Impact of 5 years of hepatitis C testing and treatment in the North East of England prisons.

Hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) is prevalent in prisons. Therefore, effective prison HCV services are critical for HCV elimination programmes. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a regional HCV prison testing and treatment programme.

Increased diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C in prison by universal offer of testing and use of telemedicine.

With recent advances in antiviral therapy, there is an opportunity to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) from the UK population. HCV is common in incarcerated individuals, with previous estimates suggesting ~7% of the UK prison population is anti-HCV antibody positive. Increasing diagnosis and treatment of HCV in prison is a priority in seeking to eliminate transmission in the general population.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) associated with intravenous aciclovir in adults: Incidence and risk factors in clinical practice.

Objectives: This study sought to identify the incidence of, and risk factors for, acute kidney injury (AKI) in adults treated with parenteral aciclovir.

Methods: A single-centre retrospective cohort study of prospectively acquired electronic clinical, pharmacy and laboratory data was performed with approval of the Caldicott guardian. AKI was defined by Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria, prior to analysis of baseline patient and treatment-related risk factors.

Comparison of the Luminex NxTAG respiratory pathogen panel and a multiplex in-house real-time PCR panel for the detection of respiratory viruses in symptomatic patients.

To evaluate the Luminex NxTAG respiratory pathogen panel (NxTAG RPP) for the detection of respiratory viruses in clinical samples from patients with the symptoms of respiratory infection. The NxTAG RPP was compared to an in-house multiplex real-time PCR panel (LDT) for the detection of respiratory viruses in 314 clinical samples from patients with the symptoms of respiratory infection. Thirty-one samples were negative in both tests and 193 samples contained a single virus that was detected in both tests.

Improving testing for hepatitis B before treatment with rituximab.

Aims/objectives/background: Individuals with current or previous infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) can experience viral reactivation when treated with immunosuppression. Rituximab, an anti-CD20 antibody used to treat many diseases, has potent immunosuppressant effects with a high risk of causing HBV reactivation. Reactivation can range from elevated liver enzymes to acute severe hepatitis with liver failure and a significant mortality risk.

Human IFNAR2 deficiency: Lessons for antiviral immunity.

Type I interferon (IFN-α/β) is a fundamental antiviral defense mechanism. Mouse models have been pivotal to understanding the role of IFN-α/β in immunity, although validation of these findings in humans has been limited. We investigated a previously healthy child with fatal encephalitis after inoculation of the live attenuated measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Hepatitis B in pregnancy.

Objective: Vertical transmission of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the commonest mode of infection and can be prevented with immunoprophylaxis of the infant and antiviral therapy in the mother. Our aim was to review a cohort of subjects with HBV in pregnancy to determine the prevalence of active disease or high HBV-DNA levels that required treatment to prevent transmission, and to review the management of mothers and infants.

Methods: A retrospective case-note review was conducted of all the HBV-infected pregnant women and their infants who attended the Newcastle obstetric services from 2007 to 2011.

STAT2 deficiency and susceptibility to viral illness in humans.

Severe infectious disease in children may be a manifestation of primary immunodeficiency. These genetic disorders represent important experiments of nature with the capacity to elucidate nonredundant mechanisms of human immunity. We hypothesized that a primary defect of innate antiviral immunity was responsible for unusually severe viral illness in two siblings; the proband developed disseminated vaccine strain measles following routine immunization, whereas an infant brother died after a 2-d febrile illness from an unknown viral infection.

The significance of very low-level viraemia detected by sensitive viral load assays in HIV infected patients on HAART.

Objectives: Viral load (VL) measurement is critical for monitoring the effectiveness of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). HAART aims to maintain plasma HIV RNA at undetectable levels. A VL <50 copies/ml was previously considered undetectable.

Non-antibiotic associated C. difficile diarrhea in a 7 week-old infant.

We describe a rare case of non-antibiotic associated severe C. difficile diarrhea in a 7-week-old boy. He had massive fluid loss and electrolyte imbalance.

Q fever outbreak in industrial setting.

An outbreak of Q fever occurred in South Wales, United Kingdom, from July 15 through September 30, 2002. To investigate the outbreak a cohort and nested case-control study of persons who had worked at a cardboard manufacturing plant was conducted. The cohort included 282 employees and subcontractors, of whom 253 (90%) provided blood samples and 214 (76%) completed questionnaires.