This case report is presumed to be the first case of infestation of a cat by springtails which are small arthropods closely related to insects. The organisms, found by skin scrapings, were identified as Proisotoma spp. (Collembola: Isotomidae). The cat presented with dermatological lesions (itchy, furfuraceous dermatitis), and we speculate ...

This case study with one lay adherence counsellor assessed the implementation of Options for Health, a sexual risk-reduction intervention based on Motivational Interviewing (MI), in an antiretroviral clinic in Cape Town, South Africa. In most cases Options was not delivered with fidelity and less than one-third of intended recipients received ...

OBJECTIVES: Antisynthetase syndrome (ASS) is characterized by autoantibodies to aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (anti-synthetase) and it is frequently associated with interstitial lung disease. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the prevalence and characteristics of the anti-synthetase positive subpopulation among idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) and to clarify the importance of screening ...

Background  Loss of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) has been found to be a critical step in the development of melanoma and colon cancer. To our knowledge, immunostaining of IGFBP7 in various dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) and dermatofibroma (DF) has not been studied before. Objectives  To assess the immunostaining of ...

There is no report regarding a medial meniscus tear arising from an anomalous insertion of medial meniscus on the ACL, which seemed to be developed by the same mechanism as ACL tear. A case of a combined medial meniscus tear with ACL tear in the presence of an anomalous insertion ...

Stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is a rare condition of progressive muscular rigidity and spasm, frequently accompanied by other autoimmune conditions, an association which has been further strengthened by the discovery of anti-GAD antibodies and the response of SPS to immunotherapies. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is the mainstay therapy. Because of the rarity ...

Laco J, Ryska A, Celakovsky P, Dolezalova H, Mottl R & Tucek L (2011) Histopathology Chronic sclerosing sialadenitis as one of the immunoglobulin G4-related diseases: a clinicopathological study of six cases from Central Europe Aims:  Chronic sclerosing sialadenitis (CSS) has been proposed recently to be a member of the group ...

Spindle cell thymomas are an uncommon subset of thymomas that have been regarded as benign by some. There are no comprehensive immunohistochemical studies focusing on this histological variant of thymoma. Therefore, our knowledge on the variability of its immunohistochemical profile is limited. Thirty cases of spindle cell thymomas were reviewed ...

ABSTRACT: A 13 year old Danish/Swedish Farmdog from Denmark was evaluated in a veterinary clinic in Warsaw, Poland for evaluation of an orthopedic problem. Radiographs revealed spondylosis and degenerative vertebral disease, which responded to treatment with anti-inflammatory medications. A predominance of hyposegmented neutrophils and eosinophils containing condensed chromatin and normal ...

Dengue is one of the most important Arboviral diseases in man with outbreaks in Southeast Asia and India. We report a retrospective analysis of the dengue positivity in the referred samples for three years period (2006 to 2008) at the Department of Virology, King Institute of Preventive Medicine, Chennai, Tamil ...

BACKGROUND: A change of aspartic acid (D) to glycine (G) at position 222 in the haemagglutinin (HA) protein of pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 viruses was described in Norway on November 2009 with considerable frequency in fatal and severe cases. This change was detected in other countries and was related ...

We present a case of a female child who had developed progressive skin tightening of whole body, sclerodactyly, and severe contracture of all joints with restricted opening of mouth with disease onset at 6 weeks of life. The child also had anemia, failure to thrive, recurrent diarrhea, and ascites. Skin biopsy ...

Trichinellosis is one of the most serious foodborne parasitic zoonoses in Europe. Wild carnivorous and omnivorous hosts are the main reservoirs of Trichinella spp. nematodes in nature. In the winter of 2008-2009, an atypical clinical case of trichinellosis occurred for the consumption of pork from a wild boar (Sus scrofa) ...

This study evaluated the distribution and signal intensity of a prion protein resistant to proteolysis (PrP(res)) in the brainstem and cerebellum of cattle affected with classical and atypical forms of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) using a Western immunoblotting technique. In both classical and atypical cases of BSE, a stronger signal ...

Both myeloperoxidase-associated antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA) and antiglomerular basement membrane antibody (anti-GBM Ab) positivity have been demonstrated in patients with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN), either with or without pulmonary hemorrhage; however, the implications of these antibodies in such patients have not yet been elucidated. The cases with dual positive antibodies ...

The rapid diagnosis of smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and extrapulmonary TB is a significant problem in clinical practice. We evaluated the usefulness of a homemade enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay for the diagnosis of active TB in China. Seventy-eight healthy volunteers, 60 patients with active TB, and 32 patients with non-TB ...

