Burden of Pertussis in Adults Aged 50 Years and Older: A Retrospective Database Study in England.

Introduction: Pertussis, a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by Bordetella pertussis, affects people of all ages. Older adults are particularly susceptible to its severe outcomes and complications.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, the incidence rate of pertussis among individuals aged ≥ 50 years was assessed during 2009-2018 using Clinical Practice Research Datalink and Hospital Episode Statistics databases, United Kingdom.

Descriptive Overview of Pertussis Epidemiology Among Older Adults in Europe During 2010-2020.

Introduction: Following the introduction of pertussis vaccination during infancy, the age-related demographics of pertussis epidemiology have changed.

Methods: To better understand the pertussis burden (defined here as number of cases and/or incidence rate [IR]) among older adults (OA; at least 50 years of age) in Europe, we collected data on the reported number of cases and IR in this population in Denmark, England and Scotland, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden from 2010 to 2020. Additionally, we collected contextual epidemiological information on surveillance systems, case definitions, laboratory diagnostics and vaccination approaches.

Burden of Pertussis in Individuals with a Diagnosis of Asthma: A Retrospective Database Study in England.

Purpose: The impact of pertussis in individuals with asthma is not fully understood. We estimated the incidence, health care resource utilization (HCRU), and direct medical costs (DMC) of pertussis in patients with asthma.

Patients And Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, the incidence rate of pertussis (identified using diagnostic codes) among individuals aged ≥50 years with an asthma diagnosis was assessed during 2009-2018 using Clinical Practice Research Datalink and Hospital Episode Statistics databases.

Neurovirulence and latency of drug-resistant clinical herpes simplex viruses in animal models.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) resistance to acyclovir or foscarnet results from mutations in viral thymidine kinase (TK) and/or DNA polymerase (pol) genes. Replication kinetics and virulence of TK and/or DNA pol clinical mutants were assessed using models of mouse encephalitis and cotton rat genital infection. Replication capacities in Vero cells of a DNA pol altered strain (L850I) and a TK/DNA pol mutant (C467deletion/A912V) were significantly lower than those of unrelated wild-type (WT) strains, while a double DNA pol mutant (S724N/P920S) demonstrated replication kinetics similar to the WT.

Effect of pretreatment with toll-like receptor agonists in a mouse model of herpes simplex virus type 1 encephalitis.

Background: We evaluated the effect of pretreatment with Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists in a mouse model of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) encephalitis.

Methods: BALB/c mice received a single intraperitoneal or intranasal injection of polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C), a TLR3 agonist; lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a TLR4 agonist; oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN), a TLR9 agonist; or control vehicle. Twenty-four hours later, animals were infected with 5000 plaque-forming units of HSV-1.

Hydroxyurea enhances the activity of acyclovir and cidofovir against herpes simplex virus type 1 resistant strains harboring mutations in the thymidine kinase and/or the DNA polymerase genes.

Drug-resistant herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) recombinant strains harboring mutations in the thymidine kinase and/or the DNA polymerase genes were evaluated for their susceptibility to various antivirals in the presence of 25 microg/ml of hydroxyurea (HyU). The latter compound decreased the 50% inhibitory concentrations of acyclovir by 1.5-3.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 beta play a critical role in the resistance against lethal herpes simplex virus encephalitis.

Background: The innate immune response after herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) encephalitis could be protective or, paradoxically, implicated in neuronal damage. We investigated the role of the innate immune response in such infection using a C57BL/6 mouse knockout (KO) model for tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and/or interleukin (IL)-1beta.

Methods: Encephalitis was induced by intranasal infection with a clinical strain of HSV-1 in 1-month-old KO or wild-type (WT) mice.

Delayed but not early glucocorticoid treatment protects the host during experimental herpes simplex virus encephalitis in mice.

Background: Glucocorticoids (GCs) have not been established as an evidence-based therapy for herpes simplex virus (HSV) encephalitis. We sought to evaluate the effects of early versus delayed GC administration in a model of HSV-1 encephalitis.

Methods: Mice were inoculated intranasally with a clinical HSV-1 strain and had access to corticosterone (Cort; 0.

Longitudinal evaluation of herpes simplex virus DNA load during episodes of herpes labialis.

Background: Few studies have performed sequential evaluation of the herpes simplex virus (HSV) load using quantitative PCR during episodes of herpes labialis.

Objective: To determine HSV viral load kinetics during recurrences of herpes labialis.

Study Design: Twenty-two subjects were monitored by daily swabs during recurrences of herpes labialis.

Thymidine kinase mutations conferring acyclovir resistance in herpes simplex type 1 recombinant viruses.

Contributions of thymidine kinase (TK) mutations to acyclovir (ACV) resistance were evaluated in herpes simplex virus type 1 recombinant viruses generated using a set of overlapping cosmids and plasmids. Alterations in both conserved and nonconserved regions of the TK gene were shown to confer high levels of resistance to ACV.

Comparative evaluation of three serological methods for detection of human herpesvirus 8-specific antibodies in Canadian allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients.

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) has been associated with all types of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), including posttransplantation KS. However, little is known regarding HHV-8 infections in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (SCT) recipients. In this study, we used a variety of serological assays, including in-house-developed enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) utilizing synthetic peptides corresponding to lytic viral antigens (ORFs 65 and K8.

Evaluation of susceptibility of human herpesvirus 8 to antiviral drugs by quantitative real-time PCR.

A new in vitro system based on real-time PCR was developed for evaluation of human herpesvirus 8 susceptibility to antiviral agents. Cidofovir had the greatest inhibitory activity against HHV-8 (50% inhibitory concentration [IC(50)], 0.43 microM) followed by ganciclovir (2.