Serology and cytokine profiles in patients infected with the newly discovered Bundibugyo ebolavirus.

by: admin - April 16th, 2012   Filed under: Infectious disease Add Comment

Serology and cytokine profiles in patients infected with the newly discovered Bundibugyo ebolavirus.

Virology. 2012 Feb 20;423(2):119-24

Authors: Gupta M, MacNeil A, Reed ZD, Rollin PE, Spiropoulou CF

Abstract

A new species of Ebolavirus, Bundibugyo ebolavirus, was discovered in an outbreak in western Uganda in November 2007. To study the correlation between fatal infection and immune response in Bundibugyo ebolavirus infection, viral antigen, antibodies, and 17 soluble factors important for innate immunity were examined in 44 patient samples. Read More

References

  • Gupta M, MacNeil A, Reed ZD, Rollin PE, Spiropoulou CF. Serology and cytokine profiles in patients infected with the newly discovered Bundibugyo ebolavirus. Virology. 2012 Feb 20;423(2):119-24. PMID: 22197674.
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Ebola haemorrhagic fever outbreak in Masindi District, Uganda: outbreak description and lessons learned.

by: admin - April 16th, 2012   Filed under: Infectious disease Add Comment

Ebola haemorrhagic fever outbreak in Masindi District, Uganda: outbreak description and lessons learned.

BMC Infect Dis. 2011;11:357

Authors: Borchert M, Mutyaba I, Van Kerkhove MD, Lutwama J, Luwaga H, Bisoborwa G, Turyagaruka J, Pirard P, Ndayimirije N, Roddy P, Van Der Stuyft P

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) is infamous for its high case-fatality proportion (CFP) and the ease with which it spreads among contacts of the diseased. We describe the course of the EHF outbreak in Masindi, Uganda, in the year 2000, and report on response activities. Read More

References

  • Borchert M, Mutyaba I, Van Kerkhove MD, Lutwama J, Luwaga H, Bisoborwa G, Turyagaruka J, Pirard P, Ndayimirije N, Roddy P, Van Der Stuyft P. Ebola haemorrhagic fever outbreak in Masindi District, Uganda: outbreak description and lessons learned. BMC Infect Dis. 2011 Dec 28;11:357. PMID: 22204600.
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[Correspondence] Diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis in patients with HIV

by: admin - April 16th, 2012   Filed under: The Lancet Infectious Diseases Add Comment

We appreciate the attempt of Timothy Holtz and colleagues to address a highly relevant public health topic. However, we have some comments and queries about their article. The investigators stated that the study was both observational and interventional and use the terms interchangeably, but consistent use of either term would be preferable. Although the methods of the study are very clear with operational definitions and standard protocols used throughout, more information about the extent of implementation of the WHO algorithm in KwaZulu-Natal would have been helpful.
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[Comment] Operational research and MDG tuberculosis control targets

by: admin - April 16th, 2012   Filed under: The Lancet Infectious Diseases Add Comment

Tuberculosis continues to be a global emergency. In 2010, there were 8·8 million incident cases and 1·45 million deaths from tuberculosis, of which 0·35 million deaths were due to HIV-associated tuberculosis. The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to stop the spread of tuberculosis and reduce mortality by 50% by 2015 seems to be on track for all global regions, but is remote for sub-Saharan Africa. While new drugs and vaccines are in development, the answer to achieving the MDG aim universally, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, rests on programmatic and operational issues.
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[Comment] Pre-ART HIV resistance testing in Africa: are we there yet?

by: admin - April 16th, 2012   Filed under: The Lancet Infectious Diseases Add Comment

In The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Raph Hamers and colleagues report an increased likelihood of virological failure after the first year of standard first-line non-nucleoside transcriptase inhibitor-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) in patients who have a drug resistance mutation for at least one drug in the regimen. Moreover, they show that the risk of acquired HIV drug resistance is higher in people with pretreatment drug resistance than in those without. Although not entirely surprising, this study provides the first documentation of this finding in an African setting.
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Diagnostic performance of line-immunoassay based algorithms for incident HIV-1 infection

by: admin - April 14th, 2012   Filed under: BMC Infectious Diseases Add Comment

Background:
Serologic testing algorithms for recent HIV seroconversion (STARHS) provide important information for HIV surveillance. We have previously demonstrated that a patient’s antibody reaction pattern in a confirmatory line immunoassay (INNO-LIATM HIV I/II Score) provides information on the duration of infection, which is unaffected by clinical, immunological and viral variables. In this report we have set out to determine the diagnostic performance of Inno-Lia algorithms for identifying incident infections in patients with known duration of infection and evaluated the algorithms in annual cohorts of HIV notifications. Read More

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Prevalence, genetic diversity and antiretroviral drugs resistance-associated mutations among untreated HIV-1-infected pregnant women in Gabon, central Africa

by: admin - April 8th, 2012   Filed under: BMC Infectious Diseases Add Comment

Background:
In Africa, the wide genetic diversity of HIV has resulted in emergence of new strains, rapid spread of this virus in sub-Saharan populations and therefore spread of the HIV epidemic throughout the continent. Read More

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CD4 lymphocyte dynamics in Tanzanian pulmonary tuberculosis patients with and without HIV co-infection

by: admin - April 8th, 2012   Filed under: BMC Infectious Diseases Add Comment

Background:
The interaction of HIV and tuberculosis (TB) on CD4 levels over time has previously been divergently reported and only in small study populations with short or no follow-up. Read More

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Bacterial infections in Lilongwe, Malawi: aetiology and antibiotic resistance

by: admin - April 8th, 2012   Filed under: BMC Infectious Diseases Add Comment

Background:
Life-threatening infections present major challenges for health systems in Malawi and the developing world because routine microbiologic culture and sensitivity testing are not performed due to lack of capacity. Use of empirical antimicrobial therapy without regular microbiologic surveillance is unable to provide adequate treatment in the face of emerging antimicrobial resistance. This study was conducted to determine antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in order to inform treatment choices and generate hospital-wide baseline data. Read More

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[Articles] Burden of HIV among female sex workers in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

by: admin - April 2nd, 2012   Filed under: The Lancet Infectious Diseases Add Comment

Although data characterising HIV risk among female sex workers is scarce, the burden of disease is disproportionately high. These data suggest an urgent need to scale up access to quality HIV prevention programmes. Considerations of the legal and policy environments in which sex workers operate and actions to address the important role of stigma, discrimination, and violence targeting female sex workers is needed.
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[Articles] Switching children previously exposed to nevirapine to nevirapine-based treatment after initial suppression with a protease-inhibitor-based regimen: long-term follow-up of a randomised, open-label trial

by: admin - April 2nd, 2012   Filed under: The Lancet Infectious Diseases Add Comment

Viral-load testing through 52 weeks can identify all children likely to fail this protease-inhibitor-switch strategy. Switching children once suppressed to a nevirapine-based regimen might be a valuable treatment option if adequate viral-load monitoring can be done.
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[Comment] Aciclovir for dual infection with HIV and HSV

by: admin - March 25th, 2012   Filed under: The Lancet Infectious Diseases Add Comment

In The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Steven Reynolds and colleagues show that aciclovir treatment (400 mg twice daily) can postpone HIV disease progression in herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) co-infected, antiretroviral therapy naive individuals who have CD4 cell counts of 300–400 cells per μL. These findings accord with those of Lingappa and colleagues, who used the same aciclovir regimen in patients with CD4 cell counts of 250 cells per μL or more, although the clinical effect in both studies was modest.
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