Articles

Hepatitis B virus variants in an HIV-HBV co-infected patient at different periods of antiretroviral treatment with and without lamivudine

Lamivudine inhibits replication of both human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) and is commonly used as part of antiretroviral therapy. The main limitation in the use of lamivudine is re...

Authors: Eneida A Santos, Michel VF Sucupira, Juçara Arabe and Selma A Gomes

External decontamination of wild leeches with hypochloric acid

Medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, has been used in plastic and reconstructive surgery, to relieve venous congestion and to improve the microrevascularization of flaps. In many countries, wild leeches are still...

Authors: Atakan Aydin, Hasan Nazik, Samet Vasfi Kuvat, Nezahat Gurler, Betigul Ongen, Serdar Tuncer, Emre Hocaoglu and Sinan Nur Kesim

Patterns of geohelminth infection, impact of albendazole treatment and re-infection after treatment in schoolchildren from rural KwaZulu-Natal/South-Africa

Geohelminth infection is a major health problem of children from rural areas of developing countries. In an attempt to reduce this burden, the Department of Health of the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) establ...

Authors: Elmar Saathoff, Annette Olsen, Jane D Kvalsvig and Chris C Appleton

Epidemiological evidence of higher susceptibility to vCJD in the young

The strikingly young age of new variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (vCJD) cases remains unexplained. Age dependent susceptibility to infection has been put forward, but differential dietary exposure to contamin...

Authors: Pierre-Yves Boëlle, Jean-Yves Cesbron and Alain-Jacques Valleron

Epidemiology of the human immunodeficiency virus in Saudi Arabia; 18-year surveillance results and prevention from an Islamic perspective

data on HIV epidemiology and preventive measures in Islamic countries is limited. This study describes the results of 18-year of HIV surveillance in Saudi Arabia (SA) and the preventive measures implemented fr...

Authors: Tariq A Madani, Yagob Y Al-Mazrou, Mohammad H Al-Jeffri and Naser S Al Huzaim

Meningitis due to Fusobacterium necrophorumin an adult

Fusobacterium necrophorum may cause a number of clinical syndromes, collectively known as necrobacillosis. Meningitis is a significant cause of mortality, rarely reported in the adult population.

Authors: SreeNeelima Garimella, Aparna Inaparthy and Thomas Herchline

Caveolin-2 associates with intracellular chlamydial inclusions independently of caveolin-1

Lipid raft domains form in plasma membranes of eukaryotic cells by the tight packing of glycosphingolipids and cholesterol. Caveolae are invaginated structures that form in lipid raft domains when the protein ...

Authors: Wilmore C Webley, Leonard C Norkin and Elizabeth S Stuart

Chronological changes of incidence and prognosis of children with asymptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus infection in Sapporo, Japan

Chronological changes of the incidence of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and the longitudinal prognosis in children with asymptomatic congenital infection were investigated.

Authors: Kei Numazaki and Tomoko Fujikawa

Serotype-specific mortality from invasive Streptococcus pneumoniaedisease revisited

Invasive infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococci) causes significant morbidity and mortality. Case series and experimental data have shown that the capsular serotype is involved in the pathogenesis a...

Authors: Pernille Martens, Signe Westring Worm, Bettina Lundgren, Helle Bossen Konradsen and Thomas Benfield

Visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum in a Spanish patient in Argentina: What is the origin of the infection? Case report

The question "Where have you been?" is a common one asked by doctors in Northern Europe and America when faced with clinical symptoms not typical of their country. This question must also arise in the clinics ...

Authors: Joaquina Martín-Sánchez, José M Navarro-Mari, Juan Pasquau-Liaño, Oscar D Salomón and Francisco Morillas-Márquez

A study of empyema thoracis and role of intrapleural streptokinase in its management

Clinical spectrum, microbiology and outcome of empyema thoracis are changing. Intrapleural instillation of fibrinolytic agents is being increasingly used for management of empyema thoracis. The present study w...

