scholarly journals Streptococcus suis: An Underestimated Emerging Pathogen in Hungary?

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Márió Gajdács ◽  
Anita Németh ◽  
Márta Knausz ◽  
Ibrahim Barrak ◽  
Anette Stájer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Close Contact ◽  
Streptococcus Suis ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Serious Infections ◽  
History Of ◽  
Human Infections ◽  
Diagnostic Technologies ◽  
Epidemiological Characteristics ◽  
East Central European

Streptococcus suis (S. suis) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen, demonstrated as an etiological agent in human infections in increasing frequency, including diseases like purulent meningitis, sepsis, uveitis-endophtalmitis and arthritis. Due to the increased availability and utility of novel diagnostic technologies in clinical microbiology, more studies have been published on the epidemiology of S. suis, both in veterinary and human medicine; however, there are no comprehensive data available regarding human S. suis infections from East-Central European countries. As a part of our study, data were collected from the National Bacteriological Surveillance (NBS) system on patients who had at least one positive microbiological result for S. suis, corresponding to an 18-year study period (2002–2019). n = 74 S. suis strains were isolated from invasive human infections, corresponding to 34 patients. The number of affected patients was 1.89 ± 1.53/year (range: 0–5). Most isolates originated from blood culture (63.5%) and cerebrospinal fluid (18.9%) samples. Additionally, we present detailed documentation of three instructive cases from three regions of the country and with three distinctly different outcomes. Hungary has traditional agriculture, the significant portion of which includes the production and consumption of pork meat, with characteristic preparation and consumption customs and unfavorable epidemiological characteristics (alcohol consumption, prevalence of malignant diseases or diabetes), which have all been described as important predisposing factors for the development of serious infections. Clinicians and microbiologist need to be vigilant even in nonendemic areas, especially if the patients have a history of occupational hazards or having close contact with infected pigs.

Epidemiological Characteristics of Sport-Related Concussion in Athletes of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai

Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 98 (1 Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. S23.1-S23
Author(s):  
Carlos Pinheiro ◽  
Francisca Taciane Nascimento Sousa
Keyword(s):  
Close Contact ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Combat Sports ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Brazilian Sample ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Epidemiological Characteristics

ObjectiveTo evaluate the self-reported history of concussion in athletes of both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and Muay Thai.BackgroundCombat sports are widely practiced around the world. They include modalities that involves punches or kicks directed at the opponent's head (Striking sports) or that consists of grabbing an opponent and taking him to the ground (Grappling sports). Due to the objectives and close contact in combat sports, the risk of concussion is significant.Design/MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study involving a Brazilian sample of BJJ athletes (n-18) and Muay Thai athletes (n-22). The sample was consisted of both professional and amateur athletes (Women constituted 20% of sample). Through individual interviews with a researcher the following data were collected: self-report of concussion and the moment of the injury (whether in practice or in the fight). The Post-Concussion Symptoms Scale (PCSS) was also applied. In the present study, a concussion was considered as a direct impact on the head followed by symptoms. This study was approved by a local Ethics Committee.ResultsAmong BJJ athletes, 61% reported a history of concussion, while among Muay Thai athletes the percentage was more higher (86%). The main mechanisms of head impact were the throw/takedown and elbow-hits to the head in BJJ and punches and knee-hits to the head in Muay Thai. There was no difference in the symptom score between BJJ and Muay Thai concussed athletes (average of 11 vs 10.7, respectively). The most common symptoms were dizziness, headache and nausea in BJJ athletes, and headache, nausea, drowsiness and brain fogginess in Muay Thai ones.ConclusionsThe results presented herein suggest that concussions in Muay Thai and BJJ occur through different mechanisms. The clinical profile of post-concussion symptoms appears to be different between BJJ and Muay Thai athletes.

scholarly journals Epidemiological Analysis of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Novel Coronavirus Infection Cases in Yinchuan City of Ningxia

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijun Chen ◽  
Wang Xu ◽  
Juanxia Chen ◽  
Chunyan Xia ◽  
Liang Xie
Keyword(s):  
Close Contact ◽  
Asymptomatic Infection ◽  
Antibody Detection ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Normal Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
Coronavirus Infection ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Underlying Diseases ◽  
Epidemiological Characteristics

