Chlamydia pneumoniae enhances the Th2 profile of stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from asthmatic patients.

Chlamydia pneumoniae is a cause of respiratory infection in adults and children. There is evidence for an association between atypical bacterial respiratory pathogens and the pathogenesis of asthma. We compared T helper (Th) responses in C. pneumoniae - infected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in patients with or without asthma. PBMC (1×10(6)/mL) from asthmatic patients (N=11) and non-asthmatic controls (N=12) were infected or mock-infected for 1h +/- C. pneumoniae TW-183 at a multiplicity of infection (MOI)=1 and MOI=0.1, or cultured for 24h +/- Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG). Interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10, IL-12, Interferon (IFN)-gamma and total IgE levels were measured in supernatants (ELISA). C. pneumoniae infection led to an increase (>50%) of IgE levels in PBMC from asthmatics, compared with mock-infected on day 10; IgE wasn't detected in non-asthmatics. C. pneumoniae - infected PBMC from asthmatics increased levels of IL-4 and IFN-gamma after 24h, compared with PBMC alone; levels of IL-10 and IL-12 were low. When uninfected-PBMC from asthmatics were LGG-stimulated, after 24h, IL-4 was undetectable, but IL-10, IL-12, and IFN-gamma increased, compared with PBMC alone. Thus, C. pneumoniae infection has the ability to induce allergic responses in PBMC of asthmatics, as evidenced by production of Th2 responses and IgE.

Pattern of bacterial colonization in a new neonatal intensive care unit and its association with infections in infants.

BACKGROUND: There is paucity of information on the pattern of bacterial colonization of a new neonatal intensive care unit. OBJECTIVE: To study the pattern of bacterial colonization on the environmental surfaces in a new neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and correlate it with infections in the infants. METHODS: Environmental cultures from the faucets and computer keyboards in the NICU were obtained prospectively every 2 weeks for 1 year. Positive blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and respiratory cultures from the infants in the NICU were also obtained. RESULTS: A total of 175 swab cultures was collected, which were sterile for initial 6-week period. Subsequently, 31 cultures grew microbes: 26 (83.8%) from the faucets and 5 (16.2%) from the computers keyboard (P < .001). Of the 48 positive blood cultures in NICU patients, 6 (12.5%) matched the organism growing from the surveillance sites, but the correlation was not significant (P = .076). None of the 31 positive respiratory cultures and 1 positive cerebrospinal fluid culture correlated to the organisms grown from the NICU environment. CONCLUSION: The environment was colonized after an initial period of sterile cultures in a new NICU. Once colonized, they can persist, increasing the risk of developing resistance to antibiotics. They did not correlate with the positive cultures from the infants admitted to the NICU during the study period.

Baylisascaris Procyonis Neural Larva Migrans in an Infant in New York City.

Neural larva migrans (NLM) with eosinophilic meningoencephalitis secondary to raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis) infection has been reported in rural and suburban areas of North America and Europe with extant raccoon populations. Most cases have occurred in infants less than two years of age exposed to areas of raccoon fecal contamination. Here, we present a case of Baylisascaris-induced NLM from the densely populated borough of Brooklyn in New York City and alert urban pediatricians to consider this cause of clinical neurologic disease even in areas not typically thought to be associated with endemic risk factors. Infected raccoons also occur in urban settings, and urban children may be exposed to environmental areas or materials contaminated with their feces and the parasite's eggs.

Baylisascaris Procyonis Induced Diffuse Unilateral Subacute Neuroretinitis in New York City.

Diffuse unilateral subacute neuroretinitis (DUSN) secondary to raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis) infection has been reported in rural and suburban areas of North America and Europe with extant raccoon populations. Here, we present a case of Baylisascaris-induced DUSN from the densely populated borough of Brooklyn in New York City and alert urban ophthalmologists to consider this etiology even in areas not typically thought to be associated with endemic risk factors. Infected raccoons also occur in urban settings, and urban patients may be exposed in surrounding areas. Most patients with Baylisascaris ocular larva migrans-DUSN will not have concomitant neurologic disease; this fact and larval neurotropism are both misconceptions regarding this infection.