ABSTRACT
Twenty Strongyloides-infected patients were diagnosed at West Virginia's Charleston Area Medical Center in 1997 and 1998. We recommend that strongyloidiasis, which can be fatal, be a reportable disease in West Virginia.
Subject(s)
Strongyloides/isolation & purification , Strongyloidiasis/diagnosis , Animals , Female , Hospitals, University , Humans , Male , Sputum/parasitology , Strongyloides stercoralis/isolation & purification , Strongyloidiasis/parasitology , West VirginiaSubject(s)
Bacterial Infections/complications , Cross Infection , Enterococcus/drug effects , Strongyloides/isolation & purification , Strongyloidiasis/complications , Vancomycin Resistance , Animals , Bacterial Infections/microbiology , Diarrhea/etiology , Enterococcus/pathogenicity , Feces/microbiology , Humans , Hypotension/etiology , Immunocompromised Host , Renal Dialysis , Strongyloides/pathogenicity , Strongyloidiasis/microbiologySubject(s)
Giardiasis/epidemiology , Strongyloidiasis/epidemiology , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Prevalence , West Virginia/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Family physicians should be alert for unusual diseases in patients who are returning from foreign travel. Malaria is a potentially fatal disease that can be acquired by travelers to certain areas of the world, primarily developing nations. Transmitted through the bite of the Anopheles mosquito, malaria usually presents with fever and a vague systemic illness. The disease is diagnosed by demonstration of Plasmodium organisms on a specially prepared blood film. Travelers can also acquire amebic infections, which may cause dysentery or, in some instances, liver abscess. Amebiasis is diagnosed by finding Entamoeba histolytica cysts or trophozoites in the stool. Invasive amebic infections are generally treated with metronidazole followed by iodoquinol or paromomycin. Cutaneous larva migrans is acquired by skin contact with hookworm larvae in the soil. The infection is characterized by the development of itchy papules followed by serpiginous or linear streaks. Cutaneous larva migrans is treated with invermectin or albendazole. Case studies are presented.
Subject(s)
Amebiasis , Larva Migrans , Malaria, Vivax , Travel , Adult , Amebiasis/diagnosis , Amebiasis/drug therapy , Amebiasis/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Larva Migrans/diagnosis , Larva Migrans/epidemiology , Larva Migrans/therapy , Malaria, Vivax/diagnosis , Malaria, Vivax/drug therapy , Malaria, Vivax/epidemiology , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Family physicians in the United States are increasingly called on to manage the complex clinical problems of newly arrived immigrants and refugees. Case studies and discussions are provided in this article to update physicians on the diagnosis and management of potentially unfamiliar ailments, including strongyloidiasis, hookworm infection, cysticercosis, clonorchiasis and tropical pancreatitis. Albendazole and ivermectin, two important drugs in the treatment of some worm infections, are now available in the United States.
Subject(s)
Anti-Infective Agents/therapeutic use , Clonorchiasis , Cysticercosis , Emigration and Immigration , Hookworm Infections , Strongyloidiasis , Adolescent , Albendazole/therapeutic use , Antinematodal Agents/therapeutic use , Antiplatyhelmintic Agents/therapeutic use , Antiprotozoal Agents/therapeutic use , Clonorchiasis/diagnosis , Clonorchiasis/drug therapy , Cysticercosis/diagnosis , Cysticercosis/drug therapy , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Hookworm Infections/diagnosis , Hookworm Infections/drug therapy , Humans , Ivermectin/therapeutic use , Male , Middle Aged , Pancreatitis/therapy , Praziquantel/therapeutic use , Strongyloidiasis/diagnosis , Strongyloidiasis/drug therapy , Tropical Climate , United StatesABSTRACT
Previous studies have suggested that diethylcarbamazine (DEC), a drug used for filariasis control, may be useful in the treatment of mycobacterial infections. In this experiment, Mycobacterium tuberculosis was added to blood samples from two groups (healthy and diabetic) of adult non-smoking donors. Portions of each sample were tested with and without DEC at clinically achievable levels. Statistically significant DEC-related percentage decreases in BACTEC growth index counts were noted for each group (Wilcoxon one-sample signed-rank tests, alpha = 0.05, two-tailed). These results suggest that administration of DEC for filariasis control could have a positive impact on tuberculosis control.
