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Research and Reports in Tropical... 2021Strongyloidiasis is a parasitic infection distributed worldwide, with an estimated 614 million people infected. Strongyloidiasis usually presents asymptomatically or... (Review)
Review
Strongyloidiasis is a parasitic infection distributed worldwide, with an estimated 614 million people infected. Strongyloidiasis usually presents asymptomatically or with aspecific and mild clinical symptoms, mainly cutaneous, respiratory, or gastrointestinal. Disseminated disease and hyperinfection syndrome are the most serious complications, have a high mortality rate, usually occur in immunosuppressed patients, and are particularly associated with the use of corticosteroids. Strongyloidiasis is the most neglected of the neglected diseases, and its occurrence in pregnancy has been neglected and understudied. In this review, we focus on the effects of strongyloidiasis during pregnancy and highlight the knowledge shortage and the need for more research on the subject. There are few studies addressing strongyloidiasis prevalence during pregnancy and hyperinfection incidence during pregnancy is practically unknown, with only isolated case reports published. Although data are scarce, the infection has been associated with developmental disabilities and anemia during pregnancy, while hyperinfection may cause both maternal and neonatal death. Data on the best screening and diagnostic strategies during pregnancy are lacking. There is insufficient evidence on ivermectin safety in pregnancy, complicating treatment recommendations.
PubMed: 34584485
DOI: 10.2147/RRTM.S282268 -
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2019, or Group A Streptococcus (GAS), is a human-restricted pathogen most commonly found in the posterior oropharynx of the human host. The bacterium is responsible for 600... (Review)
Review
, or Group A Streptococcus (GAS), is a human-restricted pathogen most commonly found in the posterior oropharynx of the human host. The bacterium is responsible for 600 million annual cases of pharyngitis globally and has been found to asymptomatically colonize the pharynxes of 4-30% of the population. As such, many studies have utilized animals as models in order to decipher bacterial and host elements that contribute to the bacterial-pharyngeal interaction and determine differences between acute infection and asymptomatic colonization. The aim of this review is to first describe both bacterial and host factors that are important for the pharyngeal persistence of GAS in humans, then to detail the bacterial and host factors that are important for colonization in murine model, and finally to compare the two in order to evaluate the strength of murine pharyngeal colonization as a model for the human-GAS pharyngeal interaction.
Topics: Animals; Carrier State; Disease Models, Animal; Mice; Pharynx; Streptococcal Infections; Streptococcus pyogenes
PubMed: 31119108
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00137 -
International Journal of Molecular... May 2023, a Gram-positive, coagulase-positive pathogen belonging to the family with a spherical shape that forms grape-like clusters, is a commensal that is often present...
, a Gram-positive, coagulase-positive pathogen belonging to the family with a spherical shape that forms grape-like clusters, is a commensal that is often present asymptomatically on parts of the human body [...].
Topics: Humans; Staphylococcus aureus; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Staphylococcal Infections; Coagulase; Microbial Sensitivity Tests
PubMed: 37175886
DOI: 10.3390/ijms24098182 -
Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) Feb 2022is a commensal fungus that asymptomatically colonizes the skin and mucosa of 60% of healthy individuals. Breaches in the cutaneous and mucosal barriers trigger... (Review)
Review
is a commensal fungus that asymptomatically colonizes the skin and mucosa of 60% of healthy individuals. Breaches in the cutaneous and mucosal barriers trigger candidiasis that ranges from asymptomatic candidemia and mucosal infections to fulminant sepsis with 70% mortality rates. Fungi influence at least several diseases, in part by mechanisms such as the production of pro-carcinogenic agents, molecular mimicking, and triggering of the inflammation cascade. These processes impact the interactions among human pathogenic and resident fungi, the bacteriome in various organs/tissues, and the host immune system, dictating the outcomes of invasive infections, metabolic diseases, and cancer. Although mechanistic investigations are at stages of infancy, recent studies have advanced our understanding of host-fungal interactions, their role in immune homeostasis, and their associated pathologies. This review summarizes the role of and other opportunistic fungi, specifically their association with various diseases, providing a glimpse at the recent developments and our current knowledge in the context of inflammatory-bowel disease (IBD), cancers, and COVID-19. Two of the most common human diseases where fungal interactions have been previously well-studied are cancer and IBD. Here we also discuss the emerging role of fungi in the ongoing and evolving pandemic of COVID-19, as it is relevant to current health affairs.
