scholarly journals Emergent Pneumonia in Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Perret ◽  
Nicole Le Corre ◽  
Jose A. Castro-Rodriguez

In recent decades there have been multiple pathogens, viruses and bacteria, which have emerged as causal agents of pneumonia affecting adults, albeit less frequently, to children. For the purposes of this article we have classified emerging pathogens as follows: True emerging, to pathogens identified for the very first time affecting human population (SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV, avian influenza, and hantavirus); Re-emerging, to known pathogens which circulation was controlled once, but they have reappeared (measles, tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistant bacteria such as CA-MRSA, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and new serotypes of post-vaccine pneumococcal); and finally, those that we have called old known with new presentations, including common pathogens that, in particular condition, have changed their form of presentation (rhinovirus, and non-SARS coronavirus). We will review for each of them their epidemiology, forms of presentation, therapy, and prognosis in children compared to the adult with the aim of being able to recognize them to establish appropriate therapy, prognostics, and effective control measures.

2018 ◽  
Vol 146 (13) ◽  
pp. 1642-1653 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Hisamuddin ◽  
A. Tazeen ◽  
M. Abdullah ◽  
M. Islamuddin ◽  
N. Parveen ◽  
...  

AbstractCo-circulation of Chikungunya and Dengue viral infections (CHIKV and DENV) have been reported mainly due to transmission by commonAedesvector. The purpose of the study was to identify and characterise the circulating strains of CHIKV and DENV in DENV endemic region of New Delhi during 2016. CHIKV and DENV were identified in the blood samples (n= 130) collected from suspected patients by RT-PCR. CHIKV was identified in 26 of 65 samples (40%). Similarly, DENV was detected in 48 of 120 samples (40%). Co-infection with both the viruses was identified in five (9%) of the samples. Interestingly, concurrent infection with DENV, CHIKV andPlasmodium vivaxwas detected in two samples. CHIKV strains (n= 11) belonged to the ECSA genotype whereas DENV-3 sequences (n= eight) clustered in Genotype III by phylogenetic analysis. Selection pressure of E1 protein of CHIKV and CprM protein of DENV-3 revealed purifying selection with four and two positive sites, respectively. Four amino acids of the CHIKV were positively selected and had high entropy suggesting probable variations. Co-circulation of both viruses in DENV endemic regions warrants effective monitoring of these emerging pathogens via comprehensive surveillance for implementation of effective control measures.


Author(s):  
Johanna M. Vanegas ◽  
Lorena Salazar-Ospina ◽  
Gustavo A. Roncancio ◽  
Julián Builes ◽  
Judy Natalia Jiménez

ABSTRACT The emergence of resistance mechanisms not only limits the therapeutic options for common bacterial infections but also worsens the prognosis in patients who have conditions that increase the risk of bacterial infections. Thus, the effectiveness of important medical advances that seek to improve the quality of life of patients with chronic diseases is threatened. We report the simultaneous colonization and bacteremia by multidrug-resistant bacteria in two hemodialysis patients. The first patient was colonized by carbapenem- and colistin-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The patient had a bacteremia by MRSA, and molecular typing methods confirmed the colonizing isolate was the same strain that caused infection. The second case is of a patient colonized by extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. During the follow-up period, the patient presented three episodes of bacteremia, one of these caused by ESBL-producing E. coli. Molecular methods confirmed colonization by the same clone of ESBL-producing E. coli at two time points, but with a different genetic pattern to the strain isolated from the blood culture. Colonization by multidrug-resistant bacteria allows not only the spread of these microorganisms, but also increases the subsequent risk of infections with limited treatments options. In addition to infection control measures, it is important to establish policies for the prudent use of antibiotics in dialysis units.


Author(s):  
Amy E Benefield ◽  
Laura A Skrip ◽  
Andrea Clement ◽  
Rachel A Althouse ◽  
Stewart Chang ◽  
...  

