91 research outputs found
Cryptococcosis in apparently immune-competent patients: taxonomy, epidemiology, pathophysiology and treatment
COVID-19, disability and the context of healthcare triage in South Africa: Notes in a time of pandemic
During disasters, when resources and care are scarce, healthcare workers are required to make decisions and prioritise which patients receive life-saving resources over others. To assist healthcare workers in standardising resources and care, triage policies have been developed. However, the current COVID-19 triage policies and practices in South Africa may exclude or disadvantage many disabled people, especially people with physical and intellectual impairments, from gaining intensive care unit (ICU) access and receiving ventilators if becoming ill. The exclusion of disabled people goes against the principles established in South Africaβs Constitution, in which all people are regarded as equal, have the right to life and inherent dignity, the right to access healthcare, as well as the protection of dignity
Rapid evolution of virulence and drug resistance in the emerging zoonotic pathogen Streptococcus suis
Background: Streptococcus suis is a zoonotic pathogen that infects pigs and can occasionally cause serious infections in
humans. S. suis infections occur sporadically in human Europe and North America, but a recent major outbreak has been
described in China with high levels of mortality. The mechanisms of S. suis pathogenesis in humans and pigs are poorly
understood.
Methodology/Principal Findings: The sequencing of whole genomes of S. suis isolates provides opportunities to
investigate the genetic basis of infection. Here we describe whole genome sequences of three S. suis strains from the same
lineage: one from European pigs, and two from human cases from China and Vietnam. Comparative genomic analysis was
used to investigate the variability of these strains. S. suis is phylogenetically distinct from other Streptococcus species for
which genome sequences are currently available. Accordingly, ,40% of the ,2 Mb genome is unique in comparison to
other Streptococcus species. Finer genomic comparisons within the species showed a high level of sequence conservation;
virtually all of the genome is common to the S. suis strains. The only exceptions are three ,90 kb regions, present in the two
isolates from humans, composed of integrative conjugative elements and transposons. Carried in these regions are coding
sequences associated with drug resistance. In addition, small-scale sequence variation has generated pseudogenes in
putative virulence and colonization factors.
Conclusions/Significance: The genomic inventories of genetically related S. suis strains, isolated from distinct hosts and
diseases, exhibit high levels of conservation. However, the genomes provide evidence that horizontal gene transfer has
contributed to the evolution of drug resistance
Public health in Thailand: Emerging focus on nonβcommunicable diseases
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86815/1/hpm1078.pd
Correlates of bacterial ulcers and acute HSV-2 infection among men with genital ulcer disease in South Africa: age, recent sexual behaviours, and HIV
Antigenic and molecular analysis of influenza A (H3N2) virus strains isolated from a localised influenza outbreak in South Africa in 2003
Influence of patientsβ living conditions on tuberculosis treatment outcomes in a South African health sub-district
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