The Epidemiology and Diagnosis of Measles: Special Aspects Relating to Low Incidence.

Background: Measles is a highly contagious viral disease (contagion index near 100%) with a complication rate of up to 30%. The worldwide incidence for 2022 was calculated as 29 cases per million people. Measles can be eliminated if 95% of the population is either vaccinated or immune and measures are taken to limit its spread as soon as an initial suspected case is encountered.

Nature 4.0: A networked sensor system for integrated biodiversity monitoring.

Ecosystem functions and services are severely threatened by unprecedented global loss in biodiversity. To counteract these trends, it is essential to develop systems to monitor changes in biodiversity for planning, evaluating, and implementing conservation and mitigation actions. However, the implementation of monitoring systems suffers from a trade-off between grain (i.

Low mortality despite temporary liver dysfunction in severe courses of acute hepatitis E.

Background: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection can cause severe viral hepatitis and eventually liver failure. We aim to provide novel data on the epidemiology and the course of HEV infections from Q1/2008 to Q3/2018 at the Vienna General Hospital.

Methods: Of the 88,945 people tested, we identified HEV-IgM positive (+) or HEV-PCR (+) patients and retrospectively collated information on the course of infection from patient records.

Fate of C-labelled ionic organic chemicals in a water-sediment system and surface water.

The persistence assessment of organic chemicals is based on neutral reference substances. Therefore, our study aimed at investigating the influence of a chemical charge on the degradation of organic compounds in a water-sediment system (OECD 308) and surface water (OECD 309). We used radiolabelled 4-n-dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid sodium salt (C-DS, anionic), 4-n-dodecylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride (C-DA, cationic) and 4-n-dodecylphenol (C-DP, non-ionic) which are structurally similar except their charges.

Response-guided long-term treatment of chronic hepatitis D patients with bulevirtide-results of a "real world" study.

Background And Aim: Bulevirtide (BLV) blocks the uptake of the hepatitis D virus (HDV) into hepatocytes via the sodium/bile acid cotransporter NTCP. BLV was conditionally approved by the EMA but real-life data on BLV efficacy are limited.

Methods: Patients were treated with BLV monotherapy.

Tick-Borne Encephalitis in Vaccinated Patients: A Retrospective Case-Control Study and Analysis of Vaccination Field Effectiveness in Austria From 2000 to 2018.

Background: There are discrepant observations on the severity of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in vaccinated persons. We, therefore, analyzed the occurrence of severe and mild disease in hospitalized vaccinated and nonvaccinated patients with TBE and determined the field effectiveness (FE) of vaccination against these forms of disease.

Methods: The study covered all patients hospitalized with TBE in Austria from 2000 to 2018.

Effectiveness and Safety of an Intravenous Immune Globulin (IVIG) Preparation in Post-exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) Against Measles in Infants.

Administration of measles virus (MV)-specific IgG as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is known to effectively prevent measles. Since the introduction of active immunization against measles, the levels of MV-specific IgG antibodies in the population have dropped. Therefore, the concentration of MV-specific antibodies in immunoglobulin products derived from human plasma donors has declined as the proportion of vaccinated donors has increased.

Hepatitis D virus (HDV) prevalence in Austria is low but causes considerable morbidity due to fast progression to cirrhosis.

Background: Hepatitis D virus (HDV) coinfection aggravates the course of hepatitis B virus (HBV). The prevalence of HDV in Austria is unknown.

Objective: This national study aimed at (i) recording the prevalence of HDV-infection in Austria and (ii) characterizing the "active" HDV cohort in Austria.

Machine learning with asymmetric abstention for biomedical decision-making.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence have entered biomedical decision-making for diagnostics, prognostics, or therapy recommendations. However, these methods need to be interpreted with care because of the severe consequences for patients. In contrast to human decision-making, computational models typically make a decision also with low confidence.

Safety and effectiveness of up to 3 years' bulevirtide monotherapy in patients with HDV-related cirrhosis.

