The rapid emergence of antimicrobial-resistant strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae threatens treatment options and control efforts. The Uniformed Services University Gonococcal Reference Laboratory and Repository of the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance Program receives isolates from several geographically distinct regions worldwide. We analyzed 962 isolates collected during 2014-2022 for genomic and phenotypic antimicrobial resistance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic has made its mark on world history forever causing millions of deaths, and straining health systems, economies, and societies worldwide. The European Academy of Neurology (EAN) reacted promptly. A special NeuroCOVID-19 Task Force was set up at the beginning of the pandemic to promote knowledge, research, international collaborations, and raise awareness about the prevention and treatment of COVID-19-related neurological issues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted health systems worldwide. Here, we assessed the pandemic's impact on clinical service, curricular training, and financial burden from a neurological viewpoint during the enforced lockdown periods and the assumed recovery by 2023.
Methods: An online 18-item survey was conducted by the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) NeuroCOVID-19 Task Force among the EAN community.
Background And Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2), rapidly spread across the globe. Tremendous efforts have been mobilized to create effective antiviral treatment options to reduce the burden of the disease. This article summarizes the available knowledge about the antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV-2 from a neurologist's perspective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: We investigated the prevalence, risk factors and physical, mental, and economic consequences of ischemic Janelidze and hemorrhagic stroke in the population of the Republic of Georgia.
Materials And Methods: A population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 3036 adults residing in the Imereti Region of Georgia, selected using a multistage, probability proportionate-to-size, cluster sampling technique. Data were collected by medical students, using an interviewer-administered questionnaire.
Introduction: This article summarizes the medical experience in establishing stroke units and systemic thrombolysis in Georgia, which, like many other post-Soviet countries, still faces problems in organizing stroke care even after 30 years of independence.
Patients And Methods: We created an example of treating acute stroke with systemic thrombolysis and introduced stroke units in several hospitals in the country, including standardization of the diagnostic and treatment process, consistent evaluation, and monthly feedback to the stroke unit staff.
Results: Systemic thrombolysis has become a clinical routine in some large hospitals and is meanwhile reimbursed by the state insurance.
Zoonotic diseases are endemic in the country of Georgia. Using the non-linear canonical correlation (NCC) method, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between thirteen epidemiological risk factors and seropositivity to five zoonotic infections (anthrax, Q fever, tularemia, leptospirosis, and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever [CCHF]) among Georgian military recruits during 2014-2016. According to this multivariate statistical technique, which is suitable for the analysis of two or more sets of qualitative variables simultaneously, two canonical variables were identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMilitary personnel are at an increased risk for exposure to arthropod- borne and zoonotic pathogens. The prevalence of these pathogens has not been adequately described in the country of Georgia. As the Georgian military moves toward an increased level of capability and the adoption of European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization standards, international field exercises will become more frequent and will likely involve an increasing number of international partners.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Brucellosis is an endemic disease in the country of Georgia. According to the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health of Georgia (NCDC), the average annual number of brucellosis cases was 161 during 2008-2012. However, the true number of cases is thought to be higher due to underreporting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Brucellosis is considered as endemic zoonotic disease in the country of Georgia. However, the burden of the disease on a household level is not known. Therefore, this study sought to determine the benefits of active surveillance coupled to serological screening for the early detection of brucellosis among close contacts of brucellosis cases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: There is a large spectrum of viral, bacterial, fungal, and prion pathogens that cause central nervous system (CNS) infections. As such, identification of the etiological agent requires multiple laboratory tests and accurate diagnosis requires clinical and epidemiological information. This hospital-based study aimed to determine the main causes of acute meningitis and encephalitis and enhance laboratory capacity for CNS infection diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Brucellosis is an endemic infection in Georgia. We conducted a review of patient records with a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of brucellosis over three decades at the central referral hospital for brucellosis cases, the Institute of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (IPTM) in Tbilisi. The purpose was to describe the demographic profile and clinical characteristics as well as diagnostic and treatment strategies in patients with brucellosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is an important genetic cause of stroke, but pathogenic mechanisms and functional alterations remain poorly characterized. The purpose of this study was to investigate adaptive metabolic and functional changes in white matter hyperintensities and normal-appearing white matter in CADASIL patients using (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI). Eight CADASIL patients and eight matched healthy controls were studied.
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