Emerging Infectious Diseases最新文献

We found Mycobacterium leprae, the most common etiologic agent of Hansen disease or leprosy, in tissues from 9 (18.75%) of 48 nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) collected across continental Ecuador. Finding evidence of a wildlife reservoir is the first step to recognizing leprosy zoonotic transmission pathway in Ecuador or elsewhere.

Understanding Kazakhstan’s plague history is crucial for early warning and effective health disaster management. We used descriptive-analytical methods to analyze spatial data for human cases in natural plague foci in Kazakhstan during 1926–2003. The findings revealed 565 human cases across 82 outbreaks in Almaty (32.22%), Aktobe (1.59%), Atyrau (4.42%), Mangystau (21.24%), and Kyzylorda (40.53%) oblasts. Before antibiotic drugs were introduced in 1947–1948, major plague outbreaks occurred in 1926, 1929, 1945, 1947, and 1948, constituting 80.7% of human transmission. Plague spread through flea bites, camel handling, wild animal contact, aerosol transmissions, and rodent bites. Patients were up to 86 years of age; 49.9% were male and 50.1% female. Pulmonary cases were reported most frequently (72.4%), and person-to-person infection occurred at an incidence rate of 0.29 cases/10,000 population. Risk increased with human expansion into natural plague foci areas. Swift diagnosis and treatment are essential for curbing plague outbreaks in Kazakhstan.

An increase in the number of herpes zoster patients has been reported since universal varicella immunization was introduced, perhaps because of reduced opportunities for varicella patients to experience the natural booster effect caused by reexposure. We investigated recent trends of varicella zoster virus (VZV)–related central nervous system (CNS) infections at a university hospital in Japan. We enrolled patients with suspected CNS infection during 2013–2022 and tested cerebrospinal fluid samples by real-time PCR for DNA from 7 human herpesviruses. VZV DNA was the most commonly detected in 62 (10.2%) of 615 patients. Kulldorff’s circular spatial scan statistics demonstrated a significant temporal cluster of patients with VZV-related CNS infections during 2019–2022 (p = 0.008). Among persons with such infections, the percentage with aseptic meningitis was significantly higher during 2019–2022 (86.8%), when the temporal cluster of cases occurred, than during 2013–2018 (50.0%) (p = 0.0029).

To explore hantavirus infection patterns in Latin America, we conducted molecular and serologic hantavirus investigations among 3,400 febrile patients from Peru during 2020–2021. Reverse transcription PCR indicated that a patient from Loreto, in the Peruvian Amazon, was positive for Rio Mamore hantavirus (3.8 × 10³ copies/mL). High genomic sequence identity of 87.0%–94.8% and phylogenetic common ancestry with a rodent-associated Rio Mamore hantavirus from Loreto in 1996 indicated endemicity. In 832 samples from Loreto, hantavirus incidence based on IgM ELISA of pooled Sin Nombre (SNV) and Andes virus (ANDV) nucleoproteins and immunofluorescence assay–based end-point titration using SNV/ANDV/Hantaan/Puumala/Saarema/Dobrava/Seoul hantaviruses was 0.5%. Across 3 ecologically distinct departments in Peru, SNV/ANDV IgG ELISA/IFA–based reactivity was 1.7%, suggesting circulation of antigenically distinct New World hantaviruses. Testing for arboviruses, nonendemic pathogens, and antigen-free ELISA corroborated nonspecific reactivity in 2 IgG and several IgM ELISA–positive serum samples. Hantavirus diagnostics and surveillance should be strengthened in Peru.

Circovirus human is a new viral species that includes the human circovirus (HCirV), which has been linked to hepatitis in immunocompromised persons. We investigated prevalence of HCirV infection in 278 patients with hepatitis and 184 asymptomatic persons using real-time PCR and sequencing assays. HCirV viremia and sequences were found in 8 (2.9%) hepatitis patients and no asymptomatic patients. Alternate causes of hepatitis (hepatitis E and cholangitis) were clearly identifiable in 2 HCirV-infected patients. HCirV could not be ruled out as a contributor to hepatitis in the remaining 6 patients, 4 of whom were immunocompromised. Persistent infections were documented in 3 patients, but only 1 had relapsing hepatitis. One HCirV patient displayed symptoms of an infectious mononucleosis-like syndrome. Isolates clustered with known HCirV strains from France and China. HCirV-derived virus-like particles bound to PLC/PRF/5 and Hep-G2 human hepatoma cells but not to lung epithelial cells, indicating hepatic tropism.

We performed nanopore-based metagenomic screening on 885 ticks collected from 6 locations in Mongolia and divided the results into 68 samples: 23 individual samples and 45 pools of 2-12 tick samples each. We detected bacterial and parasitic pathogens Anaplasma ovis, Babesia microti, Coxiella burnetii, Borrelia miyamotoi, Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica and novicida, Spiroplasma ixodetis, Theileria equi, and Rickettsia spp., including R. raoultii, R. slovaca, and R. canadensis. We identified the viral pathogens Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (2.9%), recently described Alongshan virus (ALSV) (2.9%), and Beiji nairovirus (5.8%). We assembled ALSV genomes, and maximum-likelihood analyses revealed clustering with viruses reported in humans and ticks from China. For ALSV, we identified surface glycoprotein markers associated with isolates from Asia viruses hosted by Ixodes persulcatus ticks. We also detected 20 virus species of unknown public health impact, including a near-complete Yanggou tick virus genome. Our findings demonstrate that nanopore sequencing can aid in detecting endemic and emerging tickborne pathogens.

In early 2024, explosive outbreaks of Oropouche virus (OROV) linked to a novel lineage were documented in the Amazon Region of Brazil. We report the introduction of this lineage into Colombia and its co-circulation with another OROV lineage. Continued surveillance is needed to prevent further spread of OROV in the Americas.

We conducted a self-controlled case series study to investigate the association between COVID-19 vaccination and facial palsy (FP) in South Korea. We used a large immunization registry linked with the national health information database. We included 44,564,345 patients >18 years of age who received >1 dose of COVID-19 vaccine (BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, or Ad.26.COV2.S) and had an FP diagnosis and corticosteroid prescription within 240 days postvaccination. We compared FP incidence in a risk window (days 1-28) with a control window (the remainder of the 240-day observation period, excluding any risk windows). We found 5,211 patients experienced FP within the risk window and 10,531 experienced FP within the control window. FP risk increased within 28 days postvaccination, primarily after first and second doses and was observed for both mRNA and viral vaccines. Clinicians should carefully assess the FP risk-benefit profile associated with the COVID-19 vaccines and monitor neurologic signs after vaccination.

Infection with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (Bandavirus dabieense) virus poses a substantial public health threat because of its high mortality rates and severe complications. The virus is prevalent in Asia, although data from Thailand are scarce. Our study confirmed the virus in 1.6% of acute febrile illness patients and specific antibodies in 3% of archived samples since 2015 in Thailand. Nationwide zoonotic surveillance identified the virus in 8 rodent species and 4 chigger genera. Our findings underscore the importance of raising awareness among healthcare providers and the general public about the symptoms, risks, and prevention strategies associated with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus infection. Ongoing surveillance of the virus in human and animal populations is essential for monitoring its prevalence, distribution, and potential for emergence.