Influenza antiviral drugs: present and future

Η γρίπη προκαλεί ετήσιες επιδημίες και πανδημίες με αυξημένη νοσηρότητα και θνησιμότητα. Αντιικοί παράγοντες με διαφορετική χημική σύσταση και θεραπευτική προσέγγιση μειώνουν τη διάρκεια των συμπτωμάτων, τις επιπλοκές και το θάνατο. Η ανάδυση ιών με ανθεκτικότητα στις αδαμαντάνες και στους αναστολείς της νευραμινιδάσης οδηγεί σε ανάγκη για ανακάλυψη νέων αντιικών φαρμάκων.Influenza causes annual epidemics and pandemics with increased morbidity and mortality. Antiviral agents with different chemical structure and mode of administration reduce the duration of symptoms, the risk of complications and death. The emergence of viruses with resistance against adamantanes and neuraminidase inhibitors drives research on additional influenza antivirals

The epidemiology of tuberculosis in Greece

Tuberculosis is the infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex species that usually affects the lungs but can also occur as extrapulmonary or disseminated disease. According to the recently published report by the ECDC and WHO, the case notification rate in Greece was 6.0 cases per 100.000 population in 2008, while underreporting is an important problem for TB control

Knowledge of medical students about Hepatitis B

The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge level of graduate medical students about Hepatitis B. The material of this study was 109 questionnaires, answered by an equal number of students. According to the results, the knowledge of graduate medical students on Hepatitis B was in quite satisfactory level concerning most of the topics

Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki: common use objects and their bacterial burden

The aim of this study was to determine the microbial burden on common use objects in the Medical School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The research took place in the seven departments of the central building of the Medical School, from January to February 2010. Fifty samples (29 doorknobs, 21 faucet handles) were collected from various places of the departments using swabs moistened by nutrient broth. The samples were inoculated into nutrient broth, MacConkey agar and blood agar. Isolates were identified and typed by conventional procedures.From the samples collected, 1-5 types of bacteria were isolated per object, presenting a growth scale from negligible to high. The most common isolate was coagulase negative Staphylococcus (27), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (17), Bacillus spp (16), Enterobacteriaceae (10), Diphtheroid spp (8), Pseudomonas spp (2) and the least occurring microorganism was β-haemolytic Streptococcus (1). The members of the Enterobacteriaceae isolated were: Escherichia spp (5), Enterobacter spp (3), Pantoea spp (1) and Klebsiella spp (1).In conclusion, doorknobs and faucet handles in the Medical School bare a sufficient microbial population, which however mostly belong to the normal flora or to potential pathogens. The level of hygiene, at least regarding the cleaning of hands and objects of common use, appears satisfying

Detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae (Chlamydophila pneumoniae) DNA in atherosclerotic plaques and its molecular analysis in northern Greece

Objectives: C. pneumoniae responsible for respiratory tract infections has also been assocciated with chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis.The aim of the present study is the detection of C. pneumoniae DNA in various atherosclerotic arteries by a sensitive and specific PCR. In order to investigate whether there is a relation between a specific type and atherosclerosis, genotyping was performed. Methods: The study group consisted of 122 atherosclerotic plaques from patients (mean age 68.4, range 50-89 years old, 95 males and 25 females) with severe atherosclerosis. C. pneumoniae DNA was detected in atherosclerotic plaques by nested «Touchdown» PCR. A second PCR targeting the ygeD-urk intergenic region was performed and PCR products were sequenced.Results: 12.3% of the specimens were positive for C. pneumoniae. Detection rates in specimens of carotid, abdominal, and femoral arteries were 12%, 15.6%, and 10%, respectively. (p = NS). 14 strains were found to have 100% homology with J138, AR39 and TW-183, while one strain had a 23 bp invertible region and revealed 100% homology with the CWL029.Conclusion: Overall, 15/122 (12.3%) atherosclerotic specimens from patients were positive for C. pneumoniae. The strains detected belong to two different types designated as genotype I and II. Genotype I was the prevalent and only one strain had the reverse orientation of the 23bp region in northern Greece

HLA variations in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and association with disease risk and prognosis: a case-control study