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus infection cases in Yinchuan City, Ningxia. Methods: Cases of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus infections discovered in Yinchuan City from February 2020 to April 2020 were taken as the research subjects, epidemiological and laboratory examination data were collected, and statistics and analysis were conducted. Results: Among the 10 cases of asymptomatic infection, 6 were males and 4 were females, with an average age of (34.3±2.1) years; 2 cases had a history of living in Hubei, 8 cases had a history of close contact with confirmed cases; 6 cases had no other underlying diseases while the other 4 cases were accompanied by one or more underlying diseases; 6 cases were diagnosed as asymptomatic infection by serum-specific IgM antibody detection; 4 cases were diagnosed as asymptomatic infection by throat swab testing; there were 4 cases with alanine base transferase level higher than the normal range, 2 cases with aspartate aminotransferase level higher than the normal range, and 3 cases with D-dimer level out of the normal range. Conclusion: The asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus infection has certain clinical characteristics; it is infectious and has insidious characteristics. Even if medical observation is dismissed, monitoring is still needed to prevent the pandemic from rebounding.

scholarly journals Children hospitalized for COVID-19 during the first winter of the pandemic in Buenos Aires, Argentina

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvina Raiden ◽  
Hector Cairoli ◽  
Javier Potasnik ◽  
Sandra Di Lalla ◽  
María José Chiolo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Sore Throat ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Pediatric Hospital ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
History Of ◽  
Epidemiological Characteristics ◽  
The City

ABSTRACTBackgroundAlthough there are reports on COVID-19 in pediatrics, it is possible that the characteristics of each population, their health systems and how they faced the pandemic made the disease show distinctive features in different countries.We aimed to describe the characteristics of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in a tertiary pediatric hospital in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina.MethodsDescriptive study, including all patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in a tertiary pediatric hospital, from 04/26/2020 to 10/31/2020. Demographic, clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the patients are described.ResultsIn the studied period 578 patients were hospitalized for COVID-19. The median age was 4.2 years and 83% had a history of close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case. Regarding severity, 30.8% were asymptomatic, 60.4% mild, 7.4% moderate, and 1.4% severe. Among those with symptoms, the most frequent was fever, followed by sore throat and cough.ConclusionWe reported 578 cases of children and adolescents hospitalized for COVID-19, most of them showed a mild or asymptomatic condition.

scholarly journals Update on Streptococcus suis Research and Prevention in the Era of Antimicrobial Restriction: 4th International Workshop on S. suis

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariela Segura ◽  
Virginia Aragon ◽  
Susan Brockmeier ◽  
Connie Gebhart ◽  
Astrid Greeff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Close Contact ◽  
International Workshop ◽  
Streptococcus Suis ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Swine Production ◽  
Swine Pathogen ◽  
Sporadic Cases ◽  
Important Field ◽  
Human Infections ◽  
And Control

Streptococcus suis is a swine pathogen and a zoonotic agent afflicting people in close contact with infected pigs or pork meat. Sporadic cases of human infections have been reported worldwide. In addition, S. suis outbreaks emerged in Asia, making this bacterium a primary health concern in this part of the globe. In pigs, S. suis disease results in decreased performance and increased mortality, which have a significant economic impact on swine production worldwide. Facing the new regulations in preventive use of antimicrobials in livestock and lack of effective vaccines, control of S. suis infections is worrisome. Increasing and sharing of knowledge on this pathogen is of utmost importance. As such, the pathogenesis and epidemiology of the infection, antimicrobial resistance, progress on diagnosis, prevention, and control were among the topics discussed during the 4th International Workshop on Streptococcus suis (held in Montreal, Canada, June 2019). This review gathers together recent findings on this important pathogen from lectures performed by lead researchers from several countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Thailand, The Netherlands, UK, and USA. Finally, policies and recommendations for the manufacture, quality control, and use of inactivated autogenous vaccines are addressed to advance this important field in veterinary medicine.

