The first Italian case report of leg ulcer and sepsis caused by Shewanella algae in a immunocompetent patient.

We describe the first Italian case of Shewanella algae septicemia in an immunocompetent patient with chronic leg ulcers. The patient had been exposed to seawater before the onset of symptoms. Despite the absence of severe underlying diseases, the primary soft tissue infection of the leg was complicated by hematogenous dissemination.

Evolution of HVR-1 quasispecies after 1-year treatment in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients according to the pattern of response to highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) variability is mainly attributed to the ability of the virus to respond to host immune pressure, acting as a driving force for the evolution of quasispecies. This study was aimed at studying the changes in HVR-1 heterogeneity and the evolution of HCV quasispecies in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients according to the pattern of response to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Sixteen HIV/HCV-coinfected patients harbouring HCV genotype 1 and who had been on HAART for at least 1 year, 8 showing increasing CD4+ T-cell counts (immunological responders) and 8 showing a stable or decreasing CD4+ T-cell counts (immunological nonresponders), were selected from a prospective cohort study.