Authors: Amit Banga, GC Khilnani, SK Sharma, AB Dey, Naveet Wig and Namrata Banga

Ofloxacin plus Rifampicin versus Doxycycline plus Rifampicin in the treatment of brucellosis: a randomized clinical trial [ISRCTN11871179]

The combination therapies recommended by the World Health Organization for treatment of brucellosis are doxycycline plus rifampicin or doxycycline plus streptomycin. Although highly successful results have bee...

Authors: Oguz Karabay, Irfan Sencan, Derya Kayas and Idris Şahin

Implementing a public web based GIS service for feedback of surveillance data on communicable diseases in Sweden

Surveillance data allow for analysis, providing public health officials and policy-makers with a basis for long-term priorities and timely information on possible outbreaks for rapid response (data for action)...

Authors: Per Rolfhamre, Katarzyna Grabowska and Karl Ekdahl

Serratia marcescens internalization and replication in human bladder epithelial cells

Serratia marcescens, a frequent agent of catheterization-associated bacteriuria, strongly adheres to human bladder epithelial cells in culture. The epithelium normally provides a barrier between lumal organisms ...

Authors: Ralf Hertle and Heinz Schwarz

Fast detection of Noroviruses using a real-time PCR assay and automated sample preparation

Noroviruses (NoV) have become one of the most commonly reported causative agents of large outbreaks of non-bacterial acute gastroenteritis worldwide as well as sporadic gastroenteritis in the community. Curren...

Authors: Michael Schmid, Rainer Oehme, Gunnar Schalasta, Stefan Brockmann, Peter Kimmig and Gisela Enders

Erratum to: Stampidine prevents mortality in an experimental mouse model of viral hemorrhagic fever caused by lassa virus

Authors: Fatih M Uckun, Alexander S Petkevich, Alexei O Vassilev, Heather E Tibbles and Leonid Titov

Micro-geographical variation in exposure to Schistosoma mansoni and malaria, and exacerbation of splenomegaly in Kenyan school-aged children

Schistosoma mansoni and Plasmodium falciparum are common infections of school aged children in Kenya. They both cause enlargement of the spleen, but their relative contribution to the condition of splenomegaly r...

Authors: Mark Booth, Birgitte J Vennervald, LeeCarol Kenty, Anthony E Butterworth, Henry C Kariuki, Hilda Kadzo, Edmund Ireri, Clifford Amaganga, Gachuhi Kimani, Joseph K Mwatha, Amos Otedo, John H Ouma, Eric Muchiri and David W Dunne

Antimicrobial activity of innate immune molecules against Streptococcus pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis and nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae

Despite its direct connection to the nasopharynx which harbors otitis media pathogens as part of its normal flora, the middle ear cavity is kept free of these bacteria by as yet unknown mechanisms. Respiratory...

Authors: Haa-Yung Lee, Ali Andalibi, Paul Webster, Sung-Kyun Moon, Karen Teufert, Sung-Ho Kang, Jian-Dong Li, Mitsuyoshi Nagura, Tomas Ganz and David J Lim

Incorrect identification of recent Asian strains of Coxsackievirus A16 as human enterovirus 71: Improved primers for the specific detection of human enterovirus 71 by RT PCR

Human enterovirus 71 has emerged as an important pathogen in the Asia Pacific region and it is important to be able to make a rapid and specific diagnosis for outbreak control. Recent Asian strains of Coxsacki...

Authors: David Perera, Yuwana Podin, Winnie Akin, Cheng-Siang Tan and Mary Jane Cardosa

Seroepidemiology of Herpes Simplex virus type 1 and 2 in Western and Southern Switzerland in adults aged 25–74 in 1992–93 : a population-based study

Genital herpes is one of the most prevalent sexually-transmitted diseases, and accounts for a substantial morbidity. Genital herpes puts newborns at risk for very severe disease and also increases the risk of ...

Authors: Dominique Bünzli, Vincent Wietlisbach, Fabrizio Barazzoni, Roland Sahli and Pascal RA Meylan

Assessing anti-rabies baiting – what happens on the ground?

