, teratogenic agents such as infectious agents and drugs, and poor nutrition, in particular folic acid deficiency. One of the consequences of these defects is the high death rate within the first year of life. Information on BDs is becoming increasingly more important throughout the world so that preventive measures can be taken. Knowledge of BDs enables the development of therapeutic and preventive strategies besides adequate genetic counseling. PMID:27625844

Interaction of Mastoparan with Model Membranes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haloot, Justin

2010-10-01

The use of antimicrobial agents began during the 20th century to reduce the effects of infectious diseases. Since the 1990s, antimicrobial resistance has become an ever-increasing global problem. Our laboratory recently found that small antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have potent antimicrobial activity against a wide range of Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms including antibiotic resistant organisms. These AMPs are potential therapeutic agents against the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance. AMPs are small peptides produced by plants, insects and animals. Several hypotheses concede that these peptides cause some type of structural perturbations and increased membrane permeability in bacteria however, how AMPs kill bacteria remains unclear. The goal of this study was to design an assay that would allow us to evaluate and monitor the pore forming ability of an AMP, Mastoparan, on model membrane structures called liposomes. Development of this model will facilitate the study of how mastoparan and related AMPs interact with the bacterial membrane.

Distinct microbiological signatures associated with triple negative breast cancer.

PubMed

Banerjee, Sagarika; Wei, Zhi; Tan, Fei; Peck, Kristen N; Shih, Natalie; Feldman, Michael; Rebbeck, Timothy R; Alwine, James C; Robertson, Erle S

2015-10-15

Infectious agents are the third highest human cancer risk factor and may have a greater role in the origin and/or progression of cancers, and related pathogenesis. Thus, knowing the specific viruses and microbial agents associated with a cancer type may provide insights into cause, diagnosis and treatment. We utilized a pan-pathogen array technology to identify the microbial signatures associated with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). This technology detects low copy number and fragmented genomes extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin embedded archival tissues. The results, validated by PCR and sequencing, define a microbial signature present in TNBC tissue which was underrepresented in normal tissue. Hierarchical clustering analysis displayed two broad microbial signatures, one prevalent in bacteria and parasites and one prevalent in viruses. These signatures demonstrate a new paradigm in our understanding of the link between microorganisms and cancer, as causative or commensal in the tumor microenvironment and provide new diagnostic potential.

High times, low sats: diffuse pulmonary infiltrates associated with chronic synthetic cannabinoid use.

PubMed

Alhadi, Sameir; Tiwari, Anupama; Vohra, Rais; Gerona, Roy; Acharya, Janak; Bilello, Kathryn

2013-06-01

In recent years, cases of severe adverse effects from recreational use of synthetic cannabinoids (SC) have established that these agents represent a novel toxicologic hazard. A 21-year-old male presenting as a vehicular trauma victim was noted with diffuse pulmonary infiltrates related to chronic inhalation of multiple synthetic cannabinoid-containing products. Chest imaging revealed bilateral, subacute lung infiltrates; histopathological analysis of bronchial and alveolar tissues revealed an inflammatory process. An extensive workup failed to identify infectious, malignant, autoimmune, or hematologic causes of the syndrome, and toxicological analysis of the blood and body fluids confirmed the presence of multiple synthetic cannabinoids and metabolites. The patient recovered after an 8-day ICU course, wherein he received antibiotics, steroids, and mechanical ventilation. This case contributes to the currently evolving knowledge about SC agents, adding a rarely described pulmonary complication to the growing list of adverse effects associated with these products.

Scientific triumphalism and learning from facts: bacteriology and the "Spanish flu" challenge of 1918.

PubMed

Tognotti, Eugenia

2003-04-01

The devastating influenza pandemic known as 'Spanish flu', which killed at least 20 million people all over the world in 1918, was responsible for the first bitter blow inflicted on triumphant bacteriology, fortified by the series of resounding successes achieved in identifying the pathogenic agents of terrible diseases such as anthrax, cholera, tuberculosis, plague, and syphilis. Over-confidence and the idea, born of the Pasteur revolution, that every infectious disease was caused by a bacterium, had led the scientific community to accept the theory put forward by the German bacteriologist, Richard Pfeiffer, who, in 1892, believed he had identified the pathogenic influenza agent in a bacterium, Haemophilus influenzae. But, while the most appalling epidemic ever to sweep through the world since the 'Black Death' of the 1300s was still raging, the scientific community had to admit that influenza originated not from a microbe, but from a virus. This article aims to reconstruct the enlightening and little-known cultured/scientific events and issues of the dramatic crisis that bacteriology experienced in the autumn of 1918, with the consequent simultaneous collapse of both the 'Pfeiffer doctrine' on the microbial origin of influenza and the illusion of a world free of infectious diseases. This was an illusion destined to surface again at the end of the century and collapse with the advent of AIDS.

A spontaneous mutation in kdsD, a biosynthesis gene for 3 Deoxy-D-manno-Octulosonic Acid, occurred in a ciprofloxacin resistant strain of Francisella tularensis and caused a high level of attenuation in murine models of tularemia

PubMed Central

Chance, Taylor; Toothman, Ronald G.; Nuss, Jonathan E.; Raymond, Jo Lynne; Biot, Fabrice V.; Demons, Samandra; Miller, Lynda; Halasohoris, Stephanie; Mou, Sherry; Koroleva, Galina; Lovett, Sean; Palacios, Gustavo; Vietri, Nicholas J.; Worsham, Patricia L.; Cote, Christopher K.; Kijek, Todd M.; Bozue, Joel A.

2017-01-01

Francisella tularensis, a gram–negative facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen, is the causative agent of tularemia and able to infect many mammalian species, including humans. Because of its ability to cause a lethal infection, low infectious dose, and aerosolizable nature, F. tularensis subspecies tularensis is considered a potential biowarfare agent. Due to its in vitro efficacy, ciprofloxacin is one of the antibiotics recommended for post-exposure prophylaxis of tularemia. In order to identify therapeutics that will be efficacious against infections caused by drug resistant select-agents and to better understand the threat, we sought to characterize an existing ciprofloxacin resistant (CipR) mutant in the Schu S4 strain of F. tularensis by determining its phenotypic characteristics and sequencing the chromosome to identify additional genetic alterations that may have occurred during the selection process. In addition to the previously described genetic alterations, the sequence of the CipR mutant strain revealed several additional mutations. Of particular interest was a frameshift mutation within kdsD which encodes for an enzyme necessary for the production of 3-Deoxy-D-manno-Octulosonic Acid (KDO), an integral component of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS). A kdsD mutant was constructed in the Schu S4 strain. Although it was not resistant to ciprofloxacin, the kdsD mutant shared many phenotypic characteristics with the CipR mutant, including growth defects under different conditions, sensitivity to hydrophobic agents, altered LPS profiles, and attenuation in multiple models of murine tularemia. This study demonstrates that the KdsD enzyme is essential for Francisella virulence and may be an attractive therapeutic target for developing novel medical countermeasures. PMID:28328947

Bacteriological Aspects of Hand Washing: A Key for Health Promotion and Infections Control

PubMed Central

Ataee, Ramezan Ali; Ataee, Mohammad Hosein; Mehrabi Tavana, Ali; Salesi, Mahmud

2017-01-01

The aim of this review is to show the historical aspects of hands washing for healthy life and explains how can reduce the transmission of community-acquired infectious agents by healthcare workers and patients. This review article is prepared based on available database. The key words used were hands washing, risk assessment, hands hygiene, bacterial flora, contamination, infection, nosocomial, tap water, sanitizer, bacterial resistance, hands bacterial flora, washing methods, antiseptics, healthcare workers, healthcare personnel, from PubMed, ScienceDirect, Embase, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and Google Scholar. Data were descriptively analyzed. The insistence on hand washing has a history of 1400 years. The research results indicate that the bacteria released from the female washed hands in wet and dry condition was lower than from the male's hands with a significance level (3 CFU vs. 8 CFU; confidence interval 95%, P ≤ 0.001). The valuable results of the study indicated that released amount of bacterial flora from wet hands is more than 10 times in compared to dry hands. In addition, established monitoring systems for washing hands before and after patient's manipulation as well as after toilet were dominant indices to prevent the transfer of infectious agents to the patients. Increasing awareness and belief of the healthcare workers have shown an important role by about 30% reduction in the transfection. Hand washing could reduce the episodes of transmission of infectious agents in both community and healthcare settings. However, hand washing is an important key factor to prevent transmission of infectious agents to patients. There is no standard method for measuring compliance. Thus, permanent monitoring of hand washing to reduce the transmission of infections is crucial. Finally, the personnel must believe that hand washing is an inevitable approach to infection control. PMID:28382192

Model of two infectious diseases in nettle caterpillar population

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Firdausi, F. Z.; Nuraini, N.

2016-04-01

Palm oil is a vital commodity to the economy of Indonesia. The area of oil palm plantations in Indonesia has increased from year to year. However, the effectiveness of palm oil production is reduced by pest infestation. One of the pest which often infests oil palm plantations is nettle caterpillar. The pest control used in this study is biological control, viz. biological agents given to oil palm trees. This paper describes a mathematical model of two infectious diseases in nettle caterpillar population. The two infectious diseases arise due to two biological agents, namely Bacillus thuringiensis bacterium and parasite which usually attack nettle caterpillars. The derivation of the model constructed in this paper is obtained from ordinary differential equations without time delay. The equilibrium points are analyzed. Two of three equilibrium points are stable if the Routh-Hurwitz criteria are fulfilled. In addition, this paper also presents the numerical simulation of the model which has been constructed.

General principles for the treatment of non-infectious uveitis.

PubMed

Díaz-Llopis, Manuel; Gallego-Pinazo, Roberto; García-Delpech, Salvador; Salom-Alonso, David

2009-09-01

Ocular inflammatory disorders constitute a sight-threatening group of diseases that might be managed according to their severity. Their treatment guidelines experience constant changes with new agents that improve the results obtained with former drugs. Nowadays we can make use of a five step protocol in which topical, periocular and systemic corticosteroids remain as the main therapy for non infectious uveitis. In addition, immunosuppresive drugs can be added in order to enhance the anti-inflammatory effects and to develop the role of corticosteroid-saving agents. These can be organized in four other steps: Cyclosporine and Methotrexate in a second one; Azathioprine, Mycophenolate Mofetil and Tacrolimus in a third step; biological anti-TNF drugs in fourth position; and a theoretical last one with Cyclophosphamide and Chlorambucil. In the present review we go through the main characteristics and complications of all these treatments and make a rational of this five-step treatment protocol for non infectious posterior uveitis.

Expanding the Hygiene Hypothesis: Early Exposure to Infectious Agents Predicts Delayed-Type Hypersensitivity to Candida among Children in Kilimanjaro

PubMed Central

Wander, Katherine; O'Connor, Kathleen; Shell-Duncan, Bettina

2012-01-01

Background Multiple lines of evidence suggest that infections in early life prevent the development of pathological immune responses to allergens and autoantigens (the hygiene hypothesis). Early infections may also affect later immune responses to pathogen antigen. Methods To evaluate an association between early infections and immune responses to pathogen antigen, delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to Candida albicans was evaluated among 283 2- to 7-year-old children in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. A questionnaire and physical examination were used to characterize variables reflecting early exposure to infectious agents (family size, house construction materials, BCG vaccination, hospitalization history). Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between early exposure to infectious agents and DTH to C. albicans. Results Triceps skinfold thickness (OR: 1.11; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.22) and age (OR: 1.27; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.55) were positively associated with DTH to C. albicans. Adjusted for age and sex, large family size (OR: 2.81; 95% CI: 1.04, 7.61), BCG vaccination scar (OR: 3.10; 95% CI: 1.10, 8.71), and hospitalization during infancy with an infectious disease (OR: 4.67; 95% CI: 1.00, 21.74) were positively associated with DTH to C. albicans. Conclusions Early life infections were positively associated with later DTH to C. albicans. This result supports an expansion of the hygiene hypothesis to explain not only pathological immune responses to allergens, but also appropriate immune responses to pathogens. Immune system development may be responsive to early infections as an adaptive means to tailor reactivity to the local infectious disease ecology. PMID:22616000

Molecular detection of infectious bronchitis and Newcastle disease viruses in broiler chickens with respiratory signs using Duplex RT-PCR.

PubMed

Saba Shirvan, Aylar; Mardani, Karim

2014-01-01

Infectious bronchitis (IB) and Newcastle disease (ND) are highly contagious and the most economically important diseases of the poultry affecting respiratory tract and causing economic losses in poultry industry throughout the world. In the present study, the simultaneous detection and differentiation of causative agents of these diseases were investigated using duplex-RT-PCR. RNA was extracted from vaccinal and reference strains of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and then cDNA was synthesized. Using two universal primer sets for detection of IBV and NDV, the duplex-RT-PCR was developed. In order to assess the efficiency of the developed duplex RT-PCR, a number of 12 broiler farms with the symptoms of respiratory tract infection was sampled (trachea, lung and kidney were sampled from affected birds suspicious for IBV and NDV infections). After RNA extraction from tissues and cDNA synthesis, the presence of IBV and NDV genome were investigated using duplex-PCR. The results showed that three of twelve examined broiler farms were positive for IBV and two farms were positive for NDV and IBV. The results revealed that the duplex-RT-PCR is a quick and sensitive procedure for simultaneously detecting IBV and NDV in birds with respiratory infections.

Clover-Tagged Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Infectious Clones for Rapid Detection of Virus Neutralizing Antibodies.

PubMed

Huang, Baicheng; Xiao, Xia; Xue, Biyun; Zhou, En-Min

2018-06-24

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), caused by the PRRS virus (PRRSV), is a widespread disease that affects domestic pigs of all ages. Accurate and rapid detection of PRRSV specific neutralizing antibodies levels in a pig herd is beneficial for the evaluation of the herd's immunity to combat the specific viral infection. However, the current methods for viral detection, including fluorescent focus neutralization (FFN) and cytopathic effect (CPE) reduction neutralizing assays, are subjective and time-consuming. Therefore, a Clover-tagged PRRSV virus neutralization assay were developed that instrumentally measures the fluorescence signal of Clover stably expressing by a PRRSV infectious clone for at least 10 passages. Herein, the results showed that the proposed Clover-tagged PRRSV neutralization assay is reliable using instrumental measurements of the fluorescence signal of Clover and allows for rapid detection of neutralizing antibodies against PRRSV. The assay was evaluated by testing swine sera from experimental and field samples, and comparisons were made with the traditional FFN and CPE reduction assays. These results suggest that the Clover-tagged PRRSV infectious clone offers a fast and reliable testing method for neutralizing antibodies and could permit high-throughput screening of new antiviral agents. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Gene Therapy for Infectious Diseases

PubMed Central

Bunnell, Bruce A.; Morgan, Richard A.

1998-01-01

Gene therapy is being investigated as an alternative treatment for a wide range of infectious diseases that are not amenable to standard clinical management. Approaches to gene therapy for infectious diseases can be divided into three broad categories: (i) gene therapies based on nucleic acid moieties, including antisense DNA or RNA, RNA decoys, and catalytic RNA moieties (ribozymes); (ii) protein approaches such as transdominant negative proteins and single-chain antibodies; and (iii) immunotherapeutic approaches involving genetic vaccines or pathogen-specific lymphocytes. It is further possible that combinations of the aforementioned approaches will be used simultaneously to inhibit multiple stages of the life cycle of the infectious agent. PMID:9457428

Hospitalisation due to infectious and parasitic diseases in District Civil Hospital, Belgaum, Karnataka.

PubMed

Naik, A C; Bhat, S; Kholkute, S D

2008-01-01

To assess the burden of infectious and parasitic diseases on hospital services at District Civil Hospital (DCH) Belgaum, a retrospective study was carried out using discharge records concerning 8506 inpatients due to infectious and parasitic diseases among 95,655 patients admitted for all causes during the reference period 2000-2003. Out of the 21 causes of infectious and parasitic diseases, only 5 contributed maximally towards hospital admission. The most frequent cause was intestinal infections (44.0%) followed by tuberculosis (35.4%). 57.5% of these admissions were from the productive age group of 20-54 years. Tuberculosis is the most important disease in terms of hospital bed days (59.7%). Tuberculosis and intestinal infectious diseases represent more than three-fourth of the overall burden in terms of hospital bed days.

Use of clinical and neuroimaging characteristics to distinguish temporal lobe herpes simplex encephalitis from its mimics.

