International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · May 2015
Urinary tract infections due to extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Gram-negative bacteria: identification of risk factors and outcome predictors in an Australian tertiary referral hospital.
Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-expressing Gram-negative bacilli (ESBL-GNB) now commonly cause community-acquired infections, including urinary tract infections (UTI), and represent a challenge for practitioners in choosing empirical antibiotics. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of UTIs/bacteriuria due to ESBL-GNB in Australia. ⋯ Our results emphasize the need for culture of a mid-stream urine specimen prior to commencing antibacterials, especially in patients with the risk factors identified herein associated with ESBL-GNB UTI/bacteriuria.
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Apr 2015
Review Meta AnalysisThymosin alpha1 based immunomodulatory therapy for sepsis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Thymosin alpha1 (Tα1) is considered a promising immunomodulatory drug. However, it is still unclear whether Tα1 should be recommended for the management of sepsis. Here we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of Tα1 based immunomodulatory therapy on the clinical outcomes of septic patients. ⋯ Tα1 based immunomodulatory therapy was associated with a lower mortality in septic patients. Nevertheless, these findings should be interpreted cautiously because of the poor quality and small number of participants of the included trials. More well-designed worldwide multicenter clinical trials are needed to provide a conclusive guideline for clinical practice.
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Human babesiosis is a rare but potentially life-threatening parasitic disease transmitted by ixodid ticks, and has not previously been reported in Norway. We report a case of severe babesiosis that occurred in Norway in 2007. The patient had previously undergone a splenectomy. ⋯ He was treated with quinine in combination with clindamycin, apheresis, and supportive treatment with ventilatory support and haemofiltration, and made a complete recovery. This is the first case reported in Norway; however Babesia divergens seroprevalence in cattle in Norway is high, as is the risk of Ixodes ricinus tick bite in the general population. Babesiosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of unexplained febrile haemolytic disease.
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Apr 2015
Historical ArticleControlling Ebola: what we can learn from China's 1911 battle against the pneumonic plague in Manchuria.
The pneumonic plague, which spread across Northeast China during the winter of 1910 and spring of 1911, caused numerous deaths and brought about severe social turmoil. After compulsory quarantine and other epidemic prevention measures were enforced by Dr Wu Lien-teh, the epidemic was brought to an end within 4 months. ⋯ Similarities were sought between the pneumonic plague in Northeast China in the twentieth century and the Ebola virus outbreak that is currently ravaging Africa, and an effort made to summarize the ways in which specific measures were applied successfully to fight the earlier epidemic. Our efforts highlight valuable experiences that are of potential benefit in helping to fight the current rampant Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Apr 2015
Multiple drug-susceptibility screening in Mycobacterium bovis: new nucleotide polymorphisms in the embB gene among ethambutol susceptible strains.
Pyrazinamide-resistant Mycobacterium bovis isolates of animal origin were assessed for drug susceptibility to five antituberculosis drugs by the agar based Middlebrook 7H11 method as gold standard as well as by a simplified, dichotomous resazurin microtitre assay (d-REMA). ⋯ All M. bovis isolates were sensitive to the most common antituberculosis drugs used for treatment. There was a good agreement between the d-REMA assay and the agar based reference method. Among ethambutol susceptible isolates, four new embB mutations were found.