Melioidosis, a potentially fatal infectious disease of humans and animals, including nonhuman primates (NHPs), is caused by the high-consequence pathogen This environmental bacterium is found in the soil and water of tropical regions, such as Southeast Asia, where melioidosis is endemic. The global movement of humans and animals can introduce into nonendemic regions of the United States, where environmental conditions could allow establishment of the organism. Approximately 60% of NHPs imported into the United States originate in countries considered endemic for melioidosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMelioidosis, caused by the bacterium is an uncommon infection that is typically associated with exposure to soil and water in tropical and subtropical environments. It is rarely diagnosed in the continental United States. Patients with melioidosis in the United States commonly report travel to regions where melioidosis is endemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhylogenetic analysis of a clinical isolate associated with subclinical Burkholderia pseudomallei infection revealed probable exposure in the British Virgin Islands, where reported infections are limited. Clinicians should consider this geographic distribution when evaluating possible infection among persons with compatible travel history.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNearly all cases of melioidosis in the continental United States are related to international travel to areas to which Burkholderia pseudomallei, the bacterium that causes melioidosis, is endemic. We report the diagnosis and clinical course of melioidosis in a patient from the United States who had no international travel history and the public health investigation to determine the source of exposure. We tested environmental samples collected from the patient's home for B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent enhanced monkeypox (MPX) surveillance in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where MPX is endemic, has uncovered multiple cases of MPX and varicella zoster virus (VZV) coinfections. The purpose of this study was to verify if coinfections occur and to characterize the clinical nature of these cases. Clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory results were used to investigate MPX/VZV coinfections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo our knowledge, environmental isolation of Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis, from the continental United States has not been reported. We report a case of melioidosis in a Texas resident. Genomic analysis indicated that the isolate groups with B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis report updates the 2009 recommendations from the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) regarding use of anthrax vaccine in the United States (Wright JG, Quinn CP, Shadomy S, Messonnier N. Use of anthrax vaccine in the United States: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices [ACIP)], 2009. MMWR Recomm Rep 2010;59[No.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report 2 cases of melioidosis in women with diabetes admitted to an emergency department in the US Virgin Islands during October 2017. These cases emerged after Hurricanes Irma and Maria and did not have a definitively identified source. Poor outcomes were observed when septicemia and pulmonary involvement were present.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMelioidosis is a bacterial infection caused by exposure to water or soil that contains (). is endemic to many tropical and subtropical areas of the world. In 2013, the first case of melioidosis was recognized in Yap, the Federated States of Micronesia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe bacterium Burkholderia thailandensis, a member of the Burkholderia pseudomallei complex, is generally considered nonpathogenic; however, on rare occasions, B. thailandensis infections have been reported. We describe a clinical isolate of B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrimary amebic meningoencephalitis is an acute, rare, typically fatal disease. We used epidemiologic risk factors and multiple cause-of-death mortality data to estimate the number of deaths that fit the typical pattern for primary amebic meningoencephalitis; we estimated an annual average of 16 deaths (8 male, 8 female) in the United States.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn mid-July 2016, a Pennsylvania resident aged 15 years who had recently returned from Thailand was treated by a pediatrician for sore throat, fever, and bilateral thigh abscesses at the sites of mosquito bites (Figure). She had traveled to northeast Thailand with nine other teens as part of an 18-day service-oriented trip run by an Ohio-based youth tour company that arranges travel to Thailand for approximately 500 persons annually. This trip included construction and agricultural activities and recreational mud exposures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCASE DESCRIPTION A 22-year-old male gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) housed in a zoo was evaluated for signs of lethargy, head-holding, and cervical stiffness followed by development of neurologic abnormalities including signs of depression, lip droop, and tremors. CLINICAL FINDINGS Physical examination under general anesthesia revealed a tooth root abscess and suboptimal body condition. A CBC and serum biochemical analysis revealed mild anemia, neutrophilia and eosinopenia consistent with a stress leukogram, and signs consistent with dehydration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), a tick-borne zoonosis caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, is among the deadliest of all infectious diseases. To identify the distribution of various genotypes of R. rickettsii associated with fatal RMSF, we applied molecular typing methods to samples of DNA extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue specimens obtained at autopsy