Emerging infectious diseases
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Tropheryma whipplei endocarditis differs from classic Whipple disease, which primarily affects the gastrointestinal system. We diagnosed 28 cases of T. whipplei endocarditis in Marseille, France, and compared them with cases reported in the literature. Specimens were analyzed mostly by molecular and histologic techniques. ⋯ The cases we diagnosed differed from those reported from Germany, in which arthralgias were less common and previous valve lesions more common. A strong geographic specificity for this disease is found mainly in eastern-central France, Switzerland, and Germany. T. whipplei endocarditis is an emerging clinical entity observed in middle-aged and older men with arthralgia.
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Emerging Infect. Dis. · Nov 2013
Historical ArticleIncidence of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 infection, United Kingdom, 2009-2011.
We conducted a longitudinal community cohort study of healthy adults in the UK. We found significantly higher incidence of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 infection in 2010-11 than in 2009-10, a substantial proportion of subclinical infection, and higher risk for infection during 2010-11 among persons with lower preinfection antibody titers.
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Emerging Infect. Dis. · Nov 2013
Multicenter StudyTransmissibility of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
Previous findings have suggested that the nosocomial transmission capacity of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) is lower than that of other MRSA genotypes. We therefore performed a 6-month (June 1-November 30, 2011) nationwide study to quantify the single-admission reproduction number, RA, for LA-MRSA in 62 hospitals in the Netherlands and to compare this transmission capacity to previous estimates. We used spa typing for genotyping. ⋯ There were 141 index cases, 40 (28%) of which were LA-MRSA. Contact screening of 2,101 patients and 7,260 health care workers identified 18 outbreaks (2 LA-MRSA) and 47 secondary cases (3 LA-MRSA). RA values indicated that transmissibility of LA-MRSA is 4.4 times lower than that of other MRSA (not associated with livestock).
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Emerging Infect. Dis. · Nov 2013
Case ReportsMild illness in avian influenza A(H7N9) virus-infected poultry worker, Huzhou, China, April 2013.
During April 2013 in China, mild respiratory symptoms developed in 1/61 workers who had culled influenza A(H7N9) virus-infected poultry. Laboratory testing confirmed A(H7N9) infection in the worker and showed that the virus persisted longer in sputum than pharyngeal swab samples. Pharyngeal swab samples from the other workers were negative for A(H7N9) virus.
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Emerging Infect. Dis. · Nov 2013
Use of national pneumonia surveillance to describe influenza A(H7N9) virus epidemiology, China, 2004-2013.
In mainland China, most avian influenza A(H7N9) cases in the spring of 2013 were reported through the pneumonia of unknown etiology (PUE) surveillance system. To understand the role of possible underreporting and surveillance bias in assessing the epidemiology of subtype H7N9 cases and the effect of live-poultry market closures, we examined all PUE cases reported from 2004 through May 3, 2013. ⋯ The absolute number and the proportion of PUE cases confirmed to be A(H7N9) declined after live-poultry market closures (p<0.001), indicating that market closures might have positively affected outbreak control. In China, PUE surveillance needs to be improved.