Fatal septicemia and meningitis complicated by fungemia: a case report.

is a Gram-positive bacteria and etiological agent of listeriosis. It has the ability to colonize the intestinal lumen and cross the intestinal, blood-brain, and placental barriers, leading to invasive listeriosis responsible for septicemia and meningitis in subjects at risk such as patients with diabetes mellitus, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals and, for maternal-neonatal infection in pregnant women. We report a rare case of septicemia and meningitis complicated by fungemia on a patient with a history of type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, hypertension, chronic kidney failure, chronic ischemic vascular encephalopathy, and atrial fibrillation.

Mother to child human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission: what HIV-infected women think. Our experience in Rome, Italy.

Objectives: To investigate the knowledge of the risk of HIV vertical transmission as well as the feeling about the new therapy in reducing that rate.

Methods: We included 152 HIV-infected women. A self reported questionnaire was administered from September to December 2000.

Mutations in dihydropteroate synthase gene of Pneumocystis carinii in HIV patients with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether dihydropteroate synthase gene (DHPS) mutations were associated with the failure of sulpha/sulphone drugs used as prophylaxis agents in HIV infected patients. Results suggested that DHPS mutations were significantly associated with failure of anti-Pneumocystis carinii sulphone prophylaxis (P=0.031).

Potential impact of Pneumocystis genetic diversity on the molecular detection of the parasite in human host.

Our aim was to evaluate if genetic diversity of Pneumocystis carinii could influence the detection by molecular techniques in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids and in non-invasive specimens (induced sputum, oropharyngeal washing and serum/blood). P. carinii is morphologically similar in different hosts although several strains have been identified by biomolecular techniques.

Typing with ITS regions of P.carinii from AIDS patients with recurrent pneumonia.

To understand the way of reinfection of Pneumocystis carinii we have analyzed the genetic variation at the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) in DNA samples from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of Italian HIV patients who had multiple episodes of P.carinii pneumonia. The presence of the same and/or a new type in both episodes suggest the possible occurrence of both reactivation of a previously acquired infection and reinfection from an exogenous source.

Detection of Pneumocystis carinii in oropharyngeal washings by PCR-SHELA and nested PCR.

Oropharyngeal washings (Ophs) from 27 HIV infected patients (18 with P. carinii pneumonia, PCP, and 9 without PCP) were examined for P. carinii using morphological staining and DNA amplification with PCR-SHELA and nested PCR methods.