Emerging Infectious Diseases back issues from May 2009:
Use of unstructured event-based reports for global infectious disease surveillance.(SYNOPSIS)
May 01, 2009; ... International travel and movement of goods increasingly facilitates the spread of pathogens across and among nations, enabling pathogens to invade new territories and adapt to new environments and hosts (1-3). Officials now need to consider worldwide disease outbreaks when determining what ...
Chronic wasting disease prions in elk antler velvet.(RESEARCH)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of deer, elk, and moose is the only recognized prion disease of wild animals. To date, 15 US states and 2 Canada provinces have reported CWD in wild and/or farm-raised cervids. Outbreaks have also occurred in South Korea as a result of importation of ...
Virulent strain of Hepatitis E virus genotype 3, Japan.(RESEARCH)
May 01, 2009; ... Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is relatively common. Anti-HEV antibodies are found in 10%-20% of the general population in Japan and most Asian countries (1,2); however, only a small fraction of these infections induce overt hepatitis. Although the mechanisms underlying induction of ...
A case-control study on the origin of atypical scrapie in sheep, France.(RESEARCH)
May 01, 2009; ... Atypical scrapie is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of small ruminants; it was recently defined by the European Food Safety Authority according to phenotypic features (1). This disease was identified in 1998 (2), and little is known about its etiology and epidemiology (3), ...
New respiratory enterovirus and recombinant rhinoviruses among circulating picornaviruses.(RESEARCH)
May 01, 2009; ... Rhinoviruses and enteroviruses are leading causes of respiratory infections. To evaluate genotypic diversity and identify forces shaping picornavirus evolution, we screened persons with respiratory illnesses by using rhinovirus-specific or generic real-time PCR assays. We then sequenced ...
Cross-border dissemination of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Euregio Meuse-Rhin region.(RESEARCH)
May 01, 2009; ... Almost one third of the European population lives in a border region (Euregio). These border regions have collaborated since the late 1950s, especially in the field of healthcare (1). Cross-border patient mobility and free access to healthcare facilities within the European Union in ...
Chloroquine-resistant haplotype Plasmodium falciparum parasites, Haiti.(RESEARCH)
May 01, 2009; ... The island of Hispaniola is the only area in the Caribbean Sea where Plasmodium falciparum malaria is endemic (1). It has been reported that up to 75% of the population of Haiti lives in malarious areas, especially at altitudes <300 m above sea level (2,3). P. falciparum is the only ...
CTX-M [beta]-lactamases in Escherichia coli from Community-acquired urinary tract infections, Cambodia.(RESEARCH)(Clinical report)
May 01, 2009; ... Escherichia coli is the bacterium most frequently isolated in community- and hospital-acquired urinary tract infections (CA-UTIs and HA-UTIs, respectively). Despite possessing the gene encoding cephalosporinase, ampC (1), wild strains of E. coli are susceptible to most [beta]-lactams ...
Increased risk for severe malaria in HIV-1-infected adults, Zambia.(RESEARCH)(Clinical report)
May 01, 2009; ... The geographic overlap between HIV-1 infection and malaria, particularly in eastern and southern Africa, has caused concern since the 1980s. The degree of interaction between HIV-1 infection and malaria emerged during 1999-2009 and has been extensively reviewed for both nonpregnant and ...
Seroprevalence of antibodies to avian influenza virus A (H5N1) among Residents of villages with human cases, Thailand, 2005.(RESEARCH)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... Three apparent waves of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus A (H5N1) infection in humans occurred in Thailand from early 2004 through 2006; these waves, which corresponded to influenza (H5N1) outbreaks in poultry, resulted in 25 confirmed human cases and 17 deaths (1-4). However, the ...
Hospitalizations and deaths associated with Clostridium difficile infection, Finland, 1996-2004.(RESEARCH)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... Toxin-producing Clostridium difficile is the most frequent cause of antimicrobial drug-associated diarrhea. The clinical spectrum of C. difficile-associated disease (CDAD) ranges from mild diarrhea to severe life-threatening pseudomembraneous enterocolitis. Several reports from hospitals ...
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST398 from human patients, upper Austria.(DISPATCHES)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... In the past few years, interest has focused on the emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in animals and the potential for cross-transmission between humans and animals (1). MRSA isolates that are strongly associated with pigs or contact with pigs show at least 2 ...
