Passive antibody therapy in emerging infectious diseases / 医学前沿

The epidemic of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 and its variants of concern (VOCs) has been ongoing for over 3 years. Antibody therapies encompassing convalescent plasma, hyperimmunoglobulin, and neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) applied in passive immunotherapy have yielded positive outcomes and played a crucial role in the early COVID-19 treatment. In this review, the development path, action mechanism, clinical research results, challenges, and safety profile associated with the use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma, hyperimmunoglobulin, and mAbs were summarized. In addition, the prospects of applying antibody therapy against VOCs was assessed, offering insights into the coping strategies for facing new infectious disease outbreaks.

Human fusariosis: An emerging infection that is difficult to treat

Abstract Fusarium spp. has been associated with a broad spectrum of emerging infections collectively termed fusariosis. This review includes articles published between 2005 and 2018 that describe the characteristics, clinical management, incidence, and emergence of these fungal infections. Fusarium solani and F. oxysporum are globally distributed and represent the most common complexes. Few therapeutic options exist due to intrinsic resistance, especially for the treatment of invasive fusariosis. Therefore, the use of drug combinations could be an important alternative for systemic antifungal resistance. Increase in the number of case reports on invasive fusariosis between 2005 and 2018 is evidence of the emergence of this fungal infection.

Tuberculosis: una dinámica continua entre el pasado y el presente, para imaginar el futuro / Tuberculosis: steady dynamics between past and present to imagine the future

Progress in understanding the biological processes that allow Mycobacterium tuberculosis to be a successful parasite have accelerated in the last twenty years. This progress has been stimulated by the return of tuberculosis (TB) as an important disease in industrialized countries, by its increase in emergent nations in the tail of population increases and poverty and by the spread of multiple drug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug resistant (XDR) M. tuberculosis as a result of treatment failures. Progress on M. tuberculosis biology has also been fueled by advances in microbiology and molecular biology, including molecular genetics, genomics, proteomics and in vitro and in vivo models of infection. The study of latency or dormancy, a phenomenon central to understanding the persistence of M. tuberculosis and the development of TB in individuals, its spread in human populations and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant/tolerant organisms, has been preferred targets for investigators in this area. In this manner, factors that trigger M. tuberculosis latency (e. g, hypoxia, nutrient starvation, NO exposure) have been characterized and the metabolic shifts to host lipid utilization, tolerance to antimicrobials and resistance to host immune mechanisms involved in latency have been determined. Similarly, genetic changes and the resulting antimicrobial mechanisms mediating the MDR and XDR states have been characterized and potential new vaccines that avoid reactivation from latency and infection are being developed. Despite this progress, and given the fact that effective anti tuberculosis therapy was developed and first introduced clinically at the end of the 1940s, there are now more cases of latent and active TB worldwide than ever before. This reinforces the concept of TB as a bacterial disease with strong social and economical! determinants which are presently stimulating increased transmission in many human groups, undermining diagnostics, treatment and prevention. It suggests that in a scenario of global economical crisis the struggle against TB will be weakened, unless efforts are included to alleviate poverty, decrease economic inequality, improve public health and allow democracy and political organization.

Polyoma BK virus: an emerging opportunistic infectious agent of the human central nervous system

BK virus, a double-stranded DNA virus, is a member of the Polyomaviridae family which is known to infect humans. Clinical evidence of disease is mostly encountered in immunosuppressed individuals such as AIDS patients or those who undergo renal or bone marrow transplantation where complications associated with BKV infection manifest commonly as a polyomavirus nephropathy or hemorrhagic cystitis, respectively. Recent evidence suggests that in addition to the JC virus (the other member of the same family known to be strongly neurotropic and responsible for the progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy), BK virus can infect and cause clinically relevant disease in the human central nervous system. In this mini-review, an analysis of the literature is made. A special focus is given to alert clinicians to the possibility of this association during the differential diagnosis of infections of the central nervous system in the immunocompromised host.

Emerging influenza virus: a global threat.

Since 1918, in?uenza virus has been one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality, especially among young children. Though the commonly circulating strain of the virus is not virulent enough to cause mortality, the ability of the virus genome to mutate at a very high rate may lead to the emergence of a highly virulent strain that may become the cause of the next pandemic. Apart from the influenza virus strain circulating in humans (H1N1 and H3N2), the avian influenza H5N1 H7 and H9 virus strains have also been reported to have caused human infections, H5N1 H7 and H9 have shown their ability to cross the species barrier from birds to humans and further replicate in humans. This review addresses the biological and epidemiological aspects of influenza virus and efforts to have a control on the virus globally.

Emergence of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Gloucester and Salmonella typhimurium in Bangladesh.

Infections due to non-typhoid Salmonella, resistant to antibiotics, have recently emerged as an important health problem worldwide. Antibiotic resistance was studied by the disc-diffusion method among 3,876 (2.78%) non-typhoid Salmonella isolates cultured from 139,279 faecal samples in a diarrhoea treatment centre in Dhaka, Bangladesh, during 1989-1996. Of 499 salmonellae isolated in 1989, serogroup C (1.12%) was the most common, followed by Salmonella Typhi (0.72%) and serogroup B (0.71%). Isolation rate of serogroup B increased significantly to 2.18% (p < 0.01) in 1992 compared to 0.56% in 1991, 2.86% in 1995, and 2.48% in 1996. Serotyping of 194 serogroup B isolates revealed Salmonella Typhimurium (52%) and Salmonella Gloucester (45%) as predominant serotypes. Resistance to ampicillin (A), chloramphenicol (C), and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole (Sxt) (R type-ACSxt) increased to 89-100% during 1992-1996 from 20-28% during 1989-1991 (p < 0.01) among S. Typhimurium and S. Gloucester isolates. In 1993, 8-10% of the strains of both the serotypes, resistant to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole, acquired resistance to ceftriaxone (Cr) (R type-ACSxtCr), which increased to 85-92% in 1996 (p < 0.01). All were susceptible to ciprofloxacin. A 157-kb conjugative plasmid transferred R type-ACSxt from both the serotypes to Escherichia coli K-12. The findings of the study suggest the emergence of multidrug-resistant S. Gloucester and S. Typhimurium for the first time as a significant health problem in Bangladesh, and surveillance is essential to monitor the resistant non-typhoid Salmonella and identify its sources and modes of transmission.

Emerging pathogen Cyclospora cayetanensis infection in Nepal.

Cylospora cayetanensis, an emerging parasitic pathogen of human is being increasingly recognized throughout the world, however the means of transmission and the possibility of a reservoir host remain an enigma. A longitudinal study on cyclosporiasis in different parts of Nepal was carried out from April, 1995 until November, 2000. Fecal specimens were collected from symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. The data shows a distinct seasonality with the highest infection rates occurring during the summer and rainy season of the year. Attempts have been made to determine the sources of infection and possible reservoir hosts. Stools were examined from nearly 700 animals such as chickens, pigs, buffalos, cows, dogs, cats, monkeys, rats, mice and pigeons. In addition, vegetable farms around the Kathmandu Valley were examined during the seasonal high and low periods of transmission. C. cayetanensis-like oocysts were found in sewage water and from vegetable washings on five occasions during June, July, August, October, and November. Similarly, C. cayetanensis-like oocysts were recovered from mice, rats, chickens, and dogs. These results suggest that these sources may be important in the transmission of this parasitosis. However, further studies will be required to obtain definitive answers on transmission.