Infectious Diseases*

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 remains a global public health challenge due to new immune-evasive SARS-CoV-2 variants and heterogeneous immunity. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the adaptive immune responses in U.S. active-duty personnel who completed a COVID-19 primary vaccine series and with heterogenous SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and infection histories to 3 previously dominant variants (Ancestral, Delta, BA.5) and 3 circulating variants (XBB.1.5, EG.5, and BA...

BACKGROUND: The substantial risk for respiratory and invasive infections with Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) among people with HIV-1 (PWH) begins with asymptomatic colonization. The frequency of Spn colonization among U.S. adults with and without HIV-1 infection is not well-characterized in the conjugate vaccine era. METHODS: We determined Spn colonization frequency by culture and specific lytA gene QPCR and microbiota profile by 16S rRNA gene sequencing in nasopharyngeal (NP) and oropharyngeal (OP) DNA from 138 PWH and 93 control adults and associated clinical characteristics...

Cutaneous perivascular hemophagocytosis (CH) is a histological manifestation that manifests as systemic hemophagocytic syndrome, also known as hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, when accompanied by fever, hepatosplenomegaly, liver dysfunction, and cytopenia, and may rarely manifest independently of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. CH typically presents as purpuric or brownish macules and patches on the extremities, abdomen, and trunks. Histopathologically, the hallmark of CH includes extravasated erythrocytes and karyorrhectic debris phagocytized by histiocytes, associated with dermal capillary ectasia, perivascular infiltration of neutrophils, nuclear dust, and histiocytes without atypia...

BACKGROUND: Most U.S. acute gastroenteritis (AGE) episodes in children are attributed to norovirus, whereas very little information is available on adenovirus 40/41 (AdV40/41), astrovirus or sapovirus. The New Vaccine Surveillance Network (NVSN) conducted prospective, active, population-based AGE surveillance in young children. METHODS: We tested and typed stool specimens collected between December 2011 to June 2016 from one NVSN site in Kansas City for the three viruses, and calculated hospitalization and emergency department (ED) detection rate...

The effect of the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine on the immunogenicity of separately administered serogroup C meningococcal vaccine and other vaccinations was examined in 28 infants randomized to receive BCG at age ≤7 days, at 3 months or after study completion. Immunogenicity of the serogroup C meningococcal vaccine and other routine vaccines might be improved when BCG is administered in early infancy.

Palmitoylation is an essential post-translational modification in Leishmania donovani , catalyzed by enzymes called palmitoyl acyl transferases (PATs) and has an essential role in virulence. Due to the toxicity and promiscuity of known PAT inhibitors, identification of new molecules is needed. Herein, we identified a specific novel de novo peptide inhibitor, PS1, against the PAT6 Leishmania donovani palmitoyl acyl transferase ( Ld PAT6). To demonstrate specific inhibition of Ld PAT6 by PS1, we employed a bacterial orthologue system and metabolic labeling-coupled click chemistry where both Ld PAT6 and PS1 were coexpressed and displayed palmitoylation suppression...

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has a high genetic diversity and is classified into 8 genotypes and over 90 subtypes with some endemic to specific world regions. This could compromise direct-acting antiviral (DAA) efficacy and global HCV elimination. METHODS: We characterised HCV subtypes 'rare' to the UK (non-1a/1b/2b/3a/4d) by whole genome sequencing via a national surveillance programme. Genetic analyses to determine the genotype of samples with unresolved genotypes were undertaken by comparison with ICTV HCV reference sequences...

This article proposes a dispersal strategy for infected individuals in a spatial susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) epidemic model. The presence of spatial heterogeneity and the movement of individuals play crucial roles in determining the persistence and eradication of infectious diseases. To capture these dynamics, we introduce a moving strategy called risk-induced dispersal (RID) for infected individuals in a continuous-time patch model of the SIS epidemic. First, we establish a continuous-time n -patch model and verify that the RID strategy is an effective approach for attaining a disease-free state...

BACKGROUND: The extent to which infection versus vaccination has conferred similarly durable severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immunity during the Omicron era remains unclear. METHODS: In a cohort of 4496 adults under continued serological surveillance throughout the first year of Omicron-predominant SARS-CoV-2 transmission, we examined incidence of new infection among individuals whose last known antigenic exposure was either recent (<90 days) or remote (≥90 days) infection or vaccination...

