Infectious Disease Reports最新文献

(1) Background/Objectives: Delayed esophageal perforation following anterior cervical (spine) discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is rare but can lead to serious infectious complications. The treatment usually involves hardware explanation and prolonged intravenous antibiotics; however, there are scarce reports about the microbiology of these infections and corresponding targeted therapy. (2) Methods: Patients diagnosed or treated for delayed esophageal perforation after anterior cervical fusion between 2000-2020 at a tertiary medical center were studied. (3) Results: Seven patients with delayed esophageal perforation following ACDF were identified. The most common bacteria isolated included Streptococcus, Haemophilus, and Mycobacterium species. The cultures from five patients grew fungal species, including Candida albicans and C. glabrata. All the patients received several weeks of broad-spectrum antibiotics, and, notably, 5/7 patients received antifungal therapy targeting Candida. (4) Conclusions: Although the incidence of delayed esophageal perforation following ACDF is low, providers should remain aware of this entity due to the serious infectious complications. Most infections are polymicrobial in nature, and providers should consider empiric antifungal coverage specifically targeting Candida species when treating patients with this complication.

Background: Variations in the fusion (F) protein of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) with main antigenic sites I-V and Ø may affect the development of RSV vaccines and therapies.

Methods: In the study, 30 respiratory specimens positive for RSV were randomly selected from children with acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) in Beijing every year from 2012 to 2021 for F gene sequencing. Then, 300 F gene sequences and 508 uploaded to GenBank from China were subjected to phylogenetic analysis.

Results: The results indicated the nucleotide identities were 95.4-100% among 446 sequences of RSV A, and 96.3-100% among 362 of RSV B. The most common variant loci were N80K (100.00%) and R213S (97.76%) for site Ø, and V384I/T (98.43%) for site I among sequences of RSV A, and M152I (100.00%), I185V (100.00%), and L172Q/H (94.48%) for site V, and R202Q (99.45%) for site Ø among sequences of RSV B. N276S appears in 95.29% sequences of RSV A, while S276N and N262 I/S appear in 1.38% and 0.55% sequences of RSV B, respectively. No variation was found in all sequences at the binding sites of 14N4 and motavizumab.

Conclusions: There were cumulative variations of the RSV F gene, especially at some binding sites of antigenic sites.

Objective: We present the case of a 26-year-old male with severe spinal tuberculosis of the thoracolumbar region. The patient suffered from worsening back pain over five years, initially responding to over-the-counter analgesics. Despite being proposed surgery in 2019, the patient refused the intervention and subsequently experienced significant disease progression.

Methods: Upon re-presentation in 2022, mild involvement of the T12-L1 vertebrae was recorded by imaging, leading to a percutaneous needle biopsy which confirmed tuberculosis. Despite undergoing anti-tuberculous therapy for one year, the follow-up in 2024 revealed extensive infection from T10 to S1, with large psoas abscesses and a pseudo-tumoral mass of the right thigh. The patient was ultimately submitted to a two-stage surgical intervention: anterior resection and reconstruction of T11-L1 with an expandable cage, followed by posterior stabilization from T8-S1.

Results: Postoperative recovery was uneventful, with significant pain relief and no neurological deficits. The patient was discharged on a continued anti-tuberculous regimen and remains under close surveillance.

Conclusions: This paper presents details on the challenges of diagnosis and management of severe spinal tuberculosis, with emphasis on the importance of timely intervention and multidisciplinary care.

Aim: Respiratory viruses significantly impact public health, contributing to high morbidity and mortality rates in both children and adults. This study evaluates the distribution and incidence of respiratory tract viruses in our hospital from 2019 to 2022, focusing on changes post-COVID-19 pandemic. Material and Methods: Utilizing molecular methods, we analyzed nasopharyngeal swabs with the FTD Respiratory Pathogens 21 kit and the QIAStat Dx Respiratory Panel kit at Istanbul Faculty of Medicine. A total of 1186 viruses were detected in 2488 samples (47.6% of the total) examined with the FTD Respiratory Pathogens 21 kit between 2019 and 2022. Results: It was determined that the detection rates were 52.8% in 2019, 44.3% in 2020, 50.0% in 2021, and 40.0% in 2022. Notable changes in prevalence were observed for pandemic influenza A (IAV-H1N1pdm2009), parainfluenza virus (PIV)-3, rhinovirus (RV), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-A/B (p < 0.05). RV consistently showed the highest detection rates across all years (17.6% to 7.9%). Additionally, 1276 viruses were detected in 1496 samples using the QIAStat DX kit, with 91.3% positivity in 2021 and 78.6% in 2022, highlighting the kit's effectiveness in rapid diagnosis. Conclusions: This study enhances understanding of respiratory virus epidemiology during and after the pandemic, emphasizing the need for ongoing surveillance and strategic public health measures to address the evolving landscape of respiratory infections.

