Impact of Babesia microti infection on the initiation and course of pregnancy in BALB/c mice

Background Protozoa in the genus Babesia are transmitted to humans through tick bites and cause babesiosis, a malaria-like illness. Vertical transmission of Babesia spp. has been reported in mammals; however, the exact timing and mechanisms involved are not currently known. The aims of this study were to evaluate the success of vertical transmission of B. microti in female mice infected before pregnancy (mated during the acute or chronic phases of Babesia infection) and that of pregnant mice infected during early and advanced pregnancy; to evaluate the possible influence of pregnancy on the course of parasite infections (parasitaemia); and to assess pathological changes induced by parasitic infection. Methods The first set of experiments involved two groups of female mice infected with B. microti before mating, and inseminated on the 7th day and after the 40th day post infection. A second set of experiments involved female mice infected with B. microti during pregnancy, on the 4th and 12th days of pregnancy. Blood smears and PCR targeting the 559 bp 18S rRNA gene fragment were used for the detection of B. microti. Pathology was assessed histologically. Results Successful development of pregnancy was recorded only in females mated during the chronic phase of infection. The success of vertical transmission of B. microti in this group was 63%. No evidence of pregnancy was found in females mated during the acute phase of infection or on the 4th day of pregnancy. In the group infected on the 12th day of pregnancy, numerous complications including loss of pregnancy and stillbirths were recorded. During the acute phase of infection, parasitaemia was lower in pregnant females in comparison to infected, non-pregnant control females. Conclusions Acute B. microti infection prevents the initiation of pregnancy and embryonic development if it occurs during the first trimester, and causes severe complications in foetal BALB/c mice in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Chronic B. microti infection has no detrimental impact on the initiation and development of pregnancy, but results in congenital infection of the offspring. Further study is required to determine the extent to which maternal anti-babesial immune responses contribute to compromise pregnancy in the murine model of congenital Babesia infection

Vector-borne parasites in dogs from Ukraine translocated to Poland following Russian invasion in 2022

Introduction: Since 24 February 2022, the day the Russian aggression against Ukraine began, millions of refugees and thousands of pets crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border. Additionally, an unknown number of shelter and stray dogs and cats were rescued and translocated to Poland by private persons and non-profit organizations. The aim of the present study was to examine rescued dogs and cats for presence of canine vector-borne parasites to determine the role of armed conflict in spreading these parasites

Occurrence of Dirofilaria repens in wild carnivores in Poland.

Dirofilaria repens is an expanding vector-borne zoonotic parasite of canines and other carnivores. Sub-clinically infected dogs constitute the most important reservoir of the parasite and the source of infection for its mosquito vectors. However, occurrence of D. repens infection in wild animals may contribute to the transmission of the parasite to humans and may explain the endemicity of filariae in newly invaded regions. The aim of the current study was to determine the occurrence of D. repens in 511 blood and spleen samples from seven species of wild carnivores (wolves, red foxes, Eurasian badgers, raccoons, raccoon dogs, stone martens, and pine martens) from different regions of Poland by means of a PCR protocol targeting the 12S rDNA gene. Dirofilaria repens–positive hosts were identified in seven of fourteen voivodeships in four of the seven regions of Poland: Masovia, Lesser Poland, Pomerania and Warmia-Masuria. The highest prevalence was found in Masovia region (8%), coinciding with the highest previously recorded prevalence in dogs in Central Poland. The DNA of Dirofilaria was detected in 16 samples of three species (total prevalence 3.13%). A low and similar percentage of positive samples (1.9%, 4.2% and 4.8%) was recorded among badgers, red foxes, and wolves, respectively. Dirofilaria repens–positive hosts were identified in seven of fourteen voivodships. Based on detection in different voivodeships, D. repens–positive animals were recorded in four out of the seven regions of Poland: in Masovia, Lesser Poland, Pomerania, and Warmia-Masuria. The highest prevalence of filariae was found in Masovia region (8%), reflecting the highest previously recorded prevalence in dogs (12–50%) in Central Poland. In summary, we conducted the first comprehensive study on the epidemiology of D. repens in seven species of wild hosts in all seven regions of Poland and identified the first case of D. repens infection in Eurasian badgers in Poland and the second in Europe

