scholarly journals Placental Cytomegalovirus Infection

2018 ◽  
Vol 143 (5) ◽  
pp. 639-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaleigh Lindholm ◽  
Mary O'Keefe

In the United States, cytomegalovirus is the most common congenital viral infection and the number 1 cause of nonhereditary sensorineural hearing loss. The vast majority of infants may be asymptomatic, especially if cytomegalovirus is contracted later in the pregnancy, and some symptoms may have a delayed onset. Therefore, it is important for the pathologist to identify the common histologic findings to help confirm the diagnosis so the child can be followed for late sequelae. Histologic examination of the placenta is important in live births and in cases of intrauterine fetal demise. Chronic lymphoplasmacytic villitis and fibrotic, avascular villi are the most common findings. When present, Cowdry A intranuclear and basophilic intracytoplasmic inclusions are characteristic. Immunohistochemistry for cytomegalovirus can highlight these inclusions as well as the associated eosinophilic debris. In addition, polymerase chain reaction or viral culture on placental or fetal samples can be performed for confirmation.

Plant Disease ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 86 (11) ◽  
pp. 1237-1239 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Brlansky ◽  
V. D. Damsteegt ◽  
J. S. Hartung

Citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC) is an economically important, destructive disease in Brazil and is caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa Wells. The bacterium has been found to be transmitted in Brazil by sharpshooter leafhoppers (Cicadellidae). Sharpshooters are present in most citrus growing areas of the United States. The sharpshooter leafhopper, Oncometopia nigricans Walker, frequently is found feeding on citrus in Florida. This sharpshooter transmits the X. fastidiosa strains that cause Pierce's disease of grape and ragweed stunt. Research was initiated to determine if O. nigricans was capable of vectoring the X. fastidiosa that causes CVC. In 59 different transmission tests, using 1 to 57 insects per test, transmission of the bacterium was observed 12 times (20.3%). Symptom development in the greenhouse was not a reliable indicator of transmission. Transmission was verified by specific polymerase chain reaction-based assays. Individual insects were able to transmit the bacterium. This information on sharpshooter transmission of CVC is needed to assess the threat posed by the CVC disease to the citrus industries in the United States.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 2050313X2110400
Author(s):  
Bilal Chaudhry ◽  
Lidiya Didenko ◽  
Maaria Chaudhry ◽  
Andrew Malek ◽  
Kirill Alekseyev

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia was first noted in Wuhan, China. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been millions of cases diagnosed. The average time from onset of symptoms to testing negative SARS-CoV-2 via reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction is roughly 25 days. In patients who continually test positive for COVID-19, it is essential to determine precisely which risk factors contribute to the increase in viral shedding duration. We present a case about a 62-year-old man who has persistently tested positive for COVID-19 for more than 230 days. We followed his treatment course, in which he had been hospitalized multiple times since the onset of symptoms back in April 2020. We have determined that patients with immunosuppression, especially those taking corticosteroids, are at increased risk of prolonged viral shedding. It is essential to continually monitor these immunocompromised patients as they required a greater time period in order to have an appropriate immune response in which antibodies are created.


Plant Disease ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 97 (10) ◽  
pp. 1352-1357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bindu Poudel ◽  
William M. Wintermantel ◽  
Arturo A. Cortez ◽  
Thien Ho ◽  
Archana Khadgi ◽  
...  

Blackberry yellow vein disease is one of the most important diseases of blackberry in the United States. Several viruses are found associated with the symptomology but Blackberry yellow vein associated virus (BYVaV) appears to be the most prevalent of all, leading to the need for a better understanding of its epidemiology. Efficient detection protocols were developed using end-point and quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. A multi-state survey was performed on wild and cultivated blackberry to assess the geographical distribution of the virus. Two whitefly species, Trialeurodes abutilonea and T. vaporariorum, were identified as vectors and 25 plant species were tested as potential BYVaV hosts. The information obtained in this study can be used at multiple levels to better understand and control blackberry yellow vein disease.


