Peptide Sharing Between CMV and Mismatched HLA Class I Peptides Promotes Early T-Cell-Mediated Rejection After Kidney Transplantation.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is related to acute rejection and graft loss after kidney transplantation, though the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. Some CMV strains produce a peptide that is identical to a peptide sequence found in the leader peptide of specific HLA-A and -C alleles. In this retrospective study of 351 kidney transplantations, we explored whether CMV-seropositive recipients without the VMAPRTLIL, VMAPRTLLL or VMAPRTLVL HLA class I leader peptide receiving a transplant from a donor with this peptide, faced an increased risk of T-cell-mediated rejection (TCMR) in the first 90 days after transplantation.

Reactivation of Multidrug-Resistant HSV-1 in a Post-Allogenic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Patient: Dynamic Detection of the Rare A605V Mutation by Next-Generation Sequencing.

We present an immunocompromised patient with a multiresistant herpes simplex virus-1 reactivation with a rare mutation (A605V) in the viral DNA polymerase gene. Next-generation sequencing suggests the presence of multiple drug-resistant strains before treatment and altered ratios during treatment, affecting the clinical response to aciclovir and foscarnet.

Infectious Diseases and Basal Ganglia Calcifications: A Cross-Sectional Study in Patients with Fahr's Disease and Systematic Review.

It is unclear whether patients with basal ganglia calcifications (BGC) should undergo infectious disease testing as part of their diagnostic work-up. We investigated the occurrence of possibly associated infections in patients with BGC diagnosed with Fahr's disease or syndrome and consecutively performed a systematic review of published infectious diseases associated with BGC. In a cross-sectional study, we evaluated infections in non-immunocompromised patients aged ≥ 18 years with BGC in the Netherlands, who were diagnosed with Fahr's disease or syndrome after an extensive multidisciplinary diagnostic work-up.

Humoral and cellular immunogenicity, effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 mRNA vaccination in patients with pediatric rheumatic diseases: A prospective cohort study.

Objectives: To evaluate immunogenicity, effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccination in patients with pediatric autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic disease (pedAIIRD).

Methods: A prospective cohort study was performed at the pediatric rheumatology department of the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Vaccination dates, COVID-19 cases and vaccine-related adverse events (AEs) were registered for all pedAIIRD patients during regular clinic visits from March 2021 - August 2022.

Changes in Local and Systemic Adverse Effects following Primary and Booster Immunisation against COVID-19 in an Observational Cohort of Dutch Healthcare Workers Vaccinated with BNT162b2 (Comirnaty).

In healthcare workers (HCWs) and in the general population, fear of adverse effects is among the main reasons behind COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. We present data on self-reported adverse effects from a large cohort of HCWs who underwent primary (N = 470) and booster (N = 990) mRNA vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. We described general patterns in, and predictors of self-reported adverse effect profiles.

Assessing and improving the quality of guideline-adherent hepatitis B virus care in people with HIV: A cross-sectional study.

The increasing use of non-tenofovir containing antiretroviral regimens calls for renewed attention to the prevention and management of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in people with HIV (PWH). We retrospectively assessed adherence to HBV guidelines, including complete HBV screening in PWH. In people with HIV/HBV co-infection, this included HBV therapy, screening for hepatitis delta virus (HDV) and on-therapy virologic response monitoring.

Long-term immunoprotection after live attenuated measles-mumps-rubella booster vaccination in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Introduction: Vaccines, especially live attenuated vaccines, in children with JIA pose a great challenge due to both potential lower immunogenicity and safety as a result of immunosuppressive treatment. For many years, in the Netherlands, JIA patients receive a measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) booster vaccine at the age of nine years as part of the national immunization program.

Objectives: To study long-term humoral immunoprotection in a large cohort of JIA patients who received the MMR booster vaccine while being treated with immunomodulatory therapies at the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Meningococcal ACWY conjugate vaccine immunogenicity in adolescents with primary or secondary immune deficiencies, a prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Immunization with meningococcal ACWY conjugate vaccine induces protective antibodies against invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) caused by serogroups A, C, W and Y. We studied MenACWY-TT vaccine immunogenicity in adolescents with a heterogenous group of primary and secondary immune deficiency including patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, mixed connective tissue disease, vasculitis, uveitis, 22Q11 syndrome, sickle cell disease, and patients who underwent stem cell transplantation for bone marrow failure.

Findings: We enrolled 69 individuals aged 14-18 years diagnosed with a primary or secondary immune deficiency in a prospective observational cohort study.

Meningococcal ACWY conjugate vaccine immunogenicity and safety in adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease: A prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Immunogenicity to meningococcal serogroup ACWY (MenACWY) conjugate vaccine has not been studied in immunocompromised minors with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We determined immunogenicity of a MenACWY-TT vaccine in JIA and IBD patients at adolescent age and compared results to data from aged-matched healthy controls (HCs).