Background: Since the emergence of COVID-19, tens of millions of people have been infected, and the global death toll approached 1 million by September 2020. Understanding the transmission dynamics of emerging pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2 and other novel human coronaviruses is imperative in designing effective control measures. Viral load contributes to the transmission potential of the virus, but findings around the temporal viral load dynamics, particularly the peak of transmission potential, remain inconsistent across studies due to limited sample sizes. Methods: We searched PubMed through June 8th 2020 and collated unique individual-patient data (IPD) from papers reporting temporal viral load and shedding data from coronaviruses. We analyzed viral load trajectories using a series of generalized additive models, and the duration of viral shedding by fitting log-normal models accounting for interval censoring. Results: We identified 115 relevant papers and obtained data from 66 (57.4%) - representing a total of 1198 patients across 14 countries. SARS-CoV-2 viral load peaks prior to symptom onset and remains elevated for up to three weeks, while MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV viral loads peak after symptom onset. SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV had median viral shedding durations of 4.8, 4.2, and 1.2 days after symptom onset. Disease severity, age, and specimen type all have an effect on viral load, but sex does not. Discussion: Using a pooled analysis of the largest collection of IPD on viral load to date, we are the first to report that SARS-CoV-2 viral load peaks prior to -- not at -- symptom onset. Detailed estimation of the trajectories of viral load and virus shedding can inform the transmission, mathematical modeling, and clinical implications of SARS-CoV-2, MERS, and SARS infection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aniela Wozniak ◽  
Cristian Figueroa ◽  
Francisco Moya-Flores ◽  
Piero Guggiana ◽  
Claudia Castillo ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Klebsiella pneumoniae is the most frequent KPC-producing bacteria. The blaKPC gene is frequently embedded in Tn4401 transposon, and less frequently in non-Tn4401 elements (NTEKPC) variants I-III. The first case of KPC in the UC-CHRISTUS Clinical Hospital was detected in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Soon after this event, KPC was detected in 2 additional Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 3 Escherichia coli, 3 Enterobacter cloacae, 3 Klebsiella pneumoniae, and 1 Citrobacter freundii, isolated from 6 different patients. We aimed to elucidate the possible mechanisms of genetic transfer and dissemination of the blaKPC gene among isolates of this multispecies outbreak. A molecular epidemiology analysis of the above mentioned clinical isolates (n = 13) through Multi-Locus Sequence Typing, plasmid analysis, Pulsed-Field Gel-Electrophoresis, and Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was performed. Results High-risk sequence types were found: K. pneumoniae ST11, P. aeruginosa ST654, and E. cloacae ST114. All enterobacterial isolates were not clonal except for 3 E. coli isolated from the same patient. WGS analysis in 6 enterobacterial isolates showed that 4 of them had blaKPC embedded in a novel variant of NTEKPC designated NTEKPC-IIe. Upstream of blaKPC gene there was a 570 pb truncated blaTEM-1 gene followed by an insertion sequence that was 84% similar to ISEc63, a 4473 bp element of the Tn3 family. Downstream the blaKPC gene there was a truncated ISKpn6 gene, and the inverted repeat right sequence of Tn4401. The ISec63-like element together with the blaKPC gene plus Tn4401 remnants were inserted in the Tra operon involved in conjugative transfer of the plasmid. This NTE was carried in a broad host-range IncN plasmid. P. aeruginosa isolates carried blaKPC gene embedded in a typical Tn4401b transposon in a different plasmid, suggesting that there was no plasmid transfer between Enterobacteriaceae and P. aeruginosa as initially hypothesized. Conclusions Most enterobacterial isolates had blaKPC embedded in the same NTEKPC-IIe element, suggesting that this multispecies KPC outbreak was due to horizontal gene transfer rather than clonal spread. This poses a greater challenge to infection control measures often directed against containment of clonal spread.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1001-1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haitham Elbir ◽  
Faisal Almathen ◽  
Naser A Alhumam