The entry inhibitor bulevirtide (BLV) received conditional approval from the EMA in July 2020 for the treatment of adult patients with compensated chronic hepatitis delta. However, the effectiveness and safety of BLV administered as monotherapy beyond 48 weeks in difficult-to-treat patients with HDV-related cirrhosis is presently unknown. Herein, we describe the first patients with HDV-related compensated cirrhosis who were treated with BLV (10 mg/day as a starting dose) for up to 3 years on a compassionate use program.

The regional decline and rise of tick-borne encephalitis incidence do not correlate with Lyme borreliosis, Austria, 2005 to 2018.

BackgroundTick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus is a human pathogen that is expanding its endemic zones in Europe, emerging in previously unaffected regions. In Austria, increasing incidence in alpine regions in the west has been countered by a decline in traditional endemic areas to the east of the country.AimTo shed light on the cause of this disparity, we compared the temporal changes of human TBE incidences in all federal provinces of Austria with those of Lyme borreliosis (LB), which has the same tick vector and rodent reservoir.

Epidemiological trends of HBV and HDV coinfection among Viennese HIV+ patients.

Background And Aims: Despite vaccination recommendations, hepatitis B (HBV) and D (HDV) coinfections are common in HIV+individuals.

Methods: HBV immunization status (anti-HBs) as well as HBV (HBsAg/HBV-DNA) and HDV (anti-HDV) coinfection rates were assessed in 1870 HIV+individuals at HIV diagnosis (baseline, BL) and last follow-up (FU).

Results: Sixty-eight (3.

Dynamics and Extent of Non-Structural Protein 1-Antibody Responses in Tick-Borne Encephalitis Vaccination Breakthroughs and Unvaccinated Patients.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has a substantial impact on human public health in many parts of Europe and Asia. Effective inactivated purified whole-virus vaccines are in widespread use in TBE-endemic countries. Nevertheless, vaccination breakthroughs (VBTs) with manifest clinical disease do occur, and their specific serodiagnosis was shown to be facilitated by the detection of antibodies to a non-structural protein (NS1) that is produced during virus replication.

Different Cross-Reactivities of IgM Responses in Dengue, Zika and Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Infections.

Flaviviruses circulate worldwide and cause a number of medically relevant human diseases, such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). Serology plays an important role in the diagnosis of flavivirus infections, but can be impeded by antigenic cross-reactivities among flaviviruses. Therefore, serological diagnosis of a recent infection can be insufficiently specific, especially in areas where flaviviruses co-circulate and/or vaccination coverage against certain flaviviruses is high.

Performance of Four IgM Antibody Assays in the Diagnosis of Measles Virus Primary Infection and Cases with a Serological Profile Indicating Reinfection.

The object of this study was to determine the diagnostic performance of four commercially available IgM tests in the diagnosis of measles virus (MeV) primary infection and cases with a serological profile indicating reinfection. Sera from 187 patients with MeV primary infection, 30 patients with suspected reinfection (after vaccine failure), and 153 patients with rash-like symptoms after exclusion of MeV infection were retested with four IgM tests. MeV infection was verified by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR), and primary and suspected reinfections were differentiated by IgG avidity and neutralization assays.

Variability of cycle threshold values in an external quality assessment scheme for detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome by RT-PCR.

Objectives: The qualitative results of SARS-CoV-2 specific real-time reverse transcription (RT) PCR are used for initial diagnosis and follow-up of Covid-19 patients and asymptomatic virus carriers. However, clinical decision-making and health management policies often are based additionally on cycle threshold (C) values (i.e.

Vaccination Status and Attitude among Measles Cluster Cases in Austria, 2019.

On 21 January 2019, public health authorities of two neighboring Austrian provinces reported an increase in measles cases. We investigated this occurrence to identify clusters of epidemiologically linked cases and the associated vaccination status in order to generate hypotheses on those factors explaining the size of the measles clusters. Probable cases were residents of the provinces of Styria or Salzburg with clinical presentation of measles after 1 January 2019 who were linked to a confirmed case using RNA virus detection.

