Importance: Infectious conjunctivitis can lead to corneal involvement and result in ocular morbidity. The identification of biomarkers associated with corneal involvement has the potential to improve patient care.
Objective: To identify biomarkers in patients with acute infectious conjunctivitis.
Purpose: To compare the diagnostic utility of metagenomic deep sequencing (MDS) to cytology, flow cytometry and gene rearrangement by PCR in ocular samples of patients with suspected vitreoretinal lymphoma (VRL).
Methods: Patients with suspected VRL underwent ocular sampling of one or both eyes at the Emory Eye Center from September 2017 to June 2022. Ocular samples were evaluated with MDS and conventional diagnostics.
Infectious keratitis is a leading cause of corneal blindness worldwide with little information known about causative etiologies in Malawi, Africa. This area is resource-limited with ophthalmologist and microbiology services. The Department of Ophthalmology at the Kamuzu College of Health Sciences in Blantyre, Malawi, is a participating site of an international corneal ulcer consortium, capriCORN (Comprehensive Analysis of Pathogens, Resistomes, and Inflammatory-markers in the CORNea).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Infect Dis
September 2024
Objectives: To determine the associated pathogen during the 2023 conjunctivitis outbreak in Vietnam METHODS: RNA-sequencing was used to identify pathogens before and during the outbreak.
Results: 24 patients with infectious conjunctivitis between March and October 2023 from Hai Yen Vision Institute in Vietnam were swabbed. Coxsackievirus A24v was the most common pathogen identified.
Purpose: Conjunctivitis epidemics and pandemics remain a global burden. This study aims to comprehensively identify pathogens associated with conjunctivitis in Vietnam.
Methods: Patients with acute conjunctivitis presented to an outpatient clinic in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, were enrolled from September 2022 to March 2023.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify conjunctival transcriptome differences in patients with Acanthamoeba keratitis compared with keratitis with no known associated pathogen.
Methods: The host conjunctival transcriptome of 9 patients with Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is compared with the host conjunctival transcriptome of 13 patients with pathogen-free keratitis. Culture and/or confocal confirmed Acanthamoeba in 8 of 9 participants with AK who underwent metagenomic RNA sequencing as the likely pathogen.
Background: Randomized controlled trials found that twice-yearly mass azithromycin administration (MDA) reduces childhood mortality, presumably by reducing infection burden. World Health Organization (WHO) issued conditional guidelines for mass azithromycin administration in high-mortality settings in sub-Saharan Africa given concerns for antibiotic resistance. While prolonged twice-yearly MDA has been shown to increase antibiotic resistance in small randomized controlled trials, the objective of this study was to determine if macrolide and non-macrolide resistance in the gut increases with the duration of azithromycin MDA in a larger setting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Infect Dis
August 2024
Objectives: Antimicrobial resistance poses a considerable threat in high-antimicrobial-consumption populations, such as men who have sex with men (MSM) taking HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis. While the ResistAZM trial found no increase in macrolide resistance genes in MSM with gonorrhea after azithromycin treatment, the MORDOR trial observed an increase in these genes after mass azithromycin distribution. We hypothesized that this could be due to saturation of the resistome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMass antibiotic distribution to preschool children resulted in alterations of the gut microbiome months after distribution. This individually randomized, placebo-controlled trial evaluated changes in the gut microbiome and resistome in children aged 8 days to 59 months after one dose of oral azithromycin in Burkina Faso. A total of 450 children were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either placebo or azithromycin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfectious conjunctivitis outbreaks remain a public health burden. This study focuses on the pathogen and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles identified in Niger. Sixty-two patients with acute infectious conjunctivitis who presented to health posts were enrolled from December 2021 to May 2022.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Acute infectious conjunctivitis is a common ocular condition with major public health consequences.
Objective: To assess regional variations and microbial etiologies of acute infectious conjunctivitis to guide treatment.
Design, Setting, And Participants: In this cross-sectional study, patients with presumed acute infectious conjunctivitis were enrolled in the study at 5 sites (Honolulu, Hawaii; Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego, California; and Petah-Tikva, Israel) from March 2021 to March 2023.
