Cutaneous leishmaniasis in Dutch military

Leishmaniasis is een tropische ziekte veroorzaakt door een parasiet die wordt overgebracht door de zandvlieg. Pieter-Paul van Thiel beschrijft de besmetting van militairen tijdens drie missies in Afghanistan, en jungletrainingen in Suriname en Belize. Bij een missie in Noord-Afghanistan in 2005 raakten van de 938 gelegerde militairen 172 geïnfecteerd. Er is geen vaccin en er zijn geen pillen die de militairen kunnen slikken om infectie te voorkomen. Wel kunnen ze preventief smeren met DEET, geïmpregneerde uniformen dragen en onder netten slapen. Maar dat lukt niet altijd. Voor de militairen die toch ziek thuiskomen, is goede behandeling mogelijk nadat de precieze stam van de ziekteverwekker is vastgesteld

Epidemiology of hepatitis B infection among expatriates in Nigeria

Adult expatriates in countries where hepatitis B virus (HBV) is highly endemic have an increased risk of HBV infection, but little is known about risks to their children or about patterns of spread. The epidemiology of HBV infection was studied among 124 unvaccinated Dutch missionaries and family members who lived in a rural area of Nigeria. Antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen were found in 5 (9.8%) of 51 adults ( incidence rate, 1.7 per 1000 person-months at risk [PMAR]) and 9 (12.3%) of 73 children ( incidence rate, 2.8 per 1000 PMAR). Vertical transmission of HBV was a likely source of infection in 1 child and was a possible source of infection in 2 others. The prevalence of HBV infection showed strong family clustering (P <.0001), was associated with a history of temporary adoption of Nigerian children (P=.004), and increased with both the number of adoptive children (P=.009) and the total time that these children had stayed in the family (P=.036). Horizontal transmission from adoptive Nigerian children probably played an important role in the spread of HBV infection in this expatriate communit

Comparison of the PRNT and an immune fluorescence assay in yellow fever vaccinees receiving immunosuppressive medication

Conclusions: All immune-compromised patients mounted an adequate response with protective levels of virus neutralizing antibodies to the 17-D YF vaccine. No adverse effects were reported. Compared to the plaque reduction neutralization test, the sensitivity of the Immune Fluorescence Assay test was low. Further research is needed to ascertain that 17D vaccination in immune-compromised patients is safe. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Immunogenetics and cellular immunology of bacterial infectious disease