Molecular Diagnosis of Cat Scratch Disease: a 25-Year Retrospective Comparative Analysis of Various Clinical Specimens and Different PCR Assays.

Cat-scratch disease (CSD), caused primarily by Bartonella henselae, is a common etiology of infectious regional lymphadenopathy. Lymphadenopathy is preceded by a primary inoculation lesion and may progress to suppuration. Laboratory diagnosis of CSD is hampered by the limitations of available confirmatory tests.

Misleading Positive Serology for Cat Scratch Disease following Administration of Intravenous Immunoglobulin.

Cat scratch disease (CSD), caused by , usually presents as regional lymphadenopathy/lymphadenitis, known as typical CSD or as atypical CSD, which includes, among others, neurological manifestations. Serology for anti- IgG antibodies is the most commonly used diagnostic tests for CSD. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is given for an increasing number of medical conditions and may cause interference with serological testing.

Convulsions in children hospitalized for acute gastroenteritis.

The study aim was to examine possible correlates of convulsions in children hospitalized for acute gastroenteritis (AGE). Data collected in a prospective study of AGE hospitalizations in children aged 0-59 months in 3 hospitals in Israel during 2008-2015 were analyzed. Stool samples were tested for rotavirus using immunochromatography and stool culture was performed for the detection of Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter We compared clinical and demographic characteristics of children hospitalized for AGE who had convulsions (n = 68, cases) with children hospitalized for AGE without convulsions (n = 3505, controls).

Expect the Unexpected-First Case of Congenital Rubella Syndrome in Israel in 20 Years: A Case Report.

Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) is a devastating condition associated with significant morbidity. Due to universal vaccination programs, it is currently a rare condition, especially in developed countries. We report an infant born in Israel to a foreign worker from the Philippines who presented with a blueberry muffin rash immediately after birth.

Laboratory Diagnosis of 37 Cases of Endocarditis Based on Enzyme Immunoassay and Real-Time PCR.

spp., mostly and , are a common cause of culture-negative endocarditis. Serology using immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and PCR performed on cardiac tissues are the mainstays of diagnosis.

Cat Scratch Disease Presenting as Fever of Unknown Origin Is a Unique Clinical Syndrome.

Background: Fever of unknown origin (FUO) is a rare manifestation of cat scratch disease (CSD). Data regarding CSD-associated FUO (CSD-FUO), particularly in adults, are limited. We aimed to study disease manifestations and long-term clinical outcome.

No evidence of an increase in the incidence of norovirus gastroenteritis hospitalizations in young children after the introduction of universal rotavirus immunization in Israel.

Following the introduction of universal immunization against rotavirus, concerns were raised regarding pathogen-replacement of rotavirus by norovirus. The study aim was to examine the incidence and characteristics and norovirus gastroenteritis before and after the introduction of universal rotavirus immunization in Israel. We studied 1179 stool samples collected between November 2007 and December 2014 for a prospective hospital-based surveillance study of children aged 0-59 months hospitalized for gastroenteritis.

Stage-specific expression of the proline-alanine transporter in the human pathogen Leishmania.

Leishmania are obligatory intracellular parasites that cycle between the sand fly midgut (extracellular promastigotes) and mammalian macrophage phagolysosomes (intracellular amastigotes). They have developed mechanisms of adaptation to the distinct environments of host and vector that favor utilization of both proline and alanine. LdAAP24 is the L.

Cat-scratch disease: ocular manifestations and treatment outcome.

Purpose: To characterize cat-scratch disease (CSD) ocular manifestations and visual outcome and evaluate the effect of systemic antibiotics and corticosteroids on final visual acuity (VA).

Methods: Multicentre retrospective cohort study. Medical records of 86 patients with ocular disease (107 eyes) of 3222 patients identified in a national CSD surveillance study were reviewed.

Serological Evaluation of Cutaneous Infection in Northern Israel.

spp. are medically important unicellular parasites transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies. The World Health Organization recently highlighted the importance of reliable diagnostic tools for leishmaniasis.

Effectiveness of rotavirus pentavalent vaccine under a universal immunization programme in Israel, 2011-2015: a case-control study.

Objectives: The use of rotavirus pentavalent vaccine (RotaTeq) as a sole vaccine within rotavirus universal immunization programmes remains limited. We examined the effectiveness of RotaTeq in preventing rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) hospitalization in Israel, after the introduction of universal immunization against the disease.

Methods: A test-negative case-control study included age-eligible children for universal RotaTeq immunization (aged 2-59 months, born in 2011-2015).

Diagnosis and Treatment of Leishmaniasis: Clinical Practice Guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).

It is important to realize that leishmaniasis guidelines cannot always account for individual variation among patients. They are not intended to supplant physician judgment with respect to particular patients or special clinical situations. The IDSA and ASTMH consider adherence to these guidelines to be voluntary, with the ultimate determinations regarding their application to be made by the physician in the light of each patient's individual circumstances.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Leishmaniasis: Clinical Practice Guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).

