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At least 649 records · Page 36Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Yaws in West Sumatra, Indonesia: clinical manifestations, serological findings and characterisation of new Treponema isolates by DNA probes.

The results of a yaws survey on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia are presented. The prevalence of yaws in the investigated region was found to be very high, a minimum of 300 cases per 100,000 individuals, which indicates that yaws is far from being eradicated and that campaigns for treatment are necessary. Patients suffering from early infectious yaws showed florid skin lesions. Of 101 serum samples from such patients, 100 had a positive reaction in one or more treponemal tests. The Treponema pallidum haemagglutination assay was found to be the most sensitive test (97% positive) in detecting antibodies against Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue, followed by the fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption test (94%), the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory test and the TmpA enzyme immunoassay (91%), and analysis by Western blot using Treponema pallidum antigens (88%). Of 42 asymptomatic contacts of yaws patients 32 showed positive reactions in one or more tests, indicating that many people in the investigated region have been infected with treponemes. Eight new Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue strains were isolated from yaws skin lesions. In vitro amplification of treponemal DNA and hybridisation with specific DNA probes showed that all eight strains were identical with Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue CDC 2575, with regard to the subsp. pertenue specific tyfl gene.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Investigation into the spread of swine dysentery in 25 herds of East Anglia and assessment of its economic significance in five herds.

Of 25 outbreaks of swine dysentery investigated, 22 were considered to have resulted from the purchase of pigs from farms known to be infected, two from the introduction of Treponema hyodysenteriae on the boots of the stockman, and one from the accidental entry of infected pigs into a 'closed' herd. The hidden costs of swine dysentery in terms of an increased food conversion ratio may be more than four times the cost of medication. A method of halting the spread of disease is described.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Sexually transmitted viral hepatitis and enteric pathogens.

Hepatitis viruses, enteric pathogens, and anorectal infections may commonly be transmitted by various sexual practices. Because of their larger numbers of sexual partners and sexual practices such as anilingus and anal intercourse, homosexual men are at particularly high risk of acquiring hepatitis B, giardiasis, amebiasis, shigellosis, campylobacteriosis, and anorectal infections with Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Treponema pallidum, herpes simplex virus, and human papilloma viruses. The evidence for sexual transmission of these infections as well as their diagnosis and treatment are discussed.

Amebiasis↗
PubMed2004

Correlates of human herpes virus-8 and herpes simplex virus type 2 infections in Northern Cameroon.

The association between sexual activity and human herpes virus-8 (HHV-8) infection has been established, but the mode of acquisition is still unclear. Blood samples from 238 individuals from Northern Cameroon were tested to evaluate the incidence of herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Treponema pallidum, and HHV-8 infections and to identify their possible association. The presence of HSV-2 antibodies was associated significantly with gender, age, and HIV, HHV-8 antilatent, and T. pallidum antibodies, but not with HHV-8 antilytic antibodies. In a multivariate model older age, female gender, seropositivity for HIV, for HHV-8 latent antigens and for T. pallidum were associated independently with seropositivity for HSV-2. HSV-2-seropositive individuals had significantly higher titers of antibodies to both lytic (P = 0.019) and latent (P = 0.021) HHV-8 antigens. These results suggest that HSV-2 infection can contribute to sexual transmission of HHV-8 infection.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The pathology of AIDS.

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a devastating new disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This retrovirus causes profound immunoincompetence in its infected hosts, who are thereafter susceptible to develop myriad severe and relapsing protozoal, fungal, bacterial, viral, and arthropodal opportunistic infections, as well as unusual malignancies. The more than 50,000 patients who have developed AIDS in the United States have produced a sudden unexpected deluge of diagnostic dilemmas that are stressing laboratories of pathology everywhere. This paper describes the gross and microscopic pathology of the numerous complications in patients infected by HIV: (a) the prodromal AIDS-related complex with persistent generalized lymphadenopathy, (b) lymphoid infiltration of salivary gland and lung, including the complex of lymphoid interstitial pneumonitis-pulmonary lymphoid hyperplasia, (c) extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, (d) multifocal mucocutaneous and visceral Kaposi's sarcoma, (e) small cell undifferentiated (oat cell) carcinomas, (f) protozoal infections caused by Pneumocystis carinii, Toxoplasma gondii, Acanthamoeba, Cryptosporidium species (sp.), and Isospora belli, (g) the causes of chronic enteritis, (h) mycotic infections caused by Candida sp., Cryptococcus neoformans, Histoplasma capsulatum, Coccidioides immitis, and Sporothrix schenckii, (i) bacterial infections caused by Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare, M. tuberculosis, M. kansasii, Nocardia sp., Listeria monocytogenes, Legionella sp., Treponema pallidum, and others, (j) viral infections caused by cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex and zoster, polyomavirus (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy), hepatitis B, molluscum contagiosum, and papillomavirus, (k) oral hairy leukoplakia, (l) subacute encephalopathy, and (m) Norwegian scabies.