Chlamydia screening programs have been shown to reduce the incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can lead to ectopic pregnancy, tubal infertility, and chronic pelvic pain. However, few reliable data exist on the population-level burden of PID and the utility of passive case-based surveillance of this important infertility-related outcome. ...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the leading nosocomial pathogens in intensive care units (ICUs). The source of this microorganism can be either endogenous or exogenous. The proportion of cases as a result of transmission is still debated, and its elucidation is important for implementing appropriate control measures. To understand the ...

The 2009 novel influenza A/H1N1 virus pandemic did not spare solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. We aimed to describe the behavior of pandemic influenza infection in a group of SOT recipients in Argentina. Data from 10 transplant (Tx) centers were retrospectively collected for SOT that presented with a respiratory illness ...

Brains of 42 individuals between the ages of 4 and 29 were examined with antibodies (AT8, 4G8) and silver stains for the presence of intraneuronal and extracellular protein aggregates associated with Alzheimer's disease. Thirty-eight of 42 (38/42) cases displayed abnormally phosphorylated tau protein (pretangle material) in nerve cells or in ...

We report the first 3 cases of inflammatory myopathy with abundant macrophages (IMAM) to be found in an Asian country. Diagnosis of IMAM was based on the infiltration of CD68+ macrophages into biopsied specimens, particularly the fascia. Proximal skeletal muscle symptoms and signs, elevation of creatine kinase, and myogenic changes in ...

Limited epidemiological data exist on subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) in China. Effective prevention requires knowledge of the rates and risk factors for SAH the most lethal type of stroke that most often affects younger adults. We report the methods and the initial experience of a new study to address this deficiency. ...

China has more and more floating population because of reform and opening-up. As one of the high burden countries in tuberculosis (TB) control in the world, China has to face more challenges about the TB case detection and treatment among floating population in China. Aim to evaluate the effect of ...

There is a controversy regarding how many species the genus Lagothrix contains, since the Lagothrix lagothricha subspecies have been recently proposed to be actual species. Clarification of species status is of particular importance in the case of L. l. lugens, because it is the most endangered and its distribution is ...

The 2008 case presented here of tularaemia in a cat and its owner occurred in an urban setting and was associated with animal contact, a relatively rare mode of transmission in Minnesota in recent years. Response to this case exemplified a 'One Health' approach involving pre-existing relationships, cooperation between multiple ...

Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) can be transmitted by transfusion. The risk depends on the number of infected donors in the community. An estimate of these numbers in a less genetically susceptible population, based on the epidemic seen so far, suggests a maximum of 300 more cases. From this, it is ...

Although the incidence of human monkeypox has greatly increased in Central Africa over the last decade, resources for surveillance remain extremely limited. We conducted a geospatial analysis using existing data to better inform future surveillance efforts. Using active surveillance data collected between 2005 and 2007, we identified locations in Sankuru ...

The incidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) disease is the lowest ever in the United States. We describe recent incidence and characteristics of cases of HAV disease from 6 US sites conducting hepatitis surveillance in the Emerging Infections Program. Health departments conducted enhanced, population-based surveillance for HAV from 2005 through ...

Objectives. The annual incidence of ARF ranges from 5 to 51/100 000 population worldwide in the 5- to 15-year age group. In the past, there was a decline in the incidence of ARF; however, focal outbreaks have been reported. This study evaluated the incidence of ARF in 2007-08 in a region ...

Meningococcal disease is a major public health concern in Sahelian Africa, where over half of the cases reported worldwide occur. In an effort to find annual spatial clusters of meningococcal disease and in order to study their evolution in Niger from January 2002 to June 2008, a prospective study of ...

Human tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium bovis appears to be rare in most of the region of the Americas, although some localities have reported an unusually high prevalence of M. bovis among human TB cases (e.g., San Diego, CA, USA; parts of Mexico). As surveillance data are lacking in many ...

This study describes the isolation of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii from patients with chronic meningitis who were admitted to 16 Malaysian hospitals, from 2003 to 2004. Of the 96 cryptococcal cases reported over the 2-year period, 74 (77.1%) patients were male and 45 (46.9%) patients were between 30 and ...

Kathmandu Valley urban area, Nepal. To study the probabilities of failure and relapse and of amplifying drug resistance to isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RMP) after the Category II retreatment regimen. Cohort study of smear-positive tuberculosis (TB) retreatment cases. Of 250 cases started on Category II retreatment, 209 were relapse cases; ...

