Search results for "INFECTIONS"

Risk stratification for invasive fungal infections in patients with hematological malignancies: SEIFEM recommendations

2016

Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. Patients with hematological malignancies undergoing conventional chemotherapy, autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation are considered at high risk, and Aspergillus spp. represents the most frequently isolated micro-organisms. In the last years, attention has also been focused on other rare molds (e.g., Zygomycetes, Fusarium spp.) responsible for devastating clinical manifestations. The extensive use of antifungal prophylaxis has reduced the infections from yeasts (e.g., candidemia) even though they are still associated with high mortality rates. This pa…

Complete genome analysis of contemporary G12P[8] rotaviruses reveals heterogeneity within Wa-like genomic constellation

2016

G12 rotaviruses are globally emergent rotaviruses causing severe childhood gastroenteritis. Little is known about the evolution and diversity of G12P[8] rotaviruses and the possible role that widespread vaccine use, globally, has had on their emergence. In Sicily, Italy, surveillance activity for rotaviruses has been conducted uninterruptedly since 1985, thus representing a unique observatory for the study of human rotaviruses in the pre- and post-vaccine era. G12 rotaviruses were first detected only in 2012 and between 2012 and 2014 they accounted for 8.7% of all rotavirus-associated infections among children, with peaks of 27.8% in 2012/2013 and 21% in 2014. We determined and analyzed the…

Experimentally Induced Biliary Atresia by Means of Rotavirus‐Infection Is Directly Linked to Severe Damage of the Microvasculature in the Extrahepati…

2018

Abstract: Vascular damage has been reported to contribute to atresia formation in several diseases including biliary atresia. This study focused on the extrahepatic biliary plexus in experimental biliary atresia. Newborn BALB/cAnNCrl-pups were infected with rhesus rotavirus within 24 hr after birth to induce experimental biliary atresia. The extrahepatic biliary plexus was examined by confocal microscopy on whole-mount preparations, scored by three independent researchers, and further evaluated at the subcellular level with transmission electron microscopy. Imaging results revealed a progressive destruction of the extrahepatic biliary vascular plexus in the course of experimental biliary at…

Prevalence of group C rotaviruses in weaning and post-weaning pigs with enteritis.

2006

Diarrheic fecal specimens collected from porcine herds were screened for the presence of group C rotaviruses using a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. A total of 188 samples were tested and 54 were positive. When compiled these data with diagnostic results on group A rotaviruses and enteric caliciviruses we found that all but 5 group C rotavirus positive samples contained at least one additional virus. A subset of samples were subjected to nucleotide sequencing. The selected strains showed an unexpectedly wide range of nucleotide sequence heterogeneity (88.6-100%) to each other and to the reference porcine group C rotavirus strain, Cowden. The nucleotide sequen…

Diversity and zoonotic potential of rotaviruses in swine and cattle across Europe.

2011

Group A rotaviruses can infect both humans and animals. Individual rotavirus strains can occasionally cross species barriers and might hereby contribute to the emergence of new genotypes in heterologous hosts. The incidence and impact of zoonotic rotavirus are not well defined, and one reason for this is a lack of data about strains circulating in suspected reservoir animal hosts. In this study we report the incidence, genetic diversity, and molecular epidemiology of rotaviruses detected in domestic cattle and swine in 6 European countries. From 2003 to 2007, 1101 and more than 2000 faecal specimens were collected from swine and cattle, both healthy and diarrhoeic, and tested for rotaviruse…

Acute pancreatitis in children and rotavirus infection. Description of a case and minireview

2012

In this article, we describe a case of acute pancreatitis occurred on a 2-year-old boy following rotavirus gastroenteritis. Its characteristics are analyzed and contextualized among those of other 4 cases of pancreatitis associated with rotavirus infection found through a systematic review of the international literature. None of the five children underwent surgery or was referred to an intensive care unit and all the 5 children cured with normalization of pancreatic enzyme within 5-10 days. The pathogenesis of this rare complication remains to be cleared, and its actual incidence may be higher than that reported. Although acute pancreatitis associated with rotavirus gastroenteritis seems t…

Rotavirus infections, vaccines and virus variability

2014

Detection of a porcine-like rotavirus in a child with enteritis in Italy.

2008

ABSTRACT During a 1-year rotavirus surveillance of children hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis in Brescia Hospital, Italy, a chimerical rotavirus strain, G3P[6], was detected, displaying the VP7 and VP4 genes of porcine origin and the NSP4 and VP6 genes of human origin. The reassortant nature of the virus rules out a direct zoonotic event.

Monitoring the rate of hospitalization before rotavirus immunization in Italy utilizing ICD9-CM regional databases

2009

BACKGROUND: Recently, two Rotavirus (RV) vaccines were licensed in Italy, rendering RV illness a vaccine preventable disease. To assess the RV hospitalization rate in Italy, a study focused on the Regional hospital discharge forms (HDD) databases was carried out. RESULTS: Regional HDD databases from Piemonte, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia and Marche were analyzed. A total of 434,335 hospitalizations were counted in the study timeframe and 13,234 VE diagnoses (3% of hospitalizations) were collected. A total of 8546 RVE cases (2% of hospitalizations, 64% of all VE) were observed, of which 1.2% were primary diagnoses (PD) and 0.8% secondary diagnosis (SD). The RVE hospitalization peak (4.9%) w…

Evaluation of reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT/PCR) for the detection of rotaviruses: applications of the assay.

1996

Summary Our aim was to evaluate the reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT/PCR) technique for the detection of rotavirus shedding by infected children as a routine diagnostic procedure, in comparison to the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), electron microscopy (EM) and polyacrylamide gel etectrophoresis (PAGE) of rotavirus double stranded RNA. Two-hundred and twenty stool specimens were collected from infants and young children with diarrhoea, and 10–20% faecal suspensions were made. Several methods of rotavirus dsRNA extraction were assayed. Electrophoretic analysis of viral RNA was carried out on 10% polyacrylamide gols followed by silver staining. RT/PCR was per…