Publications by authors named "Beeching N"
Objectives: The objectives were to determine the structure of training programmes and assessment of physicians training to become infectious disease (ID) specialists in Europe in early 2024, and to document the provision of specialists, trainees and training centres in each country.
Methods: Delegates to the ID Section and Board of the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) entered national data on a web-based survey tool in late 2023-early 2024. Results were compared to UEMS recommendations on the structure and content of postgraduate training in ID in Europe (2018), and to results of a similar survey in early 2021.
Article Synopsis
- - Human threadworm is a globally distributed parasite affecting over 600 million people, with serious implications for immunosuppressed individuals, yet its prevalence among Fijian migrants in the UK is largely unknown.
- - A study involving 250 Fijian migrants in the UK revealed a significant rate of gastrointestinal parasites (GIPs), with 35.1% testing positive for threadworm and 6.8% for hookworms, based on comprehensive diagnostic methods.
- - Findings emphasized the need for specialized parasitological testing, particularly multiplex real-time PCR (rtPCR), which proved more effective than traditional microscopy in diagnosing infections among chronic cases in this population.
Article Synopsis
- Travel to resource-limited areas can increase the risk of infections from multi-drug resistant bacteria like ESBL-PE and CRE, which lead to serious health issues.
- A study examined the prevalence of these bacteria in British service personnel by analyzing 239 fecal samples and discovered a 16.7% presence of ESBL-PE, but no CRE cases were found.
- While the rate of ESBL-PE in service personnel is similar to that in civilian populations in England, different genetic variations of the bacteria were observed, highlighting the need for ongoing monitoring to track infection risks.
Background: We evaluated the results of examining a single faecal sample for gastrointestinal parasites (GIP) using a combination of traditional methods with multiplex qPCR for helminths and protozoa, compared to a reference standard of examining three faecal samples from each person using traditional diagnostic methods alone.
Methods: Three faecal samples were collected at weekly intervals from 596 healthy Nepalese men. Each sample underwent formalin-ethyl acetate (FEA) concentration and light microscopy, and charcoal culture.
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a major emerging infectious disease threat, and children are reported to have a milder disease course compared with adults, in contrast to other viral hemorrhagic fevers. The aim of this study was to compare adult and pediatric patients with CCHF to improve understanding of pathogenesis and the natural history of the disease. A retrospective analysis of all children and adults admitted with confirmed CCHF between 2011 and 2020.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Gastrointestinal parasite (GIP) infections are a major cause of global morbidity, infecting hundreds of millions of people each year and potentially leading to lifelong infection and serious complications. Few data exist on screening for GIP infections in migrants entering the UK or on the current performance of different traditional diagnostic approaches. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of GIP infections in Nepalese Gurkha recruits screened on arrival in the UK.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOutbreak of Diarrhea Caused by a Novel Subtype During British Military Training in Kenya.
Open Forum Infect Dis
January 2024
Background: We report clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory features of a large diarrhea outbreak caused by a novel subtype during British military training in Kenya between February and April 2022.
Methods: Data were collated from diarrhea cases, and fecal samples were analyzed on site using the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) BioFire FilmArray. Water was tested using Colilert kits (IDEXX, UK).
Objectives: Encephalitis, brain inflammation and swelling, most often caused by an infection or the body's immune defences, can have devastating consequences, especially if diagnosed late. We looked for clinical predictors of different types of encephalitis to help clinicians consider earlier treatment.
Methods: We conducted a multicentre prospective observational cohort study (ENCEPH-UK) of adults (> 16 years) with suspected encephalitis at 31 UK hospitals.
Objectives: Many patients with meningitis have no aetiology identified leading to unnecessary antimicrobials and prolonged hospitalisation. We used viral capture sequencing to identify possible pathogenic viruses in adults with community-acquired meningitis.
Methods: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 73 patients was tested by VirCapSeq-VERT, a probe set designed to capture viral targets using high throughput sequencing.
Objectives: To define the status of infectious diseases (ID) as an approved specialty in Europe; to enumerate the number of specialists (in general and in relation to the overall population) and specialist trainees and describe the content, delivery and evaluation of postgraduate training in ID in different countries.
