Journal of medical virology
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The epidemiology and clinical symptoms in infants and young children with acute sporadic viral gastroenteritis due to viral etiologies other than rotaviruses have not been studied thoroughly in developing countries. Fecal specimens from 480 children <5 years of age who were admitted to a large children's hospital in the city of Valencia, Venezuela, with acute diarrhea during January to December 2003 were collected and screened by ELISA and RT-PCR for rotavirus, adenovirus, norovirus, sapovirus, and astrovirus. Viral isolates were partially characterized by phylogenetic analysis. ⋯ Rotavirus and norovirus showed marked and opposite seasonal patterns. No association was observed between disease severity and viral load in children infected with norovirus. These results not only confirm the impact of rotavirus infection in Venezuela but also indicate that other enteric viruses, especially noroviruses, contribute significantly to sporadic acute gastroenteritis and to the burden of disease.
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Recently, a study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis who developed herpes zoster while taking a tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitor reported a decreased incidence of postherpetic neuralgia. The objective of this study was to investigate whether patients on TNF-α inhibitors who developed herpes zoster have a lower incidence of subsequent development of postherpetic neuralgia. A retrospective review of herpes zoster patients on TNF-α inhibitors (infliximab, etanercept, or adalimumab) was conducted in 12 dermatology clinics. ⋯ Increasing age is a known risk factor in the development of postherpetic neuralgia. However, of the 58 (28.1%) cases ≥ 70 years of age, only 1 patient (1.7%) developed neuralgia compared to approximately 50% of patients who develop postherpetic neuralgia in this age group as reported in the literature. Treatment with TNF-α inhibitors may be associated with a lower incidence of postherpetic neuralgia but further prospective large-scale studies are needed to confirm this data.
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Viruses are the major cause of pediatric respiratory tract infection and yet many suspected cases of illness remain uncharacterized. This study aimed to determine the distribution of several respiratory viruses in children diagnosed as having influenza-like illness, over the winter period of 2005-2008. Molecular assays including conventional and real time PCR protocols, were employed to screen respiratory specimens, collected by clinicians of the Influenza sentinel system and of outpatient pediatric clinics, for identification of several respiratory viruses. ⋯ Influenza virus predominated in children older than 1 year old, with type B being the dominant type for the first season and subtypes A/H3N2 and A/H1N1 the following two winter seasons, respectively. Respiratory syncytial virus prevailed in children younger than 2 years old, with subtypes A and B alternating from year to year. This is the most comprehensive study of the epidemiology of respiratory viruses in Greece, indicating influenza, rhinovirus and respiratory syncytial virus as major contributors to influenza-like illness in children.
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Cross-reactions in serology are common among flaviviruses. During the outbreak of West Nile virus (WNV) infections in Greece in 2010, WNV IgM-positive serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples were tested for the presence of IgM and IgG antibodies against Dengue virus (DENV) and tick-borne encephalitis virus. Higher cross-reactivity was observed in IgM antibodies between WNV and DENV; however, the index of the WNV antibodies was in all cases higher than that of the DENV antibodies. There is a need for caution when evaluating serologic results of flaviviral infections, while efforts have to be focused on the development of diagnostic assays with increased specificity.
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Infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and invasive cervical cancer (ICC). The distribution of HPV types in cervical diseases has been previously described in small studies for Canadian women. The prevalence of 36 HPV genotypes in 873 women with CIN and 252 women with ICC was assessed on cervical exfoliated cells analyzed with the Linear Array (Roche Molecular System). ⋯ Multiple type infections were demonstrated in 51 (20.2%) of 252 ICC in contrast to 146 (61.3%) of 238 women with CIN3 (P < 0.001). Adjusting for multiple HPV types, HPV16 accounted for 52.1% and HPV18 for 18.1% of ICCs, for a total of 70.2%. Current HPV vaccines should protect against HPV types responsible for 70% of ICCs in Canadian women.