PubMed: 35215155
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11020212 -
Nature Medicine Oct 2023Despite enhanced infection prevention efforts, Clostridioides difficile remains the leading cause of healthcare-associated infections in the United States. Current...
Despite enhanced infection prevention efforts, Clostridioides difficile remains the leading cause of healthcare-associated infections in the United States. Current prevention strategies are limited by their failure to account for patients who carry C. difficile asymptomatically, who may act as hidden reservoirs transmitting infections to other patients. To improve the understanding of asymptomatic carriers' contribution to C. difficile spread, we conducted admission and daily longitudinal culture-based screening for C. difficile in a US-based intensive care unit over nine months and performed whole-genome sequencing on all recovered isolates. Despite a high burden of carriage, with 9.3% of admissions having toxigenic C. difficile detected in at least one sample, only 1% of patients culturing negative on admission to the unit acquired C. difficile via cross-transmission. While patients who carried toxigenic C. difficile on admission posed minimal risk to others, they themselves had a 24-times greater risk for developing a healthcare-onset C. difficile infection than noncarriers. Together, these findings suggest that current infection prevention practices can be effective in preventing nosocomial cross-transmission of C. difficile, and that decreasing C. difficile infections in hospitals further will require interventions targeting the transition from asymptomatic carriage to infection.
Topics: Humans; United States; Clostridioides difficile; Clostridioides; Clostridium Infections; Genomics; Intensive Care Units
PubMed: 37723252
DOI: 10.1038/s41591-023-02549-4 -
Current Opinion in Microbiology Feb 2023Infections caused by the Candida species of human fungal pathogens are a significant medical problem because they can disseminate to nearly every organ of the body. In... (Review)
Review
Infections caused by the Candida species of human fungal pathogens are a significant medical problem because they can disseminate to nearly every organ of the body. In addition, there are only a few classes of antifungal drugs available to treat patients with invasive fungal infections. Candida infections that are associated with biofilms can withstand much higher concentrations of antifungal drugs compared with infections caused by planktonic cells, thus making biofilm infections particularly challenging to treat. Candida albicans is among the most prevalent fungal species of the human microbiota, asymptomatically colonizing several niches of the body, including the gastrointestinal tract, genitourinary tract, mouth, and skin. Immunocompromised health conditions, dysbiosis of the microbiota, or environmental changes, however, can lead to C. albicans overgrowth, causing infections that range from superficial mucosal infections to severe hematogenously disseminated infections. Here, we review the current knowledge of antifungal drug-resistance mechanisms occurring in Candida biofilms.
Topics: Humans; Candida; Antifungal Agents; Candida albicans; Candidiasis; Biofilms; Microbial Sensitivity Tests
PubMed: 36436326
DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2022.102237 -
Child's Nervous System : ChNS :... Jan 2018Zika Virus (ZIKV), member of Flaviviridae family and Flavivirus genus, has recently emerged as international public health emergency after its association with neonatal... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Zika Virus (ZIKV), member of Flaviviridae family and Flavivirus genus, has recently emerged as international public health emergency after its association with neonatal microcephaly cases. Clinical diagnosis hindrance involves symptom similarities produced by other arbovirus infections, therefore laboratory confirmation is of paramount importance.
DISCUSSION
The most reliable test available is based on ZIKV RNA detection from body fluid samples. However, short viremia window periods and asymptomatic infections diminish the success rate for RT-PCR positivity. Beyond molecular detection, all serology tests in areas where other Flavivirus circulates proved to be a difficult task due to the broad range of cross-reactivity, especially with dengue pre-exposed individuals.
CONCLUSION
Altogether, lack of serological diagnostic tools brings limitations to any retrospective evaluation. Those studies are central in the context of congenital infection that could occur asymptomatically and mask prevalence and risk rates.