Purpose: To identify pathogens associated with the 2022 conjunctivitis outbreak in Tamil Nadu, India.
Methods: This prospective study was conducted in November of 2022. Patients with presumed acute infectious conjunctivitis presenting to the Aravind Eye Clinic in Madurai, India were eligible.
Background: Infectious conjunctivitis is common in Nepal.
Materials And Methods: This prospective study recruited 60 patients with presumed acute infectious conjunctivitis from the B.P.
Wastewater-based surveillance is increasingly recognized as an important approach to monitoring population-level antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In this exploratory study, we examined the use of metagenomics to evaluate AMR using untreated wastewater samples routinely collected by the Niger national polio surveillance program. Forty-eight stored samples from two seasons each year over 4 years (2016-2019) in three regions were selected for inclusion in this study and processed using unbiased DNA deep sequencing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Orbital inflammatory disease (OID) is a heterogeneous group of immunologic disorders whose etiology is often non-specific despite routine investigation. In this proof-of-concept study, metagenomic deep sequencing (MDS) is applied to examine host gene expression in two subtypes of OID.
Methods: Prospectively collected lacrimal gland tissue from patients with OID was processed for MDS.
Significance: Acute infectious conjunctivitis poses significant challenges to eye care providers. It can be highly transmissible, and because etiology is often presumed, correct treatment and management can be difficult. This study uses unbiased deep sequencing to identify causative pathogens of infectious conjunctivitis, potentially allowing for improved approaches to diagnosis and management.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe first manifestation of a viral infection may be conjunctivitis. There are limited data on the etiology of viral conjunctivitis in Vanuatu, a country in the South Pacific Ocean. Patients presenting to one of two Vanuatu health centers with presumed infectious conjunctivitis were eligible if symptom onset was within 14 days of screening.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntibiotics are routinely used as part of the management of severe acute malnutrition and are known to reduce gut microbial diversity in non-malnourished children. We evaluated gut microbiomes in children participating in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of azithromycin versus amoxicillin for severe acute malnutrition. Three hundred one children aged 6 to 59 months with uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition (mid-upper arm circumference < 11.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Seasonal outbreaks of infectious conjunctivitis remain a public health issue. Determination of outbreak etiologies in the context of a worldwide pandemic may provide useful information to guide public health strategies. The aim of this study was to identify pathogens associated with outpatient infectious conjunctivitis during the COVID-19 Delta surge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Viral conjunctivitis (pink eye) can be highly contagious and is of public health importance. There remains significant debate whether SARS-CoV-2 can present as a primary conjunctivitis. The aim of this study was to identify pathogens associated with outpatient infectious conjunctivitis during the COVID-19 Delta surge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA broad-spectrum antibiotic, typically amoxicillin, is included in many country guidelines as part of the management of uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in children without overt clinical symptoms of infection. Alternative antibiotics may be beneficial for children with SAM without increasing selection for beta-lactam resistance. We conducted a 1:1 randomized controlled trial of single dose azithromycin versus a 7-day course of amoxicillin for SAM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlaucoma is a heterogeneous group of progressive optic neurodegenerative. Although most patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) are stable for many years, certain subgroups of POAG patients could progress over time even with treatment. This study is to identify aqueous humor (AH) biomarkers that may be associated with disease progression in POAG patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Seasonal and epidemic conjunctivitis (pink eye) infections are highly contagious and impose a significant economic burden worldwide. Long-term visual impairment can occur.
Methods: This study used metagenomic deep sequencing to evaluate pathogens causing acute infectious conjunctivitis in Burkina Faso.
Purpose: The purpose of this article was to evaluate the impact of sample collection order on the diagnostic yield of metagenomic deep sequencing (MDS) for determining the causative pathogen in infectious keratitis.
Methods: We performed a cross-sectional diagnostic test evaluation among subjects with infectious keratitis at Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, India. All subjects underwent corneal scrapings of the affected eye to obtain potassium hydroxide smear, Gram stain, bacterial culture, and fungal culture, in this order.