from 103 case-patients from seven countries who died of RMSF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPathological studies on fatal cases caused by 2009 pandemic influenza H1N1 virus (2009 pH1N1) reported extensive diffuse alveolar damage and virus infection predominantly in the lung parenchyma. However, the host immune response after severe 2009 pH1N1 infection is poorly understood. Herein, we investigated viral load, the immune response, and apoptosis in lung tissues from 50 fatal cases with 2009 pH1N1 virus infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeptember 2012 marked the beginning of the largest reported outbreak of infections associated with epidural and intra-articular injections. Contamination of methylprednisolone acetate with the black mold, Exserohilum rostratum, was the primary cause of the outbreak, with >13,000 persons exposed to the potentially contaminated drug, 741 confirmed drug-related infections, and 55 deaths. Fatal meningitis and localized epidural, paraspinal, and peripheral joint infections occurred.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe frequency of fatalities due to acute bacterial meningitis has decreased significantly due to vaccinations, early diagnoses, and treatments. We studied brain tissues of patients with fatal neutrophilic meningitis referred to the Centers for Disease Control for etiologic diagnosis from 2000-2009 to highlight aspects of the disease that may be preventable or treatable. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were extracted from records.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPediatr Infect Dis J
February 2013
Encephalitis associated with varicella-zoster virus, rare among children in the varicella vaccine era, has generally been associated with a rash. We report fatal wild-type varicella-zoster virus encephalitis without a rash in a child who had received 1 dose of varicella vaccine. Varicella-zoster virus encephalitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis for children presenting with acute neurologic symptoms, even vaccine recipients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe analyzed US multiple cause-of-death data for 2003-2006 for demographic and clinical determinants for autopsy in unexplained deaths possibly resulting from infectious causes. For 96,242 deaths, the definition for unexplained death was met and autopsy status was recorded. Most decedents were male, 40-49 years of age, and white.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagnosis of dengue virus (DENV) infection in fatal cases is challenging because of the frequent unavailability of blood or fresh tissues. For formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues immunohistochemistry (IHC) can be used; however, it may not be as sensitive and serotyping is not possible. The application of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the detection of DENV in FFPE tissues has been very limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Influenza B virus infection causes rates of hospitalization and influenza-associated pneumonia similar to seasonal influenza A virus infection and accounts for a substantial percentage of all influenza-related hospitalizations and deaths among those aged <18 years; however, the pathogenesis of fatal influenza B virus infection is poorly described.
Methods: Tissue samples obtained at autopsy from 45 case patients with fatal influenza B virus infection were evaluated by light microscopy and immunohistochemical assays for influenza B virus, various bacterial pathogens, and complement components C4d and C9, to identify the cellular tropism of influenza B virus, characterize concomitant bacterial pneumonia, and describe the spectrum of cardiopulmonary injury.
Results: Viral antigens were localized to ciliated respiratory epithelium and cells of submucosal glands and ducts.
We compared the prevalence of 8 polymorphisms in the tumor necrosis factor and mannose-binding lectin genes among 105 children and young adults with fatal influenza with US population estimates and determined in subanalyses whether these polymorphisms were associated with sudden death and bacterial co-infection among persons with fatal influenza. No differences were observed in genotype prevalence or minor allele frequencies between persons with fatal influenza and the reference sample. Fatal cases with low-producing MBL2 genotypes had a 7-fold increased risk for invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) co-infection compared with fatal cases with high- and intermediate-producing MBL2 genotypes (odds ratio 7.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe recent influenza pandemic, caused by a novel H1N1 influenza A virus, as well as the seasonal influenza outbreaks caused by varieties of influenza A and B viruses, are responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide. Few studies have evaluated the utility of real-time reverse transcription-PCR to detect influenza virus RNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues obtained at autopsy. In this work, respiratory autopsy tissues from 442 suspect influenza cases were tested by real-time reverse transcription-PCR for seasonal influenza A and B and 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) viruses and the results were compared to those obtained by immunohistochemistry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the spring of 2009, a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus emerged in North America and spread worldwide to cause the first influenza pandemic since 1968. During the first 4 months, over 500 deaths in the United States had been associated with confirmed 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) [2009 H1N1] virus infection. Pathological evaluation of respiratory specimens from initial influenza-associated deaths suggested marked differences in viral tropism and tissue damage compared with seasonal influenza and prompted further investigation.
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