Clinical Characteristics of the 2019 Eastern Equine Encephalitis Outbreak in Michigan.

Background: Eastern equine encephalitis virus is a mosquito-borne alphavirus responsible for unpredictable outbreaks of severe neurologic disease in animals and humans. While most human infections are asymptomatic or clinically nonspecific, a minority of patients develops encephalitic disease, a devastating illness with a mortality rate of ≥30%. No treatments are known to be effective. Eastern equine encephalitis virus infection is rare in the United States, with an annual average nationwide incidence of 7 cases between 2009 and 2018. However, in 2019, 38 cases were confirmed nationwide, including 10 in Michigan. Methods: Data from 8 cases identified by a regional network of physicians in southwest Michigan were abstracted from clinical records. Clinical imaging and histopathology were aggregated and reviewed. Results: Patients were predominantly older adults (median age, 64 years), and all were male. Results of initial arboviral cerebrospinal fluid serology were frequently negative, and diagnosis was not made until a median of 24.5 days (range, 13-38 days) after presentation, despite prompt lumbar punctures in all patients. Imaging findings were dynamic and heterogeneous, with abnormalities of the thalamus and/or basal ganglia, and prominent pons and midbrain abnormalities were displayed in 1 patient. Six patients died, 1 survived the acute illness with severe neurologic sequelae, and 1 recovered with mild sequelae. A limited postmortem examination revealed diffuse meningoencephalitis, neuronophagia, and focal vascular necrosis. Conclusions: Eastern equine encephalitis is a frequently fatal condition whose diagnosis is often delayed, and for which no effective treatments are known. Improved diagnostics are needed to facilitate patient care and encourage the development of treatments.

Recurrence of Disseminated Mycobacterium avium intracellulare Presenting as Spondylodiscitis and Epidural Abscess in a Patient with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

BACKGROUND Mycobacterium avium intracellulare complex (MAI) is a member of the non-tuberculous mycobacteria family, which can cause both pulmonary and non-pulmonary disease. In patients with advanced HIV, it is known to cause disseminated disease. We present a case of a 65-year-old man who has sex with men (MSM) with AIDS, found to have spondylodiscitis and an epidural abscess, who had recently completed treatment for disseminated MAI. CASE REPORT The patient was a 65-year-old with AIDS secondary to HIV and a prior history of disseminated MAI, who presented with severe back pain. Upon presentation to the hospital, an MRI was performed, which was suggestive of spondylodiscitis and an epidural abscess. He was taken to surgery for a minimally invasive T12-L1 laminectomy and evacuation of the epidural abscess. Both traditional cultures and acid-fast bacillus (AFB) cultures were negative. Due to worsening pain, he was taken back to surgery for a repeat debridement and biopsy. Repeat cultures were positive for MAI. He was started on rifabutin, ethambutol, azithromycin, and moxifloxacin. Moxifloxacin was subsequently discontinued. He has had problems tolerating the treatment regimen, but is planned to complete an 18-24-month course. CONCLUSIONS For patients with AIDS who have a diagnosis of spondylodiscitis and an epidural abscess, an opportunistic infection such as MAI should be considered. A repeat biopsy should be considered if suspicion is still high, even despite initially negative cultures. Treatment regimens should be prolonged, despite difficulty with medication compliance.

Investigation of an outbreak of central venous catheter-associated bloodstream infection due to contaminated water.

An outbreak of central venous catheter-associated bloodstream infections was reported in a hospital in Ecuador. Commercially produced ampoules of water for injection were found to be contaminated with Burkholderia cepacia and Myroides odoratus. Removal of these ampoules yielded a 10-fold reduction in the incidence of catheter-associated infection.

The burden of acute respiratory infections in Ecuador 2011-2015.

