ABSTRACT
The seroprevalence of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (former human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, HGE) has been documented in several studies, but little data exists on incidence rates in healthy individuals. In a prospective study, we tested 125 healthy adults (mean age 43 years)--workers of the Bialowieza Primeval Forest National Park, north-eastern Poland--for Anaplasma phagocytophilum IgG antibodies using an indirect immunofluorescence antibody assay, and for Borrelia burgdorferi IgG with ELISA in a 12-month interval. The data concerning clinical symptoms consistent with human granulocytic anaplasmosis were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Of these 125 subjects, 9 were anti-A. phagocytophilum positive at the study entry. Four participants (3.2 %) seroconverted from IgG negative to positive during the observation period. Three subjects (2.4 %) converted from initially anti-A. phagocytophilum positive to negative. Specific IgG antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi were detected in 27 (21.6 %) individuals. Concurrence of Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum was observed in 3.2 %, whereas 4 % were Anaplasma phagocytophilum IgG positive and Borrelia burgdorferi IgG negative (not significant). Clinical symptoms associated with human granulocytic anaplasmosis were not present in seroconverting individuals. The obtained results confirm the occurrence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in north-eastern Poland with asymptomatic clinical course.
Subject(s)
Anaplasma phagocytophilum/isolation & purification , Antibodies, Bacterial/blood , Borrelia burgdorferi/isolation & purification , Ehrlichiosis/epidemiology , Adult , Anaplasma phagocytophilum/pathogenicity , Borrelia burgdorferi/pathogenicity , Chi-Square Distribution , Disease Reservoirs , Ehrlichiosis/diagnosis , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Female , Health Status , Humans , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Incidence , Male , Middle Aged , Poland/epidemiology , Prevalence , Prospective Studies , Risk Factors , Seroepidemiologic Studies , Time FactorsABSTRACT
The present study was to assess the diagnostic value of hydrocolonic sonography in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). 32 patients with clinical diagnosis of UC or with the symptoms of the disease were examined with hydrocolonic sonography, and subsequently with double-contrast enema radiography. 18 healthy subjects were examined as controls. Special attention was paid to the bowel wall thickness and stratification, the bowel lumen, haustration and peristaltic activity. Mean colonic wall thickness in UC patients was 2.45 +/- 0.5 mm and it was significantly higher than in the controls (p < 0.001). In UC patients the wall was hypoechoic with usually stratification preserved. Hydrocolonic sonography had sensitivity of 90.6% in the determination of the extent of lesions. Hydrocolonic sonography seems to be a valuable modification of the classic sonography, which enables noninvasive monitoring of the large intestine.