Introduction: The tick Hyalomma dromedarii is predominant in camels of Saudi Arabia and harbor multiple pathogens causing disease in humans and animals. Knowing the bacterial community of ticks is crucial for surveillance of known and newly emerging pathogens. Yet, the bacteriome of H. dromedarii remain unexplored to date. Methodology: In a cross-sectional survey, we used V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA to characterize the bacteriome of 62 whole H. dromedarii tick samples collected from camels found in Hofuf city in Saudi Arabia. Results: Sequencing results yielded 217 species incorporated into 114 genera, which in turn belong to the dominant phylum Proteobacteria (98%) followed by Firmicutes (1.38%), Actinobacteria (0.36%), Bacteroidetes (0.17%), meanwhile the phyla Cyanobacteria, Verrucomicrobia and unclassified bacteria were rarely detected. Francisella endosymbiont dominated the bacteriome of H. dromedarii ticks with average abundance of 94.37% and together with Salincoccus sp. accounted for 94.51% of the average sequences. The remaining bacteriome consisted of low abundance of potential pathogens and environmental bacteria. Of these pathogens, we found Helicobacter pylori in the tick H. dromedarii for the first time. Notably, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia and Rickettsia pathogens known to be found in H. dromedarii ticks were not detected. Conclusion: This first preliminary study advances our knowledge about the bacterial community of H. dromedarii ticks and provides a basis for pathogen surveillance and studying the influences of symbionts on vector competence. Presence of pathogens in ticks, raise concerns about potential transmission of these agents to humans or animals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 103-109
Author(s):  
Olaniyi Mathew Olayiwola ◽  
Abayomi Olumuyiwa Ajayi ◽  
Oluwafemi Clement Onifade ◽  
Oluwaseun Wale-Orojo ◽  
Bright Ajibade

Infectious diseases can inflict immense losses and suffering on the human population. As at 23rd of June, 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has caused 20,919 cases, 25 deaths and 7,109 had recovered in Nigeria. Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is tracing COVID 19 carriers for designing effective control measures and to prevent the spread. Authors have modeled COVID-19 cases, but there is a dearth of information on estimating the total number of hidden COVID-19 carriers in the population. Adaptive cluster sample was used for exploring populations of hidden COVID-19 carriers. The data on daily cases of COVID-19 were extracted from NCDC website. Nigeria population was partitioned into 37 regions (states and FCT). We considered a model based approached in Bayesian framework to make inference about the number of COVID-19 carriers in Nigeria. The fitted model showed that all COVID-19 carriers will only be captured at once if contact tracing is combined with methodology designed in this work.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (14) ◽  
pp. 1203-1212
Author(s):  
Abdelmonaem Messaoudi ◽  
Manel Zoghlami ◽  
Zarrin Basharat ◽  
Najla Sadfi-Zouaoui

Background & Objective: Pseudomonas aeruginosa shows resistance to a large number of antibiotics, including carbapenems and third generation cephalosporin. According to the World Health Organization global report published in February 2017, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is on the priority list among resistant bacteria, for which new antibiotics are urgently needed. Peptidoglycan serves as a good target for the discovery of novel antimicrobial drugs. Methods: Biosynthesis of peptidoglycan is a multi-step process involving four mur enzymes. Among these enzymes, UDP-N-acetylmuramate-L-alanine ligase (MurC) is considered to be an excellent target for the design of new classes of antimicrobial inhibitors in gram-negative bacteria. Results: In this study, a homology model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa MurC ligase was generated and used for virtual screening of chemical compounds from the ZINC Database. The best screened inhibitor i.e. N, N-dimethyl-2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-1,3-benzodiazole-5-sulfonamide was then validated experimentally through inhibition assay. Conclusion: The presented results based on combined computational and in vitro analysis open up new horizons for the development of novel antimicrobials against this pathogen.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukman Olagoke ◽  
Ahmet E. Topcu

