New vaccine reduces strains of bacteria most likely to cause severe infections

Keyword(s):  
2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (7) ◽  
pp. 1598-1601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anisia Iuliana Alexa ◽  
Roxana Ciuntu ◽  
Alina Cantemir ◽  
Nicoleta Anton ◽  
Ciprian Danielescu ◽  
...  

Severe infections with C. albicans should be treated promptly with antifungal agents, any delay in treatment increases the risk of endophthalmitis. The systemic Amphotericin B therapy is the gold standard in the treatment of endophthalmitis, but in the case of fungal infections it has not yet been determined. Numerous studies have shown that the use of Fluconazole is effective in the treatment of fungal endophthalmitis. In this paper, we report two cases (3 eyes) that have been presented for the same accusations of significant decrease of AV (visual acuity), ocular pain and blepharospasm suddenly installed, both of which required urgent antibiotic and intravenous antifungal treatment. Both are diagnosed with endogenous endophthalmitis and vitreous biopsy + VPP (pars plana vitrectomy) are performed, with a negative result of the vitreous culture. In both situations the treatment was with antibiotic and systemic antifungals. Postoperatively, evolution was favorable in the first case and less favorable in the second one. The prognosis depends on the virulence of the microorganisms and the time elapsed until initiation of the treatment. Also, the presence of risk factors such as diabetes, sepsis, recent abdominal surgery (C. Albicans is part of the comesary flora of the digestive tract) have influenced the prognosis decisively. Severe infections with C. albicans should be promptly treated with antifungal agents, any delay in treatment increases the risk of endophthalmitis. Even when prolonged treatment of candidemia is instituted, 3% of patients can develop endogenous endophthalmitis, so ocular evaluation is particularly important for patients immobilized in anesthesia and intensive care units.


Author(s):  
Ricardo Ortiz Ortega ◽  
Alonso Vilches Flores ◽  
Marco Aurelio Rodríguez Monroy ◽  
Patricia Bonilla Lemus

Studies accomplished in freshwater demonstrate the importance of identify the presence of<br />protozoa like free living amoebae (FLA). In particular, the genera Acanthamoeba is associated with<br />severe infections in man, as the Granulomatous Amebic Encephalitis (GAE). The most important<br />factor for the development of these organisms is the high temperature of the water body. The<br />region of the Huasteca Potosina in Mexico, with a tropical climate and great aquatic resorts, like<br />rivers, waterfalls and pools of thermal waters, that allows the development of amoebae. In this<br />study we evaluated the presence of amoebas in the most visited places on the Huasteca Potosina.<br />Samples of a liter were taken in nine sites during the rainy and dry season. 54 strains of amoebas<br />were identify, 46 belong to the genera Acanthamoeba, resulting 30 of them pathogenic in the<br />animal tests. The pathogenic isolated amoebas were present in the most attended resorts by the<br />people in the waterfalls or pools of the places sampling. Temperature turned out to be the most<br />important factor for the presence of amoebae.


2003 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana M.A. Ribeiro ◽  
Cristina M. A. Jacob ◽  
Antonio C. Pastorino ◽  
Chong A. E. Kim ◽  
Ângela B. F. Fomin ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1558.1-1558
Author(s):  
L. Quartuccio ◽  
E. Treppo ◽  
S. De Vita ◽  
F. Valent

Background:ANCA-associated vasculitides (AAV) are a group of systemic vasculitis carrying a high risk of hospitalization because the multiorgan involvement, the acute nature of some clinical manifestations, the chronic but very disabling course of some other manifestations and finally the risk of severe infections due to chronic glucocorticoid and immunosuppressor administration. However, data on cost of illness due to AAV are lacking.Objectives:to estimate the cost of illness in patients suffering from AAV in the province of Udine (about 500,000 inhabitants), Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG), Italy, from year 2010 to 2018.Methods:integration of the information coming from many administrative databases were used to this end. The Regional Health Information System of FVG was used as the source of information for this retrospective cohort study. The system covers the entire regional population and includes various electronic health administrative databases that can be linked with one another on an individual basis through a unique encrypted identifier. In particular, the following databases were matched: the database of the health care beneficiaries (including demographic information and the residential history of all of the subjects living in FVG), the hospital discharge database, the database of exemptions from medical charges, the database of the laboratories. The population under study was selected based on the following inclusion criteria: patients were residents in the province of Udine and they had to carry the exemption code for AAV, including GPA, or EGPA, or MPA. This population was observed from 2010 to 2018.Results:57 patients (201 patient-years) with AAV were identified. They were ANCA-positive in 44/57 (77%). GPA, EGPA and MPA was diagnosed in 18 (31,6%), 15 (26,3%), 11 (19,3%) patients, respectively. The mean age at diagnosis was 54,5 (17,5) years. The disease itself was the main cause of hospitalization in almost half of the hospital discharges (60/126, 47,6%). Four patients died during the observation period due to vasculitis itself (1), pneumonia (2), or haematological malignancy (1). Time to the first event (death or hospitalization) was significantly higher in ANCA-negative AAV patients than in ANCA-positive AAV patients (p=0,03, Log-Rank test), ANCA-positive AAV patients having a three-times higher risk (HR 3,38 95%CI 1,13-10,08, p=0,03). Total estimated cost was € 1,215,078, corresponding to € 6,168 patient-year. Costs for ANCA-positive AAV patients were much higher than those for ANCA-negative AAV patients (€ 1,115,253 vs € 99,825, and € 7058 per person-year vs € 2,559 per person-year, respectively). GPA and MPA showed the highest costs if compared to EGPA [GPA: € 239,168 (€ 5199 per person-year) vs MPA: € 281,502 (€ 4771 per person-year) vs EGPA: € 214,287 (2329 per person-year), respectively]. Costs for hospitalization were the highest [€ 734,957 (€ 3731 per person-year) vs other costs € 480,121 (€ 2437 per person-year)].Conclusion:costs for AAV are very high, confirming the high health care burden of this illness. Management of ANCA-positive patients rather than ANCA-negative patients was burdened by the highest costs. GPA and MPA showed the highest direct costs for hospitalization, which very frequently occurred due to the vasculitis itself.Disclosure of Interests:Luca Quartuccio Consultant of: Abbvie, Bristol, Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Pfizer, Elena Treppo: None declared, Salvatore De Vita Consultant of: Roche, GSK, Speakers bureau: Roche, GSK, Novartis, Francesca Valent: None declared