BACKGROUND: Burden of disease studies intend to improve public health decision-making and to measure social and economic impact in population. The objective of this study was to describe the burden of acute respiratory infections (ARI) in Ecuador between 2011 and 2015. METHODS: Five-year period morbidity and mortality data available from national agencies of statistics was analyzed to estimate the burden of disease attributable to acute respiratory infections. Cases and deaths registered were grouped according to their ICD-10 code into three diagnostic groups: Acute upper respiratory infections (J00-J06), Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18), and Bronchitis and other acute lower respiratory infections (J20-J22, J85, J86). Disability-adjusted life years stratified by diagnostic and age group were calculated using the "DALY" package for R. The productivity loss in monetary terms was estimated using the human capital method. RESULTS: Over the 5-year period studied there were a total of 14.84 million cases of acute respiratory infections, with 17 757 deaths reported (0.12%). The yearly burden of disease ranged between 98 944 to 118 651 disability-adjusted life years, with an estimated average loss of productivity of US$152.16 million (±19.6) per year. Approximately 99% of the burden can be attributed to years life lost due to premature mortality in population under 5 years old and over 60 years-old. CONCLUSIONS: The burden of acute respiratory infections remained steady during the analyzed period. Evidence-based prevention and control policies to tackle acute respiratory infections in Ecuador should focus on the population at extreme ages of life.

First reported case of Lyme carditis in Southwest Michigan.

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne infection found in the eastern United States. In recent years, it has become an emergent Michigan public health concern. Lyme carditis is a recognized rare complication which is classically characterized by rapidly fluctuating degrees of heart block. In severe cases, or if inappropriately treated, Lyme carditis can also result in profound bradycardia, perimyocarditis, and sudden cardiac death. This report describes the first documented case of third degree heart block associated with Lyme carditis to occur in Michigan. This is a retrospective case report of a patient evaluated and treated for Lyme carditis in Southwest Michigan in July, 2016. All information was obtained from either the patient or his electronic medical record. Despite initial misdiagnosis and inappropriate management, this patient ultimately received more appropriate medical therapy within 24 hours of first presentation. After eight days of high dose intravenous Ceftriaxone and supportive care, and more than two weeks of oral Doxycycline, the patient's symptoms resolved and the disease was treated to resolution. Neither permanent nor temporary pacing was needed during/after the course of treatment. When correctly identified, Lyme disease and Lyme carditis can be easily treated. Although this patient's history was without reported tick bite or exposure to a known host for Lyme disease, the authors believe that the patient's history and physical exam was definitive enough to warrant the start of IV therapy with telemetry monitoring upon first presentation. The fact that the condition was not first diagnosed by providers indicates a potential gap in medical knowledge and awareness that should be addressed in clinical practice. The authors consider this case a harbinger of the emerging disease of Lyme carditis. Physical exam and EKG findings should guide clinicians' therapeutic approaches. Although treatment with appropriate antibiotics is typically curative, therapeutic delays can lead to deadly results.

Comparison of Acute Kidney Injury During Treatment with Vancomycin and either Piperacillin-Tazobactam or Meropenem.

CONTEXT: Empiric antibiotics are often required in hospitalized patients with serious infections who may be septic and at risk for drug resistant organisms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the observed incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) in a sample of adult patients receiving either piperacillin-tazobactam and vancomycin or meropenemvancomycin for at least 72 hours. METHODS: Single-center, retrospective matched cohort at a 200-bed Regional Community Medical Center. Adult patients were included in the sample if they were without preexisting renal dysfunction and admitted over an 18-month time period to receive either the combination of piperacillin-tazobactam and vancomycin or meropenem-vancomycin. Sample patients were evaluated for AKI. This condition was defined by the authors as an increase in serum creatinine of 0.5mg/ml or an increase of 50% above baseline during the duration of antibiotic treatment. RESULTS: A total of 266 patients receiving either combination of antibiotics were evaluated for AKI. The incidence of AKI was significantly higher in the piperacillin-tazobactam and vancomycin group (n = 74/292, 25%) compared with the meropenem-vancomycin group (n=8/74, 9.5%, p=0.008). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that the combination of piperacillin-tazobactam and vancomycin is associated with an increased incidence of AKI. Higher vancomycin trough concentrations were associated with increased risk for development of AKI.

Wound botulism acquired in the Amazonian rain forest of Ecuador.