PubMed

Chow, Felicia C; Glaser, Carol A; Sheriff, Heather; Xia, Dongxiang; Messenger, Sharon; Whitley, Richard; Venkatesan, Arun

2015-05-01

We describe the spectrum of etiologies associated with temporal lobe (TL) encephalitis and identify clinical and radiologic features that distinguish herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) from its mimics. We reviewed all adult cases of encephalitis with TL abnormalities on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from the California Encephalitis Project. We evaluated the association between specific clinical and MRI characteristics and HSE compared with other causes of TL encephalitis and used multivariate logistic modeling to identify radiologic predictors of HSE. Of 251 cases of TL encephalitis, 43% had an infectious etiology compared with 16% with a noninfectious etiology. Of infectious etiologies, herpes simplex virus was the most commonly identified agent (n = 60), followed by tuberculosis (n = 8) and varicella zoster virus (n = 7). Of noninfectious etiologies, more than half (n = 21) were due to autoimmune disease. Patients with HSE were older (56.8 vs 50.2 years; P = .012), more likely to be white (53% vs 35%; P = .013), more likely to present acutely (88% vs 64%; P = .001) and with a fever (80% vs 49%; P < .001), and less likely to present with a rash (2% vs 15%; P = .010). In a multivariate model, bilateral TL involvement (odds ratio [OR], 0.38; 95% confidence interval [CI], .18-.79; P = .010) and lesions outside the TL, insula, or cingulate (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, .18-.74; P = .005) were associated with lower odds of HSE. In addition to HSE, other infectious and noninfectious etiologies should be considered in the differential diagnosis for TL encephalitis, depending on the presentation. Specific clinical and imaging features may aid in distinguishing HSE from non-HSE causes of TL encephalitis. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

[A case report: elephantiasis].

PubMed

Karagöz, Ergenekon; Karaahmetoğlu, Gökhan; Acar, Ali; Turhan, Vedat; Oncül, Oral; Görenek, Levent

2012-01-01

Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS) is a rare disease and a syndrome that is characterized by the triad of congenital port wine stains,venous malformations with or without varicose veins, bone or soft tissue hypertrophy. Lymphatic filariasis is a filarial disease which usually occurs with genital anomalies, pathologies associated with lymphedema or elephantiasis caused by a filarial infectious agent. In this case report, a 20-year-old male patient admitted to our clinic for diagnosis and treatment with right leg edema and lesions compatible with dermatological manifestations. In the list of differential diagnosis, filarial elephantiasis was also thought, consequently KTS was diagnosed. (Turkiye Parazitol Derg 2012; 36: 188-90).

The threat of emerging infections.

PubMed

1996-11-01

A variety of newly discovered pathogens and new forms of older infectious agents threaten to reemerge. Typical symptoms of acute infection are fever, headache, malaise, vomiting, and diarrhea. Some of the better-known emerging viral infections include dengue, filoviruses (Ebola, Marburg), hantaviruses, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, influenza, lassa fever, measles, rift valley fever, rotavirus, and yellow fever. Emerging bacterial infections include cholera, Escherichia coli 0157:H7, legionnaires disease (Legionella), lyme disease, streptococcus infections (group A), tuberculosis, and typhoid. Emerging parasitic infections include cryptosporidium and other waterborne pathogens and malaria. The causes of many diseases are still shrouded in mystery; thus, treatments and cures for them are as yet unknown.

Expansion of Achatina fulica in Brazil and potential increased risk for angiostrongyliasis.

PubMed

Graeff-Teixeira, Carlos

2007-08-01

The explosive introduction of the snail Achatina fulica in Brazil illustrates the current concern with global changes favouring dissemination of infectious diseases. The mollusc is an important host for Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which occurs in Asia and the Pacific Islands and is a causative agent for eosinophilic meningoencephalitis. In the Americas there is another metastrongylid worm, An. costaricensis, that causes abdominal disease and may also be transmitted by Ac. fulica. Although both infections may occur in focal outbreaks and with low morbidity, very severe complicated clinical courses pose a challenge for diagnosis and treatment. Data on abdominal angiostrongyliasis are briefly reviewed.

Infection of the endothelium by members of the order Rickettsiales

PubMed Central

Valbuena, Gustavo; Walker, David H.

2010-01-01

Summary The vascular endothelium is the main target of a limited number of infectious agents; Rickettsia, Ehrlichia ruminantium, and Orientia tsutsugamushi are among them. These arthropod-transmitted obligately-intracellular bacteria cause serious systemic diseases that are not infrequently lethal. In this review, we discuss the bacterial biology, vector biology, and clinical aspects of these conditions with particular emphasis on the interactions of these bacteria with the vascular endothelium and how it responds to intracellular infection. The study of these bacteria in relevant in vivo models is likely to offer new insights into the physiology of the endothelium that have not been revealed by other models. PMID:19967137

MODELING HOST-PATHOGEN INTERACTIONS: COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH (Session introduction)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McDermott, Jason E.; Braun, Pascal; Bonneau, Richard A.

Pathogenic infections are a major cause of both human disease and loss of crop yields and animal stocks and thus cause immense damage to the worldwide economy. The significance of infectious diseases is expected to increase in an ever more connected warming world, in which new viral, bacterial and fungal pathogens can find novel hosts and ecologic niches. At the same time, the complex and sophisticated mechanisms by which diverse pathogenic agents evade defense mechanisms and subvert their hosts networks to suit their lifestyle needs is still very incompletely understood especially from a systems perspective [1]. Thus, understanding host-pathogen interactionsmore » is both an important and a scientifically fascinating topic. Recently, technology has offered the opportunity to investigate host-pathogen interactions on a level of detail and scope that offers immense computational and analytical possibilities. Genome sequencing was pioneered on some of these pathogens, and the number of strains and variants of pathogens sequenced to date vastly outnumbers the number of host genomes available. At the same time, for both plant and human hosts more and more data on population level genomic variation becomes available and offers a rich field for analysis into the genetic interactions between host and pathogen.« less

Comparison of Infectious Agents Susceptibility to Photocatalytic Effects of Nanosized Titanium and Zinc Oxides: A Practical Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogdan, Janusz; Zarzyńska, Joanna; Pławińska-Czarnak, Joanna

2015-08-01

Nanotechnology contributes towards a more effective eradication of pathogens that have emerged in hospitals, veterinary clinics, and food processing plants and that are resistant to traditional drugs or disinfectants. Since new methods of pathogens eradication must be invented and implemented, nanotechnology seems to have become the response to that acute need. A remarkable achievement in this field of science was the creation of self-disinfecting surfaces that base on advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). Thus, the phenomenon of photocatalysis was practically applied. Among the AOPs that have been most studied in respect of their ability to eradicate viruses, prions, bacteria, yeasts, and molds, there are the processes of TiO2/UV and ZnO/UV. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO) act as photocatalysts, after they have been powdered to nanoparticles. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is an agent that determines their excitation. Methods using photocatalytic properties of nanosized TiO2 and ZnO prove to be highly efficient in inactivation of infectious agents. Therefore, they are being applied on a growing scale. AOP-based disinfection is regarded as a very promising tool that might help overcome problems in food hygiene and public health protection. The susceptibility of infectious agents to photocatalylic processes can be generally arranged in the following order: viruses > prions > Gram-negative bacteria > Gram-positive bacteria > yeasts > molds.

78 FR 7674 - Foreign Quarantine; Import Regulations for Infectious Biological Agents, Infectious Substances...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-04

... potential to pose a risk to public health and safety. Since 2009, we have refined the HHS/CDC import permit... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES [Docket No. CDC-2011-0007] 42 CFR Part 71 RIN 0920-AA37... Vectors AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services...

A universal next generation sequencing protocol to generate non-infectious barcoded cDNA libraries from high containment RNA viruses

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Several biosafety level (BSL)-3/4 pathogens are high consequence, single-stranded RNA viruses and their genomes, when introduced into permissive cells, are infectious. Moreover many of these viruses are Select Agents (SAs), and their genomes are also considered SAs. For this reason cDNAs and/or th...

42 CFR 71.54 - Import regulations for infectious biological agents, infectious substances, and vectors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... segmented configuration and may be positive sense (same polarity as mRNA), negative sense, or ambisense... material. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or Ribonucleic acid (RNA) comprising the genome or organism's... threat to public health and safety as listed in 42 CFR 73.3 and 73.4. Vector. Any animals (vertebrate or...

42 CFR 71.54 - Import regulations for infectious biological agents, infectious substances, and vectors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... segmented configuration and may be positive sense (same polarity as mRNA), negative sense, or ambisense... material. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or Ribonucleic acid (RNA) comprising the genome or organism's... threat to public health and safety as listed in 42 CFR 73.3 and 73.4. Vector. Any animals (vertebrate or...

Advances in Integrative Nanomedicine for Improving Infectious Disease Treatment in Public Health.

PubMed

Bell, Iris R; Schwartz, Gary E; Boyer, Nancy N; Koithan, Mary; Brooks, Audrey J

2013-04-01

Infectious diseases present public health challenges worldwide. An emerging integrative approach to treating infectious diseases is using nanoparticle (NP) forms of traditional and alternative medicines. Advantages of nanomedicine delivery methods include better disease targeting, especially for intracellular pathogens, ability to cross membranes and enter cells, longer duration drug action, reduced side effects, and cost savings from lower doses. We searched Pubmed articles in English with keywords related to nanoparticles and nanomedicine. Nanotechnology terms were also combined with keywords for drug delivery, infectious diseases, herbs, antioxidants, homeopathy, and adaptation. NPs are very small forms of material substances, measuring 1-100 nanometers along at least one dimension. Compared with bulk forms, NPs' large ratio of surface-area-to-volume confers increased reactivity and adsorptive capacity, with unique electromagnetic, chemical, biological, and quantum properties. Nanotechnology uses natural botanical agents for green manufacturing of less toxic NPs. Nanoparticle herbs and nutriceuticals can treat infections via improved bioavailability and antiinflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory effects. Recent studies demonstrate that homeopathic medicines may contain source and/or silica nanoparticles because of their traditional manufacturing processes. Homeopathy, as a form of nanomedicine, has a promising history of treating epidemic infectious diseases, including malaria, leptospirosis and HIV/AIDS, in addition to acute upper respiratory infections. Adaptive changes in the host's complex networks underlie effects. Nanomedicine is integrative, blending modern technology with natural products to reduce toxicity and support immune function. Nanomedicine using traditional agents from alternative systems of medicine can facilitate progress in integrative public health approaches to infectious diseases.

Cause-specific mortality trends in The Netherlands, 1875-1992: a formal analysis of the epidemiologic transition.

PubMed

Wolleswinkel-van den Bosch, J H; Looman, C W; Van Poppel, F W; Mackenbach, J P

1997-08-01

The objective of this study is to produce a detailed yet robust description of the epidemiologic transition in The Netherlands. National mortality data on sex, age, cause of death and calendar year (1875-1992) were extracted from official publications. For the entire period, 27 causes of death could be distinguished, while 65 causes (nested within the 27) could be studied from 1901 onwards. Cluster analysis was used to determine groups of causes of death with similar trend curves over a period of time with respect to age- and sex-standardized mortality rates. With respect to the 27 causes, three important clusters were found: (1) infectious diseases which declined rapidly in the late 19th century (e.g. typhoid fever), (2) infectious diseases which showed a less precipitous decline (e.g. respiratory tuberculosis), and (3) non-infectious diseases which showed an increasing trend during most of the period 1875-1992 (e.g. cancer). The 65 causes provided more detail. Seven important clusters were found: four consisted mainly of infectious diseases, including a new cluster that declined rapidly after the Second World War (WW2) (e.g. acute bronchitis/influenza) and a new cluster showing an increasing trend in the 1920s and 1930s before declining in the years thereafter (e.g. appendicitis). Three clusters mainly contained non-infectious diseases, including a new one that declined from 1900 onwards (e.g. cancer of the stomach) and a new one that increased until WW2 but declined thereafter (e.g. chronic rheumatic heart disease). The results suggest that the conventional interpretation of the epidemiologic transition, which assumes a uniform decline of infectious diseases and a uniform increase of non-infectious diseases, needs to be modified.

Biological agents: investigation into leprosy and other infectious diseases before indication*

PubMed Central

Antônio, João Roberto; Soubhia, Rosa Maria Cordeiro; Paschoal, Vania Del Arco; Amarante, Carolina Forte; Travolo, Ana Regina Franchi

2013-01-01

Biological agents are widely used for various immune-mediated diseases, with remarkable effectiveness in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and Crohn's disease. However, attention needs to be drawn to the adverse effects of these therapies and the risk of reactivating underlying granulomatous infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy, syphilis, leishmaniasis, among others. The objective of this paper is to describe a case of leprosy in a patient with RA using anti-TNF alfa, demonstrating the need for systematic investigation of skin lesions suggestive of leprosy in patients who require rheumatoid arthritis therapeutic treatment, especially in endemic regions like Brazil. PMID:24346871

National Athletic Trainers' Association Position Statement: Skin Diseases

PubMed Central

Zinder, Steven M.; Basler, Rodney S. W.; Foley, Jack; Scarlata, Chris; Vasily, David B.

2010-01-01

Abstract Objective: To present recommendations for the prevention, education, and management of skin infections in athletes. Background: Trauma, environmental factors, and infectious agents act together to continually attack the integrity of the skin. Close quarters combined with general poor hygiene practices make athletes particularly vulnerable to contracting skin diseases. An understanding of basic prophylactic measures, clinical features, and swift management of common skin diseases is essential for certified athletic trainers to aid in preventing the spread of infectious agents. Recommendations: These guidelines are intended to provide relevant information on skin infections and to give specific recommendations for certified athletic trainers and others participating in athletic health care. PMID:20617918

An animal model that reflects human disease: the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus).

PubMed

Carrion, Ricardo; Patterson, Jean L

2012-06-01

The common marmoset is a new world primate belonging to the Callitrichidae family weighing between 350 and 400 g. The marmoset has been shown to be an outstanding model for studying aging, reproduction, neuroscience, toxicology, and infectious disease. With regard to their susceptibility to infectious agents, they are exquisite NHP models for viral, protozoan and bacterial agents, as well as prions. The marmoset provides the advantages of a small animal model in high containment coupled with the immunological repertoire of a nonhuman primate and susceptibility to wild type, non-adapted viruses. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Infection in systemic lupus erythematosus: friend or foe?

PubMed Central

Francis, Lisa; Perl, Andras

2010-01-01

Infectious agents have long been implicated in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus. Common viruses, such as the Epstein-Barr virus, transfusion transmitted virus, parvovirus and cytomegalovirus, have an increased prevalence in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. They may contribute to disease pathogenesis through triggering autoimmunity via structural or functional molecular mimicry, encoding proteins that induce cross-reactive immune responses to self antigens or modulate antigen processing, activation, or apoptosis of B and T cells, macrophages or dendritic cells. Alternatively, some infectious agents, such as malaria, Toxoplasma gondii and Helicobacter pylori, may have a protective effect. Vaccinations may play dual roles by protecting against friend and foe alike. PMID:20209114

The hygiene hypothesis: does it function worldwide?

PubMed

Bresciani, Megon; Parisi, Claudio; Menghi, Ginevra; Manghi, Ginevra; Bonini, Sergio

2005-04-01

This article intends to be a systematic review of papers published during 2003-2004 quoted in a Medline search for 'hygiene hypothesis'. The worldwide perspective of the article does not refer just to a geographical concept, but tries also to address the question of whether the consensus on the hypothesis is global or whether it applies to all types of allergic or immunologic disease, to any age sample or infectious agent. Furthermore, the article outlines those clinical and experimental studies which, in the authors' opinion, may represent significant contributions to a better understanding of the hygiene hypothesis and may guide further investigations on the subject. The association between a reduced exposure to infectious agents (as a part of a changed lifestyle) and a higher prevalence of atopy seems now to be confirmed by consistent evidence. Mechanisms underlying this association, however, are not yet completely clear (immune deviation or immune regulation). Further experimental and clinical studies are needed, with special reference to the time, duration and intensity of exposure to any specific infectious agent which is related to well-defined allergy outcomes. The background information for using microbial products in allergy prevention and treatment is still limited.

Recent developments of coumarin-containing derivatives and their anti-tubercular activity.

