[ takes a stand against editorial predation].

Warnings against predatory journals get stronger. Designed to capture manuscripts with the promise of rapid publication, the main aim of these journals is to charge abusive publication fees. Sometimes boasting imaginary impact factors, they are not indexed and offer no guarantee of visibility, accessibility or durability of the published article.

Mycobacterium malmoense: an underestimated nontuberculous mycobacterium.

We present a case report of Mycobacterium malmoense in a 53-year-old white man. The incidence of M. malmoense infections is a rare event compared with other nontuberculous mycobacteria, but it has increased since 1980, especially in northern Europe.

[Leptospirosis].

Leptospirosis is among the most important zoonotic disease worldwide. Annually, millions of human cases occur worldwide, with case fatality rates ranging as high as 20-25% in some regions. The pathogenicity of the Leptospira spp is depending on the responsible serovar.

Clinical aspects and prognostic factors of leptospirosis in adults. Retrospective study in France.

Background: Because early recognition and initiation of antibiotic therapy are important, clinicians should familiarize themselves with the clinical presentation of leptospirosis, and determine prognostic factors.

Patients And Methods: This study included all patients treated at Angers University Hospital between January 1995 and December 2005 for leptospirosis - both probable (cases combining epidemiologically suggestive features with compatible clinical, laboratory, and radiographic findings, with no other diagnosis envisioned) and confirmed (by finding microorganism on direct examination or culture of blood, urine or CSF, or by seroconversion or by a significant increase in the antibody titer between two samples). Severe leptospirosis was defined by hospitalization in the critical care department or need for renal dialysis.

[Foodborne botulism, prevent and treatment].

The United States and Europe agree that the treatment of botulism is based on symptomatical measures and, notably, on mechanical ventilation when the respiratory function is impaired. Opinions diverge regarding the specific treatment represented by anti-botulinum serum: used systematically in the United States and frequently in many European countries, France never uses it other than in a few cases. Identification of the contaminating foodstuff is a fundamental element in limiting extension of the disease.

[Foodborne botulism, epidemiologic aspects].

With a mean of 30 cases reported per year, following Italy, France ranks second in the European countries in terms of incidence of botulism. Food stuff of commercial origin, of artisanal or industrial manufacture fabrication, is increasingly implicated in the genesis of outbreaks of botulism. Moreover, the modern methods of conserving food (vacuum packed food, frozen food.

[Botulism, a clinical diagnosis].

Foodborne botulism results from the effect of a neurotoxin produced by a sporulated anaerobic bacillus called Clostridium botulinum. The mode of contamination occurs through the consumption of foodstuff, already contaminated by the neurotoxin. Following an incubation period that varies from 2 hours to 8 days, the symptoms start with intestinal problems.

Vascular thrombosis and acute cytomegalovirus infection in immunocompetent patients: report of 2 cases and literature review.

Acute cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in immunocompetent patients is common worldwide, with seroprevalence rates of 40%-100%, depending on the country, socioeconomic conditions, and the patient's age. Infection is most often asymptomatic, but acute cytomegalovirus infection is occasionally revealed by prolonged fever, cervical lymphadenitis, and arthralgia, and it is more rarely revealed by pneumonia, myocarditis, pericarditis, colitis, and hemolytic anemia. Here, we report 2 cases of acute CMV infection in nonimmunocompromised adults that were complicated by venous thrombosis with pulmonary embolism.

[Hepatosplenic localization of cat scratch disease in immunocompetent adults. Two cases].

The infective agent responsible for cat scratch disease, Bartonella henselae, is a rare cause of hepatic granulomatosis in immunocompetent adults. Clinical features include a prolonged fever or more typical symptoms such as lymphadenopathy associated with painful hepatomegaly and a fever following a cat scratch or bite. Images of micronodular hepatosplenic lesions on abdominal ultrasonography or computed tomography scan along with epithelioid granulomas in a liver biopsy can suggest this diagnosis.