Rabies is one of the most hazardous zoonoses in the world. Oral mass vaccination has developed into the most effective management method to control fox rabies. The future need to control the disease in large c...

Authors: Hans-Hermann Thulke, Thomas Selhorst, Thomas Müller, Tomasz Wyszomirski, Uli Müller and Urs Breitenmoser

Microdissection: A method developed to investigate mechanisms involved in transmissible spongiform encephalopathy pathogenesis

The transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a group of neurodegenerative diseases affecting both human and animals. The neuroanatomical changes which occur in the central nervous system (CNS) of T...

Authors: Janice B Barr, Robert A Somerville, Yuen-Li Chung and Janet R Fraser

Exacerbated inflammatory cellular immune response characteristics of HAM/TSP is observed in a large proportion of HTLV-I asymptomatic carriers

A small fraction of Human T cell Leukemia Virus type-1 (HTLV-I) infected subjects develop a severe form of myelopathy. It has been established that patients with HTLV-I associated myelopathy/tropical spastic p...

Authors: Silvane Braga Santos, Aurélia Fonseca Porto, André Luiz Muniz, Amélia Ribeiro de Jesus, Elza Magalhães, Ailton Melo, Walderez O Dutra, Kenneth J Gollob and Edgar M Carvalho

Nucleic acid amplification tests in the diagnosis of tuberculous pleuritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Conventional tests for tuberculous pleuritis have several limitations. A variety of new, rapid tests such as nucleic acid amplification tests – including polymerase chain reaction – have been evaluated in rece...

Authors: Madhukar Pai, Laura L Flores, Alan Hubbard, Lee W Riley and John M Colford Jr

Association of Atopobium vaginae, a recently described metronidazole resistant anaerobe, with bacterial vaginosis

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a polymicrobial syndrome characterized by a change in vaginal flora away from predominantly Lactobacillus species. The cause of BV is unknown, but the condition has been implicated in ...

Authors: Michael J Ferris, Alicia Masztal, Kenneth E Aldridge, J Dennis Fortenberry, Paul L Fidel Jr and David H Martin

The presence of non-organ-specific autoantibodies is associated with a negative response to combination therapy with interferon and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C

Non-organ-specific autoantibodies are found in a considerable number of anti-HCV positive patients. Previous studies investigated the clinical relevance of these antibodies in patients treated with interferon ...

Authors: Hermann E Wasmuth, Christian Stolte, Andreas Geier, Christoph G Dietrich, Carsten Gartung, Johann Lorenzen, Siegfried Matern and Frank Lammert

Date of origin of the SARS coronavirus strains

A new respiratory infectious epidemic, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), broke out and spread throughout the world. By now the putative pathogen of SARS has been identified as a new coronavirus, a single ...

Authors: Hongchao Lu, Yi Zhao, Jingfen Zhang, Yuelan Wang, Wei Li, Xiaopeng Zhu, Shiwei Sun, Jingyi Xu, Lunjiang Ling, Lun Cai, Dongbo Bu and Runsheng Chen

Common variable immunodeficiency syndrome with right aortic arch: a case report

Common variable immunodificiency syndrome predominantly affects adults. It is characterized by low production of all the major classes of immunoglobulins. We report a case of common variable immunodeficiency s...

Authors: Arzu Didem Yalcin, Nese Aydemir, Huseyin Turgut, Riza Hakan Erbay and Ata Nevzat Yalcin

Stampidine prevents mortality in an experimental mouse model of viral hemorrhagic fever caused by lassa virus

The potential use of microorganisms as agents of biological warfare (BW) is a growing concern. Lassa virus, a member of the Arenavirus class of Hemorrhagic fever (HF) viruses has emerged as a worldwide concern...

Authors: Fatih M Uckun, Alexander S Petkevich, Alexei O Vassilev, Heather E Tibbles and Leonid Titov

An improved microtiter assay for evaluating anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies from sera or plasma

The anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibody assay is widely used in AIDS vaccine research and other experimental and clinical studies. The vital dye staining method applied in the detection of anti-HIV-1 neutralizing...