Evaluation of surveillance methods for Staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome.(DISPATCHES)
May 01, 2009; ... Staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is a severe illness associated with toxin-producing Staphylococcus aureus. First named in 1978, TSS has been associated with tampon use, intravaginal contraceptive devices, and skin infections, particularly after surgical procedures (1,2). In ...
Human Streptococcus agalactiae isolate in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).(DISPATCHES)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... Streptococcus agalactiae, group B streptococcus (GBS), has a broad host range and is pathogenic to mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish (1). This organism has also been identified in aquatic mammals, both captive and wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) (2,3). GBS causes ...
Cowpox virus transmission from pet rats to humans, Germany.(DISPATCHES)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... Cowpox virus (CPXV) belongs to the family Poxviridae, genus Orthopoxvirus (OPV), and is closely related to other species, such as variola virus, vaccinia virus (VV), and monkeypox virus. Originally, cows were wrongly presumed to be CPXV reservoirs. Wild rodents are now considered to be the ...
Cowpox virus transmission from pet rats to humans, France.(DISPATCHES)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... The recent trend of adopting wild animals as pets will inevitably create conditions favorable for emerging pathogens. Consequently, under the influence of increasing commercial enterprise, potentially highly pathogenic agents are likely to emerge and fuel unprecedented epidemic situations ....
Babesiosis acquired through blood transfusion, California, USA.(DISPATCHES)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... Babesiosis is an infection of red blood cells (RBCs) caused by various species of the protozoan genus Babesia. Most human infections reported in the United States are attributed to B. microti and occur most frequently in the Northeast and less commonly in the Midwest (1). Infrequently, ...
Probable congenital babesiosis in infant, New Jersey, USA.(DISPATCHES)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... Victor Babes first described the pathogen of babesiosis in 1888 (1). Babesiosis is a tick-borne malaria-like illness transmitted by the same Ixodes spp. ticks that transmit Borrelia burgdorferi (2). It is endemic to the northeastern and northwestern United States and also occurs in Europe ...
Genotype distribution and sequence variation of hepatitis E virus, Hong Kong.(DISPATCHES)
May 01, 2009; ... Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major cause of enterically transmitted acute hepatitis throughout Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Large outbreaks resulting from fecal contamination of drinking water are confined mainly to developing countries (1), whereas sporadic cases in industrialized ...
Canine leishmaniasis in Southeastern Spain.(DISPATCHES)(Survey)
May 01, 2009; ... [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] It has been suggested that climate change has the potential to change the transmission intensity of vector-borne diseases such as leishmaniasis, but supporting literature is lacking (1,2). Because long-term quality data on leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania ...
Real-time surveillance for respiratory disease outbreaks, Ontario, Canada.(DISPATCHES)
May 01, 2009; ... The threat of emerging infectious diseases, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome and pandemic influenza, makes early detection of health events critical for effective control and intervention of such outbreaks. By using alternative, electronic data sources (1), real-time syndromic ...
Possible seasonality of clostridium difficile in retail meat, Canada.(DISPATCHES)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has been associated with increased illness and death in Canada since 2000 (1,2). Although multiple genotypes with higher levels of virulence and antimicrobial resistance have been recognized (1,3), little is known about risk factors for CDI acquisition ...
Novel respiratory virus infections in children, Brazil.(DISPATCHES)
May 01, 2009; ... Viral infections are among the leading causes of respiratory disease in children. Most of these infections are caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza virus A or B (FluV), parainfluenza virus (PIV), rhinovirus (RV), or adenovirus (AdV). Several recently discovered viruses, ...
Reduced fluoroquinolone susceptibility in Salmonella enterica isolates from travelers, Finland.(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... Fluoroquinolones are the most commonly used antimicrobial agents for the treatment of salmonellosis in adult patients (1). The proportion of nontyphoidal strains of Salmonella enterica with reduced fluoroquinolone susceptibility has increased during recent years in many countries (1-3). In ...
