Limited evidence of infection with other tick-borne pathogens in patients tested for Lyme neuroborreliosis in the Netherlands.

Ixodes ricinus is the main vector of the causative agents of Lyme neuroborreliosis. This tick species can also transmit tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia and Borrelia miyamotoi to humans. These tick-borne pathogens are present in Dutch ticks and have also been associated with human neurological infections, but well characterized disease cases are seldom reported.

Viral, Bacterial, Metabolic, and Autoimmune Causes of Severe Acute Encephalopathy in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Objectives: To assess whether viral, bacterial, metabolic, and autoimmune diseases are missed by conventional diagnostics among children with severe acute encephalopathy in sub-Saharan Africa.

Study Design: One hundred thirty-four children (6 months to 18 years) presenting with nontraumatic coma or convulsive status epilepticus to 1 of 4 medical referral centers in Uganda, Malawi, and Rwanda were enrolled between 2015 and 2016. Locally available diagnostic tests could be supplemented in 117 patients by viral, bacterial, and 16s quantitative polymerase chain reaction testing, metagenomics, untargeted metabolomics, and autoimmune immunohistochemistry screening.

Metagenomic DNA sequencing for semi-quantitative pathogen detection from urine: a prospective, laboratory-based, proof-of-concept study.

Background: Semi-quantitative bacterial culture is the reference standard to diagnose urinary tract infection, but culture is time-consuming and can be unreliable if patients are receiving antibiotics. Metagenomics could increase diagnostic accuracy and speed by sequencing the microbiota and resistome directly from urine. We aimed to compare metagenomics to culture for semi-quantitative pathogen and resistome detection from urine.

[16S rRNA sequence analysis: application and pitfalls].

16S rRNA gene sequencing is a useful tool for identification of non-cultured or hard-to-identify bacteria. This technique can be used to detect and identify bacteria in clinical materials, such as cerebrospinal fluid and heart valves, if conventional methods do not reveal pathogens. A major advantage compared with other techniques is that it is not necessary to know in advance what pathogen is the likely cause of the disease.

[Relapsing fever after travelling in the tropics; a story with a twist].

Background: Relapsing fever is an infectious disease caused by Spirochaetes. The presentation is characterised by recurrent episodes of fever.

Case Description: At the end of her trip through South Africa and Botswana, a 54-year-old woman had symptoms of fever and dry cough.

Travel-related acquisition of diarrhoeagenic bacteria, enteral viruses and parasites in a prospective cohort of 98 Dutch travellers.

Background: Limited prospective data are available on the acquisition of viral, bacterial and parasitic diarrhoeagenic agents by healthy individuals during travel.

Methods: To determine the frequency of travel associated acquisition of 19 pathogens in 98 intercontinental travellers, qPCR was used to detect 8 viral pathogens, 6 bacterial enteric pathogens and 5 parasite species in faecal samples collected immediately before and after travel.

Results: We found high pre-travel carriage rates of Blastocystis spp.

Borrelia miyamotoi in vectors and hosts in The Netherlands.

Ixodes ticks transmit Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.), the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis (LB).

Seronegative lyme neuroborreliosis in a patient using rituximab.

A 66-year-old woman presented with severe shooting pains throughout her back and legs, followed by progressive deafness, weight loss and headache. She had a history of marginal zone B-cell lymphoma stage IV-B, for which she was successfully treated with immunochemotherapy and rituximab maintenance therapy. A relapse was suspected, but chemotherapy was not administered, since, despite elaborate investigations, malignancy could not be proven.

Genotypic identification of erythromycin-resistant campylobacter isolates as helicobacter species and analysis of resistance mechanism.

The correct identification of Campylobacter species remains cumbersome, especially when conventional biochemical tests and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns are used for a phenotypical identification. Correct identification is important for epidemiological purposes and for studying changes in antimicrobial resistance patterns. Six erythromycin-resistant campylobacter strains were investigated by 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequencing, 23S rDNA sequencing, and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of a putative heme-copper oxidase domain described as being specific for thermophilic Campylobacter species.