Malignant lymphoma is an unusual form of gallbladder neoplasm. Almost all these tumors are diffuse large B-cell lymphomas or mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue-type lymphomas. Herein, we present a literature review of gallbladder Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cases that includes also an unpublished case in an HIV-infected child, observed by our center. The patient (a five-year-old black female child) attended the Federal Hospital of Lagoa, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, underwent cholecystectomy, and the postoperative pathological analysis of the gallbladder revealed a diagnosis of BL (EBV-positive). Also, HIV serology was performed and returned positive. She was transferred to the Martagão Gesteira Institute of Pediatrics and Childcare for oncological treatment, dying from sepsis and disease progression about 18 months later. The patient did not undergo ART/cART. Previous cases of gallbladder BL were herein described and analyzed to characterize the clinicopathological features and possible similarities. BL can occur in the gallbladder both in the context of HIV infection and in the pediatric population. A biopsy is mandatory in cases with suggestive findings of lymphoma, and an early diagnosis can change the course of the disease. Furthermore, the case highlights the importance of an early initiation of ART/cART in people living with HIV (PLWH), especially in children.

In July 2024, poliovirus was identified in Gaza, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to issue a warning regarding the potential for polio to spread in the region [...].

Introduction: Invasive fungal infections affecting the central nervous system (CNS) are a major health concern worldwide associated with high mortality rates. Their increased incidence is largely due to an increase in the vulnerable immunocompromised population, changing environmental factors, and development of more accurate diagnostic methods. The aim of this article is to identify fungal causes of CNS infections that are recently emerging or have the potential to become emerging pathogens in the near future, as well as their clinical characteristics, including: Candida auris, Trichosporon spp., Blastomyces spp., Sporothrix spp., Talaromyces marneffei, Lomentospora prolificans, and Scedosporium spp.

Methods: A review of the literature in PubMed in the last ten years was conducted to identify central nervous system infections caused by each of these fungi.

Results: The review identified 10 cases caused by C. auris, 5 cases by Trichosporon spp., 82 cases by Blastomyces spp., 36 cases by Sporothrix spp., 21 cases by T. marneffei, 22 cases by Lomentospora prolificans, and 42 cases by Scedosporium spp.

Discussion: The exact burden of these diseases remains difficult to ascertain, but their apparent rise underscores the urgent need for improved diagnostic, treatment, and management strategies against CNS fungal pathogens to improve outcomes against these life-threatening infections.

In Vietnam, diarrhea, especially persistent diarrhea, is one of the most common diseases in children, while a significant proportion of cases are negative with pathogens; thus, there is an urgent need to understand gut bacterial dysbiosis. In this study, bacteria in the fecal samples of five healthy and ten diarrheal children were separated from other residues, then adopted to extract their metagenomic DNA for evaluating their diversity based on V3 and V6-V8 regions and the 16S rRNA gene by PCR-RFLP and PCR-DGGE. As a result, bacterial metagenomic DNAs with high quality, quantity and diversity were successfully extracted using a GeneJET kit and a chemical protocol. A sequence analysis of 73 representative DNA fragments from gels indicated a remarkable bacterial dysbiosis in all groups of diarrhea. Viral diarrhea was characterized by extremely reduced bacterial diversity with the blossom of Bifidobacterium and Streptococcus. Streptococcus was also the most abundant in persistent diarrhea. Beneficial bacteria that may play a role in the self- rebalance in intestinal bacterial communities, such as Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Enterococcus, were seen in all diarrheal groups, while Bacteroides and Akkermansia muciniphila were seen in the healthy group but absent in the diarrheal groups. This study provides additional evidence for a relationship between intestinal bacterial dysbiosis and diarrhea in children, emphasizing an increase in Streptococcus.

This study aims to describe the long-term changes in the knowledge of, and attitudes towards, COVID-19 and its preventive measures in northern Spain. A telephonic survey was performed among household contacts of COVID-19 cases in Catalonia and Navarre between May 2022 and December 2023. Knowledge and attitudes were assessed through 12 questions using a Likert scale, and responses were grouped as correct or incorrect. The change from baseline to the 6-month follow-up was evaluated with the absolute difference (AD) using the proportion of correct answers. At baseline, 299 subjects were contacted, of whom 63.2% (189) completed the 6-month follow-up. Correct knowledge of transmission (>85%) and the use of preventive measures (>92%) were observed at baseline and maintained over time. The attitudes towards face mask use remained adequate over the course of six months (>79%). However, attitudes regarding the use of face masks indoors (AD = -16.4%; p < 0.001) and those who thought that COVID-19 had a negative impact on their lives (AD = -16.5%; p < 0.001) decreased after 6 months. In the post-acute phase of the pandemic, household contacts maintained the correct level of knowledge towards COVID-19, while some attitudes decreased. These results should serve as a guide for health policy makers in decision-making in case of a new increase in the incidence of SARS-CoV-2.

Chikungunya fever (CHIKF), caused by the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), manifests as acute febrile illness often associated with polyarthritis and polyarthralgia. Although the acute symptoms resolve within two weeks, many patients experience prolonged joint pain and inflammation, resembling rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study aimed to identify molecular markers related to joint pain and chronicity in CHIKV-infected individuals by analyzing blood transcriptomes using bulk RNA sequencing. B- and T-cell receptor (BCR and TCR) diversity was assessed through computational analysis of RNA-seq data, revealing a significant reduction in CDR3 diversity in CHIKV-infected individuals compared to healthy controls. This reduced diversity was associated with the upregulation of genes involved in osteoclast differentiation and activation, particularly through the RANK/RANKL signaling pathway. These findings suggest a potential link between immune dysregulation and enhanced osteoclast activity, which may contribute to the persistence of joint pain in chronic CHIKF. Targeting osteoclast-related pathways could offer therapeutic strategies for managing chronic symptoms in CHIKF patients.