Subject(s)
Antitubercular Agents/pharmacology , Diethylcarbamazine/pharmacology , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/drug effects , Colony Count, Microbial , Diabetes Mellitus/blood , Humans , Tuberculosis/drug therapySubject(s)
Cryptococcosis/therapy , Immunotherapy , AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections/complications , AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections/therapy , Adjuvants, Immunologic/therapeutic use , Animals , Cryptococcosis/complications , Diethylcarbamazine/therapeutic use , Humans , In Vitro Techniques , MiceSubject(s)
AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections/drug therapy , Bacterial Infections/drug therapy , Diethylcarbamazine/therapeutic use , Filaricides/therapeutic use , Mycoses/drug therapy , Adult , Candidiasis/drug therapy , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous/drug therapy , Pneumonia, Pneumocystis/drug therapy , Pseudomonas Infections/drug therapyABSTRACT
This article describes two cases of esophagitis in immunocompetent adults associated with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection. One case presented with pharyngitis and the other with whitlow. A review of the literature revealed 21 other cases in immunocompetent adults; and, of these 21 patients, odynophagia was noted in 19, nine experienced fever, and oral lesions were found in five of these individuals. Barium swallow was positive in 8 of 20 patients tested, whereas esophagoscopy showed ulcers in 17 of the 20 cases. Specimens obtained during esophagoscopy revealed viral inclusions in 13 of the 20 patients tested, and viral cultures were positive in 11 of the 15 patients tested. Although upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage occurred in one patient, symptoms generally resolved within a few weeks whether or not acyclovir was administered.
Subject(s)
Esophagitis/immunology , Herpes Simplex , Immunocompetence , Simplexvirus , Adult , Esophagitis/diagnosis , Esophagitis/drug therapy , Esophagitis/microbiology , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
Other researchers have found that diethylcarbamazine (DEC) is effective treatment for filariasis despite a lack of demonstrated in vitro antifilarial activity. The results of our previous investigations using feline and murine leukemia virus models encouraged us to investigate the use of DEC with other infections. In our current experiments, DEC treatment was associated with lower brain fungal burden in fluconazole-treated mice following intravenous injection of Aspergillus fumigatus or increasing numbers of Cryptococcus neoformans organisms, and lower brain and kidney levels of Candida albicans following intravenous injection of increasing numbers of C. albicans. Further investigation of combined DEC and fluconazole treatment of fungal infections is warranted.
ABSTRACT
Notable complications from adenovirus pneumonia in healthy adults are rare. We report a well-documented case of adenovirus type 3 infection in a previously well adult woman that resulted in severe pulmonary complications as well as self-limited ocular, hepatic, and gastrointestinal abnormalities.
Subject(s)
Adenovirus Infections, Human/complications , Conjunctivitis, Viral/etiology , Immunocompetence , Pneumonia, Viral/complications , Pulmonary Fibrosis/etiology , Adenovirus Infections, Human/diagnostic imaging , Adenovirus Infections, Human/therapy , Adenoviruses, Human/isolation & purification , Adult , Conjunctivitis, Viral/microbiology , Conjunctivitis, Viral/therapy , Female , Humans , Pneumonia, Viral/diagnostic imaging , Pneumonia, Viral/therapy , Pulmonary Fibrosis/diagnostic imaging , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
Other researchers have found that diethylcarbamazine (DEC) is effective treatment for filariasis despite a lack of demonstrated in vitro antifilarial activity. The results of our previous investigations using feline and murine leukemia virus models encouraged us to investigate the use of DEC with other infections. In the current experiments, DEC treatmentS was associated with (a) increased survival and decreased brain Streptococcus pneumoniae levels following S. pneumoniae challenge in previously immunized mice; (b) increased serum antibody levels to S. pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Haemophilus influenzae following inoculation of live bacteria; and (c) lower brain fungal levels following intravenous injection of Aspergillus fumigatus or increasing numbers of Cryptococcus neoformans organisms, and lower brain and kidney levels of Candida albicans following intravenous injection of increasing numbers of C. albicans.
ABSTRACT
Previous studies indicate that decreased serum viral infectivity and viral antigen levels follow oral administration of diethylcarbamazine (DEC) in feline leukemia virus infected cats, even though DEC has not been shown to exhibit in vitro antiviral activity. In this investigation, DEC was given by oral administration or (single dose) IP injection to murine leukemia virus (Cas-Br-M) inoculated mice to permit evaluation of its effect on viral-induced central nervous system disease. The survival of Cas-Br-M inoculated mice receiving DEC in water was significantly prolonged relative to similarly inoculated mice receiving distilled water. Among the Cas-Br-M inoculated mice euthanatized after the study, higher body weights and trend toward less severe brain and splenic lesions were noted in those receiving DEC in drinking water. Given these results, the possible utility of DEC in treatment of retroviral and other infections warrants further study.