Methods: We performed a prospective observational cohort study in JIA and IBD patients (14-18 years old), who received a MenACWY vaccination during a nationwide catch-up campaign (2018-2019) in the Netherlands.

High Predictive Value of the Soluble ZEBRA Antigen (Epstein-Barr Virus Trans-Activator Zta) in Transplant Patients with PTLD.

The ZEBRA (Z EBV replication activator) protein is the major transcription factor of EBV, expressed upon EBV lytic cycle activation. An increasing body of studies have highlighted the critical role of EBV lytic infection as a risk factor for lymphoproliferative disorders, such as post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD). We studied 108 transplanted patients (17 PTLD and 91 controls), retrospectively selected from different hospitals in France and in the Netherlands.

Predictive factors for vaccine failure to guide vaccination in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients.

Vaccination after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is essential to protect high-risk patients against potentially lethal infections. Though multiple studies have evaluated vaccine specific responses, no comprehensive analysis of a complete vaccination schedule post-HSCT has been performed and little is known about predictors for vaccine failure. In this context, allogeneic HSCT (alloHSCT) patients were included and vaccinated starting one year post-transplantation.

Epidemiology of Multiple Herpes Viremia in Previously Immunocompetent Patients With Septic Shock.

Background: Systemic reactivations of herpesviruses may occur in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, even in those without prior immune deficiency. However, the clinical relevance of these events is uncertain.

Methods: In this study we selected patients admitted with septic shock and treated for more than 4 days from a prospectively enrolled cohort of consecutive adults in the mixed ICUs of 2 tertiary care hospitals in the Netherlands.

No association between Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in a case-control study.

Background And Purpose: Previous studies, mostly case reports and uncontrolled studies, provide a low level of evidence for the hypothesized link between Lyme disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In order to make evidence-based recommendations regarding testing for Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies in the diagnostic work-up for ALS, the objective of this study was to explore the evidence for an association between these antibodies and ALS in a case-control design including age-, gender- and residency-matched controls.

Methods: A total of 491 patients with ALS were matched to 982 controls.

Cytomegalovirus Status and the Outcome of T Cell-Replete Reduced-Intensity Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) serostatus of donor and recipient are frequently used in algorithms of donor selection, whereas the impact of CMV reactivation on transplantation-related mortality, leukemia control, and overall survival (OS) remains controversial. Therefore, we retrospectively studied the impact of latent or active CMV infections on the outcome and occurrence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT) in 294 patients during the period from 2004 to 2010. CMV viral load was routinely monitored in plasma using a quantitative PCR.

The diagnostic accuracy of serological tests for Lyme borreliosis in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Interpretation of serological assays in Lyme borreliosis requires an understanding of the clinical indications and the limitations of the currently available tests. We therefore systematically reviewed the accuracy of serological tests for the diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis in Europe.

Methods: We searched EMBASE en MEDLINE and contacted experts.

Cytomegalovirus reactivation and mortality in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Purpose: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation occurs frequently in patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and has been associated with increased mortality. However, it remains unknown whether this association represents an independent risk for poor outcome. We aimed to estimate the attributable effect of CMV reactivation on mortality in immunocompetent ARDS patients.

Cytomegalovirus seroprevalence as a risk factor for poor outcome in acute respiratory distress syndrome*.

Objective: Cytomegalovirus reactivation may complicate critical illness in latent carriers of the virus, even in patients who were previously immunocompetent. Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome are considered to be prone for reactivation. Prophylactic antiviral therapy in immunocompetent cytomegalovirus seropositive patients admitted to the ICU with acute respiratory distress syndrome has therefore been proposed.

Saffold virus, a human Theiler's-like cardiovirus, is ubiquitous and causes infection early in life.

The family Picornaviridae contains well-known human pathogens (e.g., poliovirus, coxsackievirus, rhinovirus, and parechovirus).

Circulating Candida-specific anti-mannan antibodies precede invasive candidiasis in patients undergoing myelo-ablative chemotherapy.

The kinetics of circulating Candida mannan and anti-mannan antibodies were studied in consecutive plasma samples, obtained upon hospital admission, of 21 patients with microbiologically proven invasive candidiasis and 30 control patients who underwent myelo-ablative chemotherapy. The detection of Candida anti-mannan antibodies preceded the diagnosis of invasive candidiasis in infected patients, and the antibodies were detected significantly more often in patients who had experienced multiple episodes of neutropenia than in the control group (OR 8.9, 95% CI 5.

Prevalence of hepatitis C in the general population in the Netherlands.

Background: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) is transmitted by blood-blood contact and this leads to high HCV prevalence in risk populations such as haemophilia patients and intravenous drug users. The prevalence in the general Dutch population is unknown, although it appears to be very low in screened blood donors (0.0169%).

Trends in fungaemia and antifungal susceptibility in the Netherlands.

We retrospectively evaluated fungaemia over the period 1996 to 2001 in five university hospitals. Over 350,000 blood cultures were collected during more than 7 million days of hospitalisation. The average rate of fungaemia over the six-year period was 0.