PubMed

Hu, Yuan-Qiang; Xu, Zhi; Zhang, Shu; Wu, Xiang; Ding, Jun-Wei; Lv, Zao-Sheng; Feng, Lian-Shun

2017-08-18

Tuberculosis (TB) is a lift-threatening chronic deadliest infectious disease caused predominantly by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) which affects primarily the lungs (pulmonary TB) apart from other vital organs. The emergence of drug-resistant TB (DR-TB), multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) and the recently cases of totally drug resistant (TDR) towards currently accessible standard drugs was increased up to alarming level in the recent decades. In pursuit of searching new anti-TB agents, numerous of derivatives have been synthesized and screened for their anti-TB activity. Coumarins are one of the most important classes of natural products that exhibited various biological activities, and their derivatives regarded as a new class of effective anti-TB candidates owing to their potential anti-TB activity. Thus, coumarin skeleton has attracted great interest in the development of new anti-TB agents. This review outlines the advances in the application of coumarin-containing derivatives as anti-TB agents and the critical aspects of design and structure-activity relationship of these derivatives. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Developing Research in Infectious and Tropical Diseases in Africa: The Paradigm of Senegal.

PubMed

Sokhna, Cheikh; Gaye, Oumar; Doumbo, Ogobara

2017-08-15

Infectious diseases represent one of the greatest potential barriers to achievement of the third Sustainable Development Goals in African countries and around the world because they continue to pose major public health challenges. The surveillance of infectious diseases has recently assumed greater importance in most African countries, both because of the emergence of infectious diseases and because strains of pathogens that cause tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, dysentery, and pneumonia have developed resistance to common and inexpensive antimicrobial drugs. However, data on the pathogen-specific causes of infectious diseases are limited. Developing research in infectious and tropical diseases in Africa is urgently needed to better describe the distribution of pathogen-borne diseases and to know which pathogens actually cause fever. This research is critical for guiding treatment and policies in Africa. More effective diagnostics are also needed for these diseases, which often are misdiagnosed or diagnosed too late. A comprehensive review of this type of research is presented here. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Recent advances in molecular medicine techniques for the diagnosis, prevention, and control of infectious diseases.

PubMed

França, R F O; da Silva, C C; De Paula, S O

2013-06-01

In recent years we have observed great advances in our ability to combat infectious diseases. Through the development of novel genetic methodologies, including a better understanding of pathogen biology, pathogenic mechanisms, advances in vaccine development, designing new therapeutic drugs, and optimization of diagnostic tools, significant infectious diseases are now better controlled. Here, we briefly describe recent reports in the literature concentrating on infectious disease control. The focus of this review is to describe the molecular methods widely used in the diagnosis, prevention, and control of infectious diseases with regard to the innovation of molecular techniques. Since the list of pathogenic microorganisms is extensive, we emphasize some of the major human infectious diseases (AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, rotavirus, herpes virus, viral hepatitis, and dengue fever). As a consequence of these developments, infectious diseases will be more accurately and effectively treated; safe and effective vaccines are being developed and rapid detection of infectious agents now permits countermeasures to avoid potential outbreaks and epidemics. But, despite considerable progress, infectious diseases remain a strong challenge to human survival.

42 CFR 71.1 - Scope and definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... disease from foreign countries into the States or possessions of the United States. Regulations pertaining... representative. Disinfection means the killing of infectious agents or inactivation of their toxic products outside the body by direct exposure to chemical or physical agents. Disinfestation means any chemical or...

42 CFR 71.1 - Scope and definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... disease from foreign countries into the States or possessions of the United States. Regulations pertaining... representative. Disinfection means the killing of infectious agents or inactivation of their toxic products outside the body by direct exposure to chemical or physical agents. Disinfestation means any chemical or...

42 CFR 71.1 - Scope and definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... disease from foreign countries into the States or possessions of the United States. Regulations pertaining... representative. Disinfection means the killing of infectious agents or inactivation of their toxic products outside the body by direct exposure to chemical or physical agents. Disinfestation means any chemical or...

Combined exposure of carps (Cyprinus carpio L.) to cyanobacterial biomass and white spot disease.

PubMed

Palikova, Miroslava; Navratil, Stanislav; Papezikova, Ivana; Ambroz, Petr; Vesely, Tomas; Pokorova, Dagmar; Mares, Jan; Adamovsky, Ondrej; Navratil, Lukas; Kopp, Radovan

2012-01-01

Under environmental conditions, fish can be exposed to multiple stressors including natural toxins and infectious agents at the same time. This study brings new knowledge on the effects of controlled exposure to multiple stressors in fish. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that influence of cyanobacterial biomass and an infection agent represented by the white spot disease can combine to enhance the effects on fish. Common carps were divided into four groups, each with 40 specimens for 20 days: control group, cyanobacterial biomass exposed group, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis-infected fish (Ich) and cyanobacterial biomass-exposed fish + Ichthyophthirius multifiliis-infected fish. During the experiment we evaluated the clinical signs, mortality, selected haematological parameters, immune parameters and toxin accumulation. There was no mortality in control fish and cyanobacterial biomass-exposed fish. One specimen died in Ichthyophthirius multifiliis-infected fish and the combined exposure resulted in the death of 13 specimens. The whole leukocyte counts (WBC) of the control group did not show any significant differences. Cyanobacteria alone caused a significant increase of the WBC on day 13 (p≤0.05) and on day 20 (p≤0.01). Also, I. multifiliis caused a significant elevation of WBC (p≤0.01) on day 20. Co-exposition resulted in WBC increased on day 13 and decrease on day 20, but the changes were not significant. It is evident from the differential leukocyte counts that while the increase of WBC in the group exposed to cyanobacteria was caused by elevation of lymphocytes, the increase in the group infected by I. multifiliis was due to the increase of myeloid cells. It well corresponds with the integral of chemiluminescence in the group infected by I. multifiliis, which is significantly elevated on day 20 in comparison with all other groups. We can confirm additive action of different agents on the immune system of fish. While single agents seemed to stimulate the immune response, the combination of both caused immunosuppression.

A morbillivirus causing mass mortality in seals.

PubMed

Osterhaus, A

1989-12-01

During an outbreak of a serious apparently infectious disease among harbour seals (Phoca vitulina), which started in the Kattegat area in April 1988 and rapidly spread to the North sea, the Wadden sea and the Baltic sea, greater than 17,000 animals died within a period of eight months. In August 1988 it was realized that the clinical symptoms and pathological lesions were similar to those found in canine distemper: apart from general depression and fever, the animals suffered from severe respiratory, gastrointestinal and central nervous disease and a variety of viral, bacterial and parasitic infections were frequently encountered, suggesting a severe malfunctioning of the immune system. At different expert meetings, held in several of the countries involved, possible explanations for the deaths were not only attributed to an infectious agent, but also to effects of overpopulation and environmental pollution. Seroepizootiological studies and the failure of vaccination experiments suggested that a herpesvirus and a picornavirus, which had been isolated from dead seals at the beginning of the outbreak, were opportunistic infections occurring in animals suffering from another infection rather than being the primary cause of the outbreaks. Serological studies were then extended to other viruses of carnivores, known to cause similar symptoms. Screening of a large panel of seal sera from the Netherlands, Denmark, FRG, Sweden and the UK, collected before and during the outbreak, in a virus neutralization test for the presence of canine distemper virus (CDV) neutralizing antibodies, indicated that CDV or a closely related morbillivirus was the primary cause of the disease outbreak.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Secular Trends in Infection-Related Mortality after Kidney Transplantation.

PubMed

Kinnunen, Susanna; Karhapää, Pauli; Juutilainen, Auni; Finne, Patrik; Helanterä, Ilkka

2018-05-07

Infections are the most common noncardiovascular causes of death after kidney transplantation. We analyzed the current infection-related mortality among kidney transplant recipients in a nationwide cohort in Finland. Altogether, 3249 adult recipients of a first kidney transplant from 1990 to 2012 were included. Infectious causes of death were analyzed, and the mortality rates for infections were compared between two eras (1990-1999 and 2000-2012). Risk factors for infectious deaths were analyzed with Cox regression and competing risk analyses. Altogether, 953 patients (29%) died during the follow-up, with 204 infection-related deaths. Mortality rate (per 1000 patient-years) due to infections was lower in the more recent cohort (4.6; 95% confidence interval, 3.5 to 6.1) compared with the older cohort (9.1; 95% confidence interval, 7.6 to 10.7); the incidence rate ratio of infectious mortality was 0.51 (95% confidence interval, 0.30 to 0.68). The main causes of infectious deaths were common bacterial infections: septicemia in 38% and pulmonary infections in 45%. Viral and fungal infections caused only 2% and 3% of infectious deaths, respectively (such as individual patients with Cytomegalovirus pneumonia, Herpes simplex virus meningoencephalitis, Varicella zoster virus encephalitis, and Pneumocystis jirovecii infection). Similarly, opportunistic bacterial infections rarely caused death; only one death was caused by Listeria monocytogenes , and two were caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis . Only 23 (11%) of infection-related deaths occurred during the first post-transplant year. Older recipient age, higher plasma creatinine concentration at the end of the first post-transplant year, diabetes as a cause of ESKD, longer pretransplant dialysis duration, acute rejection, low albumin level, and earlier era of transplantation were associated with increased risk of infectious death in multivariable analysis. The risk of death due to infectious causes after kidney transplantation in Finland dropped by one half since the 1990s. Common bacterial infections remained the most frequent cause of infection-related mortality, whereas opportunistic viral, fungal, or unconventional bacterial infections rarely caused deaths after kidney transplantation. Copyright © 2018 by the American Society of Nephrology.

Label-free imaging of fatty acid content within yeast samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garrett, N.; Moger, J.

2013-02-01

Fungi have been found to be an underlying cause of 70% of all plant and animal extinctions caused by infectious diseases. Fungal infections are a growing problem affecting global health, food production and ecosystems. Lipid metabolism is a promising target for antifungal drugs and since effective treatment of fungal infections requires a better understanding of the effects of antifungal agents at the cellular level, new techniques are needed to investigate this problem. Recent advances in nonlinear microscopy allow chemically-specific contrast to be obtained non-invasively from intrinsic chemical bonds within live samples using advanced spectroscopy techniques probing Raman-active resonances. We present preliminary data using Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) microscopy as a means to visualise lipid droplets within individual living fungi by probing Raman resonances of the CH stretching region between 2825cm-1 and 3030cm-1.

Role of infectious agents in the carcinogenesis of brain and head and neck cancers

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

This review concentrates on tumours that are anatomically localised in head and neck regions. Brain cancers and head and neck cancers together account for more than 873,000 cases annually worldwide, with an increasing incidence each year. With poor survival rates at late stages, brain and head and neck cancers represent serious conditions. Carcinogenesis is a multi-step process and the role of infectious agents in this progression has not been fully identified. A major problem with such research is that the role of many infectious agents may be underestimated due to the lack of or inconsistency in experimental data obtained globally. In the case of brain cancer, no infection has been accepted as directly oncogenic, although a number of viruses and parasites are associated with the malignancy. Our analysis of the literature showed the presence of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in distinct types of brain tumour, namely glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and medulloblastoma. In particular, there are reports of viral protein in up to 100% of GBM specimens. Several epidemiological studies reported associations of brain cancer and toxoplasmosis seropositivity. In head and neck cancers, there is a distinct correlation between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Considering that almost every undifferentiated NPC is EBV-positive, virus titer levels can be measured to screen high-risk populations. In addition there is an apparent association between human papilloma virus (HPV) and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC); specifically, 26% of HNSCCs are positive for HPV. HPV type 16 was the most common type detected in HNSCCs (90%) and its dominance is even greater than that reported in cervical carcinoma. Although there are many studies showing an association of infectious agents with cancer, with various levels of involvement and either a direct or indirect causative effect, there is a scarcity of articles covering the role of infection in carcinogenesis of brain and head and neck cancers. We review recent studies on the infectious origin of these cancers and present our current understanding of carcinogenic mechanisms, thereby providing possible novel approaches to cancer treatment. PMID:23374258

Application of a micro-aerosolized disinfectant to clear Mycoplasma gallisepticum from contaminated facilities

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Infectious agents and their associated diseases can be significant barriers in the production of poultry and zoonotic agents associated with poultry flocks can ultimately endanger consumers. To this end, poultry producers employ a variety of strategies to minimize associated risks. Disinfectants a...

Metagenomic Investigation of Plasma in Individuals with ME/CFS Highlights the Importance of Technical Controls to Elucidate Contamination and Batch Effects.

PubMed

Miller, Ruth R; Uyaguari-Diaz, Miguel; McCabe, Mark N; Montoya, Vincent; Gardy, Jennifer L; Parker, Shoshana; Steiner, Theodore; Hsiao, William; Nesbitt, Matthew J; Tang, Patrick; Patrick, David M

2016-01-01

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating disease causing indefinite fatigue. ME/CFS has long been hypothesised to have an infectious cause; however, no specific infectious agent has been identified. We used metagenomics to analyse the RNA from plasma samples from 25 individuals with ME/CFS and compare their microbial content to technical controls as well as three control groups: individuals with alternatively diagnosed chronic Lyme syndrome (N = 13), systemic lupus erythematosus (N = 11), and healthy controls (N = 25). We found that the majority of sequencing reads were removed during host subtraction, thus there was very low microbial RNA content in the plasma. The effects of sample batching and contamination during sample processing proved to outweigh the effects of study group on microbial RNA content, as the few differences in bacterial or viral RNA abundance we did observe between study groups were most likely caused by contamination and batch effects. Our results highlight the importance of including negative controls in all metagenomic analyses, since there was considerable overlap between bacterial content identified in study samples and control samples. For example, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Bacteriodes were found in both study samples and plasma-free negative controls. Many of the taxonomic groups we saw in our plasma-free negative control samples have previously been associated with diseases, including ME/CFS, demonstrating how incorrect conclusions may arise if controls are not used and batch effects not accounted for.

Ebola Virus Disease

MedlinePlus

... EVD from other infectious diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever and meningitis. Confirmation that symptoms are caused by ... EVD from other infectious diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever and meningitis. Confirmation that symptoms are caused by ...

Inherited prion disease A117V is not simply a proteinopathy but produces prions transmissible to transgenic mice expressing homologous prion protein.

PubMed

Asante, Emmanuel A; Linehan, Jacqueline M; Smidak, Michelle; Tomlinson, Andrew; Grimshaw, Andrew; Jeelani, Asif; Jakubcova, Tatiana; Hamdan, Shyma; Powell, Caroline; Brandner, Sebastian; Wadsworth, Jonathan D F; Collinge, John

2013-01-01

Prions are infectious agents causing fatal neurodegenerative diseases of humans and animals. In humans, these have sporadic, acquired and inherited aetiologies. The inherited prion diseases are caused by one of over 30 coding mutations in the human prion protein (PrP) gene (PRNP) and many of these generate infectious prions as evidenced by their experimental transmissibility by inoculation to laboratory animals. However, some, and in particular an extensively studied type of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS) caused by a PRNP A117V mutation, are thought not to generate infectious prions and instead constitute prion proteinopathies with a quite distinct pathogenetic mechanism. Multiple attempts to transmit A117V GSS have been unsuccessful and typical protease-resistant PrP (PrP(Sc)), pathognomonic of prion disease, is not detected in brain. Pathogenesis is instead attributed to production of an aberrant topological form of PrP, C-terminal transmembrane PrP ((Ctm)PrP). Barriers to transmission of prion strains from one species to another appear to relate to structural compatibility of PrP in host and inoculum and we have therefore produced transgenic mice expressing human 117V PrP. We found that brain tissue from GSS A117V patients did transmit disease to these mice and both the neuropathological features of prion disease and presence of PrP(Sc) was demonstrated in the brains of recipient transgenic mice. This PrP(Sc) rapidly degraded during laboratory analysis, suggesting that the difficulty in its detection in patients with GSS A117V could relate to post-mortem proteolysis. We conclude that GSS A117V is indeed a prion disease although the relative contributions of (Ctm)PrP and prion propagation in neurodegeneration and their pathogenetic interaction remains to be established.

Neurological Consequences of Cytomegalovirus Infection

MedlinePlus

... viruses that causes cold sores (herpes simplex virus), infectious mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr virus), and chickenpox/shingles (varicella zoster ... viruses that causes cold sores (herpes simplex virus), infectious mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr virus), and chickenpox/shingles (varicella zoster ...

Current Perspectives of Prophylaxis and Management of Acute Infective Endophthalmitis.

