Experimental evaluation of the potential for crayfish plague transmission through the digestive system of warm-blooded predators.

The crayfish plague pathogen (Aphanomyces astaci) can be transmitted through the digestive system of fish, but its dispersal through mammalian and bird digestive tracts has been considered unlikely, and direct experimental evidence remains scarce. We present a small-scale transmission experiment with European otter and American mink fed with infected crayfish, and experiments testing survival of cultures of five A. astaci strains at temperatures corresponding to those inside mammal and bird bodies.

[30 years since the first AIDS cases were reported: history and the present part III].

The end of the article features the development of HIV/AIDS diagnosis and its implementation in the Czech Republic. The establishment of the National Reference Laboratory for AIDS (NRL AIDS) at the National Institute of Public Health late in 1985 is mentioned and its responsibilities as the methodology centre in the areas of HIV/AIDS laboratory diagnosis and epidemiology are specified. In cooperation with the respective experts, a pilot HIV/AIDS prevalence study was conducted in the Czech Republic.

[30 years since the first AIDS cases were reported: history and the present. Part II].

HIV taxonomy, morphology, biophysical properties, and replication cycle as well as modes of HIV transmission in humans are described. State of the art laboratory diagnosis of HIV/AIDS, core clinical diagnostic criteria for AIDS, and AIDS treatment guidelines are summarized. Global HIV/AIDS epidemic and relevant prevention activities are discussed.

Treatment-associated polymorphisms in protease are significantly associated with higher viral load and lower CD4 count in newly diagnosed drug-naive HIV-1 infected patients.

Background: The effect of drug resistance transmission on disease progression in the newly infected patient is not well understood. Major drug resistance mutations severely impair viral fitness in a drug free environment, and therefore are expected to revert quickly. Compensatory mutations, often already polymorphic in wild-type viruses, do not tend to revert after transmission.

[30 years since the first AIDS cases were reported: history and the present. Part I].

The 30-year natural history of AIDS disease is presented from the first clinical cases reported in 1981 to the identification of the HIV as the etiological agent of the disease. The priority dispute between Robert C. Gallo and Luc Montagnier over the discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus is briefly addressed.

Transmission of drug-resistant HIV-1 is stabilizing in Europe.

The SPREAD Programme investigated prospectively the time trend from September 2002 through December 2005 of transmitted drug resistance (TDR) among 2793 patients in 20 European countries and in Israel with newly diagnosed human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. The overall prevalence of TDR was 8.4% (225 of 2687 patients; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.

A study of HIV-1 genetic diversity in the Czech Republic: 1986-2007.

Background: The global HIV/AIDS epidemic consists of a number of regional epidemics caused by different HIV-1 subtypes prevailing in different regions.

Objectives: To study changes in genetic diversity of HIV-1 strains isolated in the Czech Republic (CR) over a more than twenty-year period (1986-2007).

Study Design: HIV-1 strains isolated in CR from 1986 to 2007 were subtyped by pol gene sequencing followed by phylogenetic analysis.

Short report: HIV infection among commercial sex workers and injecting drug users in the Czech Republic.

Since the first HIV case was diagnosed in the Czech Republic in 1985, there is a lack of information regarding the epidemiology of HIV infection in most high-risk groups. To determine the prevalence of, and risk factors for, HIV among female and male commercial sex workers (FCSW and MCSW, respectively) and injecting drug users (IDUs), cross-sectional studies were conducted in the cities of Cheb, Usti nad Labem, Ostrava, and Prague of the Czech Republic. A total of 1,277 subjects were enrolled, which included 585 FCSWs, 230 MCSWs, and 462 IDUs.

Response of HIV positive patients to the long-term salvage therapy by lopinavir/ritonavir.

Background: The cohort of 19 patients on LPV/r salvage regimen was followed for the period of up to 37.5 months. Patient's virologic response was evaluated with regard to the various baseline characteristics.