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Viral Agents (viral + agent)
Selected AbstractsGB virus type C infection in hemodialysis patients considering co-infection with hepatitis C virusJOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 7 2008S.M. Hosseini-Moghaddam Abstract GB virus type C is a well-known viral agent with capability of infecting patients undergoing hemodialysis. Liver enzyme levels in infected individuals have been reported to remain within the normal range. Simultaneous infection of GBV-C and other viral agents may occur due to common routes of transmission. A total of 104 hemodialysis patients living in Tehran were included in this case-control study (53 patients with HCV infection, group I; and 51 with no HCV infection, group II). Diagnosis was made by detection Anti-E2 protein using ELISA and HCV,RNA using RT-PCR. History of HBV-infection, organ transplantation, depression, malignancies, chemotherapy, diabetes mellitus, thyroid disorders and chronic cutaneous disorders were considered. Patients were evaluated for high- risk behaviors such as intravenous drug injection, addiction or substance abuse. A total of 14 patients (13.6%) were GBV-C-infected. Four of them were co-infected with HCV. All patients with GBV-C infection had viral genotype 2. Thirteen patients (12%) had a history of multiple blood transfusions. Mean (±SD) age of GBV-C-infected patients was 48.7,±,13.8 years. Among GBV-C infected patients, three patients had a history of organ transplantation and three had a co-morbidity of diabetes mellitus. This study as the first case-control study to evaluate the association between GBV-C and HCV infection, to our knowledge, shows hemodialysis patients living in Tehran are infected with GBV-C with intermediate level of frequency. The association of GBV-C transmission with other viral blood-borne agents might be necessary. J. Med. Virol. 80: 1260,1263, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Diversity of viruses associated with acute gastroenteritis in children hospitalized with diarrhea in Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamJOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 5 2007Tuan Anh Nguyen Abstract A molecular epidemiological study on common diarrheal viruses was conducted in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam between October 2002 and September 2003. Fecal samples were collected from 1,010 hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis. Those samples were screened for groups A, B, and C rotavirus, adenovirus, genogroups I and II norovirus (NoV), sapovirus (SaV), and human astrovirus (HAstV) by RT-multiplex PCR, and the positive specimens were characterized further by ELISA, nested PCR, or sequencing. Among the diarrheal viruses detected, group A rotavirus was the most common, with a proportion of 67.4%, whereas NoV GII, adenovirus, SaV, and HAstV were also found in 5.5, 3.2, 0.8, and 0.6%, respectively. It is noteworthy that the group C rotavirus was first reported in Vietnam, with a proportion of 0.5% in this study. Fifty-six of 1,010 (5.5%) samples were found positive with more than one viral agent, in which 25 samples contained both group A rotavirus and NoV GII. Group A rotavirus could be identified throughout year with the peaks in both the dry and rainy season, whereas other viruses prevailed mainly in the rainy season. G-typing for the group A rotavirus showed that genotype 1 was still the most prevailing (33.0%), but interestingly, serotype 9 was emergent and became the third most common rotavirus G-type in these samples (13.7%). The four most common G,P combinations globally, G1P[8], G2P[4], G3P[8], and G4P[8] were found in 46.8% of rotavirus-positive samples, and it is of interest that one unusual rotavirus G9P[19] strain was first detected in Vietnam. The majority of NoV strains belonged to GII/4, and SaV strains mainly clustered with the Manchester strain (GI/1). Twenty-seven out of 32 adenovirus strains were identified as serotype 41. All HAstVs belonged to genotype 1. The results indicated clearly the impact of viral agents causing gastroenteritis and the importance of vaccination against diarrhea in Vietnam. J. Med. Virol. 79:582,590, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Viral encephalitis: a review of diagnostic methods and guidelines for managementEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 5 2005I. Steiner Viral encephalitis is a medical emergency. The spectrum of brain involvement and the prognosis are dependent mainly on the specific pathogen and the immunological state of the host. Although specific therapy is limited to only several viral agents, correct immediate diagnosis and introduction of symptomatic and specific therapy has a dramatic influence upon survival and reduces the extent of permanent brain injury in survivors. We searched MEDLINE (National Library of Medicine) for relevant literature from 1966 to May 2004. Review articles and book chapters were also included. Recommendations are based on this literature based on our judgment of the relevance of the references to the subject. Recommendations were reached by consensus. Where there was lack of evidence but consensus was clear we have stated our opinion as good practice points. Diagnosis should be based on medical history, examination followed by analysis of cerebrospinal fluid for protein and glucose contents, cellular analysis and identification of the pathogen by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification (recommendation level A) and serology (recommendation level B). Neuroimaging, preferably by magnetic resonance imaging, is an essential aspect of evaluation (recommendation level B). Lumbar