The effects that immigration might have on the epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) in a low-incidence area of Italy was investigated by determining, in autochthonous and immigrant TB patients, the molecular characteristics of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) isolates, which may provide information on their phylogeographical origin. A total of 1080 ...

Characterizing household transmission of the 2009 pandemic A/H1N1 influenza virus (pH1N1) is critical for the design of effective public health measures to mitigate spread. Our objectives were to estimate the secondary attack rates (SARs), the proportion of asymptomatic infections, and risk factors for pH1N1 transmission within households on the basis ...

A 35-country European cystic fibrosis (CF) demographic registry was developed to compare outcomes (EuroCareCF EC-FP6). We applied methods that had successfully created country-specific registries inviting wide participation to obtain consent and collate demographic and CFTR genotype data. Among 29,095 patients, a widely different country-specific prevalence of childhood CF exists that ...

Coccidioidomycosis is endemic to the southwestern United States; 60% of nationally reported cases occur in Arizona. Although the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists case definition for coccidioidomycosis requires laboratory and clinical criteria, Arizona uses only laboratory criteria. To validate this case definition and characterize the effects of coccidioidomycosis in ...

During 2009, a total of 10,844 laboratory-confirmed cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 were reported in Beijing, People's Republic of China. However, because most cases were not confirmed through laboratory testing, the true number is unknown. Using a multiplier model, we estimated that ≈1.46-2.30 million pandemic (H1N1) 2009 infections occurred.

Cryptococcal immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) may present as a clinical worsening or new presentation of cryptococcal disease after initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART), and is thought to be caused by recovery of cryptococcus-specific immune responses. We have reviewed reports of cryptococcal IRIS and have developed a consensus case definition ...

The necropolis of S'Illot des Porros, one of the most important prehistoric funerary sites of the Balearic Islands (Spain), was in use from the VIth and Vth century BCE until the Ist century CE. Located in a funerary area which contains two cementeries and one sanctuary, this site is constituted ...

Seven farms, two in Central Italy and five in Southern Italy, were visited for the presence of larvae-infested wounds. Ninety-six (3%) out of 3129 sheep examined had a traumatic myiasis with a very high percentage of infested animals found only in a farm (10.5%). Wounds were mainly localized on the ...

Blastomycosis is a potentially fatal infection caused by the fungus Blastomyces dermatitidis. During January 1 through March 5, 2006, twenty-one laboratory confirmed cases of blastomycosis were reported among residents of an endemic area in north-central Wisconsin; a striking increase compared with previous years. The objective of the study was to ...

There is concern about lack of consistency in the design of case definitions used to measure work-related stress in national workforce surveys and the implications of this for the reliability and validity of prevalence estimates as well as for developments in policy and practice on tackling work-related stress. To examine ...

Unprecedented fidelity and specificity have afforded DNA testing its long reigning status as the gold standard for establishing personal identification. While the method itself is flawless, forensic experts have undoubtedly stumbled across challenging cases in which no reference samples for an unknown person (UP) are available for comparison. In such ...

This paper presents qualitative and quantitative study of a TB mathematical model to test results from a survey carried out in Benin City, Nigeria. The purpose of the survey was to determine factors that could enhance the case detection rate of tuberculosis. Results from the survey identified four key factors ...

Anthrax, caused by Bacillus anthracis, is an uncommon disease in the United Kingdom. In December 2009, the first recorded case of injectable anthrax in the UK was diagnosed in Glasgow, Scotland. This case report describes the disease presentation in a detained person in police custody in Dumfries, South West Scotland. ...

Though spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) is a well-known complication of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), there are very few reports addressing this topic. For this reason, we retrospectively analysed the experience of SP in patients diagnosed with TB in our hospital between 1989 and 2010. Out of 872 patients treated for SP during ...

To examine changes over time in the distribution of primary and secondary syphilis cases across states, using Lorenz curves and Gini coefficients. For each year from 1985 to 2007, the Gini coefficient for the state-level distribution of male and female syphilis cases was calculated. The Gini coefficient can range from ...

We investigated a varicella outbreak in a residential facility for adults with intellectual disabilities. A case of varicella was defined as a generalized maculopapular rash that developed in a facility resident or employee. Immunoglobulin M testing was conducted on serologic samples, and polymerase chain reaction testing was performed on environmental ...

Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF) is a lethal rickettsiosis in humans caused by the bacteria Rickettsia rickettsii, and is endemic in some areas of Brazil. Horses and dogs are part of the disease's life cycle and they may also serve as sentinel animals in epidemiological studies. The first human BSF case ...