Prevalence of Edwardsiella tarda in Antarctic wildlife

For many years, the Antarctic region has been isolated from human activity. However, there is little data available regarding endemic and exotic diseases. The purpose of this work was to determine the prevalence of Edwardsiella tarda in Antarctic wildlife, including birds, mammals and fish. During the summer of 2000 and 2002 in the Potter Peninsula, and during the summer of 2001 and 2003 in Hope Bay, a total of 1,805 faecal samples from Antarctic animals and 50 infertile eggs of Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) were collected in order to isolate E. tarda. The classic Edwardsiella tarda was isolated from 281 (15.1%) of the 1,855 Antarctic wildlife samples. This is the first report of E. tarda isolation from southern giant petrels (Macronectes giganteus), brown skuas (Stercorarius lonnbergi), south polar skuas (Stercorarius maccormicki), kelp gulls (Larus dominicanus), greater sheathbills (Chionis albus), chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica), eggs of Adelie penguins and Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddelli). None of the evaluated animals showed clinical signs of disease. Our results suggest that E. tarda is a common bacterium amongst Antarctic birds and mammals.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Prevalence of Edwardsiella tarda in Antarctic wildlife

For many years, the Antarctic region has been isolated from human activity. However, there is little data available regarding endemic and exotic diseases. The purpose of this work was to determine the prevalence of Edwardsiella tarda in Antarctic wildlife, including birds, mammals and fish. During the summer of 2000 and 2002 in the Potter Peninsula, and during the summer of 2001 and 2003 in Hope Bay, a total of 1,805 faecal samples from Antarctic animals and 50 infertile eggs of Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) were collected in order to isolate E. tarda. The classic Edwardsiella tarda was isolated from 281 (15.1%) of the 1,855 Antarctic wildlife samples. This is the first report of E. tarda isolation from southern giant petrels (Macronectes giganteus), brown skuas (Stercorarius lonnbergi), south polar skuas (Stercorarius maccormicki), kelp gulls (Larus dominicanus), greater sheathbills (Chionis albus), chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica), eggs of Adelie penguins and Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddelli). None of the evaluated animals showed clinical signs of disease. Our results suggest that E. tarda is a common bacterium amongst Antarctic birds and mammals.Fil: Leotta, Gerardo Anibal. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Piñeyro Piñeiro, Pablo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Serena, Maria Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Vigo, Germán Blás. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentin

Incidence, Risk Factors and Outcome of Pre-engraftment Gram-Negative Bacteremia after Allogeneic and Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: An Italian Prospective Multicenter Survey

Abstract BACKGROUND: Gram-negative bacteremia (GNB) is a major cause of illness and death after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and updated epidemiological investigation is advisable. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated the epidemiology of pre-engraftment GNB in 1118 allogeneic HSCTs (allo-HSCTs) and 1625 autologous HSCTs (auto-HSCTs) among 54 transplant centers during 2014 (SIGNB-GITMO-AMCLI study). Using logistic regression methods. we identified risk factors for GNB and evaluated the impact of GNB on the 4-month overall-survival after transplant. RESULTS: The cumulative incidence of pre-engraftment GNB was 17.3% in allo-HSCT and 9% in auto-HSCT. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most common isolates. By multivariate analysis, variables associated with GNB were a diagnosis of acute leukemia, a transplant from a HLA-mismatched donor and from cord blood, older age, and duration of severe neutropenia in allo-HSCT, and a diagnosis of lymphoma, older age, and no antibacterial prophylaxis in auto-HSCT. A pretransplant infection by a resistant pathogen was significantly associated with an increased risk of posttransplant infection by the same microorganism in allo-HSCT. Colonization by resistant gram-negative bacteria was significantly associated with an increased rate of infection by the same pathogen in both transplant procedures. GNB was independently associated with increased mortality at 4 months both in allo-HSCT (hazard ratio, 2.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.45-3.13; P <.001) and auto-HSCT (2.43; 1.22-4.84; P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: Pre-engraftment GNB is an independent factor associated with increased mortality rate at 4 months after auto-HSCT and allo-HSCT. Previous infectious history and colonization monitoring represent major indicators of GNB. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: NCT02088840