BACKGROUND COVID-19 represents a serious threat to both national health and economic systems. To curb this pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a series of COVID-19 public safety guidelines. Different countries around the world initiated different measures in line with the WHO guidelines to mitigate and investigate the spread of COVID-19 in their territories. OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of these control measures using a data-centric approach. METHODS We begin with a simple text analysis of coronavirus-related articles and show that reports on similar outbreaks in the past strongly proposed similar control measures. This reaffirms the fact that these control measures are in order. Subsequently, we propose a simple performance statistic that quantifies general performance and performance under the different measures that were initiated. A density based clustering of based on performance statistic was carried out to group countries based on performance. RESULTS The performance statistic helps evaluate quantitatively the impact of COVID-19 control measures. Countries tend show variability in performance under different control measures. The performance statistic has negative correlation with cases of death which is a useful characteristics for COVID-19 control measure performance analysis. A web-based time-line visualization that enables comparison of performances and cases across continents and subregions is presented. CONCLUSIONS The performance metric is relevant for the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 control measures. This can help caregivers and policymakers identify effective control measures and reduce cases of death due to COVID-19. The interactive web visualizer provides easily digested and quick feedback to augment decision-making processes in the COVID-19 response measures evaluation. CLINICALTRIAL Not Applicable


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Ben Rejeb ◽  
A Ben Cheikh ◽  
S Bhiri ◽  
H Ghali ◽  
M Kahloul ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The infections caused by emergent highly resistant bacteria (eHBR) that develop in intensive care units (ICUs) may result in significant patient illnesses and deaths, extend the duration of hospital stays and generate added costs. Facing this problem, the screening that emphasizes early identification of colonized patients, reduces the prevalence and incidence of infection, improves patient outcomes and reduces healthcare costs. In this context, we have implemented a screening for eHBR in ICUs of Sahloul university hospital of Sousse (Tunisia), which we report in this study the first six-months outcomes. Methods Rectal swab cultures were collected to detect Vancomycin resistant enterococcus (VRE) and Carbapenemase producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) among patients admitted in six ICUs of Sahloul university hospital of Sousse (Tunisia) and more than three times, at least one week apart, between 1 June and 31 December 2018. Results During the study period 174 patients were screened. Of them, 69.5% were male and 73.6% were admitted in surgical ICU. In total, 161 and 152 samples were realized respectively for the detection of CPE and VRE. These samples were positive in 15% and 8.5% respectively for CPE and VRE. Klebsiella pneumoniae OXA 48 was the most isolated CPE (80%). Conclusions Our screening program helped us in infection control by early identification of patients, thereby facilitating an informed decision about infection prevention interventions. Moreover, these results encouraged us to improve and generalize this program throughout the hospital. Key messages eHRB screening becomes an important axis in the prevention of eHRB infections in our facilities. eHRB screening allows the reinforcement of the basic infection prevention and control measures.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 416-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raghad R. Alzahrani ◽  
Manal M. Alkhulaifi ◽  
Nouf M. Al-Enazi

AbstractThe adaptive nature of algae results in producing unique chemical components that are gaining attention due to their efficiency in many fields and abundance. In this study, we screened the phytochemicals from the brown alga Hydroclathrus clathratus and tested its ability to produce silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) extracellularly for the first time. Lastly, we investigated its biological activity against a variety of bacteria. The biosynthesized nanoparticles were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The biological efficacy of AgNPs was tested against eighteen different bacteria, including seven multidrug-resistant bacteria. Phytochemical screening of the alga revealed the presence of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, sugars, carboxylic acid derivatives, triterpenoids, steroids, and other components. Formed AgNPs were stable and ranged in size between 7 and 83 nm and presented a variety of shapes. Acinetobacter baumannii, Staphylococcus aureus, Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and MDR A. baumannii were the most affected among the bacteria. The biofilm formation and development assay presented a noteworthy activity against MRSA, with an inhibition percentage of 99%. Acknowledging the future of nano-antibiotics encourages scientists to explore and enhance their potency, notably if they were obtained using green, rapid, and efficient methods.


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