Publications by authors named "Angheben A"

Chagas disease (CD) is a parasitic infection endemic in Latin America and also affects patients in Western countries due to migration flows. This has a significant impact on health services worldwide due to its high morbidity and mortality burden. This paper aims to share our experience at the National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Lazzaro Spallanzani", IRCCS, in Rome, Italy, where to date, a total of 47 patients-mainly Bolivian women-diagnosed with CD have received treatment with benznidazole, with all but one presenting with chronic disease.

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Human babesiosis is an emerging zoonotic disease; diffused especially in some regions of the United States, it has been less frequently observed in other continents, including Europe. Serological surveys suggest that babesiosis could be more frequent than expected in European countries, representing an emerging health-issue and a possible harm, especially in immunocompromised populations. Only one case of human babesiosis has been reported in Italy and data about the diffusion of the pathogen in this country are scant.

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  • Schistosomiasis is a common disease that can lead to severe health problems if not identified and treated quickly.
  • Praziquantel is an effective and safe medication for treating schistosomiasis.
  • In Italy, especially with many migrants from affected areas, it's important to tackle the challenges in making praziquantel readily available.
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  • * The study involved whole-genome sequencing of four unrelated mpox cases, revealing seven novel mutations linked to immune evasion and viral fitness, primarily influenced by the APOBEC3 enzyme.
  • * Findings indicated mixed viral populations in patients, suggesting the possibility of co-infection, and further research with larger patient groups is needed to understand the implications of viral genome diversity.
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  • Researchers studied how different immune endotypes affect responses to anakinra treatment in patients with severe pneumonia caused by COVID-19 during the SAVE-MORE trial.
  • The study found that many patients transitioned between immune endotypes during treatment, with anakinra helping those with the adaptive endotype to maintain better outcomes.
  • Anakinra also reduced the risk of severe respiratory failure in patients with a coagulopathic endotype compared to placebo, indicating its potential benefits in managing sepsis-related conditions.
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Endemic systemic mycoses such as blastomycosis, coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, talaromycosis, paracoccidioidomycosis are emerging as an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. We conducted a systematic review on endemic systemic mycoses reported in Italy from 1914 to nowadays. We found out: 105 cases of histoplasmosis, 15 of paracoccidioidomycosis, 10 of coccidioidomycosis, 10 of blastomycosis and 3 of talaromycosis.

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Background: Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for the treatment of malaria is highly effective, well tolerated and safe. Episodes of delayed haemolysis occur in up to 57.9% of patients with severe malaria treated with intravenous artesunate, mainly caused by 'pitting' of infected red blood cells in the spleen and the delayed loss of these once-infected RBCs (oiRBCs).

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Background: The SAVE-MORE trial demonstrated that anakinra treatment in COVID-19 pneumonia with plasma soluble urokinase plasminogen activator (suPAR) levels of 6 ng/mL or more was associated with 0.36 odds for a worse outcome compared to placebo when expressed by the WHO-Clinical Progression Scale (CPS) at day 28. Herein, we report the results of subgroup analyses and long-term outcomes.

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Background: Whilst timely clinical characterisation of infections caused by novel SARS-CoV-2 variants is necessary for evidence-based policy response, individual-level data on infecting variants are typically only available for a minority of patients and settings.

Methods: Here, we propose an innovative approach to study changes in COVID-19 hospital presentation and outcomes after the Omicron variant emergence using publicly available population-level data on variant relative frequency to infer SARS-CoV-2 variants likely responsible for clinical cases. We apply this method to data collected by a large international clinical consortium before and after the emergence of the Omicron variant in different countries.

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Diagnosis and management of infectious diseases (ID) at the emergency department (ED) are challenging due to the peculiar setting and the available diagnostic tools. The involvement of an ID consultant has been described to improve clinical outcomes and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs. An online survey was sent to 100 Italian Departments of Infectious Diseases affiliated with the Italian Society of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine (SIMIT).

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  • Dermatitis caused by free-living mites is challenging to diagnose due to painless bites and invisible ectoparasites; this study discusses a clinical case in Italy along with a review of similar cases and outbreaks.
  • A total of 40 case reports and 21 outbreaks were analyzed, predominantly affecting young females during summer in Europe, where dermatitis was the main symptom, and diagnosis relied on risk factors.
  • The study highlights that dermatitis is often underreported in regions like Africa and Central/South America due to its self-limiting nature and suggests that reduced pesticide use could increase future exposure to these mites.
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As a result of globalization and constant migratory flows, Chagas disease is now present in almost all continents. The management and treatment of the disease is often influenced by the economic and social context of the societies that host patients. In this manuscript, we aim to provide a comparative review of approaches to patients with Chagas disease in the Americas and Europe.

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Background: Chagas disease (CD) or American trypanosomiasis is a neglected anthropozoonosis caused by Trypanosoma cruzi that affects 6-8 million people worldwide (mainly in Latin America), 30-40% of whom develop cardiac or digestive complications. Once confined to endemic areas of Latin America, CD has more recently become a global disease as a result of migration flows from endemic to non-endemic regions, particularly in northern America and Europe. Congenital transmission is a particular challenge as it may be sustained for multiple generations and perpetuate the infection even in non-endemic countries.

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Anaemia is an important cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Among infectious agents responsible for anaemia, helminthic infections are often neglected, particularly in non-endemic countries. However, they should not be neglected in this setting, as international travel and migration are on the rise.

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  • Screening for neglected tropical diseases like Chagas disease and strongyloidiasis is not common among HIV-positive migrants from Latin America living in Italy.
  • A study evaluated 389 HIV-infected migrants, finding that about 3.86% tested positive for Chagas disease, with varying prevalence based on the confirmatory techniques used, and 4.11% tested positive for strongyloidiasis.
  • The study highlights the uncertainty in the accuracy of tests for these infections and suggests that better diagnostic strategies should be implemented for patients with unclear test results to prevent serious health issues.
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We described a case of clinical reactivation of chronic infection following CoVID-19 vaccination with BNT162b2 (Pifzer-Biontech CoVID-19 vaccine) in a 48-year old Italian man.The patient came to our attention for fever of unknown origin show a quartan pattern (every third day) associated to splenomegaly, the onset of the fever occurred one month after CoVID-19 vaccination with BNT162b2. was diagnosed using Carestart™ malaria rapid test and Polymerase-Chain Reaction.

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  • The study investigates the role of the immune response, specifically T cell subpopulations, in the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections and highlights lymphopenia as a key feature associated with severe cases.
  • Researchers analyzed T cell subsets in patients with varying COVID-19 severity, finding significant reductions in CD4 T cells and regulatory T cells among those with severe symptoms.
  • The findings show a strong connection between decreased regulatory T cells at the baseline and an increased risk of clinical worsening, suggesting a potential biomarker for predicting disease progression.
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Strains of drug-resistant nontyphoidal spp. are emerging in livestock worldwide. We describe the first case of symptomatic multidrug-resistant (MDR) subsp.

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An integrated model, based on a One Health approach, was implemented to estimate the epidemiological and economic outcomes of cystic echinococcosis (CE) in Veneto region, an hypo-endemic area of Northern Italy, and the costs for its prevention. Data and information needed to populate the model were retrieved from published literature, official statistics, expert opinions, or actively searched through data mining (i.e.

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