Human ehrlichiosis

Background. Human ehrlichiosis is a newly recognized disease. It is a tick-borne disease caused by several bacterial species of the genhus Erlichia. These are small gram-negative pleomorphic cocci, that are obligatory intracellular bacteria. Tick Ixodes is the principle vector in Europe, and Amblyomma americanum in the United States. Bacterial organisms replicate in a tick, and are transmited from infected cells in a vector to the blood cells of animals or humans. Human ehrlichiosis is a name for a group of diseases caused by different species of Ehrlichia. One of them is the disease named human monocytic ehrlichiosis, caused by Ehrlichia chaffeensis, and the other is a human granulocytic ehrlichiosis caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilia. Case report. We reported a 23-year-old patient admitted for the clinical treatment with the symptoms of high febrility (above 40 °C), headache, vomiting, general weakness and exhaustion, but without data on a tick bite. The patient was treated with trimetoprim-sulfamethoxazole for a week when Ehrlichia chaffeensis was confirmed by the immunofluoroscence test, and the therapy contimed with doxacyclin. Conclusion. Human ehrlichiosis is also present in our country, so this disease should be considered everyday, especially in infectology practice

Mikopopulacija različitih genotipova grahorice u Srbiji

Vetch (Vicia sativa L.) is annual plant from the legume family (Fabaceae) and originates from the temperate zone of Europe and Asia. It has a special place in the provision of ani­mal feed (fodder) in the zone of moderate climate. It belongs to high-quality protein fodder plants. There has not been a systematic research of vetch mycoflora in Serbia. This research aims to present the results of preliminary research of mycopopulation of 15 different genotypes of vetch. Total of 600 plant parts has been examined and 9 genera of fungi were isola­ted: Fusarium, Phythophthora, Rhizoctonia, Phoma, Verticillium, Alternaria, Sclerotinia, Botrytis and Ascochyta. On the plants from which the fungi were isolated, there were ma­croscopically clearly visible symptoms of infection.Grahorica (Vicia sativa L.) je jednogodišnja biljka iz porodice mahunarki (Fabaceae). Potiče iz umerenog klimatskog pojasa Evrope i Azije. Ima posebno mesto u obezbeđenju kabaste stočne hrane (krme) u zoni umerenog klimata. Pripada visokokvalitetnim proteinskim krmnim biljkama. Sistematskih istraživanja mikoflore grahorice u Srbiji do sada nije bilo. U ovome radu iznosimo rezultate preliminarnih istraživanja mikopopulacije 15 različitih genotipova grahorice. Ukupno je pregledano 600 biljnih delova sa kojih je izolovano 9 rodova gljiva: Fusarium, Phythophthora, Rhizoctonia, Phoma, Verticillium, Alternaria, Sclerotinia, Botrytis i Ascochyta. Na biljkama iz kojih su izolovane gljive bili su jasno vidljivi makroskopski simptomi zaraze

Morbus gaucher: A report of two cases

Backround. Clinical features of inherited glucocerebrosidase deficiency were first described by Phillippe Charles Ernest Gaucher, French physician (1854-1918). Deficiency of glucocerebrosidase leads to the accumulation of the lipid glucocerebroside within the lysosomes of the monocyte macrophage system. Lipid-laden cells, known as Gaucher cells, lead to hepatosplenomegaly, multiorgan dysfunction and sceletal deterioration. Case report. We reported a 36- year-old male and a 42-year-old female admitted for the clinical examination due to hepatosplenomegaly. The Clinical diagnosis was provided by a bone marrow examination and demonstration of the characteristic Gaucher cells. Both of the patients had type I Gaucher's disease (a mild form of the disease), which is distinguished by the lack of central nervous system involvement and striking phenotypic variation. We had not a possibility of testing β-glucocerebrosidase activity in peripheral leukocytes (a definitive diagnosis of Gaucher's disease). Also, enzyme replacement therapy had not been available in our country. Conclusion. Althoungh rare, Gaucher's disease is also present in our country. Both molecular genetic, and the enzyme β-glucocerebrosidase activity testing in peripheral leukocytes are needed for the definitive diagnosis of this disease

Therapy of acute hepatitis C infection

Background. Hepatitis C viral infection is a major cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The progression of acute to chronic infection occurs in 50-90% of cases. There is no standard therapy for acute HCV infection. Comparative studies are required to verify the optimal doses, dosage schedules and the treatment duration, and to establish the optimal treatment for acute hepatitis C. Recent reports have demonstrated that early application of interferon alpha was a treatment of choice for acute HCV infection. The addition of ribavirinin in the treatment of acute HCV infection, and HCV genotype, did not improve the end-of treatment responses. It is important to consider the treatment of acute HCV infection before it progresses to chronic state. Case Report. Beneficial effect of interferon therapy in a patient with acute hepatitis C is presented. Early treatment with 3 MIU interferon alpha, three times a week, within six-months, resulted in the normal serum aminotransferases, and good virological response in our patient. Conclusion. Interferon therapy significantly increased the probability of obtaining normal serum aminotransferases and undetectable HCV RNA, following acute HCV infection