multicenter cohort study

Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.Objective: Monochorionic (MC) triplet pregnancies are extremely rare and information on these pregnancies and their complications is limited. We aimed to investigate the risk of early and late pregnancy complications, perinatal outcome and the timing and methods of fetal intervention in these pregnancies. Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study of MC triamniotic (TA) triplet pregnancies managed in 21 participating centers around the world from 2007 onwards. Data on maternal age, mode of conception, diagnosis of major fetal structural anomalies or aneuploidy, gestational age (GA) at diagnosis of anomalies, twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), twin anemia–polycythemia sequence (TAPS), twin reversed arterial perfusion (TRAP) sequence and or selective fetal growth restriction (sFGR) were retrieved from patient records. Data on antenatal interventions were collected, including data on selective fetal reduction (three to two or three to one), laser surgery and any other active fetal intervention (including amniodrainage). Data on perinatal outcome were collected, including numbers of live birth, intrauterine demise, neonatal death, perinatal death and termination of fetus or pregnancy (TOP). Neonatal data such as GA at birth, birth weight, admission to neonatal intensive care unit and neonatal morbidity were also collected. Perinatal outcomes were assessed according to whether the pregnancy was managed expectantly or underwent fetal intervention. Results: Of an initial cohort of 174 MCTA triplet pregnancies, 11 underwent early TOP, three had an early miscarriage, six were lost to follow-up and one was ongoing at the time of writing. Thus, the study cohort included 153 pregnancies, of which the majority (92.8%) were managed expectantly. The incidence of pregnancy affected by one or more fetal structural abnormality was 13.7% (21/153) and that of TRAP sequence was 5.2% (8/153). The most common antenatal complication related to chorionicity was TTTS, which affected just over one quarter (27.6%; 42/152, after removing a pregnancy with TOP < 24 weeks for fetal anomalies) of the pregnancies, followed by sFGR (16.4%; 25/152), while TAPS (spontaneous or post TTTS with or without laser treatment) occurred in only 4.6% (7/152) of pregnancies. No monochorionicity-related antenatal complication was recorded in 49.3% (75/152) of pregnancies. Survival was apparently associated largely with the development of these complications: there was at least one survivor beyond the neonatal period in 85.1% (57/67) of pregnancies without antenatal complications, in 100% (25/25) of those complicated by sFGR and in 47.6% (20/42) of those complicated by TTTS. The overall rate of preterm birth prior to 28 weeks was 14.5% (18/124) and that prior to 32 weeks' gestation was 49.2% (61/124). Conclusion: Monochorionicity-related complications, which can impact adversely perinatal outcome, occur in almost half of MCTA triplet pregnancies, creating a challenge with regard to counseling, surveillance and management.publishersversionpublishe

Viruses

In this multicentre cohort study, we evaluated the risks of maternal ZIKV infections and adverse pregnancy outcomes among exposed travellers compared to women living in areas with ZIKV circulation (residents). The risk of maternal infection was lower among travellers compared to residents: 25.0% (n = 36/144) versus 42.9% (n = 309/721); aRR 0.6; 95% CI 0.5-0.8. Risk factors associated with maternal infection among travellers were travelling during the epidemic period (i.e., June 2015 to December 2016) (aOR 29.4; 95% CI 3.7-228.1), travelling to the Caribbean Islands (aOR 3.2; 95% CI 1.2-8.7) and stay duration \textbackslashtextgreater2 weeks (aOR 8.7; 95% CI 1.1-71.5). Adverse pregnancy outcomes were observed in 8.3% (n = 3/36) of infected travellers and 12.7% (n = 39/309) of infected residents. Overall, the risk of maternal infections is lower among travellers compared to residents and related to the presence of ongoing outbreaks and stay duration, with stays \textbackslashtextless2 weeks associated with minimal risk in the absence of ongoing outbreaks

Correction for Johansson et al., An open challenge to advance probabilistic forecasting for dengue epidemics.

Correction for “An open challenge to advance probabilistic forecasting for dengue epidemics,” by Michael A. Johansson, Karyn M. Apfeldorf, Scott Dobson, Jason Devita, Anna L. Buczak, Benjamin Baugher, Linda J. Moniz, Thomas Bagley, Steven M. Babin, Erhan Guven, Teresa K. Yamana, Jeffrey Shaman, Terry Moschou, Nick Lothian, Aaron Lane, Grant Osborne, Gao Jiang, Logan C. Brooks, David C. Farrow, Sangwon Hyun, Ryan J. Tibshirani, Roni Rosenfeld, Justin Lessler, Nicholas G. Reich, Derek A. T. Cummings, Stephen A. Lauer, Sean M. Moore, Hannah E. Clapham, Rachel Lowe, Trevor C. Bailey, Markel García-Díez, Marilia Sá Carvalho, Xavier Rodó, Tridip Sardar, Richard Paul, Evan L. Ray, Krzysztof Sakrejda, Alexandria C. Brown, Xi Meng, Osonde Osoba, Raffaele Vardavas, David Manheim, Melinda Moore, Dhananjai M. Rao, Travis C. Porco, Sarah Ackley, Fengchen Liu, Lee Worden, Matteo Convertino, Yang Liu, Abraham Reddy, Eloy Ortiz, Jorge Rivero, Humberto Brito, Alicia Juarrero, Leah R. Johnson, Robert B. Gramacy, Jeremy M. Cohen, Erin A. Mordecai, Courtney C. Murdock, Jason R. Rohr, Sadie J. Ryan, Anna M. Stewart-Ibarra, Daniel P. Weikel, Antarpreet Jutla, Rakibul Khan, Marissa Poultney, Rita R. Colwell, Brenda Rivera-García, Christopher M. Barker, Jesse E. Bell, Matthew Biggerstaff, David Swerdlow, Luis Mier-y-Teran-Romero, Brett M. Forshey, Juli Trtanj, Jason Asher, Matt Clay, Harold S. Margolis, Andrew M. Hebbeler, Dylan George, and Jean-Paul Chretien, which was first published November 11, 2019; 10.1073/pnas.1909865116. The authors note that the affiliation for Xavier Rodó should instead appear as Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) and Climate and Health Program, Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). The corrected author and affiliation lines appear below. The online version has been corrected