puncture can follow neuroimaging when immediately available, but if this cannot be obtained at the shortest span of time it should be delayed only in the presence of strict contraindications. Brain biopsy should be reserved only for unusual and diagnostically difficult cases. All encephalitis cases must be hospitalized with an access to intensive care units. Supportive therapy is an important basis of management. Specific, evidence-based, anti-viral therapy, acyclovir, is available for herpes encephalitis (recommendation level A). Acyclovir might also be effective for varicella-zoster virus encephalitis, gancyclovir and foscarnet for cytomegalovirus encephalitis and pleconaril for enterovirus encephalitis (IV class of evidence). Corticosteroids as an adjunct treatment for acute viral encephalitis are not generally considered to be effective and their use is controversial. Surgical decompression is indicated for impending uncal herniation or increased intracranial pressure refractory to medical management. [source] A case of erythema elevatum diutinum associated with breast carcinomaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 11 2005Fikriye Yilmaz MD A 53-year-old woman diagnosed with invasive ductal-type breast carcinoma was referred to our clinic with red,purple lesions on the hands and legs. She had neither pruritus nor pain. The first lesion developed on the dorsal hand. In the following days, new lesions appeared on the extensor surface of the legs. The patient had been treated with modified radical mastectomy and three courses of cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, and fluorouracil chemotherapy. Dermatologic examination revealed reddish-violaceous papules and plaques ranging from a few millimeters to 2 cm in diameter, bilaterally located on the dorsal hands, especially over the metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints (Fig. 1). Multiple red,purple, circumscribed papules and plaques of various diameters were observed bilaterally over the shins (Fig. 2). The largest of these plaques showed an annular configuration. The nails showed distal subungual keratosis and yellow discoloration. The rest of the physical examination was normal. Figure 1. Violaceous papules and plaques on the dorsal hands Figure 2. Red,purple, circumscribed, papules and plaques over the shins A biopsy taken from the medial side of the shin revealed a predominantly neutrophilic infiltrate and nuclear dust around the dermal vessels and orthokeratotic stratum corneum (Fig. 3). Figure 3. Predominantly neutrophilic infiltrate and nuclear dust around the dermal vessels and orthokeratotic stratum corneum (hematoxylin and eosin stain, ×100) Complete blood count, routine biochemical tests and fasting lipids, serologic tests of bacterial and viral agents, serum electrophoresis, and serologic profiles for autoimmune connective tissue diseases revealed normal results. Mycologic examination of nail clippings did not show any evidence of fungal infection. In the light of our clinical and histopathologic findings, a diagnosis of erythema elevatum diutinum was made, and the patient was given topical clobetasol propionate therapy. Complete clearance was achieved in 3 weeks (Fig. 4). After six courses of cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, and fluorouracil chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, no recurrence of erythema elevatum diutinum lesions was observed. Figure 4. Healed lesion 3 weeks after high-potency topical glucocorticoids [source] Comparison of cell culture with RT-PCR for enterovirus detection in stool specimens from patients with acute flaccid paralysisJOURNAL OF CLINICAL LABORATORY ANALYSIS, Issue 4 2007Zabih-Ollah Shoja Abstract Since October 2000, Iran has been declared polio-free by the World Health Organization (WHO). Despite the fact that poliomyelitis caused by polioviruses has been eliminated from Iran, the number of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases has not been reduced. Therefore, it is of great importance to investigate the other viral agents that may cause AFP (mainly nonpolio enteroviruses, which play a significant role in the etiology of neurological syndromes). Some enteroviruses do not grow in the conventional cell lines that are being used for enterovirus detection. Furthermore, the virus titer is an important factor in the sensitivity of cell culture to detect the virus. The fact that cell culture is a time-consuming procedure is another reason to find a more practical method for enterovirus detection. Therefore, a more sensitive and rapid method should be used to detect enteroviruses as efficiently as possible in the stool specimens of AFP cases. The aim of this study was to evaluate cell culture and RT-PCR in enterovirus detection. Findings have shown that RT-PCR can increase the rate of nonpolio enterovirus detection by up to 10% in comparison with cell culture. Also, the rapid detection of enteroviruses by RT-PCR can decrease both the unnecessary use of antibiotics and the costs in clinical practice. For this reason, we find that RT-PCR is a more practical technique for enterovirus detection. