Hepatitis E virus in Italy: molecular analysis of travel-related and autochthonous cases

Human hepatitis E virus (HEV) is considered an emerging pathogen in industrialized countries. The aim of the present study was to contribute to the body of knowledge available on the molecular epidemiology of acute hepatitis E in Italy. Three sets of HEV-specific primers targeting the ORF1 and ORF2 were used to examine serum samples collected from acute hepatitis patients positive for anti-HEV IgG and/or IgM, between 2007 and 2010. Seventeen patients (39.5 %) tested HEV RNA-positive: 12 infections, due to genotype 1, were associated with travel to endemic areas (Bangladesh, India and Pakistan), while five infections, due to genotype 3, were presumably autochthonous. Risk factors identified in this group included exposure to raw seafood, pork liver sausages and wild boar. Results from the present study confirm that human HEV infection in Italy is caused by different genotypes, depending on whether the infection is travel-related or autochthonous

Infants hospitalized for Bordetella pertussis infection commonly have respiratory viral coinfections

Background: Whether viral coinfections cause more severe disease than Bordetella pertussis (B. pertussis) alone remains unclear. We compared clinical disease severity and sought clinical and demographic differences between infants with B. pertussis infection alone and those with respiratory viral coinfections. We also analyzed how respiratory infections were distributed during the 2 years study. Methods: We enrolled 53 infants with pertussis younger than 180 days (median age 58 days, range 17–109 days, 64. 1% boys), hospitalized in the Pediatric Departments at “Sapienza” University Rome and Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital from August 2012 to November 2014. We tested in naso-pharyngeal washings B. pertussis and 14 respiratory viruses with real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Clinical data were obtained from hospital records and demographic characteristics collected using a structured questionnaire. Results: 28/53 infants had B. pertussis alone and 25 viral coinfection: 10 human rhinovirus (9 alone and 1 in coinfection with parainfluenza virus), 3 human coronavirus, 2 respiratory syncytial virus. No differences were observed in clinical disease severity between infants with B. pertussis infection alone and those with coinfections. Infants with B. pertussis alone were younger than infants with coinfections, and less often breastfeed at admission. Conclusions: In this descriptive study, no associations between clinical severity and pertussis with or without co-infections were found

Molecular Detection of Hepatitis E Virus in Sewage Samples ▿

Human hepatitis E virus (HEV) is considered an emerging pathogen in industrialized countries. In Italy, the true burden of HEV infection is unknown. Molecular HEV screening of raw sewage samples from 11 wastewater treatment plants yielded 19 positives (16%; 18 genotype I, 1 genotype III) evenly distributed throughout Italy. Evidence that HEV could be establishing itself in our region is accumulating and may justify more active surveillance to monitor its spread