Compromised Nutritional Status as a Risk Factor for the Incidence of Nosocomial Infections.

Background Poor nutritional status may lead to longer hospital stays, increased mortality and morbidity, increased cost, and higher suffering. Nosocomial infections (NI) are a global health concern, and several risk factors are associated with their higher incidence. This study aimed to reveal that compromised nutritional status is one of the risk factors for developing NIs.

In Vitro Susceptibility of Clinical Isolates to Ceftriaxone Alone and Ceftriaxone in Combination With Sulbactam or Tazobactam: A Comparative Study of Broad-Spectrum β-Lactam Antibiotics in India.

Background This study was designed to evaluate the current in vitro susceptibility of clinical isolates to broad-spectrum β-lactam antibiotics. Methodology Bacterial isolates, cultured from 180 non-repetitive clinical samples between April and November 2022 at three hospitals in India, were used to evaluate the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of broad-spectrum β-lactam antibiotics using the Epsilometer test (E-test) method. Test antibiotics were ceftriaxone and ceftriaxone in combination with β-lactamase inhibitors (BLIs) sulbactam and tazobactam.

Effect of reduced two-dose (1+1) schedule of 10 and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (Synflorix and Prevenar13) on nasopharyngeal carriage and serotype-specific immune response in the first two years of life: Results from an open-labelled randomized controlled trial in Indian children.

Introduction: This study aimed to assess the effect of a reduced dose regime (1 + 1) of PCV10 and PCV13 along with 3-dose regimes on pneumococcal vaccine-type (VT) carriage and immunogenicity in the first two years of life in PCV-naïve Indian children.

Methods: A total of 805 healthy infants aged 6-8 weeks were randomised to 7 groups (n = 115). Six groups received Synflorix(PCV10) or Prevenar13(PCV13) in the following schedules: 3 + 0 (three primary at 6, 10, and 14 weeks); 2 + 1 (two primary 6 and 14 weeks with booster at 9 months; 1 + 1 (one primary at 14 weeks with booster at 9 months).

Emerging Antibiotic Resistance Patterns in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Pune, India: A 2-Year Retrospective Study.

Objective: Treating neonatal bloodstream infections and meningitis in South Asia remains difficult given high rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). To evaluate changing epidemiology of neonatal infections, we assessed pathogen-specific and clinical features of culture-proven infections in neonates admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Pune, India.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective cohort study was performed in the King Edward Memorial Hospital and Research Center NICU over 2 years between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018.

Evaluation of Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profile in Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Paratyphi A: Presenting the Current Scenario in India and Strategy for Future Management.

Background: Systematic studies to estimate the disease burden of typhoid and paratyphoid in India are limited. Therefore, a multicenter study on the Surveillance of Enteric Fever in India was carried out to estimate the incidence, clinical presentation, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) trend. The data presented here represent the national burden of AMR in Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Paratyphi A.

Nasopharyngeal Viral and Bacterial Co-Detection among Children from Low- and Middle-Income Countries with and without Pneumonia.

The role of microbial coinfection in the pathogenesis of pneumonia in children is not well known. The aim of this work was to describe the prevalence of microorganism co-detection in nasopharyngeal samples (NPS) of pneumonia cases and control subjects and to study the potential association between nasopharyngeal microorganism co-detection and pneumonia. A case-control study was carried out from 2010 to 2014 in nine study sites located in low- or middle-income countries.

Nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage in South Asian infants: Results of observational cohort studies in vaccinated and unvaccinated populations.

Background: Nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage (NPC) is a prerequisite for invasive pneumococcal disease and reduced carriage of vaccine serotypes is a marker for the protection offered by the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV). The present study reports NPC during the first year of life in a vaccinated (with PCV10) cohort in Bangladesh and an unvaccinated cohort in India.

Methods: A total of 450 and 459 infants were recruited from India and Bangladesh respectively within 0-7 days after birth.

Serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Children Aged <5 Years Hospitalized With or Without Pneumonia in Developing and Emerging Countries: A Descriptive, Multicenter Study.

Background: Improving knowledge regarding Streptococcus pneumoniae distribution in pneumonia cases is important to better target preventive and curative measures. The objective was to describe S. pneumoniae serotypes in children with or without pneumonia.

Microorganisms Associated With Pneumonia in Children <5 Years of Age in Developing and Emerging Countries: The GABRIEL Pneumonia Multicenter, Prospective, Case-Control Study.

Background: Pneumonia, the leading infectious cause of child mortality globally, mainly afflicts developing countries. This prospective observational study aimed to assess the microorganisms associated with pneumonia in children aged <5 years in developing and emerging countries.

Methods: A multicenter, case-control study by the GABRIEL (Global Approach to Biological Research, Infectious diseases and Epidemics in Low-income countries) network was conducted between 2010 and 2014 in Cambodia, China, Haiti, India (2 sites), Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, and Paraguay.

Macaque paneth cells express lymphoid chemokine CXCL13 and other antimicrobial peptides not previously described as expressed in intestinal crypts.