Fighting the invisible enemy: providing support and structure to radiology resident during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The objective of this article is to share the strategy we used in order to restructure the radiology and diagnostic imaging department of a referral institution during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, on the basis of the current recommendations. It is essential to integrate the work of supervisors, preceptors, and residents, maintaining communication and sharing decisions, with mutual support, as well as to determine the best strategy to be adopted in this scenario of uncertainty and constant change, while also ensuring adequate emotional support for all parties.

Influence of chemical charge on the fate of organic chemicals in sediment particle size fractions.

In order to investigate the influence of differently sized particle fractions on the fate of ionic chemicals in water-sediment systems, we performed simulation studies following OECD guideline 308. We used C-labelled anionic (4-n-dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid sodium salt, 'C-DS'), cationic (4-n-dodecylbenzyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, 'C-DA') and non-ionic (4-n-dodecylphenol, 'C-DP') organic chemicals. The sediment was subjected to particle size fractionation.

Comparison of different versions of simulation studies following OECD 309 using C-labelled ionic compounds - Does it make a difference?

Simulation studies following OECD guideline 309 (Aerobic Mineralisation in Surface Water - Simulation Biodegradation Test) are performed to determine the biodegradation of chemicals in surface water. The aim of our study was to perform different versions of this test to identify possible shortcomings. In order to investigate the influence of a chemical charge on the degradation, we used C-labelled 4-n-dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid sodium salt (C-DS), 4-n-dodecylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride (C-DA) and 4-n-dodecylphenol (C-DP) Additionally, abiotic degradation of these compounds and the effectiveness of different sterilization methods was assessed.

Unexpected complete recovery of a patient with severe tick-borne encephalitis treated with favipiravir.

We report a case of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in a 22-year-old man, who was admitted to the Medical University of Vienna hospital with severe meningoencephalitis, unresponsive and dependent on a respirator. He had given a history of a recent tick bite, but because he had previously received a full course of vaccination against TBE, West Nile virus infection was suspected. Because the antiviral drug favipiravir has been reported to be active against WNV, therapy was initiated, and continued even after a diagnosis of TBE was confirmed, due to significant improvement of symptoms.

Recent outbreaks of severe hepatitis A virus infections in Vienna.

To explore the epidemiology and clinical course of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections at the Vienna General Hospital. We retrospectively identified patients who were tested positive for HAV-IgM at the Vienna General Hospital form Q1/2008 to Q3/2018. Our definition of severe HAV infection was AST and/or ALT > 5 × above the upper limit of normal (ULN); and liver dysfunction as (i) hepatic encephalopathy or ammonia > 100 μmol/L, (ii) coagulopathy with INR > 1.

First results of a national external quality assessment scheme for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences.

Background: Broad and decentralised testing of SARS-CoV-2 RNA genomes is a WHO-recommended strategy to contain the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic by identifying infected cases in order to minimize onward transmission. With the need to increase the test capacities in Austria, nation-wide numerous laboratories rapidly implemented assays for molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 based on real-time RT-PCR assays. The objective of this study was to monitor reliability of the laboratory results for SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection through an external quality assessment (EQA) scheme.

Elevated CXCL10 Serum Levels in Measles Virus Primary Infection and Reinfection Correlate With the Serological Stage and Hospitalization Status.

We quantified serum concentrations of chemokine CXCL10 in 288 patients with measles virus (MeV) primary infection and 16 patients with reinfection (vaccine failure). CXCL10 peaked with emergence of IgM antibodies and was elevated in hospitalized patients (3233 vs 1930 pg/mL, P < .0001).

Epidemiological trends in HCV transmission and prevalence in the Viennese HIV+ population.

Background & Aims: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection is common in people who inject drugs (PWIDs). Recently, 'high-risk' behaviour among men who have sex with men (MSM) has emerged as another main route of HCV transmission. We analysed temporal trends in HCV epidemiology in a cohort of Viennese HIV+ patients.