Search results for "lcsh:Infectious and parasitic diseases"
showing 10 items of 157 documents
Live nativity and brucellosis, Sicily.
2006
To the Editor: Worldwide, brucellosis remains a major zoonosis and an important cause of travel-associated illness (1). Brucellosis is transmitted to humans through the consumption of infected, unpasteurized, animal-milk products; direct contact with infected animal parts; or inhalation of infected aerosolized particles. We report an outbreak of brucellosis in a small village of the Ionic coast of Messina province (eastern Sicily). In 2003, health authorities in the Messina province were notified of 29 cases of brucellosis; 18 of the patients were members of 9 different families. All patients had observed a Nativity pantomime that used live animals and was organized by the local population.…
Family context of children with autism. Implications for emotional and social development
2019
Families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be differentiated according to sociodemographics and environmental risk factors characterized by stress parental, the use of coping strategies and social support. The aim of this study was to analyze the behavioral, emotional and social manifestations of children with ASD, related to different types of families characterized according risk factors as families with "high risk", with "moderated risk" and with "low risk". Participants were 52 mothers and their children between 7 and 11 years old with ASD without intellectual disability. All mothers provided information about children's behavior through the Strengths and Difficulties …
Predictors of mortality in HIV-infected patients starting antiretroviral therapy in a rural hospital in Tanzania
2008
Background Studies of antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs in Africa have shown high initial mortality. Factors contributing to this high mortality are poorly described. The aim of the present study was to assess mortality and to identify predictors of mortality in HIV-infected patients starting ART in a rural hospital in Tanzania. Methods This was a cohort study of 320 treatment-naïve adults who started ART between October 2003 and November 2006. Reliable CD4 cell counts were not available, thus ART initiation was based on clinical criteria in accordance with WHO and Tanzanian guidelines. Kaplan-Meier models were used to estimate mortality and Cox proportional hazards models to identify p…
Antiretroviral treatment reverses HIV-associated anemia in rural Tanzania.
2011
Background HIV-associated anemia is common and associated with poor prognosis. However, its response to antiretroviral treatment (ART) in rural Africa is poorly understood. Methods HIV-infected adults (≥15 years) who enrolled in HIV care at Haydom Lutheran Hospital in northern Tanzania were included in the study. The effect of ART (zidovudine/stavudine + lamivudine + efavirenz/nevirapine) on HIV-associated anemia was studied in a subset of patients who were anemic at the time they started ART and had a follow-up hemoglobin measurement 12 months later. Pregnant women were excluded from the study, as were women who had given birth within the past 6 weeks. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin <12 …
Virological efficacy and emergence of drug resistance in adults on antiretroviral treatment in rural Tanzania
2009
Background Virological response to antiretroviral treatment (ART) in rural Africa is poorly described. We examined virological efficacy and emergence of drug resistance in adults receiving first-line ART for up to 4 years in rural Tanzania. Methods Haydom Lutheran Hospital has provided ART to HIV-infected patients since October 2003. A combination of stavudine or zidovudine with lamivudine and either nevirapine or efavirenz is the standard first-line regimen. Nested in a longitudinal cohort study of patients consecutively starting ART, we carried out a cross-sectional virological efficacy survey between November 2007 and June 2008. HIV viral load was measured in all adults who had completed…
New tools for detecting latent tuberculosis infection: evaluation of RD1-specific long-term response
2009
Abstract Background Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) release assays (IGRAs) were designed to detect latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). However, discrepancies were found between the tuberculin skin test (TST) and IGRAs results that cannot be attributed to prior Bacille Calmètte Guerin vaccinations. The aim of this study was to evaluate tools for improving LTBI diagnosis by analyzing the IFN-γ response to RD1 proteins in prolonged (long-term response) whole blood tests in those subjects resulting negative to assays such as QuantiFERON-TB Gold In tube (QFT-IT). Methods The study population included 106 healthy TST+ individuals with suspected LTBI (recent contact of smear-positive TB and homeless) c…
Candida glabrata meningitis and endocarditis: a late severe complication of candidemia
2014
SummaryWe report an unusual case of Candida glabrata meningitis and endocarditis in a young Caucasian woman with a prosthetic aortic valve and suffering from a dissecting thoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysm. C. glabrata was isolated from culture of the cerebrospinal fluid. Candida infection of the central nervous system is an uncommon manifestation of disseminated infection due to Candida species. Our case report also highlights the intrinsic resistance of C. glabrata to azoles.
Enterococcal meningitis caused by Enterococcus casseliflavus. First case report
2005
Abstract Background Enterococcal meningitis is an uncommon disease usually caused by Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium and is associated with a high mortality rate. Enterococcus casseliflavus has been implicated in a wide variety of infections in humans, but never in meningitis. Case presentation A 77-year-old Italian female presented for evaluation of fever, stupor, diarrhea and vomiting of 3 days duration. There was no history of head injury nor of previous surgical procedures. She had been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis for 30 years, for which she was being treated with steroids and methotrexate. On admission, she was febrile, alert but not oriented to time and place. H…
Insights into the relationships of Palearctic and Nearctic lymnaeids (Mollusca : Gastropoda) by rDNA ITS-2 sequencing and phylogeny of stagnicoline i…
2003
Fascioliasis by Fasciola hepatica is the vector-borne disease presenting the widest latitudinal, longitudinal and altitudinal distribution known. F. hepatica shows a great adaptation power to new environmental conditions which is the consequence of its own capacities together with the adaptation and colonization abilities of its specific vector hosts, freshwater snails of the family Lymnaeidae. Several lymnaeid species only considered as secondary contributors to the liver fluke transmission have, however, played a very important role in the geographic expansion of this disease. Many of them belong to the so-called "stagnicoline" type group. Stagnicolines have, therefore, a very important a…
Risk of classical Kaposi sarcoma by plasma levels of Epstein-Barr virus antibodies, sCD26, sCD23 and sCD30
2010
Abstract Background To clarify the immunological alterations leading to classical Kaposi sarcoma (cKS) among people infected with KS-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). Methods In a population-based study of 119 cKS cases, 105 KSHV-seropositive controls, and 155 KSHV-seronegative controls, we quantified plasma soluble cluster of differentiation (sCD) levels and antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen-1 (anti-EBNA-1) and viral capsid antigen (anti-VCA). Differences between groups in prevalence of low-tertile anti-EBNA-1 and high-tertile anti-VCA were compared by logistic regression. Continuous levels between groups and by presence of cKS co-factors among controls were compared by li…