ITI with high-dose FIX and combined immunosuppressive therapy in a patient with severe haemophilia B and inhibitor

2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (02) ◽  
pp. 155-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Hauch ◽  
J. Rischewski ◽  
U. Kordes ◽  
J. Schneppenheim ◽  
R. Schneppenheim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nephrotic Syndrome ◽  
Immunosuppressive Agents ◽  
Tolerance Induction ◽  
Intravenous Immunoglobulins ◽  
Factor Ix ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Allergic Reactions ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Serious Infections ◽  
History Of

SummaryInhibitor development is a rare but serious event in hemophilia B patients. Management is hampered by the frequent occurrence of allergic reactions to factor IX, low success rates of current inhibitor elimination protocols and the risk of development of nephrotic syndrome. Single cases of immune tolerance induction (ITI) including immunosuppressive agents like mycophenolat mofetil (MMF) or rituximab have been reported. We present a case of successful inhibitor elimination with a combined immune-modulating therapy and high-dose factor IX (FIX). This boy had developed a FIX inhibitor at the age of 5 years and had a history of allergic reactions to FIX and to FEIBA→. Under on-demand treatment with recombinant activated FVII the inhibitor became undetectable but the boy suffered from multiple joint and muscle bleeds. At the age of 11.5 years ITI was attempted with a combination of rituximab, MMF, dexamethasone, intravenous immunoglobulins and high-dose FIX. The inhibitor did not reappear and FIX half-life normalized. No allergic reaction, no signs of nephrotic syndrome and no serious infections were observed.

Oceans and Landless Farms: Linking Southern and Northern Shadow Places of Industrial Livestock (1954–1975)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Floor Haalboom
Keyword(s):  
Animal Feed ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Global South ◽  
Humboldt Current ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Boom And Bust ◽  
History Of ◽  
Global North

This article argues for more extensive attention by environmental historians to the role of agriculture and animals in twentieth-century industrialisation and globalisation. To contribute to this aim, this article focuses on the animal feed that enabled the rise of ‘factory farming’ and its ‘shadow places’, by analysing the history of fishmeal. The article links the story of feeding fish to pigs and chickens in one country in the global north (the Netherlands), to that of fishmeal producing countries in the global south (Peru, Chile and Angola in particular) from 1954 to 1975. Analysis of new source material about fishmeal consumption from this period shows that it saw a shift to fishmeal production in the global south rather than the global north, and a boom and bust in the global supply of fishmeal in general and its use in Dutch pigs and poultry farms in particular. Moreover, in different ways, the ocean, and production and consumption places of fishmeal functioned as shadow places of this commodity. The public health, ecological and social impacts of fishmeal – which were a consequence of its cheapness as a feed ingredient – were largely invisible on the other side of the world, until changes in the marine ecosystem of the Pacific Humboldt Current and the large fishmeal crisis of 1972–1973 suddenly changed this.

scholarly journals Genetic Analysis of a Cohort of 275 Patients with Hyper-IgE Syndromes and/or Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Frede ◽  
Jessica Rojas-Restrepo ◽  
Andrés Caballero Garcia de Oteyza ◽  
Mary Buchta ◽  
Katrin Hübscher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Screening Method ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Illumina Miseq ◽  
Clinical Findings ◽  
Genetic Defects ◽  
Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis ◽  
Mucocutaneous Candidiasis ◽  
Serious Infections ◽  
History Of ◽  
Panel Sequencing