It is important to realize that leishmaniasis guidelines cannot always account for individual variation among patients. They are not intended to supplant physician judgment with respect to particular patients or special clinical situations. The IDSA and ASTMH consider adherence to these guidelines to be voluntary, with the ultimate determinations regarding their application to be made by the physician in the light of each patient's individual circumstances.

Incidence of rotavirus gastroenteritis hospitalizations and genotypes, before and five years after introducing universal immunization in Israel.

Background: Uncertainty exists about the sustainability of the reduction in rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) following the introduction of rotavirus vaccines into national immunization programs, and on its potential impact on circulating genotypes. RotaTeq was introduced into the Israeli national immunization program in December 2010, and vaccination coverage is around 80%.

Aims: To examine the change in incidence of RVGE hospitalization and rotavirus genotypes, during the five years after introduction of RotaTeq into the Israeli national immunization program.

Orbital complications associated with paranasal sinus infections - A 10-year experience in Israel.

Objective: Orbital involvement is the most common complication of sinus infections. The epidemiology of the disease is continuously changing in the antibiotic era.

Materials And Methods: Data on patients who were hospitalized due to acute sinusitis and orbital complications were retrospectively collected and analyzed from four medical centers in Israel during the years 2002-2012.

Breastfeeding Is Associated with Decreased Hospitalization for Neonatal Fever.

Background: Breastfeeding is the recommended method for feeding newborns and infants. It confers significant health benefits upon both infant and mother and provides developmental, social, and economic advantages.

Objective: This study explored possible correlations between breastfeeding and neonatal fever (NF).

An Arginine Deprivation Response Pathway Is Induced in Leishmania during Macrophage Invasion.

Amino acid sensing is an intracellular function that supports nutrient homeostasis, largely through controlled release of amino acids from lysosomal pools. The intracellular pathogen Leishmania resides and proliferates within human macrophage phagolysosomes. Here we describe a new pathway in Leishmania that specifically senses the extracellular levels of arginine, an amino acid that is essential for the parasite.

Severe Acute Mastoiditis Admission is Not Related to Delayed Antibiotic Treatment for Antecedent Acute Otitis Media.

Background: Delayed antibiotic treatment for acute otitis media (AOM) is recommended for children >6 months with nonsevere illness, no risk factors for complications or history of recurrent AOM. This study evaluates relationship between delayed antibiotic treatment for antecedent AOM and severity of subsequent acute mastoiditis admission.

Methods: A prospective observational study of children aged 0-14 years admitted with acute mastoiditis to 8 hospitals between 2007 and 2012 calculates rates of severe acute mastoiditis admission [defined by ≥1 of the following: complication (mastoid subperiosteal abscess, brain abscess and sagittal vein thrombosis), need for surgical procedure and duration of admission >6 days].

A significant and consistent reduction in rotavirus gastroenteritis hospitalization of children under 5 years of age, following the introduction of universal rotavirus immunization in Israel.

Universal rotavirus vaccination with RotaTeq was introduced in Israel in December 2010. We examined hospitalization rates of children under 5 years of age due to all-cause and rotavirus gastroenteritis, both before and 3 years after universal introduction of the vaccination. An ongoing hospital-based surveillance network that was established in November 2007, accessed information regarding hospitalization of children due to gastroenteritis (n = 6205) in 3 hospitals in northern Israel, with an annual average of about 60,000 children under 5 years of age living in the catchment area of these hospitals.

Involvement of main diarrheagenic Escherichia coli, with emphasis on enteroaggregative E. coli, in severe non-epidemic pediatric diarrhea in a high-income country.

Background: Bacterial and viral enteric pathogens are the leading cause of diarrhea in infants and children. We aimed to identify and characterize the main human diarrheagenic E. coli (DEC) in stool samples obtained from children less than 5 years of age, hospitalized for acute gastroenteritis in Israel, and to examine the hypothesis that co-infection with DEC and other enteropathogens is associated with the severity of symptoms.

Differentiating Kingella kingae septic arthritis of the hip from transient synovitis in young children.

Objective: To conduct a retrospective multicenter study to assess the ability of a predictive algorithm to differentiate between children with Kingella kingae infection of the hip and those with transient synovitis.

Study Design: Medical charts of 25 Israeli and 9 Spanish children aged 6-27 months with culture-proven K kingae arthritis of the hip were reviewed, and information on the 4 variables included in the commonly used Kocher prediction algorithm (body temperature, refusal to bear weight, leukocytosis, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate) was gathered.

Results: Patients with K kingae arthritis usually presented with mildly abnormal clinical picture and normal serum levels of or near-normal acute-phase reactants.

Incidence and risk factors for intussusception among children in northern Israel from 1992 to 2009: a retrospective study.

Background: Determining the background incidence of intussusception is important in countries implementing rotavirus immunization. Rotavirus immunization was introduced into the routine infant immunization program in Israel during late 2010. Incidence and risk factors for intussusception were examined in children aged less than five years between 1992 and 2009.

Intent-to-adhere and adherence to malaria prevention recommendations in two travel clinics.

Malaria infects 30,000 travelers annually worldwide. At greatest risk are those who travel for long duration. Prevention of malaria includes chemoprophylaxis.