AIDS-Related Complex↗
PubMed1992

Association between HIV-2 infection and genital ulcer diseases among male sexually transmitted disease patients in The Gambia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether genital ulcer diseases are cofactors which enhance the transmission of HIV-2 in West Africa. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study of 435 men presenting with a sexually transmitted disease (STD). SETTING: The outpatient clinic of the Medical Research Council Laboratories, a primary care facility in Fajara, a suburb of Banjul, the capital city of The Gambia (West Africa). PATIENTS, PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred and twenty-four men presenting with a genital complaint, of whom 443 had an STD. Eight of the men with an STD were excluded from further analysis because they were HIV-1-infected (five patients) or had indeterminate Western blot patterns (three patients). The remaining 21 HIV-2-infected and 414 seronegative men constituted our study-group. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants were questioned about previous STD and behavioural and demographic characteristics. A physical examination was performed and serum collected for measurement of antibodies against Haemophilus ducreyi and Treponema pallidum. RESULTS: HIV-2-infected men were more likely than HIV-seronegative participants to have previously had a genital ulcer [odds ratio (OR), 3.00; 95% confidence interval (Cl), 1.18-7.60] and to have antibodies against T. pallidum (OR, 5.95; 95% Cl, 2.10-16.91), or H. ducreyi (OR, 4.59; 95% Cl, 1.71-12.33). Circumcised patients with residual foreskin were more likely to be HIV-2 infected than patients with complete circumcision. HIV-2-seropositive patients were six times more likely to have generalized lymphadenopathy than their seronegative counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that genital ulcerative diseases, such as syphilis and chancroid, are probably cofactors that increase the transmission of HIV-2 in West Africa, and that HIV-2 infection frequently results in generalized lymphadenopathy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Serologic evidence for tick-borne pathogens other than Borrelia burgdorferi (TOBB) in Lyme borreliosis patients from midwestern Germany.

The seroprevalence of antibodies against the human granulocytic ehrlichiosis agent (HGE) and Babesia microti was retrospectively determined in 76 Lyme borreliosis patients and in 44 asymptomatic individuals with a positive borreliosis serology, in comparison to 100 healthy blood donors from the Rhein-Main area. Additionally, seroreactivity for tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) was investigated. For antibody detection, commercially available immunofluorescence assays (MRL Diagnostics, USA) and a TBEV-ELISA (Immuno, Germany) were used. In the control group, the positivity rate for anti-Borrelia burgdorferi (IgG/IgM) and anti-Babesia microti-antibodies in the population of the Rhein-Main area (Midwestern Germany) may be estimated at 15% and 8%, respectively. Examination for both HGE and TBEV demonstrated seroreactivity (IgG) in 1% of tested individuals. Specific anti-HGE IgG and/or IgM antibodies were more often discovered in cases of early Borrelia infection (stage I: 13.6%, stage II: 18.4%) than in patients with stage III disease (0%) or in seropositive but asymptomatic patients (6.8%). Investigation for TBEV revealed seroreactivity for IgG in 13% of these cases. No TBEV-IgM was found. Interestingly, the prevalence of anti-HGE and anti-TBEV antibodies among Lyme borreliosis patients and seropositive patients without active Lyme disease symptoms was significantly higher than that in the control group of healthy blood donors (p < 0.05). Likewise, antibody titers reflecting a recent infection with Babesia microti could be demonstrated more often in patients with Lyme borreliosis stage I or II (p < 0.05). Analysis of 50 samples from patients with florid or recent syphilis infection revealed no crossreactivity between Babesia microti, HGE and Treponema pallidum. Our findings suggest that concomitant or serial infection due to TOBB may be common in tick exposed patients from the Rhein-Main area and in European countries in general. Hence, in addition to TBEV, human babesiosis and HGE should always be considered by European physicians in the differential diagnosis of acute febrile illness following a tick bite.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Evaluation of a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of immunoglobulin M antibody in diagnosis of human leptospiral infection.