Topics: Adult; Antibodies, Viral; Body Fluids; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Microcephaly; Pathology, Molecular; Zika Virus Infection
PubMed: 29110196
DOI: 10.1007/s00381-017-3641-5 -
Clinical Medicine (London, England) May 2022Accelerated coronary artery disease seen following radiation exposure is termed 'radiation-induced coronary artery disease' (RICAD) and results from both the direct and... (Review)
Review
Accelerated coronary artery disease seen following radiation exposure is termed 'radiation-induced coronary artery disease' (RICAD) and results from both the direct and indirect effects of radiation exposure. Long-term data are available from survivors of nuclear explosions and accidents, nuclear workers as well as from radiotherapy patients. The last group is, by far, the biggest cause of RICAD presentation.The incidence of RICAD continues to increase as cancer survival rates improve and it is now the second most common cause of morbidity and mortality in patients treated with radiotherapy for breast cancer, Hodgkin's lymphoma and other mediastinal malignancies. RICAD will frequently present atypically or even asymptomatically with a latency period of at least 10 years after radiotherapy treatment. An awareness of RICAD, as a long-term complication of radiotherapy, is therefore essential for the cardiologist, oncologist and general medical physician alike.Prior cardiac risk factors, a higher radiation dose and a younger age at exposure seem to increase a patient's risk ratio of developing RICAD. Significant radiation exposure, therefore, requires a low threshold for screening for early diagnosis and timely intervention.
Topics: Coronary Artery Disease; Hodgkin Disease; Humans; Incidence; Risk Factors; Survival Rate
PubMed: 35584837
DOI: 10.7861/clinmed.2021-0600 -
Medicinski Pregled 2016Tick-borne meningoencephalitis virus is a flavivirus that causes the most important vector-borne central nervous system infection in many countries of Europe and Asia.... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Tick-borne meningoencephalitis virus is a flavivirus that causes the most important vector-borne central nervous system infection in many countries of Europe and Asia. There are three subtypes of tick-borne encephalitis virus: European, Siberian and the Far-Eastern subtype.
TRANSMISSION
In endemic areas, the virus remains in transmissive cycles between Ixodes ticks and small rodents.
CLINICAL PICTURE
In most cases (70-98%) infection goes asymptomatically. In about one-third of meningitis cases, meningoencephalitis or meningomyelitis is developed. Postencephalytic syndrome may be the complication of the infection, presenting with neurological symptoms.
DIAGNOSIS
Etiologic diagnosis of tick-borne meningoencephalitis is only made on basis of laboratory analyses. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction is used for determining the presence of virus in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid. Antibodies in blood and cerebrospinal fluid can be detected by serological tests.
PREVENTION
The most efficient way to control this potentially severe disease with possible serious long-term consequences is vaccination. It should be recommended to persons who live or travel to endemic areas.
CONCLUSION
In Serbia, tick-borne encephalitis virus infection belongs to the list of reportable diseases; however, there are no reported cases because the diagnostics is not performed routinely. We believe that the significance of this zoonosis must be examined in our country and some of its parts because of preliminary positive serological findings found out in Vojvodina as well as because of reported cases in neighboring countries such as Hungary and Croatia and its worldwide distribution.
Topics: Animals; Antibodies, Viral; Asia; Asymptomatic Infections; Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne; Encephalitis, Tick-Borne; Endemic Diseases; Europe; Humans; Insect Vectors; Ixodes; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Viral Vaccines
PubMed: 27506096
DOI: 10.2298/mpns1604093h -
Clinics in Dermatology 2021Macular arteritis (MA) has a striking discordance between the clinical presentation of hyperpigmented macules and the histopathologic findings of a lymphocytic arteritis...
Macular arteritis (MA) has a striking discordance between the clinical presentation of hyperpigmented macules and the histopathologic findings of a lymphocytic arteritis with intraluminal hyalinized fibrin ring and thrombosis. It has been proposed that MA represents the chronic, indolent, lymphocytic form of the neutrophil-predominant cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa. MA usually affects middle-aged women asymptomatically on the legs. There is also a slightly more severe variant with more infiltrated plaques and livedo racemosa, termed lymphocytic thrombophilic arteritis. MA and lymphocytic thrombophilic arteritis have similar histologic features, both with a largely intact vascular elastic lamina, despite the abundant fibrin and endarteritis obliterans. There is no evidence for progression from MA to lymphocytic thrombophilic arteritis to cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa, and aggressive therapy should be avoided in MA, given the indolent, benign disease course.
Topics: Arteritis; Female; Humans; Lymphocytes; Middle Aged; Polyarteritis Nodosa; Skin; Skin Diseases, Vascular
PubMed: 34272022
DOI: 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2020.10.011