ABSTRACT
A fatal human case of Duvenhage virus (DUVV) infection in a Dutch traveller who had returned from Kenya was reported in 2007. She exhibited classical symptoms of rabies encephalitis with distinct pathological findings. In the present study we describe the isolation and characterization of DUVV in vitro and its passage in BALB/c mice. The virus proved to be neuroinvasive in both juvenile and adult mice, resulting in about 50% lethality upon peripheral infection. Clinical signs in infected mice were those of classical rabies. However, the distribution of viral antigen expression in the brain differed from that of classical rabies virus infection and neither inclusion bodies nor neuronal necrosis were observed. This is the first study to describe the in vitro and in vivo isolation and characterization of DUVV.
Subject(s)
Encephalitis, Viral/virology , Lyssavirus/isolation & purification , Lyssavirus/pathogenicity , Rhabdoviridae Infections/virology , Animals , Antigens, Viral/immunology , Base Sequence , Brain/pathology , Brain/virology , Cell Line, Tumor , Cricetinae , Encephalitis, Viral/diagnosis , Encephalitis, Viral/immunology , Female , Humans , Lyssavirus/classification , Lyssavirus/genetics , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Molecular Sequence Data , RNA, Viral/genetics , Rhabdoviridae Infections/diagnosis , Rhabdoviridae Infections/immunology , Sequence Analysis, RNA , Serial Passage , TravelABSTRACT
A different clinical picture and therapeutic response were observed when data from Leishmania major-infected Dutch military personnel stationed in southern (N = 8) and northern (N = 169) Afghanistan were analyzed. Clinical presentation of cutaneous leishmaniasis in personnel in the south was milder and seemed to respond better to antileishmanial treatment; molecular analyses of parasite isolates seem to indicate that these differences may be genetic.
Subject(s)
Leishmania major/pathogenicity , Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/parasitology , Afghanistan , Genotype , HumansABSTRACT
Cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major infection affected 172 (18.3%) of 938 Dutch military troops deployed in northern Afghanistan in 2005. The high attack rate was a result of initial insufficient availability of means of prevention and insufficient adherence to preventive measures. At presentation, the lymphatic system was involved in 24.8%. Treatment with intralesional injections of antimony with or without cryotherapy was satisfactory, but 19.5% of patients received secondary treatment with miltefosine. Six months after treatment, 128 (77.1%) of 166 treated patients were cured, 16 (9.6%) were lost to follow-up, and 22 (13.3%) already experienced cure at six weeks but were not seen at six months. Natural evolution played a role in this observational study, which showed cure of all patients seen at six months. In general, management of cutaneous leishmaniasis was feasible under field conditions.
Subject(s)
Antiprotozoal Agents/therapeutic use , Leishmania major , Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/epidemiology , Phosphorylcholine/analogs & derivatives , Adult , Afghanistan/epidemiology , Cryotherapy , Humans , Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/drug therapy , Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/parasitology , Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/prevention & control , Male , Military Personnel , Netherlands , Phosphorylcholine/therapeutic use , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Cutaneous leishmaniasis in Surinam is generally caused by infection by Leishmania guyanensis. We report three cases of infection with Leishmania (Viannia) naiffi, a Leishmania species not described from Surinam before. Treatment with pentamidine proved to be effective.
