Publications by authors named "Steffen Zander"

In immunocompromised individuals persisting viremia frequently leads to a chronic hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection. Zoonotic transmission of HEV from pigs and wild boar to humans is proven and sporadic infections with rabbit HEV (raHEV) have recently been reported. Here, the molecular characterisation of a raHEV strain isolated from an immunocompromised, chronically HEV-infected, heart-transplanted patient is described.

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Avian hepatitis E virus (aHEV) is the major etiological agent of hepatitis-splenomegaly syndrome (HSS), big liver and spleen disease (BLSD), and hepatic rupture hemorrhage syndrome (HRHS) in chickens. Infections with aHEV cause a significant decrease in egg production and increased mortality in chickens worldwide. However, studies on the prevalence of aHEV in Nigeria are scarce.

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Rodent species like Myodes glareolus and Microtus spp. are natural reservoirs for many zoonotic pathogens causing human diseases and are gaining increasing interest in the field of eco-immunology as candidate animal models. Despite their importance the lack of immunological reagents has hampered research in these animal species.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study compared phase contrast microscopy (PCM) of unstained slides with enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for detecting Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts in human stool samples from diarrhoeic patients.
  • PCM showed high sensitivity (88.9%) and perfect specificity (100%) when compared to EIA, making it a reliable method for diagnosis.
  • Additionally, PCM was also tested on fixed samples from asymptomatic children, detecting Cryptosporidia in some cases that RT-PCR did not catch, suggesting it can be a useful, cost-effective diagnostic tool.
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