Emerging Infectious Diseases back issues from April 2008:
Bluetongue epidemiology in the European Union.(PERSPECTIVE)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Bluetongue (BT) is a reportable disease of considerable socioeconomic concern and of major importance in the international trade of animals and animal products. Before 1998, BT was considered an exotic disease in Europe. From 1998 through 2005, at least 6 BT virus strains belonging to 5 ...
Potential use of antiviral agents in polio eradication.(SYNOPSIS)
Apr 01, 2008; ... In 1988, the World Health Assembly launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which aimed to use large-scale vaccination with the oral vaccine to eradicate polio worldwide by the year 2000. Although important progress has been made, polio remains endemic in several countries. Also, ...
Determination of oseltamivir quality by colorimetric and liquid chromatographic methods.(RESEARCH)
Apr 01, 2008; ... We developed a colorimetric and chromatographic assay for oseltamivir to assess the authenticity of Tamiflu (F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel, Switzerland) because of a growing concern about counterfeit oseltamivir. The colorimetric assay is quantitative and relies on an extractable ...
Clonal population of flucytosine-resistant Candida tropicalis from blood cultures, Paris, France.(RESEARCH)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Candida tropicalis is a diploid ascomycetes yeast responsible for 4%-24% of candidemia. Resistance to flucytosine is rarely described for this species but was observed for 45 (35%) of 130 C. tropicalis isolates recovered from blood cultures in the Paris area in a 4-year survey. The aims of ...
Emericella quadrilineata as cause of invasive aspergillosis.(RESEARCH)
Apr 01, 2008; ... We noted a cluster of 4 cases of infection or colonization by Emericella spp., identified by sequence-based analysis as E. quadrilineata. Sequence-based analysis of an international collection of 33 Emericella isolates identified 12 as E. nidulans, all 12 of which had previously been ...
Control measures used during lymphogranuloma venereum outbreak, Europe.(Survey)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To assess the response to the reemergence of lymphogranuloma venereum, we conducted a cross-sectional survey by administering a structured questionnaire to representatives from 26 European countries. Responses were received from 18 countries. The ability to respond quickly and the measures ...
[beta]-herpesviruses in febrile children with cancer.(RESEARCH)
Apr 01, 2008; ... We conducted a cross-sectional study of [beta]-herpesviruses in febrile pediatric oncology patients (n = 30), with a reference group of febrile pediatric solid-organ transplant recipients (n = 9). One (3.3%) of 30 cancer patients and 3 (33%) of 9 organ recipients were PCR positive for ...
Seroprevalence and risk factors for human herpesvirus 8 infection, rural Egypt (1).(RESEARCH)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To determine whether human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) is associated with schistosomal and hepatitis C virus infections in Egypt, we surveyed 965 rural household participants who had been tested for HHV-8 and schistosomal infection (seroprevalence 14.2% and 68.6%, respectively, among those <15 ...
Retrospective analysis of monkeypox infection.(RESEARCH)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Serologic cross-reactivity between orthopoxviruses is a substantial barrier to laboratory diagnosis of specific orthopoxvirus infections and epidemiologic characterization of disease outbreaks. Historically, time-consuming and labor-intensive strategies such as cross-adsorbed ...
Wild ducks as long-distance vectors of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (H5N1).(RESEARCH)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Wild birds have been implicated in the expansion of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (H5N1) outbreaks across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa (in addition to traditional transmission by infected poultry, contaminated equipment, and people). Such a role would require wild ...
Rapid typing of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy strains with differential ELISA.(RESEARCH)(enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay)
Apr 01, 2008; ... The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent has been transmitted to humans, leading to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Sheep and goats can be experimentally infected by BSE and have been potentially exposed to natural BSE; however, whether BSE can be transmitted to small ruminants ...
Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome caused by 2 lineages of Dobrava hantavirus, Russia (1).(RESEARCH)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Dobrava-Belgrade virus (DOBV) is a European hantavirus that causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS); case-fatality rates in Balkan countries are as high as 12%. To determine causative agents, we examined 126 cases of DOBV-associated HFRS in central and southern European Russia ....
Detection and prevalence patterns of group I coronaviruses in bats, Northern Germany.(RESEARCH)
Apr 01, 2008; ... We tested 315 bats from 7 different bat species in northern Germany for coronaviruses by reverse transcription-PCR. The overall prevalence was 9.8%. There were 4 lineages of group I coronaviruses in association with 4 different species of verspertilionid bats (Myotis dasycneme, M. ...
Multiple sublineages of influenza a virus (H5N1), Vietnam, 2005-2007.(DISPATCHES)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Phylogenetic analysis of influenza subtype H5N1 viruses isolated from Vietnam during 2005-2007 shows that multiple sublineages are present in Vietnam. Clade 2.3.4 viruses have replaced clade 1 viruses in northern Vietnam, and clade 1 viruses have been detected in southern Vietnam ....