The PanBio Leptospira immunoglobulin M (IgM) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a commercially available screening test for the diagnosis of acute leptospiral infection. The ability of the test to diagnose early or recent Leptospira interrogans infection was assessed by testing sera with known microagglutination test (MAT) titers to serovars pomona, hardjo, copenhageni, and australis. The IgM ELISA detected all 41 cases of early or recent leptospiral infection (sensitivity, 100%), with a positive ELISA result seen in many cases before MAT antibody titers reached 1:50. Thirty-eight of 41 patients showed seroconversion (fourfold or greater increase in titer by MAT, 2 of 41 patients had a single sample with elevated titer, and 1 patient from whom leptospires were isolated from a blood sample failed to show MAT titers, despite a seroconversion (negative to positive result) in the ELISA. Follow-up sera obtained from 8 of 12 patients (67%) for 3 to 48 months after the acute stage of illness showed persisting IgM antibody. However, the range of levels detected in these samples (maximum ELISA ratio, 2.0) was lower than the range seen when infection was recent. Reactivity in the IgM ELISA was observed for only 1 of 59 serum samples from asymptomatic donors (specificity, 98%) and 16 of 233 serum samples from patients with Ross River virus, brucella, Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, mycoplasma, Q-fever, toxoplasma, hepatitis A virus, Treponema pallidum, or Borrelia burgdorferi infection (specificity, 93%), with the majority of these patients showing lower levels of IgM in comparison to those in patients with leptospiral infection. We conclude that this ELISA is sufficiently sensitive for use as an initial screen for leptospiral infections, with subsequent confirmation of positive test results by MAT.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2002

Segregation of B and T cell epitopes of Treponema pallidum repeat protein K to variable and conserved regions during experimental syphilis infection.

Robust immune responses clear millions of treponemes to resolve lesions of primary and secondary syphilis, but cannot clear the treponemes that lead to debilitating and sometimes fatal tertiary syphilis. It is also known that the rabbit model and humans can be reinfected with heterologous isolates. How some treponemes are able to escape the immune system is unknown. In our laboratories rabbits immunized with the Seattle Nichols strain Treponema pallidum repeat protein K (TprK) were previously shown to have attenuated lesion development following challenge. In other isolates, TprK was shown to have seven discrete variable regions, with sequence variation among and within isolates. Using overlapping synthetic 20-aa peptides, we demonstrate that during experimental infection with the Nichols strain, the T cell responses are directed to conserved regions, while the Ab responses are directed primarily to variable regions. Abs from rabbits immunized with recombinant TprK recognized conserved and variable regions, suggesting that the conserved regions are inherently as immunogenic as the variable regions. TprK variability may allow some treponemes to escape recognition from Abs. The variable region heterogeneity may help explain the lack of protection against heterologous isolates.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Incidence of positive serologic tests for treponemal infection in healthy rabbits.

Sera from 167 apparently normal rabbits were screened by the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) slide test and by the fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorption (FTA-Abs) and microhemagglutination assay for Treponema pallidum antibodies (MHA-TP) test. Three sera (1.8%) were reactive in all three tests, a fact suggesting possible inapparent infection with Treponema paraluis-cuniculi. One hundred forty-four sera (86.2%) were nonreactive in all tests. The VDRL slide test was reactive with 22 sera (13.2%). In 19 of these, treponemal tests were nonreactive; thus the rabbits probably were not infected with pathogenic treponemes. One hundred sixty-three sera (97.6%) were nonreactive in both treponemal tests, and three sera (1.8%) were reactive in both. One serum was reactive in the FTA-Abs test and nonreactive in the MHA-TP test. The lower incidence of reactivity with treponemal tests suggests that the FTA-Abs and MHA-TP tests are more useful than the VDRL slide test for screening rabbits intended for experimental studies of syphilis.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

[Posterior uveitis in a 47-year old patient infected with HIV--case report].

