Novel Vector Control Approaches: The Future for Prevention of Zika Virus Transmission?

In a Perspective accompanying Abad-Franch and colleagues, Lorenz von Seidlein, Alexander Kekulé, and Daniel Strickman discuss the importance of developing effective strategies to minimize mosquito-borne transmission of human diseases.

Epidemiology of invasive aspergillosis and azole resistance in patients with acute leukaemia: the SEPIA Study.

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a serious hazard to high-risk haematological patients. There are increasing reports of azole-resistant Aspergillus spp. This study assessed the epidemiology of IA and azole-resistant Aspergillus spp.

[How dangerous is the Zika virus?].

The Zika virus (ZIKV) may cause microcephaly and other serious birth defects. Due to a lack of epidemiological data, the teratogenic risk is unknown. The upcoming Olympic Games in Rio may cause it to spread to unprepared countries with underdeveloped healthcare systems.

Learning from Ebola Virus: How to Prevent Future Epidemics.

The recent Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone demonstrated that the World Health Organization (WHO) is incapable to control outbreaks of infectious diseases in less developed regions of the world. This essay analyses the causes for the failure of the international response and proposes four measures to improve resilience, early detection and response to future outbreaks of infectious diseases.

Linezolid resistance in clinical isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis from German hospitals and characterization of two cfr-carrying plasmids.

Objectives: This study was a detailed investigation of Staphylococcus epidermidis clinical isolates exhibiting linezolid resistance.

Methods: Thirty-six linezolid-resistant S. epidermidis from eight German hospitals, including isolates from suspected hospital-associated outbreaks between January 2012 and April 2013, were analysed with respect to their antimicrobial susceptibility and the presence of cfr and/or mutations in the 23S rRNA, rplC, rplD and rplV genes.

[Can the antibiotic prescription practice in a hospital be influenced by in-house guidelines? An interventional study at the University Hospital Halle (Saale), Germany].

Background: In-house guidelines are an essential tool of antibiotic stewardship (ABS) programs to guide antimicrobial therapy. We studied the effect of in-house guidelines adapted to the local pathogen and resistance epidemiology on prescribing behavior.

Methods: At the University Hospital Halle (Saale) guidelines for the antimicrobial therapy and essential microbiological diagnostics were introduced.

Colonization and infection due to multi-resistant bacteria in neonates: a single center analysis.

Background: In the last years the prevalence of multi-resistant pathogens (MRPs) has increased. Systemic infections remain important for neonatal morbidity and mortality.

Patients: Neonates born between January 2011 and December 2012 and admitted to the neonatology before their tenth day of life were included into this retrospective analysis.

The detection of surfactant proteins A, B, C and D in the human brain and their regulation in cerebral infarction, autoimmune conditions and infections of the CNS.

Surfactant proteins (SP) have been studied intensively in the respiratory system. Surfactant protein A and surfactant protein D are proteins belonging to the family of collectins each playing a major role in the innate immune system. The ability of surfactant protein A and surfactant protein D to bind various pathogens and facilitate their elimination has been described in a vast number of studies.

[Immunosuppressive treatment as a risk factor for the occurrence of clostridium difficile infection (CDI)].

Background: Toxigenic Clostridium difficile strains are known as the most common infectious cause of antibiotic-associated intestinal disease and nosocomial diarrhoea. The increased incidence of hypervirulent strains gives rise to worldwide concern. In particular, courses with multiple recurrences are observed in the presence of immunosuppression.

[Results of surveillance cultures on a neonatal intensive care unit: a retrospective analysis].

Background: Microbiological screening (MS) is standard on neonatal intensive care units (NICU). Objectives are the collection of information regarding bacterial pathogens of the individual patient as well as of the NICU, especially of multidrug-resistant pathogens (MRE). The role of microbiological screening for preterm infants ≤32 weeks of gestational age has not been fully evaluated.

Cyclosporine area under the curve after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is an indicator of Epstein-Barr virus DNAemia.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNAemia and reactivation is a typical complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The degree of immunosuppression is closely linked to the risk of developing EBV DNAemia. An association of cyclosporine levels with EBV DNAemia has not been interrogated.

Microbial diagnostics in patients with presumed severe infection in the emergency department.

Introduction: Sepsis in the early stage is a common disease in emergency medicine, and rapid diagnosis is essential. Our aim was to compare pathogen diagnosis using blood cultures (BC) and the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.Methods.

[Unexplained fever and B-symptoms in a young male Black African].

An immunocompetent Nigerian developed a fulminant hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis due to Epstein-Barr virus reactivation. The patient initially presented with fever, hepatosplenomegaly and pancytopenia. The clinical status of our patient deteriorated quickly despite treatment with corticoids.

[37-year old patient with fever, diarrhea and lymphadenopathy].