Molecular epidemiology of feline and human Bartonella henselae isolates.(DISPATCHES)
May 01, 2009; ... Bartonella henselae is the zoonotic agent of cat-scratch disease and has been associated with bacillary angiomatosis, bacillary peliosis, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and neuroretinitis (1). It is usually present in low numbers in infected human tissues, whereas cats, the natural reservoir ...
Clostridium difficile in ready-to-eat salads, Scotland.(DISPATCHES)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... Over the past decade, Clostridium difficile infection has become a prominent cause of healthcare-associated infection. Although C. difficile has been thought of traditionally as a predominantly nosocomial infection, the incidence of community-acquired cases has increased recently, as has ...
Clostridium difficile in retail meat products, USA, 2007.(DISPATCHES)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... The incidence and severity of Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs) are increasing in North America (1), probably because of emergence of an epidemic strain (NAP1/ BI/027, toxinotype [TT] III) (2,3). C. difficile transmission occurs primarily in healthcare facilities, but ...
Bovine kobuvirus in Europe.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: Picornaviruses (family Picornaviridae) are small, nonenveloped viruses with single-stranded, positive-sense genomic RNA. Picornaviruses are currently divided into 8 genera: Enterovirus, Aphthovirus, Cardiovirus, Hepatovirus, Parechovirus, Erbovirus, Teschovirus, and ...
Candidate porcine Kobuvirus, China.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: The picornaviruses constitute a large, diverse family of positive-sense RNA viruses, which comprise 8 genera: Enterovirus, Aphthovirus, Cardiovirus, Hepatovirus, Parechovirus, Erbovirus, Kobuvirus, and Teschovirus (1). The genus Kobuvirus contains 2 known species: Aichi ...
Postoperative panophthalmitis caused by whipple disease.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: The clinical spectrum of Whipple disease has widely expanded since its etiologic agent, Tropheryma whipplei, was isolated in 2000 (1). Systematic 16S rDNA sequencing unexpectedly identified T. whipplei in patients for whom blood cultures were negative for endocarditis, ...
Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase, Canada.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: Carbapenems are used to treat life-threatening infections caused by extremely drug-resistant gram-negative pathogens; these drugs represent the last line of defense in the antimicrobial drug armamentarium against serious or invasive infection (1). The rapid global spread of ...
Cryptosporidium sp. rabbit genotype, a newly identified human pathogen.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: Most human cases of cryptosporidiosis are caused by Cryptosporidium parvum or C. hominis, but pathogenicity of some unusual Cryptosporidium species/genotypes is uncertain (1). In July 2008, an outbreak caused by Cryptosporidium sp. rabbit genotype was linked to consumption ...
Acceptance of public health measures by air travelers, Switzerland.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: Infectious diseases can spread rapidly by air travel, as did severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003. Public health measures at airports might protect passengers and employees from such diseases and delay spread into the general population. The SARS epidemic was ...
Near-fatal multiple organ dysfunction syndrome induced by Plasmodium malariae.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: We report a case of Plasmodium malariae-related multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) in a healthy immunocompetent patient. Despite extensive investigation, P. malariae was the only pathogen identified. The patient's isolates had a combination of mutant alleles that ...
Pulmonary involvement and leptospirosis, Greece.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: Since the leptospirosis outbreak associated with pulmonary hemorrhage in Nicaragua in 1995 (1), pulmonary manifestations of leptospirosis are often recognized in many countries; reported incidence has ranged from 20% to 70% (2-4). The severe pulmonary form of leptospirosis ...
Chikungunya outbreak, Singapore, 2008.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: Chikungunya virus, an arbovirus belonging to the family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, was first isolated in Tanzania in 1953 (1). The first outbreak in Asia was documented in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1958. Since then, outbreaks have been reported in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, ...
Vancomycin-resistant enterococci, Point Barrow, Alaska, USA.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: An increasing number of bacterial infections are now difficult or impossible to treat (1) because of the misuse of antimicrobial drugs and the epidemic spread of bacterial resistance to these drugs (2). The most alarming reports are of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus ...
Use of templates to identify source of norovirus outbreak.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: On November 22, 2006, an infection control nurse notified the Marion County (Oregon) Health Department about acute gastroenteritis among persons who had attended a reception at a medical facility on November 16, 2006. With a holiday weekend only hours away, the county health ...
