The epidemiology of tuberculosis in Greece

Tuberculosis is the infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex species that usually affects the lungs but can also occur as extrapulmonary or disseminated disease. According to the recently published report by the ECDC and WHO, the case notification rate in Greece was 6.0 cases per 100.000 population in 2008, while underreporting is an important problem for TB control

Impact of the influenza A(H1N1) 2009 pandemic to the 17-25 year age group and to the students of the Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Introduction: In 2009 a novel A(H1N1) influenza virus emerged and caused a pandemic. The scope of this study was to identify the impact of the pandemic to the 17-25 year age group and to normal University function.Methods: a) Epidemiological data was obtained from the National Influenza Center for northern Greece, regarding the 17-25 age group. b) Absence records from the first semester of 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 were obtained from the School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a questionnaire was given to 100 medical students.Results and discussion: a) Two pandemic waves were identified; the first was during weeks 27-35 and the second during weeks 43-52.Of the 4949 examined samples, 1632 were confirmed pandemic H1N1 2009 infections (33%), and 362 (22%) belonged to the 17-25 age group. Of the latest, 53% were male and 47% were female. Most infections belonging to this group were mild, and developed influenza like illness (ILI) symptoms. Only 19% developed pneumonia or other complications and 2 were fatal. 4% was vaccinated against influenza and 2% against S. pneumoniae. Only 7% received Tamiflu treatment. 9% noted a travel history related to their infection. b) The second wave was synchronous with the 1st University Semester. However, no statistical difference between absence levels during 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 was identified and no students had reported ILI symptoms.Conclusively, whereas the 17-25 age group was indeed of the mostly affected from the pandemic, it seems that unexpectedly there was no impact to normal University function

Future doctors: Do they know more about influenza after the pandemic?

IInfluenza is a universal but greatly preventable disease with vast consequences due to its yearly epidemics and sporadic pandemics. Therefore it is important to estimate the theoretical and practical skills of future doctors concerning influenza. The study aims the evaluation of the knowledge level of graduating students of Medicine about influenza before and during the recent A(H1N1) pandemic and intends to indicate any change observed. A total of 224 students attending the last year of Medical School in the beginnings of 2009 and 2010, answered anonymous questionnaires concerning viral and clinical aspects of influenza, sources of information and self-awareness. The two periods’ data were analyzed and compared in order to estimate the role of the pandemic in students’ knowledge level. The students generally seem to have sufficient theoretical and practical knowledge about influenza. Their knowledge level appears somehow affected in 2010, presenting either amelioration or confusion due to the particularities of the pandemic. The media have had an important contribution to the students’ information about influenza during the pandemic. It might be useful the basic medical education to be revised during the whole duration of medical studies, so that future doc­tors continuously renovate and complete their knowledge by proper sources

The controversial impact of B cells subsets on immune response to pneumococcal vaccine in HIV-1 patients

Background: Chronic HIV infection leads to severe perturbations of the B cell populations and hypo-responsiveness to vaccines. The associations between circulating B cell subpopulations and the antibody response to pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in antiretroviral-naïve and treated patients were studied. Methods: Sixty-six HIV-infected adults were grouped according to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and CD4+ cell count; 31 were ART-naïve and 35 were ART-treated, and they were matched for age, CD4 cell count, and duration of HIV infection. All subjects were immunized with the 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae. Pre- and post-vaccination B cell subpopulations were assessed by flow cytometry. Serum IgG concentrations for vaccine serotypes were quantified by ELISA at baseline and at 4 and 48 weeks post-vaccination. Results: Patients under highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) had significantly higher antibody levels against pneumococcal vaccine antigens, while an adequate number of patients responded to vaccination. Memory B cells were diminished over time, although treated patients maintained higher levels of all subsets studied, with the exception of activated memory and isotype-switched memory B cells. Conclusions: Low concentrations of total B cells and exhausted memory B cells was the strongest independent predictor of poor pneumococcal vaccine responsiveness, emphasizing that B cell subset disturbances are associated with a poor vaccine response among HIV-infected patients