Viral pathogens associated with lower respiratory tract infection in adults and children at Assiut university hospitals

infection of the lower respiratory tract causes significant morbidity at Assiut University Hospitals in Assiut, Egypt among children and adults. Respiratory viruses play an important role in lower respiratory tract infection affecting individuals of all age groups. To determine the contribution of viruses to lower respiratory tract infection in patients presented or admitted at Assiut University Hospitals, with typing, subtyping, and phylogenetic analysis of the detected viruses. A two-year study was conducted from 2007 to 2009 at the National Influenza Centre [Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany]. Respiratory samples obtained from 520 patients suffered from lower respiratory tract infection were collected. Detection and characterization of the causative viruses was performed using both the conventional methods of viral isolation and molecular methods of real-time polymerase chain reaction and phylogenetic analysis. Seventy nine positive cases were detected with real-time polymerase chain reaction [representing a ratio of 15.2% of the total number of cases] for one or more of the main respiratory viruses [influenza viruses, respiratory syncytial viruses, adenoviruses, and human metapneumoviruses]. Twenty two were children [accounting for 46% of the total number of children included in the study] and 47 were adults [accounting for 10.4% of the adult group]. Viruses are the main cause of lower respiratory tract infection in children and can cause lower respiratory infection in adults hospitalized or presented at Assiut University Hospitals, Egypt, Characterization of the detected viruses revealed that, they were similar to those reported from other parts of the world during the same period. This proves worldwide spread of these viruses during winter-spring seasons

Prevalence of sen virus infection in hemodialysis and blood diseased patients in Assiut university hospitals

SENV is a blood- borne, circular ss DNA virus and possessing nine genotypes [A to I]. Among nine genotypes, SENV-D and SENV-H genotypes have the strong link with patients with non [A-E] hepatitis infections .Recently, the identification of SEN virus [SENV] as a possible etiologic agent of parenteral transmission hepatitis let to the study of the prevalence of such agent. This study compared SENV prevalence and its two important genotypes [D and H] which might be pathogenic in high risk subjects including blood diseased patients and hemodialysis patients and low risk subjects as healthy blood donors. This study included 75 multitransfused patients, 60 of them were hemodialysis and the remaining were blood diseased including hemophilics, anemics and leukemics. The study included also 25 healthy blood donors as a control They were received consecutively at Department of Internal Medicine, Assiut University Hospital. The sera were separated and SENV DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction. The results showed a higher prevalence of SENV infection in patients group than blood donors [46.7% versus 20%].No significant relation was found between SENV infection and age, duration of hemodialysis or liver enzymes. However, there was significant difference between SENV positive and negative patients as regards gender and number of blood transfusions. SENV is commonly present in blood diseased and hemodialysis patients attended to Assiut University Hospitals as well as in blood donors at variable rates. SENV infection has been found in only 20% of blood donors but in 46.7% of patients. The results also indicated that other possible routes of SENV infection other than blood transfusion may be included. Its pathogenic role in causing hepatitis is not documented, so far it can be considered as simple guest till further studies have been done

Immune-regulation in chronic hepatitis B virus infected patients

To assess the percentage of regulatory T cells in peripheral blood of chronic hepatits B [CHB] virus infected patients in comparison with that in healthy controls and to evaluate their suppressive activity on gamma-IFN production by T cells. The percentages of CD4+CD25+ and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T [Treg] cells were quantified in the peripheral blood of 59 chronic hepatitis B patients in comparison with that of 32 controls. And to assess Treg suppressive activity, the percentage of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Tregs secreting interleukin-10 [IL-10] were evaluated together with the percentage of gamma interferon [gamma-IFN] secreting T cells. This study showed that the percentage of CD4+CD25+Tcells was significantly higher in CHB patients in comparison with healthy controls [mean, 11 +/- 1.7 vs. 36 +/- 4.0 P= 0.007]. A weak positive correlation was observed only between the percentage of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+T cells and serum alanine aminotransferase [ALT] levels [r=0.3, P=0.02]. These findings suggest that Tregs are capable of inhibiting the HBV immune response, which could contribute to persistence of HBV infection. Manipulating these regulatory cells represent an important objective in order to develop new anti-microbial immunotherapies, particularly for chronic infections