Imported Dengue Infection in a Spanish Hospital with a High Proportion of Travelers from Africa: A 9-Year Retrospective Study.

Epidemiological data on dengue in Africa are still scarce. We investigated imported dengue infection among travelers with a high proportion of subjects from Africa over a 9-year period. From January 2005 to December 2013, blood samples from travelers with clinical suspicion of dengue were analyzed. Dengue was diagnosed using serological, antigen detection, and molecular methods. Subjects were classified according to birthplace (Europeans versus non-Europeans) and last country visited. Overall, 10,307 serum samples corresponding to 8,295 patients were studied; 62% were European travelers, most of them from Spain, and 35.9% were non-Europeans, the majority of whom were born in Africa (mainly Equatorial Guinea) and Latin America (mainly Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia). A total of 492 cases of dengue were identified, the highest number of cases corresponding to subjects who had traveled from Africa (N = 189), followed by Latin America (N = 174) and Asia (N = 113). The rate of cases for Africa (4.5%) was inferior to Asia (9%) and Latin America (6.1%). Three peaks of dengue were found (2007, 2010, and 2013) which correlated with African cases. A total of 2,157 of past dengue infections were diagnosed. Non-Europeans who had traveled from Africa had the highest rate of past infection (67.8%), compared with non-Europeans traveling from Latin America (38.7%) or Asia (35%). Dengue infection in certain regions of Africa is underreported and the burden of the disease may have a magnitude similar to endemic countries in Latin America. It is necessary to consider dengue in the differential diagnosis of other febrile diseases in Africa.

High prevalence of Strongyloides stercoralis in school-aged children in a rural highland of north-western Ethiopia: the role of intensive diagnostic work-up.

BACKGROUND: Soil-transmitted helminthiases (hookworms, Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura) are extremely prevalent in school-aged children living in poor sanitary conditions. Recent epidemiological data suggest that Strongyloides stercoralis is highly unreported. However, accurate data are essential for conducting interventions aimed at introducing control and elimination programmes. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 396 randomly selected school-aged children in Amhara region in rural area in north-western Ethiopia, to assess the prevalence of S. stercoralis and other intestinal helminths. We examined stools using three techniques: conventional stool concentration; and two S. stercoralis-specific methods, i.e. the Baermann technique and polymerase chain reaction. The diagnostic accuracy of these three methods was then compared. RESULTS: There was an overall prevalence of helminths of 77.5%, with distribution differing according to school setting. Soil-transmitted helminths were recorded in 69.2%. Prevalence of S. stercoralis and hookworm infection was 20.7 and 54.5%, respectively, and co-infection was detected in 16.3% of cases. Schistosoma mansoni had a prevalence of 15.7%. Prevalence of S. stercoralis was shown 3.5% by the conventional method, 12.1% by the Baermann method, and 13.4% by PCR, which thus proved to be the most sensitive. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that S. stercoralis could be overlooked and neglected in Ethiopia, if studies of soil-transmitted helminths rely on conventional diagnostic techniques alone. A combination of molecular and stool microscopy techniques yields a significantly higher prevalence. In view of the fact that current control policies for triggering drug administration are based on parasite prevalence levels, a comprehensive diagnostic approach should instead be applied to ensure comprehensive control of helminth infections.

Community-Onset Bloodstream and Other Infections, Caused by Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae: Epidemiological, Microbiological, and Clinical Features.

Background. Because most infections caused by carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) begin during hospitalization, there are limited data about community-onset (CO) infections caused by CPE. Our aim is to describe the frequency of CO infections caused by CPE as well as the clinical features of CO bloodstream infections (CO-BSIs). Methods. This study includes retrospective case series of CO infections caused by CPE in a tertiary hospital from January 2010 to July 2014. Any clinical sample with a positive culture for CPE that had been ordered by primary care doctors or by doctors at the emergency room (ER) were classified as CO. Epidemiological and microbiological features of CO cases were assessed as were clinical features of CO-BSIs. Results. Of 780 clinical samples with CPE, 180 were requested at the ER or by primary care doctors (22.9%), 150 of which were produced by Klebsiella pneumoniae (83.3%). The blaOXA-48 gene was detected in 149 isolates (82.8%) followed by the blaVIM gene, 29 (16.1%). Sixty-one patients (33.9%) had a prior history of CPE infection/colonization. Thirty-four of the 119 (28.6%) patients without prior history of CPE infection/colonization did not fulfill Friedman criteria for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Considering previous hospitalization of up to 12 months as a criterion for defining HAI, only 16 (13.4%) cases were identified as community-acquired infections. The most frequent positive sample was urine (133 of 180; 73.9%). Twenty-one (11.7%) patients had a BSI, 9 of them secondary to urinary tract infections (42.9%). Thirty-day crude mortality among patients with BSI was 23.8% (5 of 21). Conclusions. Community-onset infections caused by CPE are an important subgroup of all CPE infections. The urinary tract is the main source. Bloodstream infections accounted for more than 10% of the cases.

Development of daptomycin resistance during therapy in a patient with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis: a case report / Desarrollo de resistencia a daptomicina durante el tratamiento de un paciente con endocarditis por Staphylococcus aureus resistente a meticilina

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Prevalence and Genetic Diversity of Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. among School Children in a Rural Area of the Amhara Region, North-West Ethiopia.

BACKGROUD: Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. are enteric protozoan causing gastrointestinal illness in humans and animals. Giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis are not formally considered as neglected tropical diseases, but belong to the group of poverty-related infectious diseases that impair the development and socio-economic potential of infected individuals in developing countries. METHODS: We report here the prevalence and genetic diversity of G. duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. in children attending rural primary schools in the Bahir Dar district of the Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Stool samples were collected from 393 children and analysed by molecular methods. G. duodenalis was detected by real-time PCR, and the assemblages and sub-assemblages were determined by multilocus sequence-based genotyping of the glutamate dehydrogenase and ß-giardin genes of the parasite. Detection and identification of Cryptosporidium species was carried out by sequencing of a partial fragment of the small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The PCR-based prevalences of G. duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. were 55.0% (216/393) and 4.6% (18/393), respectively. A total of 78 G. duodenalis isolates were successfully characterized, revealing the presence of sub-assemblages AII (10.3%), BIII (28.2%), and BIV (32.0%). Discordant typing results AII/AIII and BIII/BIV were identified in 7.7% and 15.4% of the isolates, respectively. An additional five (6.4%) isolates were assigned to assemblage B. No mixed infections of assemblages A+B were found. Extensive genetic variation at the nucleotide level was observed within assemblage B (but no within assemblage A), resulting in the identification of a large number of sub-types. Cryptosporidium diversity was demonstrated by the occurrence of C. hominis, C. parvum, and C. viatorum in the population under study. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest an epidemiological scenario with an elevated transmission intensity of a wide range of G. duodenalis genetic variants. Importantly, the elevated degree of genetic diversity observed within assemblage B is consistent with the occurrence of intra-assemblage recombination in G. duodenalis.

Infección por Salmonella enterica subespecie salamae en un paciente ecuatoguineano consumidor de carne de tortuga / Salmonella enterica subspecies salamae infection in a patient from Equatorial Guinea associated with consumption of reptile meat

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