Epidemiologic questions from anthrax outbreak, Hunter Valley, Australia.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: Anthrax was introduced into Australia in 1847 near Sydney, New South Wales, and spread along stock routes throughout New South Wales and southern Queensland (1). Anthrax was considered endemic to the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, during the 1890s. The last recorded ...
Distinct ecologically relevant strains of Anaplasma phagocytophilum.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: Anaplasma phagocytophilum was defined to include Ehrlichia phagocytophila, E. equi, and the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis. Nevertheless, we and others have found phenotypic and genetic differences from diverse regions and hosts and conclude preliminarily that ...
Ovine herpesvirus 2 infection in foal, Brazil.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is an acute, generalized, and usually fatal disease previously thought to be restricted to mammals of the order Artiodactyla, often members of the subfamilies Bovinae, Cervidae, and Suidae (1). Although animals of the order Perissodactyla, ...
Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST398 infection, Italy.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has been identified in livestock animals (particularly pigs), veterinarians, and animal farm workers (1,2). CA-MRSA strains from pigs have been classified most frequently within the multilocus sequence ...
Campylobacter jejuni in penguins, Antarctica.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: The wildlife of Antarctica is highly specialized. Although large animal species are limited primarily to penguins and seals, each species is often abundant. The high degree of isolation potentially protects Antarctic wildlife from diseases distributed in other areas of the ...
Acute diarrhea in children after 2004 tsunami, Andaman Islands.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: The Andaman Islands, population [approximately equal to]350,000, are a territory of India located in the Bay of Bengal, northwest of Indonesia. On December 26, 2004, these islands were struck by an earthquake measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale (1) and by the ensuing Great ...
Population-attributable risk estimates for Campylobacter infection, Australia.(LETTERS)(Report)
May 01, 2009; ... To the Editor: Many industrialized countries have a high incidence of Campylobacter infections. An estimated 250,000 cases of Campylobacter infection occur annually in the United States (1), and several sequelae compound the impact of these infections. The incidence of Campylobacter ...
The Travel and Tropical Medicine Manual, 4th Edition.(Book review)
May 01, 2009; ... The Travel and Tropical Medicine Manual, 4th Edition Elaine C. Jong and Christopher A. Sanford, editors Saunders/Elsevier, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2008 ISBN: 978-1-4160-2613-6 Pages: 682; Price: US $55.95 Like the previous editions of ...
Erratum--Vol. 15, No. 3.(BOOKS AND MEDIA)(Correction notice)
May 01, 2009 ... A reference was missing from the article Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Poultry (D. Persoons et al.). In the Table accompanying the article, the data on spa types isolated from pigs were originally described in de Neeling AJ, van den Broek MJM, Spalburg EC, van ...
Nothing But Tears.(ANOTHER DIMENSION)(Poem)
May 01, 2009; ... <Pre> Nothing But Tears What do I doMy little one,Lying oh so low? Is all that I doFor me or for you,Hoping for a cure? Do I take your hand,Do I let you lie, Do I leave you alone in the snow? To do no harm,To close my ...
Nature isn't what it used to be.(ABOUT THE COVER)(Cover story)
May 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "There are also cocks, which are extraordinary size, and have their crests not red as elsewhere, or at least in our country, but have the flower-like coronals of which the crest is formed variously colored," wrote traveler and geographer Megasthenes 17 ...
Upcoming infectious disease activities.(NEWS & NOTES)(Calendar)
May 01, 2009 ... June 4-5, 2009 Drug-resistant and Vaccine-escape Hepatitis B Virus Mutants: Emergence and Surveillance Atlanta, GA, USA http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hbvsymposium2009 June 18-21, 2009 26th International Congress of Chemotherapy and Infection Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel Toronto, ...
Earning CME credit.
May 01, 2009 ... To obtain credit, you should first read the journal article. After reading the article, you should be able to answer the following, related, multiple-choice questions. To complete the questions and earn continuing medical education (CME) credit, please go to ...
Article title: increased risk for severe malaria in HIV-1-infected adults, Zambia CME questions.
May 01, 2009 ... 1. Which of the following best explains the large scale of the HIV-1-malaria interaction that has emerged in the last decade? A. Longer survival of patients infected with HIV B. Effects of increased antiretroviral drug use C. Poor immune function and higher ...