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Florek ◽  
Urszula Nawrot ◽  
Agnieszka Korzeniowska-Kowal ◽  
Katarzyna Włodarczyk ◽  
Anna Wzorek ◽  
...  

AbstractFungi belonging to the Cryptococcus neoformans/C. gattii species complex (CNGSC) are pathogens causing severe infections in humans and animals, that for humans may result in a mortality rate ranging up to 70%. The CNGSC is divided into eight major molecular types, that may differ in their virulence and susceptibility. In order to fully understand the epidemiology of cryptococcosis, it is important to study the world distribution and population structure of these pathogens. The present study is the first presenting a population of strains isolated in Poland and one of the few using a multi-species animal group as a source of the specimen. The pathogen was present in 2.375% of the tested animals. The URA5-RFLP and MALDI-TOF MS analyses have revealed that the population consisted exclusively of C. neoformans strains, with a predominance of major molecular type VNIV (C. neoformans var. neoformans). The MALDI-TOF MS was used to perform the CNGSC strains identification on both the species and sub-species level. Despite the fact that the animals providing the specimens were not treated with 5-fluorocytosine, around 10% of the tested population presented MIC values exceeding 64 mg/L, indicating the existence of the 5-fluorocytosine-resistant strains in the environment.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e044149
Author(s):  
Isabel Frost ◽  
Jessica Craig ◽  
Gilbert Osena ◽  
Stephanie Hauck ◽  
Erta Kalanxhi ◽  
...  

ObjectivesAs of 13 January 2021, there have been 3 113 963 confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 and 74 619 deaths across the African continent. Despite relatively lower numbers of cases initially, many African countries are now experiencing an exponential increase in case numbers. Estimates of the progression of disease and potential impact of different interventions are needed to inform policymaking decisions. Herein, we model the possible trajectory of SARS-CoV-2 in 52 African countries under different intervention scenarios.DesignWe developed a compartmental model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to estimate the COVID-19 case burden for all African countries while considering four scenarios: no intervention, moderate lockdown, hard lockdown and hard lockdown with continued restrictions once lockdown is lifted. We further analysed the potential impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations affected by HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB).ResultsIn the absence of an intervention, the most populous countries had the highest peaks in active projected number of infections with Nigeria having an estimated 645 081 severe infections. The scenario with a hard lockdown and continued post-lockdown interventions to reduce transmission was the most efficacious strategy for delaying the time to the peak and reducing the number of cases. In South Africa, projected peak severe infections increase from 162 977 to 2 03 261, when vulnerable populations with HIV/AIDS and TB are included in the analysis.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly spreading across the African continent. Estimates of the potential impact of interventions and burden of disease are essential for policymakers to make evidence-based decisions on the distribution of limited resources and to balance the economic costs of interventions with the potential for saving lives.


Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 194
Author(s):  
Andrea Miró-Canturri ◽  
Rafael Ayerbe-Algaba ◽  
Manuel Enrique Jiménez-Mejías ◽  
Jerónimo Pachón ◽  
Younes Smani

The stimulation of the immune response to prevent the progression of an infection may be an adjuvant to antimicrobial treatment. Here, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) treatment in combination with colistin in murine experimental models of severe infections by Acinetobacter baumannii. We used the A. baumannii Ab9 strain, susceptible to colistin and most of the antibiotics used in clinical settings, and the A. baumannii Ab186 strain, susceptible to colistin but presenting a multidrug-resistant (MDR) pattern. The therapeutic efficacies of one and two LPC doses (25 mg/kg/d) and colistin (20 mg/kg/8 h), alone or in combination, were assessed against Ab9 and Ab186 in murine peritoneal sepsis and pneumonia models. One and two LPC doses combined with colistin and colistin monotherapy enhanced Ab9 and Ab186 clearance from spleen, lungs and blood and reduced mice mortality compared with those of the non-treated mice group in both experimental models. Moreover, one and two LPC doses reduced the bacterial concentration in tissues and blood in both models and increased mice survival in the peritoneal sepsis model for both strains compared with those of the colistin monotherapy group. LPC used as an adjuvant of colistin treatment may be helpful to reduce the severity and the resolution of the MDR A. baumannii infection.


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