Favourable outcomes in RR-TB patients using BPaL and other WHO-recommended second-line anti-TB drugs.

According to reports in South Africa, treatment failure rates for rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) are significant and below the WHO target of ≥70%. HIV infection and the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) influence how patients receiving anti-TB drugs respond to therapy. In the treatment of RR-TB, more recent medications, including bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid (BPaL), have shown promising results.

High Burden of Co-Infection with Multiple Enteric Pathogens in Children Suffering with Diarrhoea from Rural and Peri-Urban Communities in South Africa.

Infectious diarrhoea contributes to high morbidity and mortality in young children from sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of single and multiple diarrhoeal-causing pathogen combinations in children suffering from diarrhoea from rural and peri-urban communities in South Africa. A total of 275 diarrhoea stool specimens were collected between 2014 and 2016 from Hospitals and Primary Health Care clinics.

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) expressing a non-functional bundle-forming pili (BFP) also leads to increased growth failure and intestinal inflammation in C57BL/6 mice.

Bundle-forming pili (BFP) are implicated in the virulence of typical enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), resulting in enhanced colonization and mild to severe disease outcomes; hence, non-functional BFP may have a major influence on disease outcomes in vivo. Weaned antibiotic pre-treated C57BL/6 mice were orally infected with EPEC strain UMD901 (E2348/69 bfpA C129S); mice were monitored daily for body weight; stool specimens were collected daily; and intestinal tissues were collected at the termination of the experiment on day 3 post-infection.

S100B Inhibition Attenuates Intestinal Damage and Diarrhea Severity During Infection by Modulating Inflammatory Response.

The involvement of the enteric nervous system, which is a source of S100B, in () infection (CDI) is poorly understood although intestinal motility dysfunctions are known to occur following infection. Here, we investigated the role of S100B in CDI and examined the S100B signaling pathways activated in toxin A (TcdA)- and B (TcdB)-induced enteric glial cell (EGC) inflammatory response. The expression of S100B was measured in colon tissues and fecal samples of patients with and without CDI, as well as in colon tissues from -infected mice.

Enteropathogenic Infection Induces Diarrhea, Intestinal Damage, Metabolic Alterations, and Increased Intestinal Permeability in a Murine Model.

Enteropathogenic  (EPEC) are recognized as one of the leading bacterial causes of infantile diarrhea worldwide. Weaned C57BL/6 mice pretreated with antibiotics were challenged orally with wild-type EPEC or mutant (lacking type 3 secretion system) to determine colonization, inflammatory responses and clinical outcomes during infection. Antibiotic disruption of intestinal microbiota enabled efficient colonization by wild-type EPEC resulting in growth impairment and diarrhea.