PubMed

Tranos, Paris; Dervenis, Nikolaos; Vakalis, Athanasios N; Asteriadis, Solon; Stavrakas, Panagiotis; Konstas, Anastasios G P

2016-05-01

Endophthalmitis is an intraocular inflammatory condition which may or may not be caused by infective agents. Noninfectious (sterile) endophthalmitis may be attributable to various causes including postoperative retained soft lens matter or toxicity following introduction of other agents into the eye. Infectious endophthalmitis is further subdivided into endogenous and exogenous. In endogenous endophthalmitis there is hematogenous spread of organisms from a distant source of infection whereas in exogenous endophthalmitis direct microbial inoculation may occur usually following ocular surgery or penetrating eye injury with or without intraocular foreign bodies. Acute infective endophthalmitis is usually exogenous induced by inoculation of pathogens following ocular surgery, open-globe injury and intravitreal injections. More infrequently the infective source is internal and septicemia spreads to the eye resulting in endogenous endophthalmitis. Several risk factors have been implicated including immunosuppression, ocular surface abnormalities, poor surgical wound construction, complicated cataract surgery with vitreous loss and certain types of intraocular lens. Comprehensive guidelines and recommendations on prophylaxis and monitoring of surgical cases have been proposed to minimize the risk of acute endophthalmitis. Early diagnosis and prompt management of infective endophthalmitis employing appropriately selected intravitreal antibiotics are essential to optimize visual outcome.

Acyclovir reduces the duration of fever in patients with infectious mononucleosis-like illness.

PubMed

Usami, Osamu; Saitoh, Hiroki; Ashino, Yugo; Hattori, Toshio

2013-02-01

Acyclovir is known for its antiviral activity against some pathogenic viruses such as the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) that causes infectious mononucleosis (IM) and IM-like illness. Therefore, we empirically administered acyclovir to patients with suspected EBV-IM and IM like-illness, upon their admission to our hospital. We admitted 25 patients, who were hospitalized for fever and lymphadenopathy, to the Tohoku University Hospital Infectious Disease Ward. As part of treatment, 8 of these patients were given acyclovir (750 mg/day) with their consent and were assigned to the acyclovir group; the remaining 17 patients were assigned to the control group. The mean age of acyclovir patients (all men) was 42±5.2 years, and that of control patients (13 men and 4 women) was 31±3.0 years. The cause of illness was confirmed as EBV-IM in 6 patients (1, acyclovir; 5, control), and remained unknown for the other 19 IM-like illness patients (7, acyclovir; 12, control). A shorter duration of hospitalization and fever was observed in the acyclovir compared to that in the control patients (hospitalization duration: 16±3.7 vs. 27±7.7 days, P=0.36; fever duration: 4.5±1.8 vs. 18±6.5 days, P=0.04). Additionally, serum amyloid A (SAA) levels were lower in acyclovir than that in control patients (98±37 vs. 505±204 µg/mL, P=0.02). Therefore, we propose that acyclovir is a potential therapeutic agent for both EBV-IM and IM like-illnesses. Future studies should further examine its mechanism of action.

Incidence, etiology, and symptomatology of upper respiratory illness in elite athletes.

PubMed

Spence, Luke; Brown, Wendy J; Pyne, David B; Nissen, Michael D; Sloots, Theo P; McCormack, Joseph G; Locke, A Simon; Fricker, Peter A

2007-04-01

Upper respiratory illness (URI) is the most common medical condition affecting elite athletes. The aims of this study were to identify and evaluate the incidence, pathogenic etiology, and symptomatology of acute URI during a 5-month training and competition period. Thirty-two elite and 31 recreationally competitive triathletes and cyclists, and 20 sedentary controls (age range 18.0-34.1 yr) participated in a prospective surveillance study. Nasopharyngeal and throat swabs were collected from subjects presenting with two or more defined upper respiratory symptoms. Swabs were analyzed using microscopy, culture, and PCR testing for typical and atypical respiratory pathogens. The Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey (WURSS-44) was used to assess symptomatology and functional impairment. Thirty-seven URI episodes were reported in 28 subjects. Incidence rate ratios for illness were higher in both the control subjects (1.93, 95% CI: 0.72-5.18) and elite athletes (4.50, 1.91-10.59) than in the recreationally competitive athletes. Infectious agents were identified in only 11 (two control, three recreationally competitive, and six elite) out of 37 illness episodes. Rhinovirus was the most common respiratory pathogen isolated. Symptom and functional impairment severity scores were higher in subjects with an infectious pathogen episode, particularly on illness days 3-4. The results confirm a higher rate of URI among elite athletes than recreationally competitive athletes during this training and competition season. However, because pathogens were isolated in fewer than 30% of URI cases, further study is required to uncover the causes of unidentified but symptomatic URI in athletes. Despite the common perception that all URI are infections, physicians should consider both infectious and noninfectious causes when athletes present with symptoms.

Use of Clinical and Neuroimaging Characteristics to Distinguish Temporal Lobe Herpes Simplex Encephalitis From Its Mimics

PubMed Central

Chow, Felicia C.; Glaser, Carol A.; Sheriff, Heather; Xia, Dongxiang; Messenger, Sharon; Whitley, Richard; Venkatesan, Arun

2015-01-01

Background. We describe the spectrum of etiologies associated with temporal lobe (TL) encephalitis and identify clinical and radiologic features that distinguish herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) from its mimics. Methods. We reviewed all adult cases of encephalitis with TL abnormalities on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from the California Encephalitis Project. We evaluated the association between specific clinical and MRI characteristics and HSE compared with other causes of TL encephalitis and used multivariate logistic modeling to identify radiologic predictors of HSE. Results. Of 251 cases of TL encephalitis, 43% had an infectious etiology compared with 16% with a noninfectious etiology. Of infectious etiologies, herpes simplex virus was the most commonly identified agent (n = 60), followed by tuberculosis (n = 8) and varicella zoster virus (n = 7). Of noninfectious etiologies, more than half (n = 21) were due to autoimmune disease. Patients with HSE were older (56.8 vs 50.2 years; P = .012), more likely to be white (53% vs 35%; P = .013), more likely to present acutely (88% vs 64%; P = .001) and with a fever (80% vs 49%; P < .001), and less likely to present with a rash (2% vs 15%; P = .010). In a multivariate model, bilateral TL involvement (odds ratio [OR], 0.38; 95% confidence interval [CI], .18–.79; P = .010) and lesions outside the TL, insula, or cingulate (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, .18–.74; P = .005) were associated with lower odds of HSE. Conclusions. In addition to HSE, other infectious and noninfectious etiologies should be considered in the differential diagnosis for TL encephalitis, depending on the presentation. Specific clinical and imaging features may aid in distinguishing HSE from non-HSE causes of TL encephalitis. PMID:25637586

Staphylococcus epidermidis strains isolated from breast milk of women suffering infectious mastitis: potential virulence traits and resistance to antibiotics.

PubMed

Delgado, Susana; Arroyo, Rebeca; Jiménez, Esther; Marín, Maria L; del Campo, Rosa; Fernández, Leonides; Rodríguez, Juan M

2009-05-07

Although Staphylococcus aureus is considered the main etiological agent of infectious mastitis, recent studies have suggested that coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) may also play an important role in such infections. The aims of this work were to isolate staphylococci from milk of women with lactational mastitis, to select and characterize the CNS isolates, and to compare such properties with those displayed by CNS strains isolated from milk of healthy women. The milk of 30 women was collected and bacterial growth was noted in 27 of them, of which Staphylococcus epidermidis was isolated from 26 patients and S. aureus from 8. Among the 270 staphylococcal isolates recovered from milk of women with mastitis, 200 were identified as Staphylococcus epidermidis by phenotypic assays, species-specific PCR and PCR sequencing. They were typified by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) genotyping. The PFGE profiles of the S. epidermidis strains were compared with those of 105 isolates from milk of healthy women. A representative of the 76 different PFGE profiles was selected to study the incidence of virulence factors and antibiotic resistance. The number of strains that contained the biofilm-related icaD gene and that showed resistance to oxacillin, erythromycin, clindamycin and mupirocin was significantly higher among the strains isolated from mastitic milk. S. epidermidis may be a frequent but largely underrated cause of infectious mastitis in lactating women. The resistance to diverse antibiotics and a higher ability to form biofilms found among the strains isolated from milk of women suffering mastitis may explain the chronic and/or recurrent nature of this infectious condition.

Rapid Detection and Identification of a Pathogen's DNA Using Phi29 DNA Polymerase

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Y.; Dunn, J.; Gao, S.

2008-10-31

Zoonotic pathogens including those transmitted by insect vectors are some of the most deadly of all infectious diseases known to mankind. A number of these agents have been further weaponized and are widely recognized as being potentially significant biothreat agents. We describe a novel method based on multiply-primed rolling circle in vitro amplification for profiling genomic DNAs to permit rapid, cultivation-free differential detection and identification of circular plasmids in infectious agents. Using Phi29 DNA polymerase and a two-step priming reaction we could reproducibly detect and characterize by DNA sequencing circular DNA from Borrelia burgdorferi B31 in DNA samples containing asmore » little as 25 pg of Borrelia DNA amongst a vast excess of human DNA. This simple technology can ultimately be adapted as a sensitive method to detect specific DNA from both known and unknown pathogens in a wide variety of complex environments.« less

Advances in Integrative Nanomedicine for Improving Infectious Disease Treatment in Public Health

PubMed Central

Bell, Iris R.; Schwartz, Gary E.; Boyer, Nancy N.; Koithan, Mary; Brooks, Audrey J.

2012-01-01

Introduction Infectious diseases present public health challenges worldwide. An emerging integrative approach to treating infectious diseases is using nanoparticle (NP) forms of traditional and alternative medicines. Advantages of nanomedicine delivery methods include better disease targeting, especially for intracellular pathogens, ability to cross membranes and enter cells, longer duration drug action, reduced side effects, and cost savings from lower doses. Methods We searched Pubmed articles in English with keywords related to nanoparticles and nanomedicine. Nanotechnology terms were also combined with keywords for drug delivery, infectious diseases, herbs, antioxidants, homeopathy, and adaptation. Results NPs are very small forms of material substances, measuring 1–100 nanometers along at least one dimension. Compared with bulk forms, NPs’ large ratio of surface-area-to-volume confers increased reactivity and adsorptive capacity, with unique electromagnetic, chemical, biological, and quantum properties. Nanotechnology uses natural botanical agents for green manufacturing of less toxic NPs. Discussion Nanoparticle herbs and nutriceuticals can treat infections via improved bioavailability and antiinflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory effects. Recent studies demonstrate that homeopathic medicines may contain source and/or silica nanoparticles because of their traditional manufacturing processes. Homeopathy, as a form of nanomedicine, has a promising history of treating epidemic infectious diseases, including malaria, leptospirosis and HIV/AIDS, in addition to acute upper respiratory infections. Adaptive changes in the host’s complex networks underlie effects. Conclusions Nanomedicine is integrative, blending modern technology with natural products to reduce toxicity and support immune function. Nanomedicine using traditional agents from alternative systems of medicine can facilitate progress in integrative public health approaches to infectious diseases. PMID:23795222

Bilateral sixth cranial nerve palsy in infectious mononucleosis.

PubMed Central

Neuberger, J.; Bone, I.

1979-01-01

A 15-year-old girl who presented with a bilateral sixth nerve palsy caused by infectious mononucleosis is described. The neurological presentation of infectious mononucleosis is discussed. PMID:225738

Visible-light-responsive ZnCuO nanoparticles: benign photodynamic killers of infectious protozoans

PubMed Central

Nadhman, Akhtar; Nazir, Samina; Khan, Malik Ihsanullah; Ayub, Attiya; Muhammad, Bakhtiar; Khan, Momin; Shams, Dilawar Farhan; Yasinzai, Masoom

2015-01-01

Human beings suffer from several infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria, and protozoans. Recently, there has been a great interest in developing biocompatible nanostructures to deal with infectious agents. This study investigated benign ZnCuO nanostructures that were visible-light-responsive due to the resident copper in the lattice. The nanostructures were synthesized through a size-controlled hot-injection process, which was adaptable to the surface ligation processes. The nanostructures were then characterized through transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, diffused reflectance spectroscopy, Rutherford backscattering, and photoluminescence analysis to measure crystallite nature, size, luminescence, composition, and band-gap analyses. Antiprotozoal efficiency of the current nanoparticles revealed the photodynamic killing of Leishmania protozoan, thus acting as efficient metal-based photosensitizers. The crystalline nanoparticles showed good biocompatibility when tested for macrophage toxicity and in hemolysis assays. The study opens a wide avenue for using toxic material in resident nontoxic forms as an effective antiprotozoal treatment. PMID:26604755

Onyx embolization for the endovascular treatment of infectious and traumatic aneurysms involving the cranial and cerebral vasculature.

PubMed

Jadhav, Ashutosh P; Pryor, Johnny C; Nogueira, Raul G

2013-11-01

Onyx is a liquid non-adhesive viscous embolic agent ideal for slow targeted injections which is currently approved for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations. We performed a single-center retrospective analysis of consecutive patients who underwent off-label use of Onyx as the single embolic agent for the treatment of traumatic or infectious pseudoaneurysms involving the cerebral or cranial vasculature. A total of nine pseudoaneurysms treated by Onyx embolization were identified. Six of the pseudoaneurysms were post-surgical, one of the pseudoaneurysms was traumatic and two were infectious in nature. The mean pseudoaneurysm size was 5.9 mm (range 2-10 mm). Onyx-34 was used in all cases. Following treatment there was complete exclusion of all pseudoaneurysms including their inflow and outflow zones. Our experience demonstrates the efficacy and applicability of the use of Onyx in the treatment of complex traumatic and mycotic pseudoaneurysms involving the cerebral and cranial vascular tree.

Tracking zoonotic pathogens using blood-sucking flies as 'flying syringes'

PubMed Central

Bitome-Essono, Paul-Yannick; Ollomo, Benjamin; Arnathau, Céline; Durand, Patrick; Mokoudoum, Nancy Diamella; Yacka-Mouele, Lauriane; Okouga, Alain-Prince; Boundenga, Larson; Mve-Ondo, Bertrand; Obame-Nkoghe, Judicaël; Mbehang-Nguema, Philippe; Njiokou, Flobert; Makanga, Boris; Wattier, Rémi; Ayala, Diego; Ayala, Francisco J; Renaud, Francois; Rougeron, Virginie; Bretagnolle, Francois; Prugnolle, Franck; Paupy, Christophe

2017-01-01

About 60% of emerging infectious diseases in humans are of zoonotic origin. Their increasing number requires the development of new methods for early detection and monitoring of infectious agents in wildlife. Here, we investigated whether blood meals from hematophagous flies could be used to identify the infectious agents circulating in wild vertebrates. To this aim, 1230 blood-engorged flies were caught in the forests of Gabon. Identified blood meals (30%) were from 20 vertebrate species including mammals, birds and reptiles. Among them, 9% were infected by different extant malaria parasites among which some belonged to known parasite species, others to new parasite species or to parasite lineages for which only the vector was known. This study demonstrates that using hematophagous flies as ‘flying syringes’ constitutes an interesting approach to investigate blood-borne pathogen diversity in wild vertebrates and could be used as an early detection tool of zoonotic pathogens. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.22069.001 PMID:28347401

Update on the principles and novel local and systemic therapies for the treatment of non-infectious uveitis.

PubMed

Gallego-Pinazo, Roberto; Dolz-Marco, Rosa; Martínez-Castillo, Sebastián; Arévalo, J Fernando; Díaz-Llopis, Manuel

2013-02-01

Ocular inflammatory disorders constitute a sight-threatening group of diseases that might be managed according to their severity. Their treatment guidelines experience constant changes with new agents that improve the results obtained with former drugs. Nowadays we can make use of a five step protocol in which topical, periocular and systemic corticosteroids remain as the main therapy for non-infectious uveitis. In addition, immunosuppresive drugs can be added in order to enhance the anti-inflammatory effects and to play the role of corticosteroid-sparing agents. These can be organized in four other steps: cyclosporine and methotrexate in a second one; azathioprine, mycophenolate and tacrolimus in a third step; biological anti-TNF drugs in fourth position; and a last one with cyclophosphamide and chlorambucil. In the present review we go through the main characteristics and complications of all these treatments and make a rational of this five-step treatment protocol for non-infectious posterior uveitis.

Physical and chemical properties of the transmissible mink encephalopathy agent.

PubMed

Marsh, R F; Hanson, R P

1969-02-01

The size of the transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) agent is estimated to be less than 50 nm on the basis of its passage through membrane filters. The agent is sensitive to ether, relatively resistant to 10% Formalin, resistant to ultraviolet irradiation, and susceptible to proteolytic digestion with Pronase. Attempts to extract an infectious nucleic acid fraction with hot phenol were unsuccessful. The results of these studies indicate that the TME agent has biochemical properties which are similar to those described for the transmissible agent of scrapie.

A Holistic Approach to Climate and Health Research: Respiratory and Infectious Diseases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asrar, G.; Alonoso, W.; McCormick, B.; Schuck-Paim, C.; Miller, M.

2014-12-01

The link between climate variability and change, especially extreme conditions, is well documented in both environmental and health literature. The focus of research in the recent past, and current studies, is to understand causal relationships between the disease agents and environmental conditions, based on post-hoc analysis of observed cases to develop predictive models for advance warning of public by health authorities. A combination of the isolated examination of individual diseases and routes of infection (e.g. respiratory system, skin, digestive tract, etc.) and reliance mostly on correlative evidence from past occurrences have restricted public health progress (e.g. compared to experimental evidence of the quantitative balance of different transmission routes) and the utility of knowledge gained from such studies (e.g. reliably predicting seasonal outbreaks is no longer an advance). We propose a shift from focusing on the prediction of individual disease pattern(s) to a more holistic identification and mitigation of broader vulnerabilities within the provision of public health. Such an approach has the potential to account for and reveal health vulnerabilities common to a broader range of health stresses, thus facilitating a more holistic response to health challenges. The human health fragilities associated with respiratory diseases caused by a combination of natural (i.e dust, pollen, etc.) and industrial particulates (i.e. soot, aerosols, etc.) and other infectious airborne agents, for example, and their adverse impact on human health such as respiratory, gastrointestinal, etc. is an ideal candidate for such a holistic approach to environment and health research.

Why do viruses cause cancer? Highlights of the first century of human tumour virology

PubMed Central

Moore, Patrick S.; Chang, Yuan

2013-01-01

The year 2011 marks the centenary of Francis Peyton Rous’s landmark experiments on an avian cancer virus. Since then, seven human viruses have been found to cause 10–15% of human cancers worldwide. Viruses have been central to modern cancer research and provide profound insights into both infectious and non-infectious cancer causes. This diverse group of viruses reveals unexpected connections between innate immunity, immune sensors and tumour suppressor signalling that control both viral infection and cancer. This Timeline article describes common features of human tumour viruses and discusses how new technologies can be used to identify infectious causes of cancer. PMID:21102637

A guide to utilization of the microbiology laboratory for diagnosis of infectious diseases: 2013 recommendations by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM)(a).

PubMed

Baron, Ellen Jo; Miller, J Michael; Weinstein, Melvin P; Richter, Sandra S; Gilligan, Peter H; Thomson, Richard B; Bourbeau, Paul; Carroll, Karen C; Kehl, Sue C; Dunne, W Michael; Robinson-Dunn, Barbara; Schwartzman, Joseph D; Chapin, Kimberle C; Snyder, James W; Forbes, Betty A; Patel, Robin; Rosenblatt, Jon E; Pritt, Bobbi S

2013-08-01

The critical role of the microbiology laboratory in infectious disease diagnosis calls for a close, positive working relationship between the physician and the microbiologists who provide enormous value to the health care team. This document, developed by both laboratory and clinical experts, provides information on which tests are valuable and in which contexts, and on tests that add little or no value for diagnostic decisions. Sections are divided into anatomic systems, including Bloodstream Infections and Infections of the Cardiovascular System, Central Nervous System Infections, Ocular Infections, Soft Tissue Infections of the Head and Neck, Upper Respiratory Infections, Lower Respiratory Tract infections, Infections of the Gastrointestinal Tract, Intraabdominal Infections, Bone and Joint Infections, Urinary Tract Infections, Genital Infections, and Skin and Soft Tissue Infections; or into etiologic agent groups, including Tickborne Infections, Viral Syndromes, and Blood and Tissue Parasite Infections. Each section contains introductory concepts, a summary of key points, and detailed tables that list suspected agents; the most reliable tests to order; the samples (and volumes) to collect in order of preference; specimen transport devices, procedures, times, and temperatures; and detailed notes on specific issues regarding the test methods, such as when tests are likely to require a specialized laboratory or have prolonged turnaround times. There is redundancy among the tables and sections, as many agents and assay choices overlap. The document is intended to serve as a reference to guide physicians in choosing tests that will aid them to diagnose infectious diseases in their patients.

Executive summary: a guide to utilization of the microbiology laboratory for diagnosis of infectious diseases: 2013 recommendations by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM)(a).

PubMed

Baron, Ellen Jo; Miller, J Michael; Weinstein, Melvin P; Richter, Sandra S; Gilligan, Peter H; Thomson, Richard B; Bourbeau, Paul; Carroll, Karen C; Kehl, Sue C; Dunne, W Michael; Robinson-Dunn, Barbara; Schwartzman, Joseph D; Chapin, Kimberle C; Snyder, James W; Forbes, Betty A; Patel, Robin; Rosenblatt, Jon E; Pritt, Bobbi S

2013-08-01

The critical role of the microbiology laboratory in infectious disease diagnosis calls for a close, positive working relationship between the physician and the microbiologists who provide enormous value to the health care team. This document, developed by both laboratory and clinical experts, provides information on which tests are valuable and in which contexts, and on tests that add little or no value for diagnostic decisions. Sections are divided into anatomic systems, including Bloodstream Infections and Infections of the Cardiovascular System, Central Nervous System Infections, Ocular Infections, Soft Tissue Infections of the Head and Neck, Upper Respiratory Infections, Lower Respiratory Tract infections, Infections of the Gastrointestinal Tract, Intraabdominal Infections, Bone and Joint Infections, Urinary Tract Infections, Genital Infections, and Skin and Soft Tissue Infections; or into etiologic agent groups, including Tickborne Infections, Viral Syndromes, and Blood and Tissue Parasite Infections. Each section contains introductory concepts, a summary of key points, and detailed tables that list suspected agents; the most reliable tests to order; the samples (and volumes) to collect in order of preference; specimen transport devices, procedures, times, and temperatures; and detailed notes on specific issues regarding the test methods, such as when tests are likely to require a specialized laboratory or have prolonged turnaround times. There is redundancy among the tables and sections, as many agents and assay choices overlap. The document is intended to serve as a reference to guide physicians in choosing tests that will aid them to diagnose infectious diseases in their patients.

A Guide to Utilization of the Microbiology Laboratory for Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases: 2013 Recommendations by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM)a

PubMed Central

Baron, Ellen Jo; Miller, J. Michael; Weinstein, Melvin P.; Richter, Sandra S.; Gilligan, Peter H.; Thomson, Richard B.; Bourbeau, Paul; Carroll, Karen C.; Kehl, Sue C.; Dunne, W. Michael; Robinson-Dunn, Barbara; Schwartzman, Joseph D.; Chapin, Kimberle C.; Snyder, James W.; Forbes, Betty A.; Patel, Robin; Rosenblatt, Jon E.; Pritt, Bobbi S.

2013-01-01

The critical role of the microbiology laboratory in infectious disease diagnosis calls for a close, positive working relationship between the physician and the microbiologists who provide enormous value to the health care team. This document, developed by both laboratory and clinical experts, provides information on which tests are valuable and in which contexts, and on tests that add little or no value for diagnostic decisions. Sections are divided into anatomic systems, including Bloodstream Infections and Infections of the Cardiovascular System, Central Nervous System Infections, Ocular Infections, Soft Tissue Infections of the Head and Neck, Upper Respiratory Infections, Lower Respiratory Tract infections, Infections of the Gastrointestinal Tract, Intraabdominal Infections, Bone and Joint Infections, Urinary Tract Infections, Genital Infections, and Skin and Soft Tissue Infections; or into etiologic agent groups, including Tickborne Infections, Viral Syndromes, and Blood and Tissue Parasite Infections. Each section contains introductory concepts, a summary of key points, and detailed tables that list suspected agents; the most reliable tests to order; the samples (and volumes) to collect in order of preference; specimen transport devices, procedures, times, and temperatures; and detailed notes on specific issues regarding the test methods, such as when tests are likely to require a specialized laboratory or have prolonged turnaround times. There is redundancy among the tables and sections, as many agents and assay choices overlap. The document is intended to serve as a reference to guide physicians in choosing tests that will aid them to diagnose infectious diseases in their patients. PMID:23845951

Ganglioneuritis causing high mortalities in farmed Australian abalone (Haliotis laevigata and Haliotis rubra).

PubMed

Hooper, C; Hardy-Smith, P; Handlinger, J

2007-05-01

To investigate an outbreak of sudden severe mortality in farmed abalone from coastal Victoria. The outbreaks occurred almost simultaneously in three farms following abalone movements from the wild and between farms. The initial on farm investigation identified a number of features that when considered together were highly suggestive of an infectious aetiology. In many cases, dead abalone had no significant gross lesions. Others had swollen mouths and some had prolapse and eversion of the radula. Histologically, the lesions centred on the nerves innervating the labial apparatus, primarily the cerebral and buccal ganglia, cerebral commissure and peripheral nerve branches arising from these. Nervous tissue necrosis and haemocyte infiltration were the dominant lesions seen microscopically in affected nerves. A recent outbreak of mortality in Australian abalone was associated with neurotropic lesions, which have not previously been described in this country. The on farm and between farm pattern of spread of the outbreak, a history of abalone movements linking farms, clinical observation of moribund and dead abalone were all highly suggestive of a virulent infectious agent.

Disinfection of aircraft : Appropriate disinfectants and standard operating procedures for highly infectious diseases.

PubMed

Klaus, Joachim; Gnirs, Peter; Hölterhoff, Sabine; Wirtz, Angela; Jeglitza, Matthias; Gaber, Walter; Gottschalk, Rene

2016-12-01

For infectious diseases caused by highly pathogenic agents (e. g., Ebola/Lassa fever virus, SARS-/MERS-CoV, pandemic influenza virus) which have the potential to spread over several continents within only a few days, international Health Protection Authorities have taken appropriate measures to limit the consequences of a possible spread. A crucial point in this context is the disinfection of an aircraft that had a passenger on board who is suspected of being infected with one of the mentioned diseases. Although, basic advice on hygiene and sanitation on board an aircraft is given by the World Health Organization, these guidelines lack details on available and effective substances as well as standardized operating procedures (SOP). The purpose of this paper is to give guidance on the choice of substances that were tested by a laboratory of Lufthansa Technik and found compatible with aircraft components, as well as to describe procedures which ensure a safe and efficient disinfection of civil aircrafts. This guidance and the additional SOPs are made public and are available as mentioned in this paper.

Sampling methods for recovery of human enteric viruses from environmental surfaces.

PubMed

Turnage, Nicole L; Gibson, Kristen E

2017-10-01

Acute gastroenteritis causes the second highest infectious disease burden worldwide. Human enteric viruses have been identified as leading causative agents of acute gastroenteritis as well as foodborne illnesses in the U.S. and are generally transmitted by fecal-oral contamination. There is growing evidence of transmission occurring via contaminated fomite including food contact surfaces. Additionally, human enteric viruses have been shown to remain infectious on fomites over prolonged periods of time. To better understand viral persistence, there is a need for more studies to investigate this phenomenon. Therefore, optimization of surface sampling methods is essential to aid in understanding environmental contamination to ensure proper preventative measures are being applied. In general, surface sampling studies are limited and highly variable among recovery efficiencies and research parameters used (e.g., virus type/density, surface type, elution buffers, tools). This review aims to discuss the various factors impacting surface sampling of viruses from fomites and to explore how researchers could move towards a more sensitive and standard sampling method. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Infectious agents is a risk factor for myxomatous mitral valve degeneration: A case control study.

PubMed

Tiveron, Marcos Gradim; Pomerantzeff, Pablo Maria Alberto; de Lourdes Higuchi, Maria; Reis, Marcia Martins; de Jesus Pereira, Jaqueline; Kawakami, Joyce Tieko; Ikegami, Renata Nishiyama; de Almeida Brandao, Carlos Manuel; Jatene, Fabio Biscegli

2017-04-21

The etiology of myxomatous mitral valve degeneration (MVD) is not fully understood and may depend on time or environmental factors for which the interaction of infectious agents has not been documented. The purpose of the study is to analyze the effect of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Mp), Chlamydophila pneumoniae (Cp) and Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) on myxomatous mitral valve degeneration pathogenesis and establish whether increased in inflammation and collagen degradation in myxomatous mitral valve degeneration etiopathogenesis. An immunohistochemical test was performed to detect the inflammatory cells (CD20, CD45, CD68) and Mp, Bb and MMP9 antigens in two groups. The in situ hybridization was performed to detect Chlamydophila pneumoniae and the bacteria study was performed using transmission electron microscopy. Group 1 (n = 20), surgical specimen composed by myxomatous mitral valve degeneration, and group 2 (n = 20), autopsy specimen composed by normal mitral valve. The data were analyzed using SigmaStat version 20 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The groups were compared using Student's t test, Mann-Whitney test. A correlation analysis was performed using Spearman's correlation test. P values lower than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. By immunohistochemistry, there was a higher inflammatory cells/mm2 for CD20 and CD45 in group 1, and CD68 in group 2. Higher number of Mp and Cp antigens was observed in group 1 and more Bb antigens was detected in group 2. The group 1 exhibited a positive correlation between the Bb and MVD percentage, between CD45 and Mp, and between MMP9 with Mp. These correlations were not observed in the group 2. Electron microscopy revealed the presence of structures compatible with microorganisms that feature Borrelia and Mycoplasma characteristics. The presence of infectious agents, inflammatory cells and collagenases in mitral valves appear to contribute to the pathogenesis of MVD. Mycoplasma pneumoniae was strongly related with myxomatous mitral valve degeneration. Despite of low percentage of Borrelia burgdorferi in MD group, this agent was correlated with myxomatous degeneration and this may occour due synergistic actions between these infectious agents likely contribute to collagen degradation.

Managing the Navy’s Infectious Medical Waste

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-08-04

pasteur pipetes, broken glass, scalpel blades) which have come into contact with infectious agents during use in patient care or in medical , research...concerned patients with a responsible method of disposal of their syringes. 4.8 Proposed Federal Legislation On June 22, 1992, American Medical News reported...disposal point for non- medically related wastes which required special handling. These wastes included such items as confiscated marijuana , sensitive

The interaction between anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB autoantibodies and anti-infectious antibodies in a wide spectrum of auto-immune diseases: another angle of the autoimmune mosaic.

PubMed

Agmon-Levin, Nancy; Dagan, Amir; Peri, Yogev; Anaya, Juan-Manuel; Selmi, Carlo; Tincani, Angela; Bizzaro, Nicola; Stojanovich, Ljudmila; Damoiseaux, Jan; Cohen Tervaert, Jan Willem; Mosca, Marta; Cervera, Ricard; Shoenfeld, Yehuda

2017-01-01

The presence of anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB antibodies has been linked with autoimmunity in general and with several autoimmune diseases (AID) in particular. In the current study we evaluated these antibodies in a wide spectrum of AID as well as the links between them and anti-infectious antibodies. We examined 2082 sera from patients with 16 different AID compared to 524 sera from geographically-matched healthy controls, for the presence and titres of anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB. All samples were also tested for a variety of anti-infectious agents' antibodies using the BioPlex 2200-immunoassay (Bio-Rad, USA). Anti-Ro/SSA was more prevalent, with significantly higher titre in 5 autoimmune diseases namely Sjögren's syndrome (SS), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) both primary and APS linked to SLE, systemic sclerosis (SSc) and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Anti-La/SSB was more prevalent with higher titers in SS, SLE, APS linked to SLE and PBC. Prevalence, but not titers, of both antibodies were higher also in polymyositis (PM). Additionally, we found a correlation between anti-Ro/SSA antibodies and antibodies of the IgM and IgG subtypes directed at cytomegalovirus as well as IgG-antibodies directed at Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and toxoplasma (p<0.001). Anti-La/SSB antibodies correlated with the presence of IgG antibodies against EBV early antigen (p<0.001). In a large cohort of patients with autoimmune diseases we found an association between anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB antibodies and 6 autoimmune diseases, amongst which primary APS and PM. Additionally, we observed linkages between these autoantibodies and anti-infectious antibodies directed at Epstein-Barr virus, toxoplasma and cytomegalovirus. Our findings support the concept of interplay between infectious agents and autoimmunity, such as the plausibility of an infectious agent that trigger the immune system to produce specific antibodies which will later result in a unique group of AID.

The Etiology of Intraocular Inflammation in HIV Positive and HIV Negative Adults at a Tertiary Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.

