Prevalence and Predictors of COVID-19 Long-Term Symptoms: A Cohort Study from the Amazon Basin.

It remains unclear whether a previous history of tropical infectious diseases and a second SARS-COV-2 infection may influence the likelihood of later symptoms. In this prospective cohort study, individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 were followed up by telephone shortly after diagnosis of COVID-19 and again 12 months later. Poisson regression was used to identify the predictors of the highest number of symptoms in the post-COVID-19 syndrome.

Disseminated Cutaneous Leishmaniasis and Alcohol Misuse, Northeast Brazil, 2015-2018.

Disseminated cutaneous leishmaniasis (DCL) is an uncommon form of Leishmania braziliensis infection. It remains unknown why some people develop this clinical condition. We describe 14 DCL patients in Northeast Brazil during 2015-2018.

Previous Dengue Infection and Mortality in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

We studied 2351 participants with coronavirus disease 2019; 1177 (50%) reported previous dengue infection. Those without previous dengue had a higher risk of death (hazard ratio: .44; 95% confidence interval: .

Trends of Prosthetic Joint Infection Organisms and Recurrence for a Single High-Volume Arthroplasty Surgeon Over 20 Years.

Background: Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a morbid complication following total joint arthroplasty (TJA). PJI diagnosis and treatment has changed over time, and patient co-management with a high-volume musculoskeletal infectious disease (MSK ID) specialist has been implemented at our institution in the last decade.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated all consecutive TJA patients treated for PJI between 1995 and 2018 by a single high-volume revision TJA surgeon.

Case-fatality From Orally-transmitted Acute Chagas Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Orally-transmitted acute Chagas disease (CD) is emerging as an important public health problem. The prognosis of acute infection following oral transmission is unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze and summarize data on orally-transmitted acute CD.

Knee Arthrodesis Is a Durable Option for the Salvage of Infected Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Background: Knee arthrodesis (KA) and above-knee amputation (AKA) have been used for salvage of failed total knee arthroplasty (TKA) after periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). However, few studies have assessed the outcomes of KA after TKA PJI, as it remains an uncommon procedure. We investigated rates of AKA, control of infection, and ambulatory status after KA for TKA PJI treatment.

Access to Chagas disease treatment in the United States after the regulatory approval of benznidazole.

Approximately 300,000 persons in the United States (US) are infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan that causes Chagas disease, but less than 1% are estimated to have received antiparasitic treatment. Benznidazole was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of T. cruzi infection in 2017 and commercialized in May 2018.

An unexpected pathogen causing prosthetic joint infection following screening colonoscopy.

A 61-year-old woman with a right total knee arthroplasty presented with 1 week of atraumatic right knee swelling, pain, and fevers 2 weeks following a routine screening colonoscopy. Aspiration was concerning for prosthetic joint infection and she underwent definitive treatment with irrigation and debridement with polyethylene exchange followed by a 6-week course of oral metronidazole. Cultures speciated as Bacteroides fragilis with the presumed source being the colonoscopy causing transient bacteremia and subsequent seeding of the right knee.

Chagas Disease in the United States: a Public Health Approach.

is the etiological agent of Chagas disease, usually transmitted by triatomine vectors. An estimated 20 to 30% of infected individuals develop potentially lethal cardiac or gastrointestinal disease. Sylvatic transmission cycles exist in the southern United States, involving 11 triatomine vector species and infected mammals such as rodents, opossums, and dogs.

Post-Babesiosis Warm Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia.

Background Babesiosis, a tickborne zoonotic disease caused by intraerythrocytic protozoa of the genus babesia, is characterized by nonimmune hemolytic anemia that resolves with antimicrobial treatment and clearance of parasitemia. The development of warm-antibody autoimmune hemolytic anemia (also known as warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia [WAHA]) in patients with babesiosis has not previously been well described. Methods After the observation of sporadic cases of WAHA that occurred after treatment of patients for babesiosis, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of all the patients with babesiosis who were cared for at our center from January 2009 through June 2016.

Rapid-Growing Mycobacteria Infections in Medical Tourists: Our Experience and Literature Review.

