Epidemiologie Mikrobiologie Imunologie最新文献

Blastocystis is a unicellular anaerobic microorganism inhabiting the human and animal gastrointestinal tract (GIT). It is the most abundant representative of eukaryotes reported in human feces and found in approx. a billion people worldwide. Despite the common occurrence, its direct pathogenicity and status among other, more significant, GIT parasites remain unclear. Blastocystis colonization is associated with various non-specific clusters of symptoms, such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, flatulence, or nausea and is often diagnosed in patients with irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, or urticaria. Controversy persists mainly because of the detection of Blastocystis even in asymptomatic patients and the unclear mechanism of its potential pathogenicity. Also, for the reasons mentioned above, no treatment guidelines are available.

Aim: Vaccination in pregnancy is an important preventive measure against a number of infections. Since the vaccination coverage data for pregnant women in the Czech Republic are scarce, a study was carried out in the Pilsen Region.

Material and methods: In the 6-week Postpartum Care Centres of the Gynaecology and Obstetrics Clinic of the Pilsen University Hospital and the Gynaecology and Obstetrics Departments of the Klatovy and Domažlice Hospitals, between 1 October and 31 December 2024, postpartum mothers were asked to fill out printed questionnaires to collect basic data on an anonymous basis (age group, education level, region of residence, information about the possibility of vaccination against influenza, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections, and pertussis, its completion during pregnancy, and specialty of the informing health professional). Questionnaire data were entered into the Epi-Info database to be analysed. The χ2 test was used for statistical testing at a significance level of 5%.

Results: In the three-month study period, 836 women gave birth at the above-listed clinics and 313 (37.4%) of them completed the questionnaire. Of the total number of respondents, 85 women (27.2%) were vaccinated with at least one of the four vaccines during pregnancy, varying from 21.9 to 28.3% between centres. Receiving influenza vaccine, COVID-19 vaccine and RSV vaccine, and pertussis vaccine was reported by 1.6%, 1.3%, and 25.9% of postpartum mothers, respectively. The highest vaccination coverage was found in the 30-39 year age group and in women with tertiary education. Pertussis vaccine was recommended to pregnant women most often (47.6%) in comparison with COVID-19 vaccine mentioned least often. Of the 85 vaccinated women, 76 (24.3%) had at least 1 vaccine on recommendation. Information about the possibility of vaccination was most often provided by gynaecologists and adult general practitioners. Vaccination against the listed respiratory infections was reported quite rarely by women without prior information: only nine pregnant women (2.9%) did so.

Conclusions: The study in maternity hospitals in the Pilsen Region confirmed low vaccination coverage in pregnancy. At the same time, information on the importance of vaccination appeared to be inadequate, especially regarding the prevention of RSV and COVID-19 infection. Gynaecologists are currently the most frequent source of information. The unfavourable situation can be improved by joint expert opinion of medical societies and by raising awareness of the general population on this issue.

Aim of study: The purpose of this study was observation of some epidemiological characteristics of human leptospirosis in Slovakia during 2008-2019.

Materials and methods: Patients' data analysed in this work were obtained from laboratory diagnostic and trawling questionnaires. The diagnosis of acute leptospirosis was confirmed by the serological examination in the micro-agglutination test in accordance with clinical and epidemiological data. Statistical analyses were performed by software STATA version 18 (StataCorp LP, College Station, TX, USA).

Results: Average annual incidence rate in Slovakia in the study period was 0.185/100,000 population. Case-fatality rate was 2.48% due to three fatal cases. The infection affected more men (80.16%) than women (19.84%) mostly in the age of 20-69 years old with the peak in 50-59 years old. Almost three quarters of affected persons were people without professional exposure. The highest number of cases was recorded in the period from June to November, peaking in August (25.62%). The most cases of infections were reported from administrative regions Košice (23.14%) and Trenčín (22.31%).

Conclusions: Incidence rate of human leptospirosis maintains the declining character in the study period, which has been present in recent decades in Slovakia. The numbers are most likely underreported, due to the misdiagnosing of leptospirosis cases caused by broad spectrum of clinical manifestations and low awareness of clinicians of possible diseases etiology.

Objective: Determination of the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in patients tested in the network Unilabs Slovakia Ltd over 10 years (2011-2020).

