Prospective evaluation of clinical and biological markers to predict the outcome of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in hematological patients.

Early evaluation of treatment efficacy in invasive aspergillosis (IA), a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in hematological patients, remains a challenge. We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the performance of different markers in predicting the outcome of patients with IA. Both clinical and biological criteria were assessed 7, 14, 21, and 45 days after inclusion in the study, and mortality was assessed at day 60.

Detection of pyrethroid resistance gene in head lice in schoolchildren from Bobigny, France.

The head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis (De Geer), is an hematophagous ectoparasite that affects mainly children. Resistance to insecticides belonging to pyrethroids and other pediculicides, such as malathion, is responsible for frequently reported treatment failures. Recent studies showed that a M815I-T929I-L932F kdr-like mutation in the voltage-gated sodium channel alpha-subunit gene was associated with permethrin resistance in head lice from several countries worldwide.