Ornithologic study skins are specimens of avian skins that have been preserved by drying after removing the viscera and muscle. Because of the high value of study skins for scientific studies, specimens are shared among researchers. There is concern that study skins might be contaminated with high-consequence diseases such as highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) or Newcastle disease virus (NDV). To mitigate risk, thermal or chemical treatment of study skins may be required before transfer; however, such treatments might damage the specimens...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Tripartite motif (TRIM) family members participate in a variety of cellular activities, such as intracellular signaling, development, cellular death, protein quality control, immunological defense, waste degradation, and the emergence of cancer. These proteins usually act as E3 ubiquitin ligase. The final line of resistance against infectious viruses is a cytosolic ubiquitin ligase and antibody receptor called TRIM containing 21. TRIM21, a protein with a tripartite structure, has been linked to autoimmune erythematosus, Sjogren's disorder, and innate immunity...

The metapopulation network model is a mathematical framework used to study the spatial spread of epidemics with individuals' mobility. In this paper, we develop a time-varying network model in which the activity of a population is correlated with its attractiveness in mobility. By studying the spreading dynamics of the SIR (susceptible-infectious-recovered)-type disease in different correlated networks based on the proposed model, we theoretically derive the mobility threshold and numerically observe that increasing the correction between activity and attractiveness results in a reduced mobility threshold but suppresses the fraction of infected subpopulations...

The current tuberculosis (TB) treatment is challenged by a complex first-line treatment for drug-sensitive (DS) TB. Additionally, the prevalence of multidrug (MDR)- and extensively drug (XDR)-resistant TB necessitates the search for new drug prototypes. We synthesized and screened 30 hybrid compounds containing aminopyridine and 2-chloro-3-formyl quinoline to arrive at a compound with potent antimycobacterial activity, UH-NIP-16. Subsequently, antimycobacterial activity against DS and MDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( M...

BACKGROUND: Early identification of high-risk groups of children with sepsis is beneficial to reduce sepsis mortality. This article used artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict the risk of death effectively and quickly in children with sepsis in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective observational study was conducted in the PICUs of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from December 2016 to June 2019 and Shenzhen Children's Hospital from January 2019 to July 2020...

To cultivate specialists in pediatric infectious diseases (ID) in Japan, the Japanese Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases initiated board certification for pediatric ID in 2017. Previously, in 2014, we had formed a committee for board certification in pediatric ID and discussed the fundamentals of the board certification system, including the goals, requirements for designated training institutions, provisional certification of pediatric ID specialists and eligibility for and content of the board certification examination...

UNLABELLED: Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( Mtb ) remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases globally. Timely diagnosis is a key step in the management of TB patients and in the prevention of further transmission events. Current diagnostic tools are limited in these regards. There is an urgent need for new accurate non-sputum-based diagnostic tools for the detection of symptomatic as well as subclinical TB. In this study, we recruited 52 symptomatic TB patients (sputum Xpert MTB/RIF positive) and 58 household contacts to assess the accuracy of a sequence-specific hybridization assay that detects the presence of Mtb cell-free DNA in urine...

Vector-borne parasitic diseases (VBPDs) pose a significant threat to public health on a global scale. Collectively, Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), Leishmaniasis, and Malaria threaten millions of people, particularly in developing countries. Climate change might alter the transmission and spread of VBPDs, leading to a global burden of these diseases. Thus, novel agents are urgently needed to expand therapeutic options and limit the spread of drug-resistant parasites. Herein, we report the development of broad-spectrum antiparasitic agents by screening a known library of antileishmanial and antimalarial compounds toward Trypanosoma brucei ( T...

Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi have emerged in Pakistan and Iraq. We report 13 children with enteric fever in Southeast Texas seen over 3.5 years, of whom 23.1% had XDR isolates.

PURPOSE: To review the atypical development of Salzmann's nodular degeneration (SND) after two cases of laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) and one case of photorefractive keratomileusis (PRK), and to highlight the pathophysiology of SND and its treatment. METHODS: Three cases of SND (two following LASIK performed with microkeratomes and one following PRK) were reviewed and Pubmed.gov and internet searches were performed. RESULTS: SND is myofibroblast-generated fibrosis in the subepithelial space between the epithelium and Bowman's layer that develops years or decades after traumatic, surgical, infectious, or inflammatory injuries to the cornea in which the epithelial basement membrane is damaged in one or more locations and does not fully regenerate...