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 21:232,236, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Infectious haemolytic anaemia causes jaundice outbreaks in seawater-cultured coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum), in ChileJOURNAL OF FISH DISEASES, Issue 12 2006P A Smith Abstract In the last 9 years, epizootics of an icterus condition has affected coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum), reared in seawater cages in southern regions of Chile. At necropsy, fish from field cases exhibited signs of jaundice accompanied by pale light-brown livers and dark spleens. Histopathological and haematological results indicated that these fish presented haemolytic anaemia. After microbiological examination no bacterial or viral agents could be identified as aetiological agents of this disease. In an infectivity trial, coho salmon, Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., and rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), were inoculated intraperitoneally with a filtrate of an organ homogenate (0.45 ,m) from a diseased coho salmon and held for 60 days in tanks supplied with fresh water. The disease was only reproduced in coho salmon in which mortalities, beginning at day 23 post-inoculation (p.i.), reached a cumulative value of 24% at day 27 p.i. This condition was transmitted to non-inoculated cohabiting coho salmon suggesting that it is a waterborne disease. Thus, this icteric condition is caused by an infectious form of haemolytic anaemia, probably of viral aetiology, and coho salmon are more susceptible than either Atlantic salmon or rainbow trout. [source] GB virus type C infection in hemodialysis patients considering co-infection with hepatitis C virusJOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 7 2008S.M. Hosseini-Moghaddam Abstract GB virus type C is a well-known viral agent with capability of infecting patients undergoing hemodialysis. Liver enzyme levels in infected individuals have been reported to remain within the normal range. Simultaneous infection of GBV-C and other viral agents may occur due to common routes of transmission. A total of 104 hemodialysis patients living in Tehran were included in this case-control study (53 patients with HCV infection, group I; and 51 with no HCV infection, group II). Diagnosis was made by detection Anti-E2 protein using ELISA and HCV,RNA using RT-PCR. History of HBV-infection, organ transplantation, depression, malignancies, chemotherapy, diabetes mellitus, thyroid disorders and chronic cutaneous disorders were considered. Patients were evaluated for high- risk behaviors such as intravenous drug injection, addiction or substance abuse. A total of 14 patients (13.6%) were GBV-C-infected. Four of them were co-infected with HCV. All patients with GBV-C infection had viral genotype 2. Thirteen patients (12%) had a history of multiple blood transfusions. Mean (±SD) age of GBV-C-infected patients was 48.7,±,13.8 years. Among GBV-C infected patients, three patients had a history of organ transplantation and three had a co-morbidity of diabetes mellitus. This study as the first case-control study to evaluate the association between GBV-C and HCV infection, to our knowledge, shows hemodialysis patients living in Tehran are infected with GBV-C with intermediate level of frequency. The association of GBV-C transmission with other viral blood-borne agents might be necessary. J. Med. Virol. 80: 1260,1263, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Diversity of viruses associated with acute gastroenteritis in children hospitalized with diarrhea in Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamJOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 5 2007Tuan Anh Nguyen Abstract A molecular epidemiological study on common diarrheal viruses was conducted in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam between October 2002 and September 2003. Fecal samples were collected from 1,010 hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis. Those samples were screened for groups A, B, and C rotavirus, adenovirus, genogroups I and II norovirus (NoV), sapovirus (SaV), and human astrovirus (HAstV) by RT-multiplex PCR, and the positive specimens were characterized further by ELISA, nested PCR, or sequencing. Among the diarrheal viruses detected, group A rotavirus was the most common, with a proportion of 67.4%, whereas NoV GII, adenovirus, SaV, and HAstV were also found in 5.5, 3.2, 0.8, and 0.6%, respectively. It is noteworthy that the group C rotavirus was first reported in Vietnam, with a proportion of 0.5% in this study. Fifty-six of 1,010 (5.5%) samples were found positive with more than one viral agent, in which 25 samples contained both group A rotavirus and NoV GII. Group A rotavirus could be identified throughout year with the peaks in both the dry and rainy season, whereas other viruses prevailed mainly in the rainy season. G-typing for the group A rotavirus showed that genotype 1 was still the most prevailing (33.0%), but interestingly, serotype 9 was emergent and became the third most common rotavirus G-type in these samples (13.7%). The four most common G,P combinations globally, G1P[8], G2P[4], G3P[8], and G4P[8] were found in 46.8% of rotavirus-positive samples, and it is of interest that one unusual rotavirus G9P[19] strain was first detected in Vietnam. The majority of NoV strains belonged to GII/4, and SaV strains mainly clustered with the Manchester strain (GI/1). Twenty-seven out of 32 adenovirus strains were identified as serotype 41. All HAstVs belonged to genotype 1. The results indicated clearly the impact of viral agents causing gastroenteritis and the importance of vaccination against diarrhea in Vietnam. J. Med. Virol. 