A 37-year-old homosexual man was admitted because of oropharyngeal pain, fever, diarrhea, loss of weight and lymphadenopathy since one week. Acute retroviral syndrome (ARS) in primary HIV type 1 infection was diagnosed, associated with Giardia lamblia infection. Antiinfective and combined antiretroviral treatment was established, and the general condition of the patient rapidly improved.

HBs seroconversion in a patient with acute hepatitis B treated with entecavir during immunosuppression against severe bronchiolitis obliterans in the course of chronic graft versus host disease.

Chronic carriers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) who have to be immunosuppressed are at risk for HBV reactivation and hepatitis. Continuing immunosuppression in such patients and in immunosuppressed patients with active hepatitis B is strongly discouraged yet frequently inevitable. We here report on both the successful control of hepatitis and seroconversion after HBV reactivation following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) with entecavir despite systemic immunosuppression.

Successful treatment of Candida albicans septicemia in a preterm infant with severe congenital ichthyosis (Harlequin baby).

Candida infections are a major cause of fungal septicemia in neonates and are associated with marked morbidity and mortality. Despite the spectrum of antifungal drugs being dramatically extended during the last decade, invasive fungal infections remain a serious challenge for neonatologists. Amphotericin B and its lipid formulations are the drugs of choice for the treatment of systemic candidiasis in neonates.

In vitro activity of linezolid against clinical isolates of Fusobacterium spp.

Objectives: Although most susceptibility studies for linezolid have investigated aerobic bacteria, only a few have investigated anaerobe isolates. The aim of the present study was to determine the antibacterial activity of linezolid against a larger sample of clinical isolates of Fusobacterium spp. and to report on the detailed susceptibility, stratified by species.

Processing of GB virus B non-structural proteins in cultured cells requires both NS3 protease and NS4A cofactor.

The identification of antivirals and vaccines against hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is hampered by the lack of convenient animal models. The need to develop surrogate models has recently drawn attention to GB virus B (GBV-B), which produces hepatitis in small primates. In a previous study in vitro, it was shown that GBV-B NS3 protease shares substrate specificity with the HCV enzyme, known to be crucial for virus replication.

Identification of a novel sequence at the 3' end of the GB virus B genome.

GB virus B (GBV-B) is a virus of the family Flaviviridae that infects small primates (Saguinus sp. [tamarins]) and shows similarities to hepatitis C virus (HCV) in genome organization, protein function, tissue tropism, and pathogenicity. This suggests the possibility of using tamarins infected by GBV-B or GBV-B/HCV chimeric viruses as a surrogate animal model of HCV infection.

Quality control study on the performance of GB virus C/hepatitis G virus PCR.

Background/aims: A novel virus, GBV-C/HGV, with a genome RNA organization similar to that of the Flaviviridae family was identified in sera of patients with hepatitis. The presence of GBV-C/HGV RNA can only be determined by the amplification of genomic regions using the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Methods: To assess the quality of the RT-PCR, 14 laboratories investigated a coded serum panel that comprised three GBV-C/HGV RNA-positive sera from three different patients, dilutions of these sera, and three GBV-C/HGV RNA-negative serum samples, two of which were collected from patients with hepatitis C but without GBV-C/HGV infection.

Isolation and molecular characterization of hepatitis B virus X-protein from a baculovirus expression system.

The X protein (HBx) of the human Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is a regulatory protein that exercises a transcriptional activator function on a variety of regulatory elements and is therefore considered to be involved in the development of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). So far, most attempts at elucidating HBx function have been undertaken at the genetic level, reflecting the difficulties in detecting the very low amounts of the protein in infected livers. Consequently, the questions of intracellular localization and posttranslational modification have not yet been completely answered.

Hepatoma-derived integrated HBV DNA causes multi-stage transformation in vitro.

The hepatoma-derived hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA insert HU-a has recently been shown to contain two viral transactivator genes, X and preS2 /S. We report here that HU-a induces malignant transformation after stable transfection of the fetal mouse hepatocyte line FMH202, as indicated by soft agar growth and nude mouse tumorigenicity. Transfections with HU-a subclones, containing the X gene of the preS2 /S gene alone or sequences without transactivator gene, respectively, suggested that the X gene is essential for transformation.

The HBV-producing cell line HepG2-4A5: a new in vitro system for studying the regulation of HBV replication and for screening anti-hepatitis B virus drugs.

All tissue culture systems for propagating HBV employed so far make use of tandemly arranged HBV genomes usually under the control of strong foreign promoters. Thus these systems are helpful for virus production but are of limited value in the investigation of the regulation of HBV replication or of the extent to which the expression of viral genes might be influenced by cellular signal transduction pathways. To overcome this barrier we established an HBV-producing cell line (HepG2-4A5) by stably transfecting HepG2 cells with a replication-competent, terminally redundant HBV plasmid (pSPT1.