AbstractHyper-IgE syndromes and chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis constitute rare primary immunodeficiency syndromes with an overlapping clinical phenotype. In recent years, a growing number of underlying genetic defects have been identified. To characterize the underlying genetic defects in a large international cohort of 275 patients, of whom 211 had been clinically diagnosed with hyper-IgE syndrome and 64 with chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis, targeted panel sequencing was performed, relying on Agilent HaloPlex and Illumina MiSeq technologies. The targeted panel sequencing approach allowed us to identify 87 (32 novel and 55 previously described) mutations in 78 patients, which generated a diagnostic success rate of 28.4%. Specifically, mutations in DOCK8 (26 patients), STAT3 (21), STAT1 (15), CARD9 (6), AIRE (3), IL17RA (2), SPINK5 (3), ZNF341 (2), CARMIL2/RLTPR (1), IL12RB1 (1), and WAS (1) have been detected. The most common clinical findings in this cohort were elevated IgE (81.5%), eczema (71.7%), and eosinophilia (62.9%). Regarding infections, 54.7% of patients had a history of radiologically proven pneumonia, and 28.3% have had other serious infections. History of fungal infection was noted in 53% of cases and skin abscesses in 52.9%. Skeletal or dental abnormalities were observed in 46.2% of patients with a characteristic face being the most commonly reported feature (23.1%), followed by retained primary teeth in 18.9% of patients. Targeted panel sequencing provides a cost-effective first-line genetic screening method which allows for the identification of mutations also in patients with atypical clinical presentations and should be routinely implemented in referral centers.

scholarly journals Evaluation of whole-body modalities for diagnosis of multifocal osteonecrosis—a pilot study

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shunichi Yokota ◽  
Keita Sakamoto ◽  
Yukie Shimizu ◽  
Tsuyoshi Asano ◽  
Daisuke Takahashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Study Data ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Hematologic Disease ◽  
Hip Joints ◽  
Patient Demographics ◽  
Examination Time ◽  
History Of ◽  
Body Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Body Bone

Abstract Background This study aimed to investigate the ability of whole-body bone scintigraphy (WB-BS) in the detection of multifocal osteonecrosis (ON) compared to whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) and to clarify the characteristics of patients with multifocal ON among those with ON of the femoral head (ONFH) using WB-MRI. Methods Forty-six patients who had symptomatic ONFH and underwent surgery in our hospital from April 2019 to October 2020 were included in the study. Data on patient demographics, including age, sex, body mass index (BMI), history of corticosteroid intake, alcohol abuse, smoking, and symptomatic joints, were collected from their medical records. All patients underwent WB-MRI and WB-BS before surgery. Results The agreement in the detection of ON by WB-MRI vs the uptake lesions by WB-BS in the hip joints was moderate (κ = 0.584), while that in other joints was low (κ < 0.40). Among the 152 joints with ON detected by WB-MRI, 92 joints (60.5%) were symptomatic, and 60 joints (39.5%) were asymptomatic. Twelve out of the 46 (26.0%) patients had multifocal (three or more distinct anatomical sites) ON. Nonetheless, while WB-BS detected symptomatic ON detected by WB-MRI as uptake lesions in 82.6% (76/92) of the joints, asymptomatic ON detected by WB-MRI was detected as uptake lesions in 21.7% (13/60) of the joints. All patients with multifocal ON had a history of steroid therapy, which was significantly higher than that in patients with oligofocal ON (P = 0.035). The patients with a hematologic disease had multifocal ON at a higher rate (P = 0.015). Conclusions It might be difficult for WB-BS to detect the asymptomatic ON detected by WB-MRI compared to symptomatic ON. Considering the cost, examination time, and radiation exposure, WB-MRI might be useful for evaluating multifocal ON. Larger longitudinal studies evaluating the benefits of WB-MRI for detecting the risk factors for multifocal ON are required.

Versatile and cheap: a global history of soy in the first half of the twentieth century

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ines Prodöhl
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
The United States ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Cash Crop ◽  
The Great Depression ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Transnational Actors ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World

AbstractThis article traces the complex and shifting organization of soy's production and consumption from Northeast China to Europe and the United States. It focuses on a set of national and transnational actors with differing interests in the global and national spread of soybeans. The combination of these actors in certain spatiotemporal contexts enabled a fundamental change in soy from an Asian to an American cash crop. At the beginning of the twentieth century, soy rapidly became Northeast China's cash crop, owing to steadily increasing Western demand. However, the versatility of soy – and soy oil in particular – offered a highly successful response to the agricultural and industrial challenges that the United States faced during the Great Depression and the Second World War. By the end of the war, American farmers in the Midwest cultivated more soybeans than their Chinese counterparts.

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