IntroductionHuman leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms have been associated with the development of various autoimmune diseases, as well as malignant neoplasms. Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) are a heterogenous group of lymphoid malignancies in which a genetic substrate has been established and is deemed to play a crucial role in disease pathogenesis. This study aimed to identify whether variations in the HLA gene region were associated with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) risk and prognosis.MethodsWe defined HLA class I (HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C) and class II (HLA-DRB1, HLA-DQB1) alleles in 60 patients with DLBCL and compared the results to those found by 236 healthy adult donors from the bone marrow bank of Northern Greece. HLA typing was performed by two molecular methods, Sequence - Specific Oligonucleotide HLA typing (SSO) and Sequence - Specific Primer HLA typing (SSP), from white blood cells recovered from peripheral blood. The phenotypic frequencies of HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 between patients and controls were compared with the 2-sided Fisher’s exact test. Results with p-value <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Odds Ratios with 95% Confidence Intervals were calculated to further strengthen the results. The 2-sided Fisher’s exact test was also applied to alleles found only in one of the two groups, while the odds ratios together with the confidence intervals were corrected with Haldane-Anscombe method.ResultsAmong the studied HLA polymorphisms, the frequency HLA-C*12 allele was significantly lower in patients with DLBCL compared with control subjects (6.7% vs. 34.7%, OR = 0.16, 95% CI: 0.04–0.44). Frequency of HLA-B*39 was significantly lower in patients with DLBCL compared with controls, but due to the low frequency of this polymorphism in the studied population and small sample size, determinations regarding the significance of this findings were limited. Survival analysis revealed that the presence of HLA-C*12 was not associated with improved or worsened overall and progression-free survival. No statistically significant associations were observed in the phenotypic frequencies of HLA-A, HLA-DQB1, HLA-DRB1 and the rest of HLA-B alleles between the control and DLBCL groups.DiscussionCollectively, our results provide valuable insight regarding the role of HLA variations on DLBCL risk. Further studies are required to consolidate our findings and ascertain the clinical implications of these genetic variations on DLBCL management and prognosis

Geographical and temporal distribution of SARS-CoV-2 clades in the WHO European Region, January to June 2020

We show the distribution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) genetic clades over time and between countries and outline potential genomic surveillance objectives. We applied three genomic nomenclature systems to all sequence data from the World Health Organization European Region available until 10 July 2020. We highlight the importance of real-time sequencing and data dissemination in a pandemic situation, compare the nomenclatures and lay a foundation for future European genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2

Predicting the next pandemic: VACCELERATE ranking of the World Health Organization's Blueprint for Action to Prevent Epidemics

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO)'s Research and Development (R&D) Blueprint for Action to Prevent Epidemics, a plan of action, highlighted several infectious diseases as crucial targets for prevention. These infections were selected based on a thorough assessment of factors such as transmissibility, infectivity, severity, and evolutionary potential. In line with this blueprint, the VACCELERATE Site Network approached infectious disease experts to rank the diseases listed in the WHO R&D Blueprint according to their perceived risk of triggering a pandemic. VACCELERATE is an EU-funded collaborative European network of clinical trial sites, established to respond to emerging pandemics and enhance vaccine development capabilities. Methods: Between February and June 2023, a survey was conducted using an online form to collect data from members of the VACCELERATE Site Network and infectious disease experts worldwide. Participants were asked to rank various pathogens based on their perceived risk of causing a pandemic, including those listed in the WHO R&D Blueprint and additional pathogens. Results: A total of 187 responses were obtained from infectious disease experts representing 57 countries, with Germany, Spain, and Italy providing the highest number of replies. Influenza viruses received the highest rankings among the pathogens, with 79 % of participants including them in their top rankings. Disease X, SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and Ebola virus were also ranked highly. Hantavirus, Lassa virus, Nipah virus, and henipavirus were among the bottom-ranked pathogens in terms of pandemic potential. Conclusion: Influenza, SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and Ebola virus were found to be the most concerning pathogens with pandemic potential, characterised by transmissibility through respiratory droplets and a reported history of epidemic or pandemic outbreaks