Infective endocarditis of a rare etiology: Serratia marcescens

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a unique diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. It is a severe disease, fatal before penicillin discovery. Atypical presentations frequently led to delayed diagnosis and poor outcome. There was little information about the natural history of the vegetations during medical treatment or the relation of morphologic changes in vegetation to late complications. Application of a new diagnostic criteria and echocardiography, increased the number of definite diagnosis. Trans-thoracic and trans-esophageal echocardiography had an established role in the management of patients with IE. The evolution of vegetation size, its mobility, and consistency, the extent of the disease, and the severity of valvular regurgutation were related to late complications. With therapeutic options including modern antibiotic treatment and early surgical intervention IE turned out to be a curable disease. Reduction in mortality also depended on prevention. Antibiotic prophylaxis of IE was important, but low mortality was also the result of early treatment, especially in the event of early recognition of symptoms and signs of the disease

Rheology and texture analysis as a tool for process control

Rheology is a study of the material flow and deformation under applied force. Rheology of yoghurt describes physical properties that are related to texture as a significant part of sensory product quality. It describes the behavior of food and helps to better understand different processes. At the same time, texture analysis is objective instrumental technique useful in maintaining of constant quality. The aim of this study was to analyze the rheological and textural properties of yoghurt samples produced on different process lines in the dairy plant “Spasojevic”, Bajina Basta, Serbia. Rheological properties of the yoghurt samples were monitored using low amplitude strain oscillation (Rheometer, Kinexus Pro, Malvern, UK) by measuring: (i) viscosity as a function of shear rate (ii) tixotropic behavior of yoghurts. Texture of yoghurt samples was measured by back extrusion test on the Texture Analyzer (Micro Stable System, UK) using a 35 mm diameter disc. Analysis included the measurement of firmness, consistency, cohesiveness and index of viscosity. Composition including dry matter, proteins and fat content as well as pH of samples was determined. The syneresis of yoghurt was determined by measuring of whey volume expelled from samples after centrifugation. Results showed that rheological and textural properties of yoghurt are highly dependent on its composition. The significant difference in yoghurt properties produced on different production lines was found. However, it appears that the differences are induced by processing factors and present on a daily basis. Based on current results, it could be concluded that this study has provided valuable information on how to optimize the processing parameters in order to achieve a constant and high product quality

Actinomycosis: A multidisciplinary approach to a clinical problem

Actinomycosis is caused by microorganisms of the Actinomyces species, found in the oral cavity, gastrointestinal and genital tract. Infection by Actimomyces species mainly causes chronic supurative disease of the oral cervico-facial, thoracic, and abdominal regions. Clinical manifestations have been described at every level, but the disease is relatively rarely diagnosed. The causative agent is considered to be an opportunistic pathogen associated with infection, trauma, surgical procedures, or associated with a neoplasm or foreign body. Symptoms include intermittent fever, weight loss abdominal or thoracic pain, pseudotumor and tumor masses, and local symptoms from the infected area. Pseudotumor and tumor masses are diagnosed by ultrasonography and computerized tomography. The diagnosis is confirmed by the presence of a causative agent in biopsy or surgically acquired samples. The treatment includes the administration of high doses of antibiotics (penicillin, amoxicillin, ceftriaxone) for at least 6-12 months, as well as surgical tretment. Penicillin is a drug of choice. This infection is often polymicrobial, so that antibiotic therapy should include agents that act against the associated pathogens. Treatment outcome and prognosis in these three cases were excellent, despite the prolonged course of the extensive disease

Krimska-kongo hemoragijska groznica

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever was for the first time recognized in Yugoslavia in 1971. In this paper were presented clinical and laboratory findings of a patient infected with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Kosovo in 1999. The disease was manifested with fever, headache, vomiting, myalgia, abdominal pain, pharyngitis, conjunctival injection, diarrhoea, hypotension, gingival bleeding, skin hemorrhages, hematuria, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, jaudice, thrombocytopenia, prolonged prothrombin and partial thromboplastin time, high serum fibrinogen degradation product, leukocytosis, mild anemia, elevated levels of bilirubin and serum aminotransferases. Diagnosis was set clinically, epidemiologically and supported by serological tests. Supportive management of hypotension, multi-organ failure, coagulation disturbances the patient was of the utmost in the treatment together with the isolation and prophylactic measures.Krimska-kongo hemoragijska groznica prepoznata je prvi put u Jugoslaviji 1971. godine. Članak prikazuje kliničke i laboratorijske karakteristike kod bolesnika sa krimskom-kongo hemoragijskom groznicom inficiranog tokom boravka na Kosovu 1999. godine. Bolest se manifestovala febrilnošću, glavoboljom, povraćanjem, bolovima u mišićima, bolom u trbuhu, upalom ždrela, konjunktivnom injekcijom, prolivom, hipotenzijom, krvarenjem iz desni, krvarenjima na koži, hematurijom, uvećanjem jetre i slezine, žuticom, smanjenjem broja trombocita, produženim trombinskim i parcijalnim tromboplastinskim vremenom, povećanjem degradacionih produkata fibrinogena, leukocitozom, blažom anemijom, povišenjem serumskih vrednosti bilirubina i aminotransferaza. Dijagnoza je postavljena klinički, epidemiološki, a podržana serološkim testovima. U terapiji je najvažnije bilo suzbijanje hipotenzije, multiorganskih oštećenja, poremaćaja koagulacije uz izolaciju i primenu profilaktičkih mera