Authors: Chiyu Zhang, Yunyun Chen and Kunlong Ben

HIV infected adults do not have an excess of colonising bacteria in their large airways

HIV infected adults have increased susceptibility to bacterial pneumonia but the underlying immune defect is poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that HIV infection might be associated with increased ba...

Authors: Stephen B Gordon, Janelisa Musaya, Lorna Wilson, Amos Phiri, Eduard E Zijlstra and Malcolm E Molyneux

vCJD risk in the Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland has the second highest incidence of BSE worldwide. Only a single case of vCJD has been identified to date.

Authors: Michael S Harney, Azra C Ghani, CA Donnelly, Rory McConn Walsh, Michael Walsh, Rachel Howley, Francesca Brett and Michael Farrell

Water dispersible microbicidal cellulose acetate phthalate film

Cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP) has been used for several decades in the pharmaceutical industry for enteric film coating of oral tablets and capsules. Micronized CAP, available commercially as "Aquateric" a...

Authors: A Robert Neurath, Nathan Strick and Yun-Yao Li

RIDOM: Comprehensive and public sequence database for identification of Mycobacteriumspecies

Molecular identification of Mycobacterium species has two primary advantages when compared to phenotypic identification: rapid turn-around time and improved accuracy. The information content of the 5' end of the ...

Authors: Dag Harmsen, Stefan Dostal, Andreas Roth, Stefan Niemann, Jörg Rothgänger, Michael Sammeth, Jürgen Albert, Matthias Frosch and Elvira Richter

HIV infection and risk factors among Bangkok prisoners, Thailand: a prospective cohort study

Incarceration has been associated with HIV infection among injection drug users. However, data on HIV risk factors of the inmates during incarceration are rarely reported from Thailand.

Authors: Hansa Thaisri, John Lerwitworapong, Suthon Vongsheree, Pathom Sawanpanyalert, Chanchai Chadbanchachai, Archawin Rojanawiwat, Wichuda Kongpromsook, Wiroj Paungtubtim, Pongnuwat Sri-ngam and Rachaneekorn Jaisue

Determination of decimal reduction time (D value) of chemical agents used in hospitals for disinfection purposes

Prior to the selection of disinfectants for low, intermediate and high (sterilizing) levels, the decimal reduction time, D-value, for the most common and persistent bacteria identified at a health care facilit...

Authors: Priscila Gava Mazzola, Thereza Christina Vessoni Penna and Alzira M da S Martins

Evaluation of adjunctive HPV testing by Hybrid Capture II^®in women with minor cytological abnormalities for the diagnosis of CIN2/3 and cost comparison with colposcopy

As a proportion of high grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2/3) are associated with equivocal cervical smears, which show borderline or mild dyskaryosis, follow up with repeat smears, colposcopy and ...

Authors: Andrea Guyot, Shakir Karim, May S Kyi and John Fox

Dio-sensimedia: a novel culture medium for rapid detection of extended spectrum β-lactamases

Resistance to contemporary broad-spectrum β-lactams, mediated by extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL), is an increasing problem worldwide. Many of the emerging antimicrobial resistance problems of this decade...

Authors: Atahan A Cagatay, Tanil Kocagoz and Haluk Eraksoy

Risk factors for high anti-HHV-8 antibody titers (≥1:51,200) in black, HIV-1 negative South African cancer patients: a case control study

Infection with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), also known as Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), is the necessary causal agent in the development of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Infection with HIV-1, male g...

Authors: Janet M Wojcicki, Rob Newton, Margaret I Urban, Lara Stein, Martin Hale, Moosa Patel, Paul Ruff, Ranjan Sur, Dimitra Bourboulia and Freddy Sitas

An unusual presentation of Castleman's Disease:a case report

Castleman's disease (CD), a rare condition of uncertain etiology, involves a massive proliferation of lymphoid tissues and typically presents as mediastinal masses. We describe a patient with CD who presented ...