Wound botulism results from colonization of a contaminated wound by Clostridium botulinum and the anaerobic in situ production of a potent neurotoxin. Between 1943, when wound botulism was first recognized, and 1990, 47 laboratory-confirmed cases, mostly trauma-associated, were reported in the United States. Since 1990, wound botulism associated with injection drug use emerged as the leading cause of wound botulism in the United States; 210 of 217 cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 1990 and 2002 were associated with drug injection. Despite the worldwide distribution of Clostridium botulinum spores, wound botulism has been reported only twice outside the United States, Europe, and Australia. However, wound botulism may go undiagnosed and untreated in many countries. We report two cases, both with type A toxin, from the Ecuadorian rain forest. Prompt clinical recognition, supportive care, and administration of trivalent equine botulinum antitoxin were life-saving.

Emergent 2009 influenza A(H1N1) viruses containing HA D222N mutation associated with severe clinical outcomes in the Americas.

BACKGROUND: During the 2010-2011 influenza season, a small sub-group of 2009 influenza A(H1N1) viruses (hereafter referred to as 2009 A(H1N1)) emerged that was associated with more severe clinical outcomes in Ecuador and North America. Genetically, the haemagglutinin (HA) of this sub-clade was distinct from HAs found in viruses associated with severe outbreaks in 2010 from the United Kingdom and from other global specimens isolated earlier in the season. OBJECTIVE: We report the emergence of a novel 2009 A(H1N1) variant possessing a re-emergent HA D222N mutation obtained from patients with severe respiratory illnesses and phylogenetically characterise these D222N mutants with other severe disease-causing variants clustering within a common emerging sub-clade. CASE REPORTS: In early 2011, three cases of 2009 A(H1N1) infection, two from Quito, Ecuador, and one from Washington, DC, USA, were complicated by severe pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation, resulting in one fatality. These cases were selected due to the reported nature of the acute respiratory distress (ARD) that were captured in Department of Defence (DoD)-sponsored global influenza surveillance nets. RESULTS: Genetically, the 2009 A(H1N1) strains isolated from two of the three severe cases carried a prominent amino acid change at position 222 (D222N) within the primary HA receptor binding site. Furthermore, these cases represent an emerging sub-clade of viruses defined by amino acid changes within HA: N31D, S162N, A186T and V272I. Phylogenetically, these viruses share a high degree of homology with strains associated with recent fatal cases in Chihuahua, Mexico. DISCUSSION: Previously, enhanced virulence associated with the change, D222G, has been clinically linked to severe morbidity and mortality. Initial observations of the prevalence of a novel sub-clade of strains in the Americas suggest that viruses with a re-emergent D222N mutation may too correlate with severe clinical manifestations. These findings warrant heightened vigilance for emerging sub-clades of 2009 A(H1N1) and presumptive clinical implications.

Sentinel surveillance of influenza-like-illness in two cities of the tropical country of Ecuador: 2006-2010.

BACKGROUND: Tropical countries are thought to play an important role in the global behavior of respiratory infections such as influenza. The tropical country of Ecuador has almost no documentation of the causes of acute respiratory infections. The objectives of this study were to identify the viral agents associated with influenza like illness (ILI) in Ecuador, describe what strains of influenza were circulating in the region along with their epidemiologic characteristics, and perform molecular characterization of those strains. METHODOLOGY/FINDINGS: This is a prospective surveillance study of the causes of ILI based on viral culture of oropharyngeal specimens and case report forms obtained in hospitals from two cities of Ecuador over 4 years. Out of 1,702 cases of ILI, nine viral agents were detected in 597 patients. During the time of the study, seven genetic variants of influenza circulated in Ecuador, causing six periods of increased activity. There appeared to be more heterogeneity in the cause of ILI in the tropical city of Guayaquil when compared with the Andean city of Quito. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This was the most extensive documentation of the viral causes of ILI in Ecuador to date. Influenza was a common cause of ILI in Ecuador, causing more than one outbreak per year. There was no well defined influenza season although there were periods of time when no influenza was detected alternating with epidemics of different variant strains.

A case of yellow fever vaccine-associated viscerotropic disease in Ecuador.

We report the first case of viscerotropic syndrome in Ecuador. Because of similarities between yellow fever and viscerotropic syndrome, the incidence of this recently described complication of vaccination with the 17D yellow fever vaccine is not known. There is a large population in South America that is considered at risk for possible reemergence of urban yellow fever. Knowledge of potentially fatal complications of yellow fever vaccine should temper decisions to vaccinate populations where the disease is not endemic.