Reassortant avian influenza virus (H5N1) in poultry, Nigeria, 2007.(DISPATCHES)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Genetic characterization of a selection of influenza virus (H5N1) samples, circulating in 8 Nigerian states over a 39-day period in early 2007, indicates that a new reassortant strain is present in 7 of the 8 states. Our study reports an entirely different influenza virus (H5N1) ...
Neuroinvasion by Mycoplasma pneumoniae in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.(DISPATCHES)
Apr 01, 2008; ... We report the autopsy findings for a 45-year-old man with polyradiculoneuropathy and fatal acute disseminated encephalomyelitis after having Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia. M. pneumoniae antigens were demonstrated by immunohistochemical analysis of brain tissue, indicating neuroinvasion ...
Chagas disease, France.(DISPATCHES)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Chagas disease (CD) is endemic to Latin America; its prevalence is highest in Bolivia. CD is sometimes seen in the United States and Canada among migrants from Latin America, whereas it is rare in Europe. We report 9 cases of imported CD in France from 2004 to 2006. ********** ...
Human thelaziasis, Europe.(DISPATCHES)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Thelazia callipaeda eyeworm is a nematode transmitted by drosophilid flies to carnivores in Europe. It has also been reported in the Far East in humans. We report T. callipaeda infection in 4 human patients in Italy and France. ********** Nematodes transmitted by ...
Rabies virus in raccoons, Ohio, 2004.(DISPATCHES)
Apr 01, 2008; ... In 2004, the raccoon rabies virus variant emerged in Ohio beyond an area where oral rabies vaccine had been distributed to prevent westward spread of this variant. Our genetic investigation indicates that this outbreak may have begun several years before 2004 and may have originated within ...
Single nucleotide polymorphism typing of Bacillus anthracis from Sverdlovsk tissue.(DISPATCHES)
Apr 01, 2008; ... A small number of conserved canonical single nucleotide polymorphisms (canSNP) that define major phylogenetic branches for Bacillus anthracis were used to place a Sverdlovsk patient's B. anthracis genotype into 1 of 12 subgroups. Reconstruction of the pagA gene also showed a unique SNP ...
Human Mycobacterium bovis infection and bovine tuberculosis outbreak, Michigan, 1994-2007.(DISPATCHES)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Mycobacterium bovis is endemic in Michigan's white-tailed deer and has been circulating since 1994. The strain circulating in deer has remained genotypically consistent and was recently detected in 2 humans. We summarize the investigation of these cases and confirm that recreational ...
Mycobacterium avium lymphadenopathy among children, Sweden.(DISPATCHES)
Apr 01, 2008; ... We studied Mycobacterium avium lymphadenopathy in 183 Swedish children (<7 years of age) from 1998 through 2003. Seasonal variation in the frequency of the disease, with a peak in October and a low point in April, suggests cyclic environmental factors. We also found a higher incidence of ...
Kala-azar epidemiology and control, Southern Sudan.(DISPATCHES)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Southern Sudan is one of the areas in eastern Africa most affected by visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), but lack of security and funds has hampered control. Since 2005, the return of stability has opened up new opportunities to expand existing interventions and introduce new ones. ...
Dengue virus type 4, Manaus, Brazil.(DISPATCHES)
Apr 01, 2008; ... We report dengue virus type 4 (DENV-4) in Amazonas, Brazil. This virus was isolated from serum samples of 3 patients treated at a tropical medicine reference center in Manaus. All 3 cases were confirmed by serologic and molecular tests; 1 patient was co-infected with DENV-3 and DENV-4. ...
Rat-to-elephant-to-human transmission of cowpox virus.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To the Editor: Despite the eradication of smallpox in the past century, other orthopoxviruses, such as monkeypox virus, vaccinia virus in Brazil, and cowpox virus (CPXV) in Europe (1), still infect humans. CPXV has been restricted to the Old World with wild rodents as its natural reservoir ...
Avian influenza knowledge among medical students, Iran.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To the Editor: Avian influenza is an infectious disease caused by type A strains of influenza virus (1). Since January 2004, Thailand and several other Southeast Asian countries have experienced outbreaks of avian influenza in poultry, and >100 million poultry have been culled or have died ...
Lorraine strain of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1, France.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To the Editor: Legionellosis is a pneumonia caused by inhalation of Legionella spp. in aerosol water particles. Legionellapneumophila is responsible for [approximately equal to] 90% of cases; serogroup 1 alone accounts for [approximately equal to] 85% of cases (1). Epidemiologic analyses ...
Bluetongue in captive yaks.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To the Editor: In August 2006, several northern European countries including Belgium reported cases of bluetongue (BT) (1). This noncontagious, arthropod-borne animal disease is caused by Bluetongue virus (BTV), genus Orbivirus, family Reoviridae. The genome of BTV consists of 10 segments ...
Murine typhus, Algeria.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To the Editor: Rickettsioses, or typhoid diseases, are caused by obligate intracellular bacteria of the order Rickettsiales. The ubiquitous murine typhus is caused by Rickettsia typhi. Although cat fleas and opposums have been suggested as vectors in some places in the United States, the ...