PubMed

Smit, Derrick P; Esterhuizen, Tonya M; Meyer, David; de Boer, Joke H; de Groot-Mijnes, Jolanda D F

2018-05-30

To describe the patterns of uveitis in South Africa. Prospective cross-sectional study. One hundred and six patients were enrolled and 37.7% had human immune-deficiency virus (HIV) infection. Anterior and panuveitis occurred most frequently. Infectious, non-infectious and idiopathic uveitis were diagnosed in 66.0%, 17.0% and 17.0% of all cases, respectively. Eighty percent of HIV+ cases had infectious uveitis. Overall, intraocular tuberculosis (IOTB), herpetic and syphilitic uveitis were the commonest infectious causes. Sarcoidosis and HLA-B27-associated uveitis were the commonest non-infectious causes. In anterior uveitis, HIV+ cases most frequently had probable IOTB, syphilitic or idiopathic uveitis while HIV- cases had possible IOTB, idiopathic or HLA-B27-associated uveitis. In panuveitis, HIV+ cases mostly had syphilis, probable IOTB, toxoplasma and varicella-zoster virus whereas HIV- cases mostly had possible IOTB, sarcoidosis and idiopathic uveitis. Infectious uveitis is common in South Africa, especially amongst HIV+ patients. Causes of anterior and panuveitis differ between HIV+ and HIV- patients.

Emerging Infectious Threats to the Blood Supply: Seroepidemiological Studies in Iran – a Review

PubMed Central

Karimi, Gharib; Gharehbaghian, Ahmad; Tafti, Mohammad Fallah; Vafaiyan, Vida

2013-01-01

Summary The risk of transfusion-transmitted infections has been greatly reduced by improvements in donor screening and testing. However, newly recognized blood-borne infectious agents can be threats to blood safety. In order to evaluate the prevalence some of these agents in blood donors, a systematic review was conducted. Data were obtained from published papers related to HGV, Torque Teno virus (TTV), HTLV, West Nile virus (WNV) and SEN virus (SEN-V). Based on these studies, the prevalence of HGV varied from 1 to 8.6% for anti-E2 and from 0 to 4.8% for HGV RNA. The prevalence of TTV DNA and HTLV-I varied from 2.7 to 79.5% and from 0.013 to 2.3%, respectively. The WNV-specific IgM antibody and WNV RNA are negative in blood donors. Prevalence rates of SEN-V in Iranian blood donors range from 23 to 90.8%. Consequences of these infectious agents for blood safety are different. Thus, the need to perform laboratory screening as well as effectiveness and efficiency of laboratory tests depend on pathogenicity level and epidemiological conditions of emerging infections. However, being prepared based on the current level of risk and interventions to reduce the risk can be effective in reducing the potential threat for blood supply. PMID:23922546

Role of housing modalities on management and surveillance strategies for adventitious agents of rodents.

PubMed

Shek, William R

2008-01-01

Specific pathogen-free (SPF) rodents for modern biomedical research need to be free of pathogens and other infectious agents that may not produce disease but nevertheless cause research interference. To meet this need, rodents have been rederived to eliminate adventitious agents and then housed in room- to cage-level barrier systems to exclude microbial contaminants. Because barriers can and do fail, routine health monitoring (HM) is necessary to verify the SPF status of colonies. Testing without strict adherence to biosecurity practices, however, can lead to the inadvertent transfer of unrecognized, inapparent agents among institutions and colonies. Microisolation caging systems have become popular for housing SPF rodents because they are versatile and provide a highly effective cage-level barrier to the entry and spread of adventitious agents. But when a microisolation-caged colony is contaminated, the cage-level barrier impedes the spread of infection and so the prevalence of infection is often low, which increases the chance of missing a contamination and complicates the corroboration of unexpected positive findings. The expanding production of genetically engineered mutant (GEM) rodent strains at research institutions, where biosecurity practices vary and the risk of microbial contamination can be high, underscores the importance of accurate HM results in mitigating the risk of the introduction and spread of microbial contaminants with the exchange of mutant rodent strains among investigators and institutions.

Rapid Detection of Pathogens

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

David Perlin

2005-08-14

Pathogen identification is a crucial first defense against bioterrorism. A major emphasis of our national biodefense strategy is to establish fast, accurate and sensitive assays for diagnosis of infectious diseases agents. Such assays will ensure early and appropriate treatment of infected patients. Rapid diagnostics can also support infection control measures, which monitor and limit the spread of infectious diseases agents. Many select agents are highly transmissible in the early stages of disease, and it is critical to identify infected patients and limit the risk to the remainder of the population and to stem potential panic in the general population. Nucleicmore » acid-based molecular approaches for identification overcome many of the deficiencies associated with conventional culture methods by exploiting both large- and small-scale genomic differences between organisms. PCR-based amplification of highly conserved ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, intergenic sequences, and specific toxin genes is currently the most reliable approach for bacterial, fungal and many viral pathogenic agents. When combined with fluorescence-based oligonucleotide detection systems, this approach provides real-time, quantitative, high fidelity analysis capable of single nucleotide allelic discrimination (4). These probe systems offer rapid turn around time (<2 h) and are suitable for high throughput, automated multiplex operations that are critical for clinical diagnostic laboratories. In this pilot program, we have used molecular beacon technology invented at the Public health Research Institute to develop a new generation of molecular probes to rapidly detect important agents of infectious diseases. We have also developed protocols to rapidly extract nucleic acids from a variety of clinical specimen including and blood and tissue to for detection in the molecular assays. This work represented a cooperative research development program between the Kramer-Tyagi/Perlin labs on probe development and the Perlin lab in sample preparation and testing in animal models.« less

Combination of silver nanoparticles and Drosera binata extract as a possible alternative for antibiotic treatment of burn wound infections caused by resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

PubMed

Krychowiak, Marta; Grinholc, Mariusz; Banasiuk, Rafal; Krauze-Baranowska, Miroslawa; Głód, Daniel; Kawiak, Anna; Królicka, Aleksandra

2014-01-01

Staphylococcus aureus is the most common infectious agent involved in the development of skin infections that are associated with antibiotic resistance, such as burn wounds. As drug resistance is a growing problem it is essential to establish novel antimicrobials. Currently, antibiotic resistance in bacteria is successfully controlled by multi-drug therapies. Here we demonstrate that secondary metabolites present in the extract obtained from Drosera binata in vitro cultures are effective antibacterial agents against S. aureus grown in planktonic culture and in biofilm. Moreover, this is the first report demonstrating the synergistic interaction between the D. binata extract and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), which results in the spectacular enhancement of the observed bactericidal activity, while having no cytotoxic effects on human keratinocytes. Simultaneous use of these two agents in significantly reduced quantities produces the same effect, i.e. by killing 99.9% of bacteria in inoculum or eradicating the staphylococcal biofilm, as higher amounts of the agents used individually. Our data indicates that combining AgNPs with either the D. binata extract or with its pure compound (3-chloroplumbagin) may provide a safe and highly effective alternative to commonly used antibiotics, which are ineffective towards the antibiotic-resistant S. aureus.

Combination of Silver Nanoparticles and Drosera binata Extract as a Possible Alternative for Antibiotic Treatment of Burn Wound Infections Caused by Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

PubMed Central

Krychowiak, Marta; Grinholc, Mariusz; Banasiuk, Rafal; Krauze-Baranowska, Miroslawa; Głód, Daniel; Kawiak, Anna; Królicka, Aleksandra

2014-01-01

Staphylococcus aureus is the most common infectious agent involved in the development of skin infections that are associated with antibiotic resistance, such as burn wounds. As drug resistance is a growing problem it is essential to establish novel antimicrobials. Currently, antibiotic resistance in bacteria is successfully controlled by multi-drug therapies. Here we demonstrate that secondary metabolites present in the extract obtained from Drosera binata in vitro cultures are effective antibacterial agents against S. aureus grown in planktonic culture and in biofilm. Moreover, this is the first report demonstrating the synergistic interaction between the D. binata extract and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), which results in the spectacular enhancement of the observed bactericidal activity, while having no cytotoxic effects on human keratinocytes. Simultaneous use of these two agents in significantly reduced quantities produces the same effect, i.e. by killing 99.9% of bacteria in inoculum or eradicating the staphylococcal biofilm, as higher amounts of the agents used individually. Our data indicates that combining AgNPs with either the D. binata extract or with its pure compound (3-chloroplumbagin) may provide a safe and highly effective alternative to commonly used antibiotics, which are ineffective towards the antibiotic-resistant S. aureus. PMID:25551660

Reintroduction medicine: whooping cranes in Wisconsin.

PubMed

Keller, Dominique L; Hartup, Barry K

2013-01-01

This paper presents veterinary management strategies and diagnostic findings in the reintroduction of the endangered whooping crane (Grus americana). Between 2005 and 2010, 63 (27 male, 36 female) hatchling whooping cranes were assigned to a reintroduction project involving autumn release of costume-reared chicks in Wisconsin. Veterinary care included preventive measures and comprehensive pre-release evaluations to improve fitness and reduce translocation of potential disease agents to native habitats. A total of 44 clinically normal birds were released (70% of assigned individuals). Cases of morbidity were classified according to primary body system affected. Musculoskeletal disorders were described in 57 birds (90%); five birds were removed from the project prior to release (8%), all for abnormalities that prevented normal function. Fourteen birds died or were euthanized prior to release (22%); pre-release mortality was attributed to developmental abnormality, predation, trauma or infectious disease. Chronic respiratory aspergillosis, diagnosed in seven birds (11%), was the most common infectious disease of concern. Predation and trauma were primary causes of post-release mortality; no evidence of infectious disease of captive origin was detected in the study population by the end of 2010. The assessment of data accumulated by this project helped to outline successful health management strategies, as well as identify and mitigate ongoing risks to captive whooping cranes that impede reintroduction efforts and achieving management goals for species recovery. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Quarantine, Isolation, and Health Care Workers.

PubMed

Webb, Adam

2015-12-01

Although Ebola virus disease and other hemorrhagic fevers are not generally considered infectious diseases of the nervous system, neurologists may be asked to participate in the management of patients with these and other dangerous communicable illnesses, including possible bioterrorism agents. It is essential for all health professionals to understand the public health, legal, and ethical frameworks behind autonomy-limiting interventions such as quarantine and isolation. Health care professionals represent the front line of defense during public health emergencies. They are often disproportionately affected by the illnesses themselves as well as by the public health interventions intended to prevent spread. The global health crisis caused by the spread of Ebola virus disease has been instructional for examining these ethical issues.

The poppers-HIV connection.

PubMed

Wilson, H

1999-03-01

Nitrite inhalants called "poppers" are receiving renewed attention by researchers regarding the drug's role in the gay community, its contribution to risky sexual behavior, and its ability to fuel the AIDS epidemic. Research shows the effects of poppers cause a euphoria that can reduce inhibitions, increase sexual drive, and intensify the sensations of orgasm. Poppers have been associated with a decrease in condom use. In addition, research has found that popper use suppresses natural killer (NK) cell function, which increases vulnerability to infectious agents, produces sustained alterations in the immune system, and may be a Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) cofactor. The combined data implicate that the use of poppers may well pose as a significant risk factor for seroconversion.

Regulatory T Cells: Differentiation and Function.

PubMed

Plitas, George; Rudensky, Alexander Y

2016-09-02

The immune system of vertebrate animals has evolved to mount an effective defense against a diverse set of pathogens while minimizing transient or lasting impairment in tissue function that could result from the inflammation caused by immune responses to infectious agents. In addition, misguided immune responses to "self" and dietary antigens, as well as to commensal microorganisms, can lead to a variety of inflammatory disorders, including autoimmunity, metabolic syndrome, allergies, and cancer. Regulatory T cells expressing the X chromosome-linked transcription factor Foxp3 suppress inflammatory responses in diverse biological settings and serve as a vital mechanism of negative regulation of immune-mediated inflammation. Cancer Immunol Res; 4(9); 721-5. ©2016 AACR. ©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.

Genetics and molecular biology in laboratory medicine, 1963-2013.

PubMed

Whitfield, John B

2013-01-01

The past 50 years have seen many changes in laboratory medicine, either as causes or consequences of increases in productivity and expansion of the range of information which can be provided. The drivers and facilitators of change in relation to clinical applications of molecular biology included the need for diagnostic tools for genetic diseases and technical advances such as PCR and sequencing. However, molecular biology techniques have proved to have far wider applications, from detection of infectious agents to molecular characterization of tumors. Journals such as Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine play an important role in communication of these advances to the laboratory medicine community and in publishing evaluations of their practical value.

100th anniversary of the death of Ricketts: Howard Taylor Ricketts (1871-1910). The namesake of the Rickettsiaceae family.

PubMed

Gross, Dominik; Schäfer, Gereon

2011-01-01

The US American pathologist and microbiologist Howard Taylor Ricketts died 100 years ago. He is renowned for discovering the causative organism and the transmission route of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and of tabardillo--an epidemic louse-borne typhus occurring especially in Mexico. He also found that both diseases were caused by related infectious agents (Rickettsia rickettsii and Rickettsia prowazekii). The scientific community therefore named both a taxonomic family (Rickettsiaceae) and an order (Rickettsiales) after the scientist. Ricketts' work on immunity and serums became the basis for further advances in vaccine development. Copyright © 2010 Institut Pasteur. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Invasive pulmonary Aspergillosis in organ transplants--Focus on lung transplants.

PubMed

Geltner, Christian; Lass-Flörl, Cornelia

2016-03-01

Infections with filamentous fungi are common in transplant recipients. The risk for aspergillosis and other invasive pulmonary mycosis (IPM) is high in patients undergoing stem cell and lung transplantations. The mortality rates range from 20% to 60% and depend on a number of risk factors. The typical manifestations of IPM are lung infiltrates, consolidations, and fungal tracheobronchitis. The most common infectious agent is Aspergillus fumigatus. Infections caused by non-Aspergillus molds are more frequent for various reasons. The species distribution of non-Aspergillus molds varies in different locations. Furthermore, infections caused by Mucor and Penicillium are increasing, as are infections caused by species resistant to azoles and amphotericin B. Most centers use antifungal prophylaxis with inhaled amphotericin B or oral azoles. Early diagnosis and therapy is crucial. Reliable information on the local microbiological spectrum is a prerequisite for the effective treatment of molds with primary or secondary resistance to antimycotic drugs. Copyright © 2015 The Japanese Respiratory Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Autoimmune encephalitis and its relation to infection.

PubMed

Venkatesan, Arun; Benavides, David R

2015-03-01

Encephalitis, an inflammatory condition of the brain that results in substantial morbidity and mortality, has numerous causes. Over the past decade, it has become increasingly recognized that autoimmune conditions contribute significantly to the spectrum of encephalitis causes. Clinical suspicion and early diagnosis of autoimmune etiologies are of particular importance due to the need for early institution of immune suppressive therapies to improve outcome. Emerging clinical observations suggest that the most commonly recognized cause of antibody-mediated autoimmune encephalitis, anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor encephalitis, may in some cases be triggered by herpes virus infection. Other conditions such as Rasmussen's encephalitis (RE) and febrile infection-related epilepsy syndrome (FIRES) have also been posited to be autoimmune conditions triggered by infectious agents. This review focuses on emerging concepts in central nervous system autoimmunity and addresses clinical and mechanistic findings linking autoimmune encephalitis and infections. Particular consideration will be given to anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis and its relation to herpes simplex encephalitis.

Rift Valley Fever: An Emerging Mosquito-Borne Disease.

PubMed

Linthicum, Kenneth J; Britch, Seth C; Anyamba, Assaf

2016-01-01

Rift Valley fever (RVF), an emerging mosquito-borne zoonotic infectious viral disease caused by the RVF virus (RVFV) (Bunyaviridae: Phlebovirus), presents significant threats to global public health and agriculture in Africa and the Middle East. RVFV is listed as a select agent with significant potential for international spread and use in bioterrorism. RVFV has caused large, devastating periodic epizootics and epidemics in Africa over the past ∼60 years, with severe economic and nutritional impacts on humans from illness and livestock loss. In the past 15 years alone, RVFV caused tens of thousands of human cases, hundreds of human deaths, and more than 100,000 domestic animal deaths. Cattle, sheep, goats, and camels are particularly susceptible to RVF and serve as amplifying hosts for the virus. This review highlights recent research on RVF, focusing on vectors and their ecology, transmission dynamics, and use of environmental and climate data to predict disease outbreaks. Important directions for future research are also discussed.

Modeling infection transmission in primate networks to predict centrality-based risk.

