We report a patient with urogenital schistosomiasis and three cases of subclinical infection within one family acquired from Solenzara River, Corsica, in 2019. Our cases confirm that transmission of ...schistosomiasis in Corsica is ongoing and has been extended from the Cavu River to the Solenzara River. Solenzara River is clearly a transmission site for schistosomiasis in Corsica. Public health efforts are recommended to uncover and prevent further cases.
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•Haemosporidians are blood parasites of great medical importance.•The relationships among haemosporidian clades are poorly understood.•By PCR we obtained nuclear genes from most major ...haemosporidian lineages.•Phylogenetic analyses show that Leucocytozoon is the most basal taxon.•A sister group relationship of Polychromophilus and Plasmodium is supported.
The apicomplexan order Haemosporida is a clade of unicellular blood parasites that infect a variety of reptilian, avian and mammalian hosts. Among them are the agents of human malaria, parasites of the genus Plasmodium, which pose a major threat to human health. Illuminating the evolutionary history of Haemosporida may help us in understanding their enormous biological diversity, as well as tracing the multiple host switches and associated acquisitions of novel life-history traits. However, the deep-level phylogenetic relationships among major haemosporidian clades have remained enigmatic because the datasets employed in phylogenetic analyses were severely limited in either gene coverage or taxon sampling. Using a PCR-based approach that employs a novel set of primers, we sequenced fragments of 21 nuclear genes from seven haemosporidian parasites of the genera Leucocytozoon, Haemoproteus, Parahaemoproteus, Polychromophilus and Plasmodium. After addition of genomic data from 25 apicomplexan species, the unreduced alignment comprised 20,580bp from 32 species. Phylogenetic analyses were performed based on nucleotide, codon and amino acid data employing Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony. All analyses resulted in highly congruent topologies. We found consistent support for a basal position of Leucocytozoon within Haemosporida. In contrast to all previous studies, we recovered a sister group relationship between the genera Polychromophilus and Plasmodium. Within Plasmodium, the sauropsid and mammal-infecting lineages were recovered as sister clades. Support for these relationships was high in nearly all trees, revealing a novel phylogeny of Haemosporida, which is robust to the choice of the outgroup and the method of tree inference.
In a prospective, multicenter study of 342 blood samples from 187 patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome, sepsis, or neutropenic fever, a new commercial PCR test (SepsiTest; Molzym) ...was evaluated for rapid diagnosis of bacteremia. The test comprises a universal PCR from the 16S rRNA gene, with subsequent identification of bacteria from positive samples by sequence analysis of amplicons. Compared to blood culture (BC), the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the PCR were 87.0 and 85.8%, respectively. Considering the 34 BC-positive patients, 28 were also PCR positive in at least one of the samples, resulting in a patient-related sensitivity of 82.4%. The concordance of PCR and BC for both positive and negative samples was (47 + 247)/342, i.e., 86.0%. In total, 31 patients were PCR/sequencing positive and BC negative, in whom the PCR result was judged as possible or probable to true bacteremia in 25. In conclusion, the PCR approach facilitates the detection of bacteremia in blood samples within a few hours. Despite the indispensability of BC diagnostics, the rapid detection of bacteria by SepsiTest appears to be a valuable tool, allowing earlier pathogen-adapted antimicrobial therapy in critically ill patients.
Abstract Objectives The Treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TPPA) has been used for decades for serological diagnostics of syphilis but is no longer available. Therefore, we evaluated the ...Treponema IgG ELISA (TpG) alone and in combination with the Treponema IgM ELISA (TpG+M, both from Euroimmun) as possible substitutes for TPPA as a confirmatory test in a two-tier syphilis screening algorithm. Furthermore, we investigated whether a TPPA titer of 5,120 which is used as cut-off for therapeutic decision in pregnant women in Germany can be transferred to an appropriate cut-off value of the TpG. Methods All serum samples with reactive syphilis screening test (CLIA, Diasorin) within a 13-months period were included (n=739). In addition to TPPA and rapid plasma reagin test both ELISA tests were done in all samples. Results Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were 92.2, 100, 100, and 74.5 % for TpG, and 93.2, 85.4, 96.6, and 74.1 % for TpG+M. By ROC analysis the cut-off of TpG corresponding to a TPPA titer ≥5,120 was calculated to be 54 RU/mL with a sensitivity of 99.6 % and a resulting specificity of 58.6 %. Conclusions TpG appears suitable to substitute TPPA as a confirmatory test for syphilis diagnostics but TpG-negative samples have to be evaluated by further tests like FTA-Abs or immunoblot. Treponema IgM determined in addition to TpG did not improve the test performance compared to the TPPA as a reference standard. Valid prediction of a TPPA titer ≥5,120 from TpG result appears not reasonable.
The Trypanosoma cruzi clade is a group of parasites that comprises T. cruzi sensu lato and its closest relatives. Although several species have been confirmed phylogenetically to belong to this ...clade, it is uncertain how many more species can be expected to belong into this group. Here, we present the results of a survey of trypanosome parasites of the bat Artibeus jamaicensis from the Panamá Canal Zone, an important seed disperser. Using a genealogical species delimitation approach, the Poisson tree processes (PTP), we tentatively identified five species of trypanosomes - all belonging to the T. cruzi clade. A small monophyletic group of three putative Trypanosoma species places at the base of the clade phylogeny, providing evidence for at least five independent colonization events of these parasites into the New World. Artibeus jamaicensis presents a high diversity of these blood parasites and is the vertebrate with the highest number of putative trypanosome species reported from a single locality. Our results emphasize the need for continued efforts to survey mammalian trypanosomes.
