Dermatological manifestations of infection by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Anaplasma phagocytophilum

Lymeská borrelióza (LB) a lidská granulocytární anaplasmóza (LGA) patří mezi antropozoonózy, které se vyskytují ve stejných geografických oblastech a na člověka jsou přenášeny stejným druhem klíštěte rodu Ixodes. Zatímco patogenem LB je extracelulární spirochéta Borrelia burgdorferi a symptomy, průběh, diagnostika a léčba onemocnění je dobře známá, LGA patří mezi nová a méně známá onemocnění. LGA způsobuje obligátní intracelulární bakterie Anaplasma phagocytophilum a onemocnění probíhá nejčastěji jako horečnaté onemocnění doprovázené dalšími nespecifickými příznaky, mezi které patří třesavka, únava, bolesti svalů, kloubů a hlavy. V průběhu neléčené infekce může dojít k orgánovému postižení, zejména respiračního systému, gastrointestinálního traktu a nervového systému. Mezi laboratorní známky infekce patří změny v krevním obrazu - leukopenie, anémie, trombocytopenie, a elevace jaterních enzymů. V Severní Americe se vyskytuje větší počet symptomatických a závažných případů, které mohou mít ve výjimečných případech i fatální průběh. V Evropě jsou průběhy LGA mírné až asymptomatické. Promořenost klíšťat anaplasmovou DNA v Evropě je vysoká, vysoká je i prevalence anaplasmových protilátek u divokých zvířat. Séroprevalence zejména v rizikové populaci je u nás i v Evropě vysoká. V souvislosti s LB můžeme...Lyme disease (LD) and human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) are anthropozoonoses that occur in the same geographical areas and are transmitted to humans by the same species of ticks of the genus Ixodes. While the extracellular pathogen of LD, spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, and symptoms, course, diagnosis and treatment of the disease are well known, the HGA is one of the new and less known diseases. HGA is caused by an obligate intracellular bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum and the disease most often presents as a febrile illness accompanied by other nonspecific symptoms, including chills, fatigue, muscle pain, joint pain and headaches. An untreated infection can cause organ involvement, particularly of respiratory, gastrointestinal and the nervous system. Laboratory signs of infection include changes in the blood count - leucopenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and elevated liver enzymes. Among cases reported from North America , there is a higher portion of symptomatic and severe cases,, with some reported deaths. In Europe, the course of HGA tends to be mild or asymptomatic. The percentage of ticks containing anaplasma DNA in Europe is high, there is also a high prevalence of anaplasma antibodies in wild animals. Seroprevalence especially in the high-risk population in our country and in Europe is high....Dermatovenerologická klinikaDepartment of Dermatology2. lékařská fakultaSecond Faculty of Medicin

European perspective of Turkey's integration into the EU: the role of identity

This thesis addresses the question of whether national identities affect the attitude of the EU member states on the question of Turkey's accession to the European Union. The thesis is based on the theory of constructivism, according to which understanding of the collective identity of the actors allows for better understanding of their actions. From the perspective of constructivism, each collective identity is produced in particular environment by certain predominant ideas which subsequently define the specific interests and preferences of the actors. The main hypothesis assumes that the attitude of states towards Turkey, as well as their arguments for and against its accession, will vary depending on different identities. Four EU member states - Germany, France, Austria, Poland - were selected to answer the question and verify the hypothesis. The analysis of these states is conducted in the form single-case studies. For each state, a sub-hypothesis was then set out to predict the attitude of states to the question of Turkish membership and to set observable consequences. Empirical analysis of national characteristics and analysis of their attitude towards Turkey's potential membership in the EU aims to confirm that the attitude of states really reflects certain features of national identity...

The Justice and Development Party and the European Union: Analysis of the interest in joining the EU

This thesis aims to answer the question why did Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) dropped the consistent reform initiative and effort to ensure fulfillment of EU entry criteria after starting accession negotiations in 2005. To answer this question the paper analyses the interest of AKP in EU accession. The causes of interest in the EU are examined firstly and then it is focused on the reasons responsible for the loss of interest. The paper demonstrates that the transformation of interest of the ruling party in EU accession was influenced by the combination of two factors. The first factor was the lack of credibility of the accession negotiations with the EU and the ensuing improbability of membership. The second factor was the consolidation of the AKP political power. With respect to the nature of the AKP original interest in the integration of Turkey into the EU, the thesis concludes that the interest depended on the necessity of the accession process for domestic political purposes of ruling party. Afterwards the party achieved its objective, which was to get rid of opponents and secure their position in the Turkish political system, the AKP had no reason to try to meet all requirements of the European Union, given the unlikely outcome of accession negotiations

