High Incidence of Infections in HIV-positive Patients Treated for Lymphoproliferative Disorders.

Background: Lymphoproliferative disorders are frequently diagnosed in HIV-positive patients and severe infections may occur during antineoplastic treatments: the incidence and impact of such events are not well-characterized.

Objective: To describe the occurrence and mortality of incident infections in HIV-positive individuals treated for lymphoproliferative disorders.

Methods: A retrospective study in HIV-positive adults with lymphoproliferative disorders (2000- 2012) who were hospitalised to receive antineoplastic chemotherapy; antimicrobial prophylaxis with alternate day co-trimoxazole (800/160 mg) was administered to all individuals.

Louseborne Relapsing Fever among East African Refugees, Italy, 2015.

During June 9-September 30, 2015, five cases of louseborne relapsing fever were identified in Turin, Italy. All 5 cases were in young refugees from Somalia, 2 of whom had lived in Italy since 2011. Our report seems to confirm the possibility of local transmission of louse-borne relapsing fever.

[The use of tolvaptan in a case of severe hyponatriemia in SIADH during meningitis].

Vaptans, vasopressin V2 receptor antagonists, are new drugs indicated in the treatment of Inappropriate ADH Secretion Syndrome (SIADH). We report a case of SIADH in a patient affected by AIDS. During a hospitalization for an ongoing CMV meningitis she developed a severe hyponatremia (114 mEq/L), which was initially treated with restriction of free water.

Echovirus-4 meningitis outbreak imported from India.

We describe seven cases of meningitis in a group of young Italian travelers coming back from India. Virologic studies identified echovirus-4 as the cause of this cluster of cases, the first imported echovirus outbreak in Italy. Enteroviruses may play an important role in undiagnosed fevers in travelers.

Klebsiella pneumoniae meningitis in a 38-year-old Chinese traveller with impaired glucose tolerance: a new emerging syndrome?

Early diagnosis and appropriate empirical treatment of bacterial meningitis reduce morbidity and mortality. Prevalence rates of different causative pathogens associated with bacterial meningitis can depend on age, the underlying medical condition, way of infection and geographical distribution. Klebsiella pneumoniae represents an infrequent cause of community-acquired meningitis in South-East Asia and North-East Asia, where it accounts for 20% of all bacterial meningitis, frequently associated with septic metastatic complications.

Chemosusceptibility analysis of Plasmodium falciparum imported malaria in Italy.

A constant surveillance of susceptibility to antimalarials allows to optimize prevention and treatment of malaria in nonendemic countries. In vitro susceptibility of imported Plasmodium falciparum isolates to chloroquine, quinine, mefloquine, halofantrin, pyronaridine, and amodiaquine was analyzed by WHO Micro-test Mark III; IC50 and IC90 were calculated by WHO Log-probit. Sixty-seven tests were performed.

Puumala virus pulmonary syndrome in a Romanian immigrant.

Hantaviruses belong to the Bunyaviridae family, which is comprised of Bunyavirus, Phlebovirus, Nairovirus, and Hantavirus. Euroasiatic Hantaviruses belong to two distinct subfamilies: Murinae (comprising Hantaan, Dobrava, and Seoul viruses), which are responsible for hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), and Arvicolinae (comprising Puumala virus), responsible for nephropathia epidemica (NE) and HFRS. On the contrary, the New World Hantavirus belongs to the Sigmodontinae subfamily and includes the North American viruses: Sin Nombre, Monongahela; New York, Bayou, Black Creek Canal, and the South American, which comprise the Andes, Oran, Lechiguanas, Laguna Negra, Juquitiba; both groups are responsible for the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS).