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Uninfected Children (uninfected + child)
Selected AbstractsIdentification of risk factors associated with nosocomial infection by rotavirus P4G2, in a neonatal unit of a tertiary-care hospitalCLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION, Issue 3 2009R. Herruzo Abstract A rotavirus outbreak in newborns admitted to the ,La Paz' University Hospital, Madrid was detected, followed up and controlled. Uninfected children were selected as control subjects. Samples of faeces were taken once or twice weekly from all the newborns, including those who were asymptomatic and who were admitted to the neonatal unit for early detection of rotavirus and the positive were separated from the rest of the neonates. Contact-related precautions were taken for all patients, and alcohol solutions were used for hand washing. During the months of the outbreak, 1773 children were admitted to the hospital, 131 of whom were affected by the rotavirus infection (7.4%). Of these, 72 (55%) had symptomatic infections. In the first month of the outbreak, nine cases of necrotizing enterocolitis were diagnosed (one patient developed massive intestinal necrosis). The infections (symptomatic and asymptomatic) presented a bimodal distribution caused by a new outbreak of rotavirus type P4G2 after two patients who had acquired the infection outside the hospital were admitted when the first outbreak was subsiding. The characteristics of cases and controls were analysed using bivariate and multivariate methods (non-conditional multivariate logistic regression) to identify four risk factors strongly associated with rotavirus infection: premature birth, infections other than rotavirus, malformation, and changes in glycaemia and/or presence of jaundice. [source] Regulatory T cells in human geohelminth infection suppress immune responses to BCG and Plasmodium falciparumEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Linda J. Wammes Abstract Chronic helminth infections induce T-cell hyporesponsiveness, which may affect immune responses to other pathogens or to vaccines. This study investigates the influence of Treg activity on proliferation and cytokine responses to BCG and Plasmodium falciparum -parasitized RBC in Indonesian schoolchildren. Geohelminth-infected children's in vitro T-cell proliferation to either BCG or pRBC was reduced compared to that of uninfected children. Although the frequency of CD4+CD25hiFOXP3+ T cells was similar regardless of infection status, the suppressive activity differed between geohelminth-infected and geohelminth-uninfected groups: Ag-specific proliferative responses increased upon CD4+CD25hi T-cell depletion in geohelminth-infected subjects only. In addition, IFN-, production in response to both BCG and parasitized RBC was increased after removal of CD4+CD25hi T cells. These data demonstrate that geohelminth-associated Treg influence immune responses to bystander Ag of mycobacteria and plasmodia. Geohelminth-induced immune modulation may have important consequences for co-endemic infections and vaccine trials. [source] Dynamics of Helicobacter pylori infection in early childhood in a high-risk group living in Germany: loss of infection higher than acquisitionALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 9 2002D. Rothenbacher SUMMARY Background : The dynamics of Helicobacter pylori infection in early childhood are not yet well understood. Aim : To conduct a prospective study in a population of children known to be at high risk of H. pylori infection to elucidate the incidence and loss of infection in childhood. Methods : Asymptomatic Turkish children [aged 1 (n = 56 children), 2 (n = 55 children) and 4 years (n = 69 children)] at baseline, on whom participating paediatricians had performed routine health screening examinations between September 1997 and October 1998, were included in the study. A follow-up was performed about 1 year later. The infection status was defined by means of an antigen-based stool assay. Results : In total, for 137 of 180 (76%) children, follow-up information was available. At baseline examination, the prevalence of infection in children with follow-up information was 27%[95% confidence interval (CI), 20,35%]. The incidence of H. pylori infection amongpreviously uninfected children was 7% (95% CI, 3,14%) and the loss of infection among previously infected children was 35% (95% CI, 20,54%) during follow-up. Conclusions : This prospective cohort study in a high-risk group of children living in Germany showed that H. pylori colonization may often not persist at an early age. Furthermore, the use of penicillins and macrolides may be associated with the loss of infection at an early age. [source] Relationships among specific viral pathogens, virus-induced interleukin-8, and respiratory symptoms in infancyPEDIATRIC ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 6 2002James E. Gern Both virus-mediated damage to airway tissues and induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-8 (IL-8) could contribute to symptom severity during viral respiratory infections in children. To test the hypothesis that IL-8 contributes to the pathogenesis of respiratory symptoms during naturally acquired respiratory viral infections in children, nasal wash samples collected from infants with acute viral infections (n = 198) or from healthy uninfected infants (n = 31) were analysed for IL-8. Nasal wash IL-8 was positively related to age in uninfected children (rs = 0.36, p,<,0.05). Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection caused more severe respiratory symptoms compared to infections with influenza A, parainfluenza viruses, or rhinoviruses. In addition, RSV, parainfluenza and rhinovirus infections increased levels of IL-8 in nasal lavage fluid, and there were some differences in the ability of the viruses to induce IL-8 production (RSV>influenza, p,<,0.05). Finally, there were significant correlations between nasal wash IL-8 levels and symptom scores during infections with rhinovirus (rs = 0.56, p,<,0.001) or influenza A (rs = 0.45, p,<,0.05), but not with parainfluenza virus or RSV. These findings provide evidence of a close relationship between the generation of IL-8 and symptoms during acute community-acquired infections with rhinovirus or influenza A. In contrast, for RSV and parainfluenza infections, factors in addition to IL-8 production appear to contribute to the generation of clinical symptoms. [source] Community-associated Staphylococcus aureus infections and nasal carriage among children: molecular microbial data and clinical characteristicsCLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION, Issue 11 2008G. Sdougkos Abstract An increasing number of infections caused by community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) carrying the Panton,Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes was recently identified in Greece. In the present study, 170 patients with S. aureus infections and 123 uninfected children (<15 years old) who had been tested for nasal carriage were evaluated during a 2-year period. The MecA, PVL and superantigen family genes, and MRSA clones, were investigated by molecular methods. Sites of infection and laboratory findings for patients were recorded. The results were compared and statistically analysed. Among 123 uninfected children 73 (59%) carried S. aureus, including four MRSA strains. Of these, three MRSA and three methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) strains were PVL-positive (p <0.0001). Ninety-six patients (96/170) exhibited skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs), and 74 exhibited invasive infections. The incidence of staphylococcal infections increased during July to September each year. In total, 110 S. aureus isolates were PVL-positive (81 from SSTIs and 29 from invasive infections, p <0.0001). Ninety-nine out of 106 MRSA (93%) isolates from 170 patients carried the PVL genes (p <0.0001); 97 belonged to the clonal complex CC80. Leukocyte and polymorphonuclear cell counts were higher among children with MRSA infections (p <0.005). MSSA predominated among patients with invasive infections (43/74), and carried mainly genes of the superantigen family. Children <5 years of age showed a higher risk of MRSA infection. The present study demonstrates that infections due to PVL-positive CA-MRSA spread easily among children, and SSTIs can lead to invasive infections. Nasal colonization may be an additional factor contributing to the emergence of CA-MRSA. [source] | ||||||||||