Hepatitis B Elimination in Children of Slovenian Origin Born in Slovenia After the Introduction of Preventive Strategies: the Results of a National Study.

Introduction: In Slovenia national strategies to prevent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in children were introduced in the mid-nineties. The aim of the present study was to analyze the epidemiological characteristics of chronic hepatitis B infection in children in Slovenia after the introduction of mandatory HBV vaccination of children and mandatory screening of pregnant women for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) with consecutive active and passive immunization of newborns of HBsAg-positive mothers.

Methods: Children from all regions of Slovenia whose blood samples tested positive for HBsAg at the national reference laboratory for viral hepatitis between January 1997 and December 2010 were included.

Functional Complement Analysis Can Predict Genetic Testing Results and Long-Term Outcome in Patients With Complement Deficiencies.

Background: Prevalence of complement deficiencies (CDs) is markedly higher in Slovenian primary immunodeficiency (PID) registry in comparison to other national and international PID registries.

Objective: The purposes of our study were to confirm CD and define complete and partial CD in registered patients in Slovenia, to evaluate frequency of clinical manifestations, and to assess the risk for characteristic infections separately for subjects with complete and partial CD.

Methods: CD was confirmed with genetic analyses in patients with C2 deficiency, C8 deficiency, and hereditary angioedema or with repeated functional complement studies and measurement of complement components in other CD.

Virulence factors and biofilm production among Escherichia coli strains causing bacteraemia of urinary tract origin.

The aim of the present study was to gain an insight into the role of virulence determinants and biofilm production in bacteraemia of urinary tract origin. For this purpose 105 Escherichia coli isolates from patients with bacteraemia of urinary tract origin, isolated at the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, were investigated. A total of 88 strains (84 %) were isolated from immunocompromised patients and 17 (16 %) from non-immunocompromised patients.