Natural co-infection with 2 parvovirus variants in dog.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To the Editor: Canine parvovirus (CPV) emerged in the late 1970s, presumably by mutations in feline panleukopenia virus, and became a major viral pathogen of dogs worldwide (1). Between 1979 and 1981, the original type 2 virus (CPV-2) was replaced by a new genetic and antigenic variant, ...
WU polyomavirus infection in children, Germany.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To the Editor: The human polyomaviruses JC and BK are known to cause persisting infections, which are usually asymptomatic in immunocompetent patients but may lead to severe disease in those who are immunosuppressed (1). Recently, 2 novel viruses of the family Polyomaviridae were detected ...
Hepatitis E, Central African Republic.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To the Editor: Outbreaks of hepatitis E virus (HEV) have been documented in many geographic regions and nonindustrialized countries (1-3); they have been primarily associated with fecal contamination of drinking water (4). In the Central African Republic (CAR), economic indicators (CAR ...
Rickettsia sibirica subsp. mongolitimonae infection and retinal vasculitis.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To the Editor: Rickettsia sibirica subsp, mongolitimonae is an intracellular bacterium that belongs to the species R. sibirica (1). To date, only 11 cases of infection with this bacterium have been reported (2-6). We report a case in a pregnant woman with ocular vasculitis. A ...
Rickettsia felis in fleas, France.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To the Editor: Rickettsia felis belongs to the spotted fever group of rickettsia. The pathogenic role of this intracellular Proteobacteria in humans has been reported in patients from the United States (Texas) (1), Mexico (2), Germany (3), Brazil, and France (4). R. felis is widely ...
Novel nonstructural protein 4 genetic group in rotavirus of porcine origin.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To the Editor: Infection with group A rotavirus is the main cause of acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide and in young animals of many species, including piglets. In recent years, several epidemiologic studies designed to monitor the appearance of novel or atypical ...
PorB2/3 protein hybrid in Neisseria meningitidis.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To the Editor: Class 2 and class 3 porin (PorB) proteins are the major proteins found in the outer membrane of Neisseria meningitidis (1); they function as porins, allowing the passage of small molecules through the outer membrane. PorB outer membrane proteins are transmembrane proteins ...
West Nile virus in birds, Argentina.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To the Editor: West Nile virus (WNV), genus Flavivirus, family Flaviviridae has been rapidly dispersing through the Americas since its introduction in 1999 in New York (1). By 2004, serologic studies detected WNV-specific antibodies in birds and horses from Canada to northern South America ...
Clostridium difficile surveillance trends, Saxony, Germany.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Apr 01, 2008; ... To the Editor: Vonberg et al. (1) recently commented on the increase of Clostridium difficile seen in US hospitals by using discharge diagnoses and confirmed the observation from the United States (2) with hospital discharge data from Germany during 2000 through 2004. C. difficile ribotype ...
Travel Medicine: Tales Behind the Science.(Book review)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Travel Medicine: Tales Behind the Science Annelies Wilder-Smith, Marc Shaw, and Eric Schwartz, editors Elsevier Science, New York, New York, USA, 2007 ISBN: 978-0-08-045359-0 Pages: 333; Price: US $42.80 This book is a compilation of ...
Coronaviruses: Molecular and Cellular Biology.(Book review)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Coronaviruses: Molecular and Cellular Biology Volker Thiel, editor Caister Academic Press, Norfolk, UK, 2007 ISBN: 978-1-904455-16-5 Pages: 350; Price: US $300.00 Coronaviruses are a group of single-stranded RNA viruses that mainly ...
The CAT Scan.(ANOTHER DIMENSION)(Poem)
Apr 01, 2008; ... <Pre> The CAT Scan I enter your portal through a scrim of invisible rays,beads of energy outnumbering my regrets.Supine on a cold bed, part supplicant, part sacrifice.Like all captives, fearing judgment.Woosh, then comes the warm tingle of the dye,everywhere ...
"In dreams begin responsibilities".(Cover story)
Apr 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities" --William Butler Yeats "I woke with this marble head in my hands; / It exhausts my elbows and I don't know where to put it down. / It was falling into the dream as I was coming out of the dream / So ...
Erratum: Vol. 14, No. 2.(Correction notice)
Apr 01, 2008 ... In the article "Molecular Typing of Australian Scedosporium Isolates Showing Genetic Variability and Numerous S. aurantiacum" by L. Delhaes et al., Figure 1, p. 286, contained errors. Profile C should have referred to ...
Upcoming infectious disease activities.(NEWS & NOTES)(Calendar)
Apr 01, 2008 ... April 5-8, 2008 Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) 18th Annual Scientific Meeting Buena Vista Palace Orlando, FL, USA http://www.shea-online.org April 8-11, 2008 Genomes 2008--Functional Genomics of ...