PURPOSE: To report the case of posterior uveitis associated with HIV infection and to discuss contemporary references on the topic. CASE REPORT: A 47-years old woman with asymptomatic HIV infection developed acute posterior uveitis. The examinations for infections with CMV, Toxoplasma gondii, Treponema pallidum and Mycobacteria were negative. After failure of empirical treatment with antibiotics, ganciclovir and steroids antiretroviral treatment with three drugs was initiated on the patient. The ophthalmologic examination disclosed significant improvement after two weeks of the treatment. There have been no evidences of inflammatory disease in the eyes for 12 weeks from the starting of antiretroviral therapy. The immunologic and virologic parameters showed good control of HIV infection. CONCLUSIONS: Infection with HIV appears to be a cause of uveitis.

Antiviral Agents↗
PubMed1996

Donation deferral criteria for human immunodeficiency virus positivity among blood donors in northern Thailand.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to develop human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection donation deferral criteria for blood donors in an HIV-epidemic area of northern Thailand, where the predominant means of transmission of HIV is through heterosexual contact. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In a preliminary study, 2242 blood donors were interviewed, and their blood was tested for HIV antibodies between September 1993 and April 1994. The risk factors associated with HIV positivity were identified. Criteria to identify HIV-positive persons on the basis of a logistic equation were developed and applied to another group of 5769 prospective blood donors. RESULTS: A multivariate analysis showed the following odds ratios (OR) for traits that were independently associated with HIV positivity: younger age (OR = 0.93 for each additional year of age), male gender (OR = 2.41), having no more than a primary school education (OR = 2.00), being in the military (OR = 1.78), being unsure of one's own blood safety (OR = 2.00), history of injecting drug use (OR = 5.36), diagnosis of syphilis or positive syphilis serologic test in the past 12 months (OR = 2.67), and genital ulcer in the past 12 months (OR = 4.56). On the basis of the model, with a limit of <10 percent loss of uninfected donors, predicted probabilities of HIV positivity alone or of markers of infection with HIV, hepatitis B virus, or Treponema pallidum were calculated. With a cutoff of 6.5-percent estimated probability of HIV infection, derived from the logistic equation, the donor deferral criteria have 33.6-percent sensitivity and 8.3-percent positive predictive value for HIV positivity and 15.5-percent sensitivity and 18.4-percent positive predictive value for markers of infection with one of the three pathogens. CONCLUSION: The proposed donor deferral system provides a more flexible, sensitive, and predictive tool for averting donation by those who, though HIV antibody-negative, are at a higher risk of being infected with HIV.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Prevalent bacterial species and novel phylotypes in advanced noma lesions.

The purpose of this study was to determine the bacterial diversity in advanced noma lesions using culture-independent molecular methods. 16S ribosomal DNA bacterial genes from DNA isolated from advanced noma lesions of four Nigerian children were PCR amplified with universally conserved primers and spirochetal selective primers and cloned into Escherichia coli. Partial 16S rRNA sequences of approximately 500 bases from 212 cloned inserts were used initially to determine species identity or closest relatives by comparison with sequences of known species or phylotypes. Nearly complete sequences of approximately 1,500 bases were obtained for most of the potentially novel species. A total of 67 bacterial species or phylotypes were detected, 25 of which have not yet been grown in vitro. Nineteen of the species or phylotypes, including Propionibacterium acnes, Staphylococcus spp., and the opportunistic pathogens Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Ochrobactrum anthropi were detected in more than one subject. Other known species that were detected included Achromobacter spp., Afipia spp., Brevundimonas diminuta, Capnocytophaga spp., Cardiobacterium sp., Eikenella corrodens, Fusobacterium spp., Gemella haemoylsans, and Neisseria spp. Phylotypes that were unique to noma infections included those in the genera Eubacterium, Flavobacterium, Kocuria, Microbacterium, and Porphyromonas and the related Streptococcus salivarius and genera Sphingomonas and TREPONEMA: Since advanced noma lesions are infections open to the environment, it was not surprising to detect species not commonly associated with the oral cavity, e.g., from soil. Several species previously implicated as putative pathogens of noma, such as spirochetes and Fusobacterium spp., were detected in at least one subject. However, due to the limited number of available noma subjects, it was not possible at this time to associate specific species with the disease.

Adolescent↗