Influenza A and B in a cohort of outpatient children and adolescent with influenza like-illness during two consecutive influenza seasons

ABSTRACT Introduction Influenza is an important cause of morbimortality worldwide. Although people at the extremes of age have a greater risk of complications, influenza has been more frequently investigated in the elderly than in children, and inpatients than outpatients. Yearly vaccination with trivalent or quadrivalent vaccines is the main strategy to control influenza. Objectives Determine the clinical and molecular characteristics of influenza A and B infections in children and adolescents with influenza-like illness (ILI). Methods: A cohort of outpatient children and adolescents with ILI was followed for 20 months. Influenza was diagnosed with commercial multiplex PCR platforms. Results: 179 patients had 277 episodes of ILI, being 79 episodes of influenza A and 20 episodes of influenza B. Influenza A and B cases were mild and had similar presentation. Phylogenetic tree of influenza B viruses showed that 91.6% belonged to the B/Yamagata lineage, which is not included in trivalent vaccines. Conclusions: Influenza A and B are often detected in children and adolescents with ILI episodes, with similar and mild presentation in outpatients. The mismatch between the circulating influenza viruses and the trivalent vaccine offered in Brazil may have contributed to the high frequency of influenza A and B in this population.

Reimmunization after bone marrow transplantation: current recommendations and perspectives

Pacientes submetidos ao transplante de medula óssea, alogênico ou autogênico, perdem sua memória imunológica de exposição a agentes infecciosos e a vacinas adquiridas durante sua vida e necessitam eventualmente serem revacinados. Toxóide difteriano, tetânico e pertussis (crianças < de 7 anos), Haemophilus influenza do tipo B (Hib) conjugada, polissacáride pneumocócica - valência 23, vacina inativada de influenza, vacina de pólio inativada e vacinas vivas atenuadas de sarampo-caxumba- rubéola são as vacinas comumente recomendadas em um programa de vacinação de TMO. No entanto, o momento, número de doses e/ou o tempo de duração da imunidade após a vacinação ainda não se encontram estabelecidos. Os protocolos de vacinação entre os vários centros de TMO variam e inexistem dados que propiciem sólidas recomendações. O uso de outras vacinas e perspectivas de diferentes protocolos de vacinação são discutidos nesta revisão.

Phialemonium curvatum infection after bone marrow transplantation

We report a case of cutaneous infection caused by Phialemonium curvatum GAMS et COOKE, 1983, after bone marrow transplantation. The genus Phialemonium was created by GAMS & MCGINNIS in 1983 including three new species: Ph. obovatum, Ph. curvatum and Ph. dimorphosporum, and represents an intermediate genus between Acremonium and Phialophora. Nowadays, the genus Phialemonium is considered to be a pheoid fungus which may cause the eventual lesions observed in pheo- and hyalohyphomycosis. Species of this genus have been described as opportunistic agents in humans and animals, mainly as a result of immunosuppression. In the present case, the patient had multiple myeloma and received an allogenic bone marrow transplant from his HLA-compatible brother. Two months after transplantation, he developed purplish and painful nodular lesions on the right ankle. Some of these lesions drained spontaneously and apparently hyaline mycelial filaments were observed, whose culture was initially identified as Acremonium sp. Subsequent studies showed that the fungus was Phialemonium curvatum. The infection was treated with amphotericin B, followed by ketoconazole. The patient was submitted to surgical debridement followed by two skin grafts to repair the bloody area. The duration of the treatment was 4 months and secondary prophylaxis with ketoconazole alone was maintained for one additional month. No recurrence was observed after discontinuation of treatment. The authors comment on the pathogenicity of the genus Phialemonium

Herpes simplex virus shedding in bone marrow transplant recipients during low-dose oral acyclovir prohylaxis

A 400mg dose twice-a-day oral acyclovir prophylaxis regimen was evaluated in 50 allogenic transplant recipients. Twenty (40 percent) patients experienced 24 episodes of herpes simplex virus (HSV) shedding; 17 (70.8 percent) occurring during prophylaxis. Thirteen of such episodes were asymptomatic and, in three, it was difficult to differentiate severe mucositis from viral lesions. In the remaining one, HSV pneumonia was suspected after a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) procedure performed in an attempt to early detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV). All cases responded to acyclovir therapy or dose adjustment suggesting that acyclovir resistance did not account for the occurrence of infection in our patients. These data demonstrated that oral acyclovir prophylaxis, 400mg dose twice-a-day, was inadequate to suppress viral shedding. The bronchoalveolar lavage procedure in a patient with HSV shedding could precipitate HSV spread to the lungs and the occurrence of pneumonia.