Dermatological manifestations of infection by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Anaplasma phagocytophilum

Lyme disease (LD) and human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) are anthropozoonoses that occur in the same geographical areas and are transmitted to humans by the same species of ticks of the genus Ixodes. While the extracellular pathogen of LD, spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, and symptoms, course, diagnosis and treatment of the disease are well known, the HGA is one of the new and less known diseases. HGA is caused by an obligate intracellular bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum and the disease most often presents as a febrile illness accompanied by other nonspecific symptoms, including chills, fatigue, muscle pain, joint pain and headaches. An untreated infection can cause organ involvement, particularly of respiratory, gastrointestinal and the nervous system. Laboratory signs of infection include changes in the blood count - leucopenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and elevated liver enzymes. Among cases reported from North America , there is a higher portion of symptomatic and severe cases,, with some reported deaths. In Europe, the course of HGA tends to be mild or asymptomatic. The percentage of ticks containing anaplasma DNA in Europe is high, there is also a high prevalence of anaplasma antibodies in wild animals. Seroprevalence especially in the high-risk population in our country and in Europe is high...

MLST typing of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum in the Czech Republic during 2004-2017: Clinical isolates belonged to 25 allelic profiles and harbored 8 novel allelic variants.

A recently introduced Multilocus Sequence Typing scheme for Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum was applied to clinical samples collected from 2004 to 2017 from the two largest cities (Prague and Brno) in the Czech Republic. Altogether, a total of 675 samples were tested in this study and 281 of them were found PCR-positive for treponemal DNA and typeable. Most of the typed samples (n = 281) were swabs from primary or secondary syphilis lesions (n = 231), and only a minority were whole blood or tissue samples (n = 50). Swab samples from patients with rapid plasma regain (RPR) values of 1-1024 were more frequently PCR-positive (84.6%) compared to samples from patients with non-reactive RPR test (46.5%; p-value = 0.0001). Out of 281 typeable samples, 136 were fully-typed at all TP0136, TP0548, and TP0705 loci. Among the fully and partially typed samples, 25 different allelic profiles were identified. Altogether, eight novel allelic variants were found among fully (n = 5) and partially (n = 3) typed samples. The distribution of TPA allelic profiles identified in the Czech Republic from 2004 to 2017 revealed a dynamic character with allelic profiles disappearing and emerging over time. While the number of samples with the A2058G mutation was seen to increase (86.7% in 2016/2017), the number of samples harboring the A2059G mutation was found to have decreased over time (3.3% in 2016/2017). In addition, we found several allelic profile associations with macrolide resistance or susceptibility, the gender of patients, as well as patient residence

A retrospective study on nested PCR detection of syphilis treponemes in clinical samples: PCR detection contributes to the diagnosis of syphilis in patients with seronegative and serodiscrepant results.

Syphilis, caused by Treponema pallidum ssp. pallidum (TPA), is a persisting global health problem. Although syphilis diagnostics relies mainly on serology, serological tests have some limitations, and it is recommended that the final diagnosis be supported by additional tests. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between serology and PCR in syphilis diagnostics. From the year 2004 to May 2019, a total of 941 samples were taken from 833 patients suspected of having syphilis, in Czech Republic. In all these samples, both nested PCR detection of TPA and serology testing were performed. Of the 941 samples, 126 were seronegative, 651 were seropositive, and 164 were serodiscrepant. Among seronegative samples (n = 126), 11 were PCR-positive (8.7%). Among seropositive samples (n = 651; i.e., samples positive for both non-treponemal and treponemal serology tests), 368 samples were PCR-positive (56.5%). The remaining 164 serodiscrepant samples included RPR negative and treponemal serological test-positive samples (n = 154) and a set of 10 RPR-positive samples negative in treponemal serological tests. While the first group revealed 73 PCR-positive samples (47.4%), the second revealed 5 PCR positive samples (50.0%). PCR detection rates were highest in primary syphilis, with lower rates in the secondary and undetermined syphilis stages. As shown here, the nested PCR can improve diagnostics of syphilis, especially in seronegative patients and in patients with discrepant serology