Material and methods: In the study period, 142,088 patients from all over Slovakia underwent targeted serological screening for toxoplasmosis. Serum samples were tested for IgG and IgM antibodies by electrochemiluminescence assays. A total of 469,824 of tests were performed during the study period in three central laboratories of the Alpha Medical company (now Unilabs Slovakia Ltd) located in Bratislava, Ružomberok-Likavka, and Stropkov.

Results: The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis has shown a slightly upward trend (for IgM antibodies), remaining stable for IgG class antibodies, neither declining nor rising. An upward trend in positive IgM antibodies appeared not only in general, but also in pregnant women. When calculated per 100,000 population, the IgG seroprevalence has shown an upward 10-year trend for the whole of Slovakia.

Conclusion: The results of this study have evidenced that toxoplasmosis is far from declining in Slovakia; just on the contrary, it can be reasonably assumed that its incidence is slowly rising, especially among pregnant women, which, from the point of view of public health, is worthy of further and more detailed investigation.

The use of HVAC in urban buses in developed countries increases the comfort and indoor air quality in the means of ground transportation. The microbial contamination was studied on outlet and inlet surfaces of 5 air filters removed from the urban buses HVAC during regular maintenance. To acquire samples from both the outlet and the inlet sides of the filters, dry swabbing technique was used. Cultivation was performed on different selective or selective-diagnostic agars, to cultivate viable bacteria. To identify the bacterial species, Gram stain and immerse microscopy was used. Selected colonies underwent the proteomic study (MALDI-TOF) as well. After identification, bacteria were quantified. The bacteria of the genus Bacillus - Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus flexus prevailed on both inlet and outlet surfaces of the filters. The members of genera Staphylococcus, Brevibacillus, Peribacillus or Paenibacillus were also identified. The quantification of colony forming units showed low contamination of the outlet surfaces of filters 1 and 2. The contamination of inlet and outlet sides of filters 3, 4, and 5 was comparable, revealed nearly the same contamination of inlet and outlet surfaces. In the case of filters 3, 4 and 5 we recommend more frequent filter changing or more efficient filter choice.

Diphyllobothriosis is a parasitic infection of humans caused by the broad fish tapeworm (Dibothriocephalus latus; synonym Diphyllobothrium latum). This disease is widespread in the Northern Hemisphere including Europe. Popular sport fish such as perch (Perca fluviatilis) and pike (Esox lucius) are the source of human infection. Here we document the first autochthonous case of diphyllobothriosis linked to the consumption of raw pike roe (caviar) originating from a popular tourist destination in South Bohemia. This is probably a recent introduction of the parasite into the Lipno Reservoir, which may represent a new focus of diphyllobothriosis, a zoonotic, fish-borne disease.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a neglected zoonotic neuroinvasive disease. Most cases of TBE have a mild course, but some patients with encephalitis develop long-term neurological or neuropsychic sequelae. We report a fatal case of TBE in a patient living in an endemic area. The case occurred in a middle-aged man with no epidemiological evidence of tick bites, no consumption of raw dairy products, and who was not vaccinated against TBE. The aim of this paper is to draw attention to the need for better information of the risk factors associated with TBE with the long-term sequelae, to improve case management and to stimulate the development of new vaccination strategies. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of rare fatal TBE in a middle-aged man with no severe comorbidities in Slovakia.

Introduction: Pertussis is a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, which still occurs in both the paediatric and adult population despite a continuous high vaccine coverage. In 2024, a significant increase in pertussis was found in the Czech Republic.

Material and methods: The aim was to describe the incidence of pertussis in the South Moravian Region (SMR) in 2024 based on data from the Infectious Disease Information System and to analyse basic epidemiological indicators including vaccination status.

Results: In the South Moravian Region, 3,524 cases of pertussis (287.3/100,000) were reported in 2024, with the highest number of cases (20.1%) in the 15-19 age group. Although 89.2% of patients were vaccinated, active transmission of Bordetella pertussis persisted in the population, mainly due to immunity waning and frequent subclinical forms of the disease in adolescents and adults. The most severe course of the disease was observed in infants under 1 year of age, with a high proportion of hospital admissions.

Conclusion: The dramatic increase in pertussis in 2024 was related to a combination of factors: a weakening protective effect of vaccines, genetic adaptation of the causative agent, improved laboratory diagnosis, increased awareness of both the professional and general public, and reduced circulation of pertussis in the population as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic control measures. For effective control of pertussis, it is essential to promote regular booster doses of pertussis vaccine, to improve diagnosis, and to raise awareness of the population on the importance of protecting the most vulnerable groups, especially infants.