Search results for " infectious disease"

Generation of a novel next-generation sequencing-based method for the isolation of new human papillomavirus types

2018

Transmission Heterogeneity and Control Strategies for Infectious Disease Emergence

2007

Background The control of emergence and spread of infectious diseases depends critically on the details of the genetic makeup of pathogens and hosts, their immunological, behavioral and ecological traits, and the pattern of temporal and spatial contacts among the age/stage-classes of susceptible and infectious host individuals. Methods and Findings We show that failing to acknowledge the existence of heterogeneities in the transmission rate among age/stage-classes can make traditional eradication and control strategies ineffective, and in some cases, policies aimed at controlling pathogen emergence can even increase disease incidence in the host. When control strategies target for reduction…

Phylogeography and genetic variation of Triatoma dimidiata, the main Chagas disease vector in Central America, and its position within the genus Tria…

2008

Background Among Chagas disease triatomine vectors, the largest genus, Triatoma, includes species of high public health interest. Triatoma dimidiata, the main vector throughout Central America and up to Ecuador, presents extensive phenotypic, genotypic, and behavioral diversity in sylvatic, peridomestic and domestic habitats, and non-domiciliated populations acting as reinfestation sources. DNA sequence analyses, phylogenetic reconstruction methods, and genetic variation approaches are combined to investigate the haplotype profiling, genetic polymorphism, phylogeography, and evolutionary trends of T. dimidiata and its closest relatives within Triatoma. This is the largest interpopulational …

[ESCULAPIO: A project to elaborate strategies and actions of multi-purpose health communication on vaccine preventable infectious diseases in order t…

2019

ESCULAPIO Project, funded by the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CCM) of the Italian Ministry of Health, for the program 2013, aims at increasing awareness on vaccine preventable infectious diseases (VPID) and vaccination in different targets of population and at spreading the culture of prevention by the development of information/training interventions on VPID. In Tuscany Region (Central Italy), educational courses on VPID in high schools were organized and students were stimulated to prepare informative materials on VPID for lower grade school pupils. Educational games for school pupils were realized in Liguria Region (Northern Italy) with the aim to increase awareness and kno…

2018

Oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPV) are small DNA viruses that infect keratinocytes. After HPV binding to cell surface receptors, a cascade of molecular interactions mediates the infectious cellular internalization of virus particles. Aside from the virus itself, important molecular players involved in virus entry include the tetraspanin CD151 and the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). To date, it is unknown how these components are coordinated in space and time. Here, we studied plasma membrane dynamics of CD151 and EGFR and the HPV16 capsid during the early phase of infection. We find that the proteinase ADAM17 activates the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2) pathway…

Gender differences in chronic HBsAg carriers in Italy: Evidence for the independent role of male sex in severity of liver disease

2015

It has been shown that sexual hormones have an opposite effect on hepatic fibrosis progression and hepatocellular carcinoma development. Sex differences among 2,762 chronic HBsAg carriers consecutively referring Italian hospitals in 2001 and in 2007 have been evaluated, particularly focusing on the role of gender on severity of liver disease. The overall sex ratio (males/females) was 2.6. Females were more likely born abroad and new diagnosis cases; but less likely HIV coinfected. No sex difference was observed regarding coinfection with other hepatitis viruses. The sex ratio linearly increased with increasing severity of liver disease, being 1.3 in normal ALT, 2.8 in chronic hepatitis, 3.6…

Voriconazole and squamous cell carcinoma after lung transplantation: A multicenter study

2017

This study evaluated the independent contribution of voriconazole to the development of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in lung transplant recipients, by attempting to account for important confounding factors, particularly immunosuppression. This international, multicenter, retrospective, cohort study included adult patients who underwent lung transplantation during 2005-2008. Cox regression analysis was used to assess the effects of voriconazole and other azoles, analyzed as time-dependent variables, on the risk of developing biopsy-confirmed SCC. Nine hundred lung transplant recipients were included. Median follow-up time from transplantation to end of follow-up was 3.51 years. In a Cox re…

Preoperative nasopharyngeal swab testing and postoperative pulmonary complications in patients undergoing elective surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pand…

2021

Abstract Background Surgical services are preparing to scale up in areas affected by COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the association between preoperative SARS-CoV-2 testing and postoperative pulmonary complications in patients undergoing elective cancer surgery. Methods This international cohort study included adult patients undergoing elective surgery for cancer in areas affected by SARS-CoV-2 up to 19 April 2020. Patients suspected of SARS-CoV-2 infection before operation were excluded. The primary outcome measure was postoperative pulmonary complications at 30 days after surgery. Preoperative testing strategies were adjusted for confounding using mixed-effects models. Results Of 8…

Global Functional Analyses of Cellular Responses to Pore-Forming Toxins

2011

Here we present the first global functional analysis of cellular responses to pore-forming toxins (PFTs). PFTs are uniquely important bacterial virulence factors, comprising the single largest class of bacterial protein toxins and being important for the pathogenesis in humans of many Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Their mode of action is deceptively simple, poking holes in the plasma membrane of cells. The scattered studies to date of PFT-host cell interactions indicate a handful of genes are involved in cellular defenses to PFTs. How many genes are involved in cellular defenses against PFTs and how cellular defenses are coordinated are unknown. To address these questions, we pe…

Daptomycin for children in clinical practice experience

2016

Data on daptomycin use in the pediatric setting are scanty. We conducted a multicenter, retrospective study on 46 children treated with intravenous daptomycin at a mean dosage of 7.0 mg/kg/d, for a median of 14 days. Three children had adverse events possibly related to daptomycin. The drug was overall well tolerated, even with prolonged treatment.