79:582,590, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Herpetic Infection in Epidermolysis BullosaPEDIATRIC DERMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2006Adam I. Rubin M.D. Standard wound care practices advocate the use of special dressings on open erosions as well as antibiotic topical medications to treat and prevent cutaneous infections. We report a child with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa admitted to our institution because of fevers at home. She was treated with multiple antibiotics for a cutaneous infection of the right hand. During her hospital stay, she sustained persistent fevers, and oral erosions developed, with progressive hemorrhagic crusting. Viral culture of the lip grew herpes simplex virus type 1, consistent with a diagnosis of herpetic gingivostomatitis. We present this patient to illustrate the importance of investigating wounds of epidermolysis bullosa patients for viral agents when faced with managing a child with an unclear source of fever. To the best of our knowledge, although this is the first report of herpetic gingivostomatitis in association with epidermolysis bullosa, it is likely to be more prevalent than the literature could suggest. [source] Different patterns of cytokines, ECP and immunoglobulin profiles at two adverse drug reactions in a patientPEDIATRICS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 6 2005Yukoh Aihara AbstractObjectives:,Drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (HS) is a rare but life-threatening disease. We experienced carbamazepine-induced HS in a 14-year-old boy, who had cefaclor-induced cutaneous eruptions 15 months later. To clarify the mechanisms of HS and the differences between two diseases we studied this case in detail. Methods:,We investigated the associated viral agents by polymerase chain reaction and the specific antibodies. We also studied the mechanism of diseases by measuring chemical mediators including cytokines, ECP and immunoglobulins. Results:,The patient was diagnosed as having carbamazepine-induced HS associated with reactivation of human herpesvirus 6 based on the clinical course and laboratory data including drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation tests. Similarly, the diagnosis of cefaclor-induced eruption without any viral reactivation was made. Serum levels of IFN-,, IL-6, TNF-,, IL-5 and ECP were increased significantly at HS but mildly at cefaclor-induced eruptions. Furthermore, we detected transient hypogammaglobulinemia only at HS. Conclusions:,This is the first report of anticonvulsant-induced HS followed by antibiotic-induced eruptions in a patient. In addition, we demonstrated difference in serum levels of inflammatory cytokines, immunoglobulins, activated eosinophils and viral reactivation between these diseases. This case would contribute to the understanding of the pathophysiology of adverse drug reactions including HS. [source] Comparison of cytokine responses in nasopharyngeal aspirates from children with viral lower respiratory tract infectionsACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 4 2009Jung Hye Byeon Abstract Aim: To determine whether nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) cytokine response is different according to the causative viruses in children with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). Methods: NPAs from 277 children with LRTI caused by respiratory virus were evaluated. Based on the proven viral agents, LRTI patients were divided into four groups. Levels of IL-4, IL-5 and IFN-, were determined by ELISA. Results: Patients with influenza virus infection demonstrated significantly lower IL-4 and IL-5 levels than those with other three groups. Patients with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection showed an increase in production of IL-4 and IL-5, and a decrease in the IFN-, level when compared to patients with influenza virus infection. Interestingly, a similar Th2 response was seen in patients with parainfluenza virus or adenovirus infection. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that respiratory viruses can induce different local cytokine responses. However, Th2 biased responses are not unique for RSV but seem to be predominant in respiratory viruses of young children. [source] Gene transfer to ovine corneal endotheliumCLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL OPHTHALMOLOGY, Issue 5 2001Sonja Klebe MBBS ABSTRACT Purpose: Modification of a donor cornea by gene therapy has potential to modulate irreversible rejection, the major cause of corneal graft failure. The sheep is a useful model for the human in this respect, as ovine endothelial cells are amitotic. The aim of the study was to investigate the ability of various non-viral and viral agents to transfer a reporter gene to ovine corneal endothelium. Methods: The non-viral agents Transfectin-10, Transfectin-20, Transfectin-50, SuperFect, Effectene and CLONfectin were used to deliver the reporter gene, Escherichia coli lacZ, to ovine corneal endothelium in vitro. A Herpes simplex virus-1 and an adenoviral vector each encoding E. coli lacZ were similarly tested. Infected corneas were organ-cultured for up to 7 days in vitro to allow transfection efficiency, duration of gene expression and toxicity attributable to each vector to be compared. Results: Scattered single or clusters of endothelial cells expressing the reporter gene were observed after transfection with CLONfectin, Transfectin-10, Transfectin-20 and Transfectin-50. SuperFect and Effectene were virtually in-effective. At best, the absolute number of infected cells per endothelial monolayer after 3 or 7 days of organ culture was estimated as < 0.01%. The Herpes simplex virus-1 vector also failed to transduce ovine corneal endothelium efficiently. In contrast, transfection rates of up to 70% of endothelial cells were observed with the adenoviral vector. Conclusion: Non-viral vectors and Herpes simplex virus-1 are unlikely to be suitable for gene therapy of corneal endothelium, because the efficiency of transfection is low compared with the rates achieved with adenoviral vectors. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||