Abstract Objectives Commercially available immunoassays have been developed for detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. However, equivocal and discrepant results between different immunoassay can ...occur requiring further assessment by confirmatory tests. Methods We investigated the new commercial line assay recomLine SARS-CoV-2 IgG (Mikrogen, containing the antigens S1, receptor-binding domain of the spike protein, and nucleocapsid protein (NP) of SARS-CoV-2) within a collection of well characterized serum samples from COVID-19 outpatients (n=49) and SARS-CoV-2-PCR-positive asymptomatic contact persons (n=6) in comparison to two commercial immunoassays, the S1 antigen based Anti-SARS-CoV-2-ELISA IgG by Euroimmun and the NP based Elecsys ® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 by Roche. Results The recomLine assay was positive in all samples which had an equivocal or positive result for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in at least one of the two immunoassays. It showed high agreement with the overall results of the immunoassays (94.5% Cohen’s kappa = 0.85 and 92.7% Cohen’s kappa 0.81 to the ELISA by Euroimmun and the assay by Roche, respectively). In addition, high agreement of the reactivity to the specific antigens S1 and NP in the recomLine assays compared to the results of the S1 based ELISA and NP based Elecsys ® assay, was found (90.9% Cohen’s kappa 0.78 and 96.4% Cohen’s kappa 0.91 for S1 and NP, respectively). Conclusions The new recomLine SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay may be used as an additional tool for investigation of equivocal or discrepant results of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoassays and for antigen-specific detection of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies.
•Novel data on humoral immune responses to a panel of Chlamydia pneumoniae antigens are provided.•Virulence-associated TARP is an early sensitive (80.0%) antigen for IgM detection.•Hypothetical ...protein YwbM is a sensitive (up to 94.4%) and specific (95.1%) IgG marker.
Chlamydia pneumoniae is a difficult to diagnose respiratory pathogen. This study was performed to systematically characterize humoral immune responses to selected C. pneumoniae antigens in order to provide novel serodiagnostic perspectives for clinical and epidemiological issues.
Based on a literature search, gene library screening, and serological proteome analysis, 15 immunogenic surface-associated, virulence-associated, and hypothetical C. pneumoniae antigens were selected, recombinantly expressed, and lined on a nitrocellulose strip. Specific IgM and IgG reactivity was measured in a total of 172 PCR- and micro-immunofluorescence testing (MIF)-characterized serum samples from patients with respiratory infections. A theoretical model was conceived to approximate a putative course of C. pneumoniae antigen expression and assess the potential of early and late antigens.
While surface antigens performed poorly, the virulence-associated TARP was a reliable antigen for IgM detection, with a sensitivity of 80.0% and a diagnostic specificity of 90.2%. The hypothetical protein YwbM proved powerful for IgG detection with MIF-correlative sensitivities of up to 94.4% and a diagnostic specificity of 95.1%.
This study provides new insights into antibody profiles to immunogenic proteins in C. pneumoniae infection. The study findings offer antigen candidates for more reliable and standardized serological investigations of C. pneumoniae infections, including studies on seroprevalence and epidemiology.
Abstract Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are emerging pathogens in immunocompromised patients. Therefore, it is important for hospitals to consider tap water as a source for these infections. Aim ...of the study was to establish highly sensitive and specific techniques to detect and identify NTM in hospital drinking water. A Mycobacterium genus-specific 16S rDNA-based real-time LightCycler PCR assay with internal inhibition control and a M. xenopi -specific PCR were developed. Ninety-three water samples from 53 taps from 4 hospitals were investigated. NTM were cultured from 21 of 49 (43%) cold and 32 of 44 (73%) warm water samples. M. chelonae , M. flavescens , M. frederiksbergense , M. gordonae , M. moriokaense , M. mucogenicum , M. vaccae , and M. xenopi were identified with molecular methods. All 93 water samples were positive in the genus-specific PCR. M. xenopi DNA was detected in 40 of 44 (91%) warm and 33 of 49 (67%) cold water samples including 45 of 65 (69%) M. xenopi culture-negative samples. In conclusion, selective culture followed by molecular identification methods enabled detection of rare species of NTM in hospital drinking water and may be used in further studies investigating the epidemiology of NTM in water samples. The real-time PCR assays have a high sensitivity and allow rapid quantification of mycobacterial DNA in water samples.
Bats, a globally distributed group of mammals with high ecological importance, are increasingly recognized as natural reservoir hosts for viral agents of significance to human and animal health. In ...the present study, we evaluated pools of blood samples obtained from two phylogenetically distant bat families, in particular from flying foxes (Pteropodidae), Eidolon helvum in West Africa, and from two species of New World leaf-nosed fruit bats (Phyllostomidae), Artibeus jamaicensis and Artibeus lituratus in Central America. A sequence-independent virus discovery technique (VIDISCA) was used in combination with high throughput sequencing to detect two novel parvoviruses: a PARV4-like virus named Eh-BtPV-1 in Eidolon helvum from Ghana and the first member of a putative new genus in Artibeus jamaicensis from Panama (Aj-BtPV-1). Those viruses were circulating in the corresponding bat colony at rates of 7-8%. Aj-BtPV-1 was also found in Artibeus lituratus (5.5%). Both viruses were detected in the blood of infected animals at high concentrations: up to 10E8 and to 10E10 copies/ml for Aj-BtPV-1 and Eh-BtPV-1 respectively. Eh-BtPV-1 was additionally detected in all organs collected from bats (brain, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys and intestine) and spleen and kidneys were identified as the most likely sites where viral replication takes place. Our study shows that bat parvoviruses share common ancestors with known parvoviruses of humans and livestock. We also provide evidence that a variety of Parvovirinae are able to cause active infection in bats and that they are widely distributed in these animals with different geographic origin, ecologies and climatic ranges.
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