Comparison of clinical course of Mpox among HIV-negative and HIV-positive patients: A 2022 cohort of hospitalized patients in Central Europe.

Mpox has become the most significant orthopoxviral infection among humans. Since May 2022, there has been a multicountry outbreak of mpox across six continents. Retrospective observational cohort study of 94 patients with probable or confirmed mpox of whom 86.2% were hospitalized in Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Warsaw, Poland between May 16 and October 30, 2022. Most patients were young (median age: 31, IQR: 25-43 years), predominantly (88.3%) Polish men who have sex with men exposed most commonly in Poland (82.7%), Spain (6.2%), or Germany (4.9%). The median observed mpox incubation period was 7 (IQR: 4-8) days with the median hospitalization time of 7 (range: 2-24, IQR: 5-11) days. History of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) was common in the group (previous syphilis or hepatitis C virus in 33.3% and 17.3%, respectively, 6.2% of early syphilis or gonorrhea). A significant proportion (n = 43, 45.7%) of mpox cases were people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), all except one were on stable and virologically effective (88.4% with HIV viral load <50 copies/mL) antiretroviral treatment. Chemsex was reported in 34.6% of hospitalized cases, more commonly among people with HIV (48.5% vs. 25.0%, p = 0.029). None of the mpox infected patients presented with advanced HIV infection. Despite the fact that 6.3% of cases presented with >50 skin lesions the course of the disease was self-limited with no severe cases or deaths. There were no significant clinical or laboratory differences or complication rates between patients with and without HIV coinfection. Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of mpox in Poland are similar to other countries, but there were no targeted, population oriented interventions or vaccination programs. Mpox diagnosis provided an opportunity to screen and diagnose other STIs. As Central European populations, including refugees from Ukraine, are largely unvaccinated against mpox access to preventive vaccinations and antiviral therapy should be maximized.

The thick-borne encephalitis caused by alimentary transmission - case series report.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a central nervous system zoonotic disease transmitted by ticks. Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is one of the main causes of lymphocytic meningitis in the areas of its endemic occurrence. A mode of transmission of TBEV which is rarely observed in clinical practice is an alimentary transmission through consumption of unpasteurised dairy products from infected animals. The following article contains detailed description of the clinical course of TBE among five family members, for whom the occurrence of TBE was temporarily associated with the consumption of unpasteurised goat's milk from the same source. The epidemiological outbreak presented in this article is the fifth ever described case of the milk-borne TBE in Poland. More so, the clinical course of the disease has shown differences from the typical course characterised so far in the literature. Clinical cases of TBE described in this study were similar to infections caused by tick bites in humans. The following article discusses available methods of preventing TBE, with emphasis on alimentary transmission of TBEV, since possibility of serious detrimental long-term neurological complications resulting from TBE was stressed in prior literature.

Study of the first clinical cases on monkeypox in Poland.

Monkeypox is a viral, zoonotic, emerging infectious disease that has become the most significant orthopoxviral infection among humans since the eradication of smallpox. It is endemic in Central and West Africa, and since May 2022 it has caused a multi-country outbreak in six continents. So far, no clinical cases of this disease have been observed in Poland. Monkeypox can be transmitted by any person, regardless of gender identity or sexual preferences, through direct contact with the secretion from skin lesions or through fomites contaminated with infectious material. Therefore, people infected with the monkeypox virus require isolation until the skin lesions heal completely and the scabs fall off, which is equivalent to the end of their infectivity. The paper presents a study of the first nine clinical cases of monkeypox in Poland, along with photographic documentation. All patients were young men, the vast majority of whom had contact with multiple sexual partners, and presented a higher prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection than in the general population. The course of the disease was self-limited and no specific antiviral treatment was required by any of the patients. Nonetheless, there was a change in the route of transmission of the infection to sexual contact and an atypical clinical course of the disease, which resulted both in skin lesions initially appearing in the anogenital area, skin lesions occurring at various stages of development, and the appearance of skin lesions before the onset of general symptoms. In one of the patients, skin changes were not observed at all.

Rapid decline of viral RNA in chronic hepatitis C patients treated once daily with IDX320: a novel macrocyclic HCV protease inhibitor.

BACKGROUND: The addition of direct-acting antivirals to pegylated interferon-α plus ribavirin for the treatment of chronic HCV infection can result in an increased sustained viral response rate and may permit reduction in treatment duration. IDX320 is a potent non-covalent macrocyclic inhibitor of the HCV NS3/4A protease. METHODS: This was a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled single- and multiple-dose study to assess the safety, tolerability, antiviral activity and pharmacokinetics of IDX320 in healthy volunteers (HV) and patients with chronic HCV genotype 1 infection. HV (n=48) received single or multiple ascending doses of IDX320. Two HCV-infected patients received a single dose of 200 mg IDX320. Dosages for other HCV-infected patients were as follows: placebo, 50, 100, 200 or 400 mg of IDX320 orally once daily for 3 days (n=30) or placebo/200 mg of IDX320 twice-daily for 3 days (n=8). RESULTS: In total, 48 HV and 40 HCV-infected patients were enrolled and all completed the study. There were no serious adverse events. The majority of adverse events were of mild or moderate intensity. Pharmacokinetics supported a once-daily dosing regimen. A rapid decline in plasma HCV RNA was observed in all patients. In the multiple-dose study, mean HCV RNA reductions were 2.6, 3.1, 3.1, 3.3 and 3.8 log(10) IU/ml after 3 days in the IDX320 50, 100, 200, 400 mg once-daily and 200 mg twice-daily treatment groups, respectively. This compared to a mean HCV RNA reduction of 0.04 log(10) in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: Once-daily IDX320 dosing demonstrated potent dose-dependent antiviral activity in treatment-naive HCV genotype-1-infected patients.

[Acute gastroenteritis in Isolation Ward III Voivodeship Hospital in Warsaw 2001-2005]. / Ostre niezyty zoladkowo-jelitowe leczone w Oddziale III Wojewódzkiego Szpitala Zakaznego w Warszawie w latach 2001-2005.

Study was done to evaluate changes of serotypes of Salmonella, clinical pattern, methods of treatment of patients who were hospitalized in our ward between 2001-2005. Among 129 patients with microbiologicaly confirmed Salmonella serotype S. enteritidis is prevalent. No changes of etiology were detected. Signs and treatment was not significantly changed. The most common source of infection were poultry products.