CXCL13 is a constitutively expressed chemokine that controls migration of immune cells to lymphoid follicles. Previously, we found CXCL13 mRNA levels increased in rhesus macaque spleen tissues during AIDS. This led us to examine the levels and locations of CXCL13 by detailed in situ methods in cynomolgus macaque lymphoid and intestinal tissues.

Clinical evaluation of multiplex real-time PCR panels for rapid detection of respiratory viral infections.

Respiratory viral infections are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality, particularly in children, the elderly and immunocompromised persons. Rapid identification of viral etiology is critical in ruling out non-viral infections, initiating antiviral treatment and limiting the spread of the infection. Multiplex assays of more than one viral gene target in a single tube have the advantage of rapid screening of a large number of potential viral pathogens in a short time.

Relationship of cytomegalovirus load assessed by real-time PCR to pp65 antigenemia in organ transplant recipients.

Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in immunocompromised patients can lead to viremia associated with morbidity and mortality. Monitoring of viral loads in blood is critical for initiating and monitoring antiviral treatment.

Objectives: Validate quantitative real-time PCR assay targeting the US17 and UL54 regions of the CMV genome for automated DNA and extraction and amplification.

Virologic and immunologic events in hilar lymph nodes during simian immunodeficiency virus infection: development of polarized inflammation.

Lymphoid tissues are sites of soluble and cell-associated antigen sampling of peripheral tissues, and they are key compartments for the generation of cellular and humoral immune responses. Hilar lymph nodes (HiLNs), which drain the lungs, were examined to understand the effects of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection on this compartment of the immune system. Histologic and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression profiling approaches were used to determine the numbers, types, and distributions of SIV viral RNA cells and to identify differentially expressed genes in HiLNs during SIV infection.

Successful outcome of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) pneumonia in a lung transplant recipient treated with intravenous ribavirin.

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) has recently been shown to be a prominent cause of respiratory infections in immunocompromised hosts, and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. We report a case of hMPV pneumonia in a lung transplant recipient presenting with respiratory failure and sepsis syndrome. hMPV was diagnosed by polymerase chain reaction, and treated with intravenous ribavirin with a successful outcome.

Diagnosis of human metapneumovirus infection in immunosuppressed lung transplant recipients and children evaluated for pertussis.

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a recently discovered paramyxovirus that is known to cause respiratory tract infections in children and immunocompromised individuals. Given the difficulties of identifying hMPV by conventional culture, molecular techniques could improve the detection of this virus in clinical specimens. In this study, we developed a real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assay designed to detect the four genetic lineages of hMPV.

Increased expression of interferon-inducible genes in macaque lung tissues during simian immunodeficiency virus infection.

Pulmonary infections and dysfunction are frequent outcomes during the development of immunodeficiency associated with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection, and obtaining a better understanding of the immunologic changes that occur in lungs following HIV-1 infection will provide a foundation for the development of further intervention strategies. We sought here to identify changes in the pulmonary immune environment that arise during simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection of rhesus macaques, which serves as an excellent model system for HIV-1 infection and disease. To examine the gene expression profiles of macaque lung tissues following infection with the pathogenic SIV/DeltaB670 isolate, we performed cDNA microarray hybridizations with lung total RNAs using two commercially available cDNA arrays and a custom-fabricated, immunologically focused macaque cDNA microarray.

Increased expression of TLR3 in lymph nodes during simian immunodeficiency virus infection: implications for inflammation and immunodeficiency.

As pattern recognition receptors, TLRs signal and induce expression of multiple host defense genes including proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. To investigate the mechanisms of up-regulation of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines during SIV infection in rhesus macaques, we measured the relative levels of expression of TLRs 1-10 in lymphoid tissues during different stages of SIV infection. By real-time RT-PCR, TLR3 was determined to be up-regulated in macaque lymph nodes (LN) throughout the course of infection, whereas TLR9 was down-regulated during early stages of infection.

Genetic analysis of Toll/Interleukin-1 Receptor (TIR) domain sequences from rhesus macaque Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 1-10 reveals high homology to human TLR/TIR sequences.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) form a major group of pattern recognition receptors of the innate immune system that sense molecular patterns on microbes. The cytoplasmic Toll/Interleukin-1 Receptor (TIR) signaling domain is instrumental in inducing a signaling cascade upon recognition of specific ligands by TLRs. Because nonhuman primates are used as models of infectious and immune processes, we sought to obtain an increased understanding of nonhuman primate TLRs.

Increased expression of the inflammatory chemokine CXC chemokine ligand 9/monokine induced by interferon-gamma in lymphoid tissues of rhesus macaques during simian immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Chemokines are important mediators of cell trafficking during immune inductive and effector activities, and dysregulation of their expression might contribute to the pathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and the related simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). To understand better the effects of SIV infection on lymphoid tissues in rhesus macaques, we examined chemokine messenger RNA (mRNA) expression patterns by using DNA filter array hybridization. Of the 34 chemokines examined, the interferon gamma (IFN-gamma)-inducible chemokine CXC chemokine ligand 9/monokine induced by interferon-gamma (CXCL9/Mig) was one of the most highly up-regulated chemokines in rhesus macaque spleen tissue early after infection with pathogenic SIV.