PubMed

Romano, Valéria; Duboscq, Julie; Sarabian, Cécile; Thomas, Elodie; Sueur, Cédric; MacIntosh, Andrew J J

2016-07-01

Social structure can theoretically regulate disease risk by mediating exposure to pathogens via social proximity and contact. Investigating the role of central individuals within a network may help predict infectious agent transmission as well as implement disease control strategies, but little is known about such dynamics in real primate networks. We combined social network analysis and a modeling approach to better understand transmission of a theoretical infectious agent in wild Japanese macaques, highly social animals which form extended but highly differentiated social networks. We collected focal data from adult females living on the islands of Koshima and Yakushima, Japan. Individual identities as well as grooming networks were included in a Markov graph-based simulation. In this model, the probability that an individual will transmit an infectious agent depends on the strength of its relationships with other group members. Similarly, its probability of being infected depends on its relationships with already infected group members. We correlated: (i) the percentage of subjects infected during a latency-constrained epidemic; (ii) the mean latency to complete transmission; (iii) the probability that an individual is infected first among all group members; and (iv) each individual's mean rank in the chain of transmission with different individual network centralities (eigenvector, strength, betweenness). Our results support the hypothesis that more central individuals transmit infections in a shorter amount of time and to more subjects but also become infected more quickly than less central individuals. However, we also observed that the spread of infectious agents on the Yakushima network did not always differ from expectations of spread on random networks. Generalizations about the importance of observed social networks in pathogen flow should thus be made with caution, since individual characteristics in some real world networks appear less relevant than they are in others in predicting disease spread. Am. J. Primatol. 78:767-779, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Annual Progress Report on the Research Program of the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases on Medical Defense against Biological Agents for Fiscal Year 1981

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-10-01

R. Di Luzio. 1980. Glucan -induced enhancement of host resistance to selected infectious diseases. Infect. Immun. 30:51-57. 3. Vezza, A. C., P. Cash...pathway of beta -oxidation to produce ketones. When infused as a 3 or 6% solution along with the 48% branched-chaia mixture, this compound had a hypnotic...dent Staff Physician 27:37-42. 9. Beisel, W. R. 1981. Impact of infectious disease upon fat metabolism and immune functions. Cancer Res. 41:3797-3798

Conventional Therapy and Promising Plant-Derived Compounds Against Trypanosomatid Parasites

PubMed Central

Alviano, Daniela Sales; Barreto, Anna Léa Silva; Dias, Felipe de Almeida; Rodrigues, Igor de Almeida; Rosa, Maria do Socorro dos Santos; Alviano, Celuta Sales; Soares, Rosangela Maria de Araújo

2012-01-01

Leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis are two neglected and potentially lethal diseases that affect mostly the poor and marginal populations of developing countries around the world and consequently have an important impact on public health. Clinical manifestations such as cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral disorders are the most frequent forms of leishmaniasis, a group of diseases caused by several Leishmania spp. American trypanosomiasis, or Chagas disease, is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a parasite that causes progressive damage to different organs, particularly the heart, esophagus, and lower intestine. African trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, is caused by Trypanosoma brucei and is characterized by first presenting as an acute form that affects blood clotting and then becoming a chronic meningoencephalitis. The limited number, low efficacy, and side effects of conventional anti-leishmania and anti-trypanosomal drugs and the resistance developed by parasites are the major factors responsible for the growth in mortality rates. Recent research focused on plants has shown an ingenious way to obtain a solid and potentially rich source of drug candidates against various infectious diseases. Bioactive phytocompounds present in the crude extracts and essential oils of medicinal plants are components of an important strategy linked to the discovery of new medicines. These compounds have proven to be a good source of therapeutic agents for the treatment of leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis. This work highlights some chemotherapeutic agents while emphasizing the importance of plants as a source of new and powerful drugs against these widespread diseases. PMID:22888328

Ganciclovir ophthalmic gel 0.15% for the treatment of acute herpetic keratitis: background, effectiveness, tolerability, safety, and future applications

PubMed Central

Chou, Timothy Y; Hong, Bennett Y

2014-01-01

Eye disease due to herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a leading cause of ocular morbidity and the number one infectious cause of unilateral corneal blindness in the developed parts of the globe. Recurrent keratitis can result in progressive corneal scarring, thinning, and vascularization. Antiviral agents employed against HSV have primarily been nucleoside analogs. Early generation drugs included idoxuridine, iododesoxycytidine, vidarabine, and trifluridine. While effective, they tended to have low bioavailability and measurable local cellular toxicity due to their nonselective mode of action. Acyclovir 0.3% ointment is a more selective agent, and had become a first-line topical drug for acute HSV keratitis in Europe and other places outside of the US. Ganciclovir 0.15% gel is the most recently approved topical treatment for herpes keratitis. Compared to acyclovir 0.3% ointment, ganciclovir 0.15% gel has been shown to be better tolerated and no less effective in several Phase II and III trials. Additionally, topical ganciclovir does not cause adverse systemic side effects and is therapeutic at lower concentrations. Based on safety, efficacy, and tolerability, ganciclovir 0.15% gel should now be considered a front-line topical drug in the treatment of dendritic herpes simplex epithelial keratitis. Topics of future investigation regarding other potential uses for ganciclovir gel may include the prophylaxis of recurrent HSV epithelial keratitis, treatment of other forms of ocular disease caused by herpesviruses and adenovirus, and ganciclovir gel as an adjunct to antitumor therapy. PMID:25187721

Hemorrhagic shock as a sequela of splenic rupture in a patient with infectious mononucleosis: focus on the potential role of salicylates.

PubMed

Bouliaris, Konstantinos; Karangelis, Dimos; Daskalopoulos, Marios; Spanos, Konstantinos; Fanariotis, Michael; Giaglaras, Anargyros

2012-01-01

Despite the fact that the vast majority of splenic ruptures are traumatic, infectious mononucleosis has been incriminated as a major predisposing factor that affects the integrity of the spleen, thus causing atraumatic ruptures and life-threatening hemorrhages. Herein we present a case of a 23-year-old Caucasian male who underwent an emergency laparotomy for acute abdomen and hemorrhagic shock, caused by spontaneous splenic rupture secondary to infectious mononucleosis. The potential role of salicylates in the development of a hemorrhagic complication in a patient with infectious mononucleosis is discussed.

Causal Inference Regarding Infectious Aetiology of Chronic Conditions: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Orrskog, Sofia; Medin, Emma; Tsolova, Svetla; Semenza, Jan C.

2013-01-01

Background The global burden of disease has shifted from communicable diseases in children to chronic diseases in adults. This epidemiologic shift varies greatly by region, but in Europe, chronic conditions account for 86% of all deaths, 77% of the disease burden, and up to 80% of health care expenditures. A number of risk factors have been implicated in chronic diseases, such as exposure to infectious agents. A number of associations have been well established while others remain uncertain. Methods and Findings We assessed the body of evidence regarding the infectious aetiology of chronic diseases in the peer-reviewed literature over the last decade. Causality was assessed with three different criteria: First, the total number of associations documented in the literature between each infectious agent and chronic condition; second, the epidemiologic study design (quality of the study); third, evidence for the number of Hill's criteria and Koch's postulates that linked the pathogen with the chronic condition. We identified 3136 publications, of which 148 were included in the analysis. There were a total of 75 different infectious agents and 122 chronic conditions. The evidence was strong for five pathogens, based on study type, strength and number of associations; they accounted for 60% of the associations documented in the literature. They were human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis C virus, Helicobacter pylori, hepatitis B virus, and Chlamydia pneumoniae and were collectively implicated in the aetiology of 37 different chronic conditions. Other pathogens examined were only associated with very few chronic conditions (≤3) and when applying the three different criteria of evidence the strength of the causality was weak. Conclusions Prevention and treatment of these five pathogens lend themselves as effective public health intervention entry points. By concentrating research efforts on these promising areas, the human, economic, and societal burden arising from chronic conditions can be reduced. PMID:23935899

Severity of influenza A 2009 (H1N1) pneumonia is underestimated by routine prediction rules. Results from a prospective, population-based study.

PubMed

Bjarnason, Agnar; Thorleifsdottir, Gudlaug; Löve, Arthur; Gudnason, Janus F; Asgeirsson, Hilmir; Hallgrimsson, Kristinn L; Kristjansdottir, Berglind S; Haraldsson, Gunnsteinn; Baldursson, Olafur; Kristinsson, Karl G; Gottfredsson, Magnus

2012-01-01

Characteristics of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) due to pandemic influenza A 2009 (H1N1) have been inadequately compared to CAP caused by other respiratory pathogens. The performance of prediction rules for CAP during an epidemic with a new infectious agent are unknown. Prospective, population-based study from November 2008-November 2009, in centers representing 70% of hospital beds in Iceland. Patients admitted with CAP underwent evaluation and etiologic testing, including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for influenza. Data on influenza-like illness in the community and overall hospital admissions were collected. Clinical and laboratory data, including pneumonia severity index (PSI) and CURB-65 of patients with CAP due to H1N1 were compared to those caused by other agents. Of 338 consecutive and eligible patients 313 (93%) were enrolled. During the pandemic peak, influenza A 2009 (H1N1) patients constituted 38% of admissions due to CAP. These patients were younger, more dyspnoeic and more frequently reported hemoptysis. They had significantly lower severity scores than other patients with CAP (1.23 vs. 1.61, P= .02 for CURB-65, 2.05 vs. 2.87 for PSI, P<.001) and were more likely to require intensive care admission (41% vs. 5%, P<.001) and receive mechanical ventilation (14% vs. 2%, P= .01). Bacterial co-infection was detected in 23% of influenza A 2009 (H1N1) patients with CAP. Clinical characteristics of CAP caused by influenza A 2009 (H1N1) differ markedly from CAP caused by other etiologic agents. Commonly used CAP prediction rules often failed to predict admissions to intensive care or need for assisted ventilation in CAP caused by the influenza A 2009 (H1N1) virus, underscoring the importance of clinical acumen under these circumstances.

Severity of Influenza A 2009 (H1N1) Pneumonia Is Underestimated by Routine Prediction Rules. Results from a Prospective, Population-Based Study

PubMed Central

Bjarnason, Agnar; Thorleifsdottir, Gudlaug; Löve, Arthur; Gudnason, Janus F.; Asgeirsson, Hilmir; Hallgrimsson, Kristinn L.; Kristjansdottir, Berglind S.; Haraldsson, Gunnsteinn; Baldursson, Olafur; Kristinsson, Karl G.; Gottfredsson, Magnus

2012-01-01

Background Characteristics of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) due to pandemic influenza A 2009 (H1N1) have been inadequately compared to CAP caused by other respiratory pathogens. The performance of prediction rules for CAP during an epidemic with a new infectious agent are unknown. Methods Prospective, population-based study from November 2008–November 2009, in centers representing 70% of hospital beds in Iceland. Patients admitted with CAP underwent evaluation and etiologic testing, including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for influenza. Data on influenza-like illness in the community and overall hospital admissions were collected. Clinical and laboratory data, including pneumonia severity index (PSI) and CURB-65 of patients with CAP due to H1N1 were compared to those caused by other agents. Results Of 338 consecutive and eligible patients 313 (93%) were enrolled. During the pandemic peak, influenza A 2009 (H1N1) patients constituted 38% of admissions due to CAP. These patients were younger, more dyspnoeic and more frequently reported hemoptysis. They had significantly lower severity scores than other patients with CAP (1.23 vs. 1.61, P = .02 for CURB-65, 2.05 vs. 2.87 for PSI, P<.001) and were more likely to require intensive care admission (41% vs. 5%, P<.001) and receive mechanical ventilation (14% vs. 2%, P = .01). Bacterial co-infection was detected in 23% of influenza A 2009 (H1N1) patients with CAP. Conclusions Clinical characteristics of CAP caused by influenza A 2009 (H1N1) differ markedly from CAP caused by other etiologic agents. Commonly used CAP prediction rules often failed to predict admissions to intensive care or need for assisted ventilation in CAP caused by the influenza A 2009 (H1N1) virus, underscoring the importance of clinical acumen under these circumstances. PMID:23071646

Occupational skin diseases in Czech healthcare workers from 1997 to 2009.

PubMed

Machovcová, A; Fenclová, Z; Pelclová, D

2013-04-01

The healthcare sector ranked in second place among economic sectors in the Czech Republic, with about 11.4 % of all occupational diseases in 2009. Skin diseases constituted about 20 % of all occupational diseases. The aim of this study was to analyze the causes and trends in allergic and irritant-induced skin diseases in the healthcare sector. The data concerning occupational skin diseases (Chapter IV of the Czech List of Occupational Diseases, non-infectious skin illnesses) in the healthcare sector were analyzed from the Czech National Registry of Occupational Diseases from 1997 until 2009. The trends in the total counts and most frequent causes were evaluated. During the past 13 years, a total of 545 skin diseases were acknowledged in healthcare workers. Allergic contact dermatitis was diagnosed in 464 (85 %), irritant contact dermatitis in 71 (13 %) and contact urticaria in 10 subjects (2 %). Ninety-five percent of the patients were females. The overall incidence in individual years varied between 1.0 and 2.9 cases per 10,000 full-time employees per year. Disinfectants were the most frequent chemical agents causing more than one third of all allergic skin diseases (38 %), followed by rubber components (32 %) and cleaning agents (10 %). A general downward trend of diagnosed cases of occupational skin diseases in heath care workers in the Czech Republic over the past 13 years was demonstrated.

Suppression of Poxvirus Replication by Resveratrol.

PubMed

Cao, Shuai; Realegeno, Susan; Pant, Anil; Satheshkumar, Panayampalli S; Yang, Zhilong

2017-01-01

Poxviruses continue to cause serious diseases even after eradication of the historically deadly infectious human disease, smallpox. Poxviruses are currently being developed as vaccine vectors and cancer therapeutic agents. Resveratrol is a natural polyphenol stilbenoid found in plants that has been shown to inhibit or enhance replication of a number of viruses, but the effect of resveratrol on poxvirus replication is unknown. In the present study, we found that resveratrol dramatically suppressed the replication of vaccinia virus (VACV), the prototypic member of poxviruses, in various cell types. Resveratrol also significantly reduced the replication of monkeypox virus, a zoonotic virus that is endemic in Western and Central Africa and causes human mortality. The inhibitory effect of resveratrol on poxviruses is independent of VACV N1 protein, a potential resveratrol binding target. Further experiments demonstrated that resveratrol had little effect on VACV early gene expression, while it suppressed VACV DNA synthesis, and subsequently post-replicative gene expression.

Emergence of wheat blast in Bangladesh was caused by a South American lineage of Magnaporthe oryzae.

PubMed

Islam, M Tofazzal; Croll, Daniel; Gladieux, Pierre; Soanes, Darren M; Persoons, Antoine; Bhattacharjee, Pallab; Hossain, Md Shaid; Gupta, Dipali Rani; Rahman, Md Mahbubur; Mahboob, M Golam; Cook, Nicola; Salam, Moin U; Surovy, Musrat Zahan; Sancho, Vanessa Bueno; Maciel, João Leodato Nunes; NhaniJúnior, Antonio; Castroagudín, Vanina Lilián; Reges, Juliana T de Assis; Ceresini, Paulo Cezar; Ravel, Sebastien; Kellner, Ronny; Fournier, Elisabeth; Tharreau, Didier; Lebrun, Marc-Henri; McDonald, Bruce A; Stitt, Timothy; Swan, Daniel; Talbot, Nicholas J; Saunders, Diane G O; Win, Joe; Kamoun, Sophien

2016-10-03

In February 2016, a new fungal disease was spotted in wheat fields across eight districts in Bangladesh. The epidemic spread to an estimated 15,000 hectares, about 16 % of the cultivated wheat area in Bangladesh, with yield losses reaching up to 100 %. Within weeks of the onset of the epidemic, we performed transcriptome sequencing of symptomatic leaf samples collected directly from Bangladeshi fields. Reinoculation of seedlings with strains isolated from infected wheat grains showed wheat blast symptoms on leaves of wheat but not rice. Our phylogenomic and population genomic analyses revealed that the wheat blast outbreak in Bangladesh was most likely caused by a wheat-infecting South American lineage of the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Our findings suggest that genomic surveillance can be rapidly applied to monitor plant disease outbreaks and provide valuable information regarding the identity and origin of the infectious agent.