Authors: Ifeoma S Izuchukwu, Kamal Tourbaf and Martin C Mahoney

A double epidemic model for the SARS propagation

An epidemic of a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) caused by a new coronavirus has spread from the Guangdong province to the rest of China and to the world, with a puzzling contagion behavior. It is imp...

Authors: Tuen Wai Ng, Gabriel Turinici and Antoine Danchin

Conventional and molecular epidemiology of Tuberculosis in Manitoba

To describe the demographic and geographic distribution of tuberculosis (TB) in Manitoba, thus determining risk factors associated with clustering and higher incidence rates in distinct subpopulations.

Authors: Kym S Blackwood, Assaad Al-Azem, Lawrence J Elliott, Earl S Hershfield and Amin M Kabani

Safety and immunogenicity of three doses of an eleven-valent diphtheria toxoid and tetanus protein – conjugated pneumococcal vaccine in Filipino infants

An 11-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine could provide significantly larger reduction in pneumococcal disease burden than the currently available 7-valent vaccine formulation in many countries.

Authors: Maria Z Rosario Capeding, Taneli Puumalainen, Connie P Gepanayao, Helena Käyhty, Marilla G Lucero and Hanna Nohynek

Myocarditis related to Campylobacter jejuniinfection: A case report

Myocarditis can develop as a complication of various infections and is most commonly linked to enterovirus infections. Myocarditis is rarely associated with bacterial infections; salmonellosis and shigellosis ...

Authors: Christy Cunningham and Christine H Lee

I-TRAP: A method to identify transcriptional regulator activated promoters

The differential expression of virulence genes is often used by microbial pathogens in adapting to the environment of their host. The differential expression of such sets of genes can be regulated by RNA polym...

Authors: Molly M McLendon and Thomas M Shinnick

OspA heterogeneity of Borrelia valaisianaconfirmed by phenotypic and genotypic analyses

Although European Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato isolates have been divided into five genospecies, specific tools for the serotype characterization of only three genospecies are available. Monoclonals antibodies...

Authors: Karine Ryffel, Olivier Péter, Eric Dayer, Anne-Gabrielle Bretz and Edmond Godfroid

Lateral Gene Transfer (LGT) between Archaea and Escherichia coliis a contributor to the emergence of novel infectious disease

Lateral gene transfer is the major mechanism for acquisition of new virulence genes in pathogens. Recent whole genome analyses have suggested massive gene transfer between widely divergent organisms.

Authors: David M Faguy

Bioelectronic DNA detection of human papillomaviruses using eSensor™: a model system for detection of multiple pathogens

We used human papillomaviruses (HPV) as a model system to evaluate the utility of a nucleic acid, hybridization-based bioelectronic DNA detection platform (eSensor™) in identifying multiple pathogens.

Authors: Suzanne D Vernon, Daniel H Farkas, Elizabeth R Unger, Vivian Chan, Donna L Miller, Yin-Peng Chen, Gary F Blackburn and William C Reeves

Determinants for hospitalization in " low-risk" community acquired pneumonia

A variable decision in managing community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the initial site of care; in-patient versus outpatient. These variations persist despite comprehensive practice guidelines. Patients with a...

Authors: Zakari Y Aliyu, Muktar H Aliyu and Ken McCormick

Twice-daily amprenavir 1200 mg versus amprenavir 600 mg/ritonavir 100 mg, in combination with at least 2 other antiretroviral drugs, in HIV-1-infected patients

Low-dose ritonavir (RTV) boosts plasma amprenavir (APV) exposure. Little has been published on the efficacy, tolerability, and safety of APV 600 mg/RTV 100 mg (APV600/RTV) twice daily (BID) compared to APV 120...

Authors: Jeffrey P Nadler, Joseph C Gathe, Richard B Pollard, Gary J Richmond, Qiming Liao, Sandy Griffith, C Tracey Lancaster, Jaime E Hernandez and Keith A Pappa