A series of three cases of severe Clostridium difficile infection in Australia associated with a binary toxin producing clade 2 ribotype 251 strain.

Three patients with severe Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) caused by an unusual strain of C. difficile, PCR ribotype (RT) 251, were identified in New South Wales, Australia. All cases presented with severe diarrhoea, two had multiple recurrences and one died following a colectomy.

Selective Th2 pattern of cytokine secretion in Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis infected Crohn's disease.

Background And Aims: The pathogenesis of Crohn's disease (CD) remains unclear. A major controversy has been whether infection with Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) plays a significant role. Current support for a role of MAP is largely based on epidemiological data.

Selective reduction of anti-Helicobacter pylori IgG subclass antibody in gastric carcinoma.

Background: Epidemiological studies have demonstrated strong links between Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric adenocarcinoma. Recent studies suggest that cell-mediated immunity influences the outcome of infection, including the development of gastric adenocarcinoma. The T-cell response can be characterized in terms of the secreted cytokine profile, which in turn influences the B-cell response including the balance of IgG subclass antibody.

Impaired host immunity contributes to Helicobacter pylori eradication failure.

Objectives: Effective eradication of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has often proved more difficult than expected. Antimicrobial resistance incompletely explains eradication failure.