Methods: Structured web-based questionnaire surveys in March 2021 of responsible national authorities, specialist societies and individual country representatives to the Section of Infectious Diseases of the European Union for Medical Specialties. Descriptive analysis of quantitative and qualitative responses.
Background: There is wide variation in the availability and training of specialists in the diagnosis and management of infections across Europe.
Objectives: To describe and reflect on the current objectives, structure and content of European curricula and examinations for the training and assessment of medical specialists in Clinical (Medical) Microbiology (CM/MM) and Infectious Diseases (ID).
Sources: Narrative review of developments over the past two decades and related policy documents and scientific literature.
Objectives: Many secondary care departments receive external advice calls. However, systematic advice-call documentation is uncommon and evidence on call nature and burden infrequent. The Liverpool tropical and infectious disease unit (TIDU) provides specialist advice locally, regionally and nationally.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Primary care is likely to see the highest number of Lyme disease patients. Despite this, there is limited published data regarding Lyme disease patients accessing primary care in the UK. We aim to describe trends in the incidence of a new diagnosis, and demographics of patients identified in a primary care electronic health database.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Protease inhibitors (PI) have relatively low penetration into the genital tract, raising concerns about the potential for genital HIV RNA shedding in patients taking PI-based regimens, particularly PI monotherapy (PI-mono).
Methods: We measured HIV RNA and PI drug concentrations in samples of semen, cervico-vaginal and rectal mucosa secretions, and plasma in patients after 48-96 weeks on PI-mono or standard triple therapy.
Results: A total of 85 participants were recruited.
Objectives: To estimate the incidence of gastroenteritis in individuals in care homes.
Design: Prospective cohort study.
Setting: Five participating care homes in North West England, UK.
We retrospectively assessed the utility of a flow cytometry-based test quantifying the percentage of CD3+ T cells with the CD4-/CD8- phenotype for predicting tularemia diagnoses in 64 probable and confirmed tularemia patients treated during 2003-2015 and 342 controls with tularemia-like illnesses treated during 2012-2015 in the Czech Republic. The median percentage of CD3+/CD4-/CD8- T cells in peripheral blood was higher in tularemia patients (19%, 95% CI 17%-22%) than in controls (3%, 95% CI 2%-3%). When we used 8% as the cutoff, this test's sensitivity was 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Undifferentiated febrile illness (UFI) is a major health concern in low-income countries, with Sudan experiencing multiple outbreaks, including a significant one in Darfur between 2015 and 2016 that resulted in 594 cases and 108 deaths.
- A study analyzed 65 samples from this outbreak, revealing common symptoms like fever and bleeding, but no clear evidence of person-to-person transmission.
- Testing found that 11% of samples were positive for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), indicating its role in UFI, but further research is required to identify other possible causes of these outbreaks.
Background: Data describing the coagulopathy of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever are scarce. We did rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) and conventional coagulation testing in patients with Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever to increase our understanding of the coagulopathy of this infectious disease.
Methods: We did a prospective observational cohort study of adults aged 18 years and older and admitted to hospitals with PCR-confirmed Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in Samsun and Tokat, Turkey.
Background: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a serious disease with a high fatality rate reported in many countries. The first case of CCHF in Oman was detected in 1995 and serosurveys have suggested widespread infection of humans and livestock throughout the country.
Methodology: Cases of CCHF reported to the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Oman between 1995 and 2017 were retrospectively reviewed.
Brucellosis in pregnancy: results of multicenter ID-IRI study.
Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis
July 2019
Article Synopsis
- The study focuses on the impact of brucellosis in pregnant women, highlighting that it is linked to various obstetric complications, yet there is limited data on human cases.
- Data was gathered from 242 pregnant women diagnosed with brucellosis across 23 hospitals over a 14-year period, revealing that 14.0% experienced obstetric complications, with spontaneous abortion being the most common at 6.1%.
- Key factors related to obstetric complications included symptoms like splenomegaly, nausea, and anemia, emphasizing the need for investigation in pregnant women who show such signs, especially in endemic areas.