Population Attributable and Preventable Fractions: Cancer Risk Factor Surveillance, and Cancer Policy Projection

PubMed Central

Shield, Kevin D.; Parkin, D. Maxwell; Whiteman, David C.; Rehm, Jürgen; Viallon, Vivian; Micallef, Claire Marant; Vineis, Paolo; Rushton, Lesley; Bray, Freddie; Soerjomataram, Isabelle

2016-01-01

The proportions of new cancer cases and deaths that are caused by exposure to risk factors and that could be prevented are key statistics for public health policy and planning. This paper summarizes the methodologies for estimating, challenges in the analysis of, and utility of, population attributable and preventable fractions for cancers caused by major risk factors such as tobacco smoking, dietary factors, high body fat, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, infectious agents, occupational exposure, air pollution, sun exposure, and insufficient breastfeeding. For population attributable and preventable fractions, evidence of a causal relationship between a risk factor and cancer, outcome (such as incidence and mortality), exposure distribution, relative risk, theoretical-minimum-risk, and counterfactual scenarios need to be clearly defined and congruent. Despite limitations of the methodology and the data used for estimations, the population attributable and preventable fractions are a useful tool for public health policy and planning. PMID:27547696

Candida glabrata olecranon bursitis treated with bursectomy and intravenous caspofungin.

PubMed

Skedros, John G; Keenan, Kendra E; Trachtenberg, Joel D

2013-01-01

Orthopedic surgeons are becoming more involved in the care of patients with septic arthritis and bursitis caused by yeast species. This case report involves a middle-aged immunocompromised female who developed a Candida glabrata septic olecranon bursitis that developed after she received a corticosteroid injection in the olecranon bursa for presumed aseptic bursitis. Candida (Torulopsis) glabrata is the second most frequently isolated Candida species from the bloodstream in the United States. Increased use of fluconazole and other azole antifungal agents as a prophylactic treatment for recurrent Candida albicans infections in immunocompromised individuals is one reason why there appears to be increased resistance of C. glabrata and other nonalbicans Candida (NAC) species to fluconazole. In this patient, this infection was treated with surgery (bursectomy) and intravenous caspofungin, an echinocandin. This rare infectious etiology coupled with this intravenous antifungal treatment makes this case novel among cases of olecranon bursitis caused by yeasts.

A brief review of infectious and parasitic diseases of wapiti, with emphasis on western Canada and the northwestern United States

PubMed Central

Smits, Judit E.G.

1991-01-01

In this paper I review diseases reported in both captive and free-ranging wapiti in western North America, with some reference to diseases in captive red deer in Great Britain, Europe, New Zealand, and eastern North America. With the exception of coronavirus in neonates, few viral agents are reported to cause serious disease losses in wapiti in North America at this time. Bacterial diseases of current significance include brucellosis (focus in Wyoming), clostridial diseases, coliform enteritis of neonates, pasteurellosis, and necrobacillosis. The endoparasites most likely to be seen causing lesions in wapiti of western North America are lungworm (Dictyocaulus viviparus), arterial worm (Elaeophora schneideri), and, possibly, liver fluke (Fascioloides magna). Ectoparasites of importance to wapiti are Psoroptes cervinus and Dermacentor albipictus. Nutritional diseases are not covered in this review. ImagesFigure 1. PMID:17423839

Lyme disease and pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS): an overview.

PubMed

Rhee, Hanna; Cameron, Daniel J

2012-01-01

Lyme disease (LD) is a complex, multisystemic illness. As the most common vector- borne disease in the United States, LD is caused by bacterial spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, with potential coinfections from agents of anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis. Persistent symptoms and clinical signs reflect multiorgan involvement with episodes of active disease and periods of remission, not sparing the coveted central nervous system. The capability of microorganisms to cause and exacerbate various neuropsychiatric pathology is also seen in pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS), a recently described disorder attributed to bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes of group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus in which neurologic tics and obsessive-compulsive disorders are sequelae of the infection. In the current overview, LD and PANDAS are juxtaposed through a review of their respective infectious etiologies, clinical presentations, mechanisms of disease development, courses of illness, and treatment options. Future directions related to immunoneuropsychiatry are also discussed.

Granulocytic Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells Expansion during Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis Is Associated with High Nitric Oxide Plasma Level

PubMed Central

El Daker, Sary; Sacchi, Alessandra; Tempestilli, Massimo; Carducci, Claudia; Goletti, Delia; Vanini, Valentina; Colizzi, Vittorio; Lauria, Francesco Nicola; Martini, Federico; Martino, Angelo

2015-01-01

Tuberculosis (TB) is still the principal cause of death caused by a single infectious agent, and the balance between the bacillus and host defense mechanisms reflects the different manifestations of the pathology. The aim of this work was to study the role of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) during active pulmonary tuberculosis at the site of infection. We observed an expansion of MDSCs in the lung and blood of patients with active TB, which are correlated with an enhanced amount of nitric oxide in the plasma. We also found that these cells have the remarkable ability to suppress T-cell response, suggesting an important role in the modulation of the immune response against TB. Interestingly, a trend in the diminution of MDSCs was found after an efficacious anti-TB therapy, suggesting that these cells may be used as a potential biomarker for monitoring anti-TB therapy efficacy. PMID:25879532

An Infectious Pseudoaneurysm Caused by Ventricular Septal Defect Occluder in Patent Ductus Arteriosus Closure in a Two-Year-Old Child.

PubMed

Li, Dingyang; Qiu, Qiu; Jin, Jing; Zhang, Changdong; Wang, Lijun; Zhang, Gangcheng

2017-12-12

We present a case of an infectious pseudoaneurysm after patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closure with a ventricular septal defect (VSD) occluder in a two-year-old child. The aneurysm grew rapidly but was successfully removed in time and the patient survived. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an infectious pseudoaneurysm caused by VSD occluder in PDA closure.

Inhibitor-bound complexes of dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase from Babesia bovis

PubMed Central

Begley, Darren W.; Edwards, Thomas E.; Raymond, Amy C.; Smith, Eric R.; Hartley, Robert C.; Abendroth, Jan; Sankaran, Banumathi; Lorimer, Donald D.; Myler, Peter J.; Staker, Bart L.; Stewart, Lance J.

2011-01-01

Babesiosis is a tick-borne disease caused by eukaryotic Babesia parasites which are morphologically similar to Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria in humans. Like Plasmodium, different species of Babesia are tuned to infect different mammalian hosts, including rats, dogs, horses and cattle. Most species of Plasmodium and Babesia possess an essential bifunctional enzyme for nucleotide synthesis and folate metabolism: dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase. Although thymidylate synthase is highly conserved across organisms, the bifunctional form of this enzyme is relatively uncommon in nature. The structural characterization of dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase in Babesia bovis, the causative agent of babesiosis in livestock cattle, is reported here. The apo state is compared with structures that contain dUMP, NADP and two different antifolate inhibitors: pemetrexed and raltitrexed. The complexes reveal modes of binding similar to that seen in drug-resistant malaria strains and point to the utility of applying structural studies with proven cancer chemotherapies towards infectious disease research. PMID:21904052

Borrelia burgdorferi has minimal impact on the Lyme disease reservoir host Peromyscus leucopus.

PubMed

Schwanz, Lisa E; Voordouw, Maarten J; Brisson, Dustin; Ostfeld, Richard S

2011-02-01

The epidemiology of vector-borne zoonotic diseases is determined by encounter rates between vectors and hosts. Alterations to the behavior of reservoir hosts caused by the infectious agent have the potential to dramatically alter disease transmission and human risk. We examined the effect of Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiological agent of Lyme disease, on one of its most important reservoir hosts, the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus. We mimic natural infections in mice using the vector (Black-legged ticks, Ixodes scapularis) and examine the immunological and behavioral responses of mouse hosts. Despite producing antibodies against B. burgdorferi, infected mice did not have elevated white blood cells compared with uninfected mice. In addition, infected and uninfected mice did not differ in their wheel-running activity. Our results suggest that infection with the spirochete B. burgdorferi has little impact on the field activity of white-footed mice. Lyme disease transmission appears to be uncomplicated by pathogen-altered behavior of this reservoir host.

Colworth prize lecture 2016: exploiting new biological targets from a whole-cell phenotypic screening campaign for TB drug discovery.

PubMed

Moynihan, Patrick Joseph; Besra, Gurdyal S

2017-10-01

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the aetiological agent of tuberculosis (TB) and is the leading bacterial cause of mortality and morbidity in the world. One third of the world's population is infected with TB, and in conjunction with HIV represents a serious problem that urgently needs addressing. TB is a disease of poverty and mostly affects young adults in their productive years, primarily in the developing world. The most recent report from the World Health Organisation states that 8 million new cases of TB were reported and that ~1.5 million people died from TB. The efficacy of treatment is threatened by the emergence of multi-drug and extensively drug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis. It can be argued that, globally, M. tuberculosis is the single most important infectious agent affecting mankind. Our research aims to establish an academic-industrial partnership with the goal of discovering new drug targets and hit-to-lead new chemical entities for TB drug discovery.

The molecular epidemiology of variant CJD

PubMed Central

Mackay, Graham A; Knight, Richard SG; Ironside, James W

2011-01-01

The emergence of the novel prion diseases bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and, subsequently, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in epidemic forms has attracted much scientific attention. The oral transmission of these disorders, the causative relationship of vCJD to BSE and the resistance of the transmissible agents in both disorders to conventional forms of decontamination has caused great public health concern. The size of the still emerging vCJD epidemic is thankfully much lower than some early published estimates. This paper reviews current knowledge of the factors that influence the development of vCJD: the properties of the infectious agent; the route of inoculation and individual susceptibility factors. The current epidemiological data are reviewed, along with relevant animal transmission studies. In terms of genetic susceptibility, the best characterised is the common single nucleotide polymorphism at codon 129 of prion protein gene. Current biomarkers and future areas of research will be discussed. These issues are important in informing precautionary measures and the ongoing monitoring of vCJD. PMID:21915360

Historical review of the causes of cancer

PubMed Central

Blackadar, Clarke Brian

2016-01-01

In the early 1900s, numerous seminal publications reported that high rates of cancer occurred in certain occupations. During this period, work with infectious agents produced only meager results which seemed irrelevant to humans. Then in the 1980s ground breaking evidence began to emerge that a variety of viruses also cause cancer in humans. There is now sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans for human T-cell lymphotrophic virus, human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, human papillomavirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and human herpes virus 8 according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Many other causes of cancer have also been identified by the IARC, which include: Sunlight, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, hormones, alcohol, parasites, fungi, bacteria, salted fish, wood dust, and herbs. The World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research have determined additional causes of cancer, which include beta carotene, red meat, processed meats, low fibre diets, not breast feeding, obesity, increased adult height and sedentary lifestyles. In brief, a historical review of the discoveries of the causes of human cancer is presented with extended discussions of the difficulties encountered in identifying viral causes of cancer. PMID:26862491

Historical review of the causes of cancer.

PubMed

Blackadar, Clarke Brian

2016-02-10

In the early 1900s, numerous seminal publications reported that high rates of cancer occurred in certain occupations. During this period, work with infectious agents produced only meager results which seemed irrelevant to humans. Then in the 1980s ground breaking evidence began to emerge that a variety of viruses also cause cancer in humans. There is now sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans for human T-cell lymphotrophic virus, human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, human papillomavirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and human herpes virus 8 according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Many other causes of cancer have also been identified by the IARC, which include: Sunlight, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, hormones, alcohol, parasites, fungi, bacteria, salted fish, wood dust, and herbs. The World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research have determined additional causes of cancer, which include beta carotene, red meat, processed meats, low fibre diets, not breast feeding, obesity, increased adult height and sedentary lifestyles. In brief, a historical review of the discoveries of the causes of human cancer is presented with extended discussions of the difficulties encountered in identifying viral causes of cancer.

Trends in Infectious Disease Mortality, South Korea, 1983–2015

PubMed Central

Choe, Young June; Choe, Seung-Ah

2018-01-01

We used national statistics from 1983–2015 to evaluate trends in mortality caused by infectious diseases in South Korea. Age-standardized mortality from infectious disease decreased from 43.5/100,000 population in 1983 to 16.5/100,000 in 1996, and then increased to 44.6/100,000 in 2015. Tuberculosis was the most common cause of death in 1983 and respiratory tract infections in 2015. We observed a significant decline in infant deaths caused by infectious diseases, but mortality in persons age >65 years increased from 135 deaths/100,000 population in 1996 to 307/100,000 in 2015. The relative inequality indices for respiratory tract infections, sepsis, and tuberculosis tended to increase over time. Although substantial progress has been achieved in terms of infant mortality, death rates from infectious disease has not decreased overall. Elderly populations with lower education levels and subgroups susceptible to respiratory infections and sepsis should be the focus of preventive policies. PMID:29350153

[Bad bats?].

PubMed

Genné, Daniel

2007-10-10

For many centuries, man is fascinated by bats, the only flying mammals. Probably because of their particular immune system, bats can be considered an important reservoir for new emerging viral diseases like SARS-Coronavirus, Marburg fever, Ebola fever and Nipah virus encephalitis. During closer contact, they can transmit rabies and probably other nonviral infectious diseases. Bats get closer to man due to ecological modifications like deforestation, so that transmission of new infectious agents might provoke dramatic epidemics.

Gut reaction.

PubMed

Winter, George

One in five people in the UK suffers an infectious intestinal disease (IID) each year. The most common sources are food, and person-to-person and animal-to-human spread. In 2004, a reported 15,898 people suffered IID. Of these, 134 were admitted to hospital and 11 died. The main agents in IID are viruses, bacteria, protozoa, worms and marine biotoxins. Gastroenteritis should always be considered infectious unless there is good evidence to suggest otherwise.

Bartonella spp. - a chance to establish One Health concepts in veterinary and human medicine.

PubMed

Regier, Yvonne; O Rourke, Fiona; Kempf, Volkhard A J

2016-05-10

Infectious diseases remain a remarkable health threat for humans and animals. In the past, the epidemiology, etiology and pathology of infectious agents affecting humans and animals have mostly been investigated in separate studies. However, it is evident, that combined approaches are needed to understand geographical distribution, transmission and infection biology of "zoonotic agents". The genus Bartonella represents a congenial example of the synergistic benefits that can arise from such combined approaches: Bartonella spp. infect a broad variety of animals, are linked with a constantly increasing number of human diseases and are transmitted via arthropod vectors. As a result, the genus Bartonella is predestined to play a pivotal role in establishing a One Health concept combining veterinary and human medicine.

Adalimumab for the treatment of uveitis.

PubMed

LaMattina, Kara C; Goldstein, Debra A

2017-03-01

Adalimumab, an inhibitor of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), is the only systemic non-corticosteroid agent which has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of non-infectious uveitis. Areas covered: The aim of this review is to summarize the research which demonstrated the effectiveness of adalimumab in the treatment of intraocular inflammation and helped to establish its side effect profile, ultimately leading to its FDA approval. Expert commentary: Adalimumab is a useful second-line agent in the treatment of non-infectious uveitis. While it is only approved in the United States for use in intermediate, posterior, and panuveitis in adults, I find it to be effective in off-label treatment of pediatric uveitis and scleritis as well.

Unexplained Deaths and Critical Illnesses of Suspected Infectious Cause, Taiwan, 2000–2005

PubMed Central

Wei, Kuo-Chen; Jiang, Donald Dah-Shyong; Chiu, Chan-Hsian; Chang, Shan-Chwen

2008-01-01

We report 5 years’ surveillance data from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control on unexplained deaths and critical illnesses suspected of being caused by infection. A total of 130 cases were reported; the incidence rate was 0.12 per 100,000 person-years; and infectious causes were identified for 81 cases (62%). PMID:18826839

Rodents as potential couriers for bioterrorism agents.

PubMed

Lõhmus, Mare; Janse, Ingmar; van de Goot, Frank; van Rotterdam, Bart J

2013-09-01

Many pathogens that can cause major public health, economic, and social damage are relatively easily accessible and could be used as biological weapons. Wildlife is a natural reservoir for many potential bioterrorism agents, and, as history has shown, eliminating a pathogen that has dispersed among wild fauna can be extremely challenging. Since a number of wild rodent species live close to humans, rodents constitute a vector for pathogens to circulate among wildlife, domestic animals, and humans. This article reviews the possible consequences of a deliberate spread of rodentborne pathogens. It is relatively easy to infect wild rodents with certain pathogens or to release infected rodents, and the action would be difficult to trace. Rodents can also function as reservoirs for diseases that have been spread during a bioterrorism attack and cause recurring disease outbreaks. As rats and mice are common in both urban and rural settlements, deliberately released rodentborne infections have the capacity to spread very rapidly. The majority of pathogens that are listed as potential agents of bioterrorism by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases exploit rodents as vectors or reservoirs. In addition to zoonotic diseases, deliberately released rodentborne epizootics can have serious economic consequences for society, for example, in the area of international trade restrictions. The ability to rapidly detect introduced diseases and effectively communicate with the public in crisis situations enables a quick response and is essential for successful and cost-effective disease control.