Correlation between work impairment, scores of rhinitis severity and asthma using the MASK-air (R) App

Background In allergic rhinitis, a relevant outcome providing information on the effectiveness of interventions is needed. In MASK-air (Mobile Airways Sentinel Network), a visual analogue scale (VAS) for work is used as a relevant outcome. This study aimed to assess the performance of the work VAS work by comparing VAS work with other VAS measurements and symptom-medication scores obtained concurrently. Methods All consecutive MASK-air users in 23 countries from 1 June 2016 to 31 October 2018 were included (14 189 users; 205 904 days). Geolocalized users self-assessed daily symptom control using the touchscreen functionality on their smart phone to click on VAS scores (ranging from 0 to 100) for overall symptoms (global), nose, eyes, asthma and work. Two symptom-medication scores were used: the modified EAACI CSMS score and the MASK control score for rhinitis. To assess data quality, the intra-individual response variability (IRV) index was calculated. Results A strong correlation was observed between VAS work and other VAS. The highest levels for correlation with VAS work and variance explained in VAS work were found with VAS global, followed by VAS nose, eye and asthma. In comparison with VAS global, the mCSMS and MASK control score showed a lower correlation with VAS work. Results are unlikely to be explained by a low quality of data arising from repeated VAS measures. Conclusions VAS work correlates with other outcomes (VAS global, nose, eye and asthma) but less well with a symptom-medication score. VAS work should be considered as a potentially useful AR outcome in intervention studies.Peer reviewe

Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) Phase 4 (2018) : Change management in allergic rhinitis and asthma multimorbidity using mobile technology

Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) has evolved from a guideline by using the best approach to integrated care pathways using mobile technology in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma multimorbidity. The proposed next phase of ARIA is change management, with the aim of providing an active and healthy life to patients with rhinitis and to those with asthma multimorbidity across the lifecycle irrespective of their sex or socioeconomic status to reduce health and social inequities incurred by the disease. ARIA has followed the 8-step model of Kotter to assess and implement the effect of rhinitis on asthma multimorbidity and to propose multimorbid guidelines. A second change management strategy is proposed by ARIA Phase 4 to increase self-medication and shared decision making in rhinitis and asthma multimorbidity. An innovation of ARIA has been the development and validation of information technology evidence-based tools (Mobile Airways Sentinel Network [MASK]) that can inform patient decisions on the basis of a self-care plan proposed by the health care professional.Peer reviewe

Adherence to treatment in allergic rhinitis using mobile technology. The MASK Study

Background: Mobile technology may help to better understand the adherence to treatment. MASK-rhinitis (Mobile Airways Sentinel NetworK for allergic rhinitis) is a patient-centred ICT system. A mobile phone app (the Allergy Diary) central to MASK is available in 22 countries. Objectives: To assess the adherence to treatment in allergic rhinitis patients using the Allergy Diary App. Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was carried out on all users who filled in the Allergy Diary from 1 January 2016 to 1 August 2017. Secondary adherence was assessed by using the modified Medication Possession Ratio (MPR) and the Proportion of days covered (PDC) approach. Results: A total of 12143 users were registered. A total of 6949 users reported at least one VAS data recording. Among them, 1887 users reported >= 7 VAS data. About 1195 subjects were included in the analysis of adherence. One hundred and thirty-six (11.28%) users were adherent (MPR >= 70% and PDC = 70% and PDC = 1.50) and 176 (14.60%) were switchers. On the other hand, 832 (69.05%) users were non-adherent to medications (MPR Conclusion and clinical relevance: Adherence to treatment is low. The relative efficacy of continuous vs on-demand treatment for allergic rhinitis symptoms is still a matter of debate. This study shows an approach for measuring retrospective adherence based on a mobile app. This also represents a novel approach for analysing medication-taking behaviour in a real-world setting.Peer reviewe