2000 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
pp. 1576-1582 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTIAN BEURET ◽  
DOROTHE KOHLER ◽  
THOMAS LÜTHI

Norwalk-like viruses (NLVs) is a genus belonging to the Caliciviridae. NLVs are transmitted by the fecal-oral and the aerosol route and are the most common cause of outbreaks of nonbacterial gastroenteritis. NLVs are responsible for an estimated 67% of all illnesses caused by known foodborne pathogens and for 96% of nonbacterial gastroenteritis in the United States. Many outbreaks could be associated with the consumption of primarily or secondarily contaminated foods. To our knowledge, no epidemic arising from contaminated mineral water has been reported. We investigated the presence of NLV sequences in 63 mineral waters of 29 different brands that were imported into or bottled in Switzerland. NLV sequences were detected in 21 mineral waters by reverse transcription-seminested polymerase chain reaction. Specimens of two NLV genogroups (gg), gg I and gg II, were randomly present in the contaminated samples. The presence of NLV sequences could not be correlated either with bottle characteristics or with chemical properties like mineralization, pH, or the presence of carbonic acid. Nucleotide sequence analysis of 12 NLV-positive samples revealed several point mutations. All isolated NLV gg I strains have a similarity of 70 to 87% with the common Desert Shield virus (UO4469), and all isolated NLV gg II strains have a similarity of 89 to 93% with the Camberwell virus (U46500). Possible reasons for the presence of NLV sequences in mineral waters are discussed.


Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Cieniewicz ◽  
Victoria Poplaski ◽  
Melina Brunelli ◽  
Jason Dombroskie ◽  
Marc Fuchs

Spissistilus festinus (Say, 1830) (Hemiptera: Membracidae) is a frequent pest of leguminous crops in the Southern United States, and a vector of grapevine red blotch virus. There is currently no information on the genetic diversity of S. festinus. In this study, populations of S. festinus were collected in 2015–2017 from various crops and geographic locations in the United States, and fragments of the mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase 1 (mt-COI) gene and the nuclear internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region were characterized by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. Maximum-likelihood and Bayesian analyses of the mt-COI and ITS2 sequences yielded similar phylogenetic tree topologies, revealing two distinct genetic S. festinus lineages with all of the specimens from California comprising one phylogenetic clade, alongside a single GenBank entry from Arizona, and all specimens from the Southeastern United States comprising a statistically-supported distinct clade, regardless of host and year of collection. The mt-COI gene fragment showed up to 10.8% genetic distance between the two phylogenetic clades. These results suggest the existence of two genotypes within S. festinus in the United States. The only distinct morphological trait between the two genotypes was a less elevated pronotum in the representative specimens from California, compared to the representative specimens from the Southeastern United States. Since this phenotypic feature is inconspicuous, a diagnostic polymerase chain reaction targeting a variable region of the mt-COI fragment was developed to reliably distinguish between the specimens of the two genotypes of S. festinus and to facilitate their specific identification.


2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katalin Matiz ◽  
S. Kecskeméti ◽  
I. Kiss ◽  

Bovine torovirus is an established aetiological agent of disease in cattle, while porcine torovirus has only been isolated from healthy animals. Evidence for the presence of torovirus has been described in several European countries and also in the United States. A survey was performed to detect toroviruses in Hungary by means of sampling ten swine and nine bovine herds. Rectal swabs and faecal specimens were collected from diarrhoeic calves and from weaned piglets. The samples were tested by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using torovirus-specific primers and the positive samples were further examined by electron microscopy (EM). Torovirus was detected in 4 diarrhoeic calves (out of 111) and in 10 healthy weaned pigs (out of 200 tested), representing two of the 9 calf herds and two of the 10 pig herds tested. This is the first report of exact diagnosis of torovirus in Hungary.


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