A Multicentric Prospective Incidence Study of Guillain-Barre Syndrome in Italy. the ITANG Study

To assess Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) incidence we relied on the Italian Network for the study of GBS (ITANG) established in 2010 in 7 Italian regions to analyse the association between influenza vaccination and GBS. Methods: All individuals aged 6518 years, presenting with clinical manifestations that suggested GBS according to the universally accepted Asbury's diagnostic criteria (1990) were prospectively notified to a centralised database by ITANG neurologists over the period October 1, 2010-September 30, 2011. Through a telephone survey, 9 trained interviewers followed up the cases to diagnosis and then for 1 year since hospital discharge. Validation of case reporting was performed with the support of administrative data in 5 regions. Results: We found 365 cases fulfilling the definition for GBS or one of its variants over 19,846,068 population 6518 years of age, yielding an annual incidence rate of 1.84 per 100,000 (95% CI 1.65-2.03), 2.30 (95% CI 1.99-2.60) in men and 1.41 (95% CI 1.18-1.64) in women. A highly significant peak of incidence was observed in February 2011 as compared to reference month (September 2011, rate ratio 3.3:1, p &lt; 0.01). Conclusions: In Italy, GBS incidence was among the highest reported in Europe and higher than previously observed in Italian studies

Risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome after 2010-2011 influenza vaccination.

Influenza vaccination has been implicated in Guillain Barré Syndrome (GBS) although the evidence for this link is controversial. A case-control study was conducted between October 2010 and May 2011 in seven Italian Regions to explore the relation between influenza vaccination and GBS. The study included 176 GBS incident cases aged ≥18 years from 86 neurological centers. Controls were selected among patients admitted for acute conditions to the Emergency Department of the same hospital as cases. Each control was matched to a case by sex, age, Region and admission date. Two different analyses were conducted: a matched case-control analysis and a self-controlled case series analysis (SCCS). Case-control analysis included 140 cases matched to 308 controls. The adjusted matched odds ratio (OR) for GBS occurrence within 6 weeks after influenza vaccination was 3.8 (95 % CI: 1.3, 10.5). A much stronger association with gastrointestinal infections (OR = 23.8; 95 % CI 7.3, 77.6) and influenza-like illness or upper respiratory tract infections (OR = 11.5; 95 % CI 5.6, 23.5) was highlighted. The SCCS analysis included all 176 GBS cases. Influenza vaccination was associated with GBS, with a relative risk of 2.1 (95 % CI 1.1, 3.9). According to these results the attributable risk in adults ranges from two to five GBS cases per 1,000,000 vaccinations

Risk of Guillain-Barr\ue9 syndrome after 2010-2011 influenza vaccination

Influenza vaccination has been implicated in Guillain Barr\ue9 Syndrome (GBS) although the evidence for this link is controversial. A case-control study was conducted between October 2010 and May 2011 in seven Italian Regions to explore the relation between influenza vaccination and GBS. The study included 176 GBS incident cases aged 6518 years from 86 neurological centers. Controls were selected among patients admitted for acute conditions to the Emergency Department of the same hospital as cases. Each control was matched to a case by sex, age, Region and admission date. Two different analyses were conducted: a matched case-control analysis and a self-controlled case series analysis (SCCS). Case-control analysis included 140 cases matched to 308 controls. The adjusted matched odds ratio (OR) for GBS occurrence within 6 weeks after influenza vaccination was 3.8 (95 % CI: 1.3, 10.5). A much stronger association with gastrointestinal infections (OR = 23.8; 95 % CI 7.3, 77.6) and influenza-like illness or upper respiratory tract infections (OR = 11.5; 95 % CI 5.6, 23.5) was highlighted. The SCCS analysis included all 176 GBS cases. Influenza vaccination was associated with GBS, with a relative risk of 2.1 (95 % CI 1.1, 3.9). According to these results the attributable risk in adults ranges from two to five GBS cases per 1,000,000 vaccinations