Background: "Medical tourism" has gained popularity over the past few decades. This is particularly common with patients seeking elective cosmetic surgery in the developing world. However, the risk of severe and unusual infectious complications appears to be higher than for patients undergoing similar procedures in the United States.

Determinants of Health Service Responsiveness in Community-Based Vector Surveillance for Chagas Disease in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Background: Central American countries face a major challenge in the control of Triatoma dimidiata, a widespread vector of Chagas disease that cannot be eliminated. The key to maintaining the risk of transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi at lowest levels is to sustain surveillance throughout endemic areas. Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras integrated community-based vector surveillance into local health systems.

Effectiveness of insecticide spraying and culling of dogs on the incidence of Leishmania infantum infection in humans: a cluster randomized trial in Teresina, Brazil.

Background: To evaluate the effect of insecticide spraying for vector control and elimination of infected dogs on the incidence of human infection with L. infantum, a randomized community intervention trial was carried out in the city of Teresina, Brazil.

Methods/principal Findings: Within each of ten localities in the city, four blocks were selected and randomized to 4 interventions: 1) spraying houses and animal pens with insecticide; 2) eliminating infected dogs; 3) combination of spraying and eliminating dogs, and 4) nothing.

Clinical and immunological aspects of post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis in Bangladesh.

We conducted active surveillance for kala-azar and post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) in a population of 24,814 individuals. Between 2002 and 2010, 1,002 kala-azar and 185 PKDL cases occurred. Median PKDL patient age was 12 years; 9% had no antecedent kala-azar.

Estimating incidence rates with misclassified disease status: a likelihood-based approach, with application to hepatitis C virus.

Background: In epidemiologic research, incidence is often estimated from data arising from an imperfect diagnostic test performed at unequally spaced intervals over time.

Methods: We developed a likelihood-based method to estimate incidence when disease status is measured imperfectly and assays are performed at multiple unequally spaced visits. We assumed conditional independence, no remission, known constant levels of sensitivity and specificity, and constant incidence rates over time.

Autonomic dysfunction and risk factors associated with Trypanosoma cruzi infection among children in Arequipa, Peru.

Chagas disease affects an estimated 8 million people in Latin America. Infected individuals have 20-30% lifetime risk of developing cardiomyopathy, but more subtle changes in autonomic responses may be more frequent. We conducted a matched case-control study of children in Arequipa, Peru, where triatomine infestation and Trypanosoma cruzi infection are emerging problems.

The impact of human reservoir of malaria at a community-level on individual malaria occurrence in a low malaria transmission setting along the Thai-Myanmar border.

Background: The probability of contracting malaria in a given individual is determined not only by the individual's characteristics, but also the ecological factors that characterize the level of human-vector contact in the population. Examination of the relationship between "individual" and "supra-individual" variables over time is important for understanding the local malaria epidemiology. This is essential for planning effective intervention strategies specifically for each location.

Small animal zoonoses and immuncompromised pet owners.

This review is a general discussion of common zoonotic infections of companion animals in the United States. Microbes, routes of transmission, and risks to immunocompromised persons are discussed. The primary focus of this article is dogs and cats, although zoonoses of avian, rodent, and rabbit companion animals are discussed in brief.

Congenital Trypanosoma cruzi transmission in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Background: We conducted a study of congenital Trypanosoma cruzi infection in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Our objective was to apply new tools to identify weak points in current screening algorithms, and find ways to improve them.

Methods: Women presenting for delivery were screened by rapid and conventional serological tests.

Optimally timing primaquine treatment to reduce Plasmodium falciparum transmission in low endemicity Thai-Myanmar border populations.

Background: Effective malaria control has successfully reduced the malaria burden in many countries, but to eliminate malaria, these countries will need to further improve their control efforts. Here, a malaria control programme was critically evaluated in a very low-endemicity Thai-Myanmar border population, where early detection and prompt treatment have substantially reduced, though not ended, Plasmodium falciparum transmission, in part due to carriage of late-maturing gametocytes that remain post-treatment. To counter this effect, the WHO recommends the use of a single oral dose of primaquine along with an effective blood schizonticide.