is an established zoonotic agent causing respiratory disease in humans. An infection often remains asymptomatic but can also result in flu-like illness, pneumonia or even multi-organ failure. This paper describes three patients, hospitalised at AZ Sint-Lucas Hospital, with atypical pneumonia who were diagnosed with after an in-depth anamnesis and laboratory investigation in the midst of the COVID pandemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground & Aims: HEV genotype (gt) 3 infections are prevalent in high-income countries and display a wide spectrum of clinical presentations. Host - but not viral - factors are reported to be associated with worse clinical outcomes.
Methods: Demographic, clinical, and biochemical data laboratory-confirmed HEV infections (by PCR and/or a combination of IgM and IgG serology) at the Belgian National Reference Centre between January 2010 and June 2018 were collected using standardised case report forms.
We report on sample IS/17575 since it generated highly divergent results in the Belgian SARS-CoV-2 serology external quality assessment scheme. Sample IS/17575 was serum originating from a 30 years old male patient. 124 diagnostic laboratories analysed this sample.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: With the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an existing national laboratory-based surveillance system was adapted to daily monitor the epidemiological situation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the Belgium by following the number of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections, the number of performed tests and the positivity ratio. We present these main indicators of the surveillance over a one-year period as well as the impact of the performance of the laboratories, regarding speed of processing the samples and reporting results, for surveillance.
Methods: We describe the evolution of test capacity, testing strategy and the data collection methods during the first year of the epidemic in Belgium.
BackgroundIn Belgium, rubella serology is frequently requested in women of childbearing age, despite high vaccination coverage and a near-absence of congenital rubella cases. Different test kits are available and should be standardised by an international standard preparation.AimTo analyse and compare rubella serology practices in Belgian laboratories.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The knowledge of circulating HCV genotypes and subtypes in a country is crucial to guide antiviral therapy and to understand local epidemiology. Studies investigating circulating HCV genotypes and their trends have been conducted in Belgium. However they are outdated, lack nationwide representativeness or were not conducted in the general population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCongenital toxoplasmosis (CT) and cytomegalovirus infection (cCMV) may cause significant morbidity and even fetal or neonatal mortality. We aimed to quantify the disease burden of CT and cCMV in Belgium in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and identify data gaps. The public health impact of CT and cCMV in Belgium in 2013 was 188 (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 43-419) and 1976 (95% UI, 757-4067) DALYs, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnterococcus cecorum septicemia is rare in humans. This case describes a man with underlying liver cirrhosis, a comorbidity that contributes to half of the E. cecorum infections described in the current literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe 2014-2015 influenza season in Belgium was dominated by the circulation of 2 influenza A(H3N2) subgroups: 3C.2a and 3C.3b.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a rare cutaneous tumor caused by human herpes virus-8 (HHV-8) infection that preferentially develops in case of severe immunosuppression, such as in HIV/AIDS disease. Haptoglobin (Hp), a polymorphic multifunctional plasma protein, exerts several immunomodulatory effects and is characterized by a genetic polymorphism leading to three major phenotypes (Hp 1-1, Hp 2-1 and Hp 2-2). This study investigated the influence of Hp genetic polymorphism on the development of KS in HIV-positive patients.
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