Species-directed therapy for leishmaniasis in returning travellers: a comprehensive guide.

Background: Leishmaniasis is increasingly reported among travellers. Leishmania species vary in sensitivity to available therapies. Fast and reliable molecular techniques have made species-directed treatment feasible.

Triple infection with HIV-1, HTLV-1 and Strongyloides stercoralis, rendering CD4+ T-cell counts a misleading entity.

We report the case of a Gabonese HIV-patient who presented with haemoptysis, weight loss, fulminant diarrhoea and subsequent ileus and elevated CD4+ T-cell counts. He was diagnosed with Strongyloides stercoralis and human T-lymphotrophic virus type-1 infection. After treatment of the strongyloides hyperinfection syndrome, his CD4+ T-cell counts dropped greatly.

Multidrug-resistant TB in Zambia: review of national data from 2000 to 2011.

Background: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is posing a great threat to global TB control. The burden in Zambia is not well defined because routine surveillance data are scarce. We reviewed national MDR-TB data for the last decade to inform future public health policy with respect to MDR-TB in Zambia.

How many sputum culture results do we need to monitor multidrug-resistant-tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients during treatment?

Discharge of a hospital patient after a single negative sputum culture may save money when treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. However, after initial sputum conversion in 336 South Africans, 11.6% and 5.

Exploring prospects of novel drugs for tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis remains a disease with an enormous impact on public health worldwide. With the continuously increasing epidemic of drug-resistant tuberculosis, new drugs are desperately needed. However, even for the treatment of drug-sensitive tuberculosis, new drugs are required to shorten the treatment duration and thereby prevent development of drug resistance.

Leprosy trends in Zambia 1991-2009.

Objective: To document leprosy trends in Zambia over the past two decades to ascertain the importance of leprosy as a health problem in Zambia.

Methods: Retrospective study covering the period 1991-2009 of routine national leprosy surveillance data, published national programme review reports and desk reviews of in-country TB reports.

Results: Data reports were available for all the years under study apart from years 2001, 2002 and 2006.

Miltefosine: a review of its pharmacology and therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of leishmaniasis.

Miltefosine is an alkylphosphocholine drug with demonstrated activity against various parasite species and cancer cells as well as some pathogenic bacteria and fungi. For 10 years it has been licensed in India for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a fatal neglected parasitic disease. It is the first and still the only oral drug that can be used to treat VL and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL).

Dengue in travellers: applicability of the 1975-1997 and the 2009 WHO classification system of dengue fever.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the applicability and benefits of the new WHO dengue fever guidelines in clinical practice, for returning travellers.

Methods: We compared differences in specificity and sensitivity between the old and the new guidelines for diagnosing dengue and assessed the usefulness in predicting the clinical course of the disease. Also, we investigated whether hypertension, diabetes or allergies, ethnicity or high age influenced the course of disease.

History of malaria research and its contribution to the malaria control success in Suriname: a review.

Suriname has cleared malaria from its capital city and coastal areas mainly through the successful use of chloroquine and DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) during the Global Malaria Eradication programme that started in 1955. Nonetheless, malaria transmission rates remained high in the interior of the country for a long time. An impressive decline in malaria cases was achieved in the past few years, from 14,403 registered cases in 2003 to 1,371 in 2009.