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Query: UMLS:C0009450 (infectious diseases)
 83,438 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Toxoplasma gondii is an important pathogen in both veterinary and human medicine. Infection during pregnancy can result in fetal transmission and a congenital infection syndrome. In immune-compromised hosts reactivation of latent infection can result in encephalitis. It has been estimated that as many as one-third of the human population harbours this zoonosis. The Seventh International Congress on Toxoplasmosis, organised by Louis M. Weiss and Kami Kim (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY) was held on 23-27 May 2003 in Tarrytown, New York. At this meeting 133 investigators from 14 countries presented 102 papers on research involving this model Apicomplexan parasite. The presented research covered the epidemiology, immunology, cellular biology and molecular biology of this pathogen.
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PMID:The International Congress on Toxoplasmosis. 1500 86

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis that can cause severe multisystem disease. While host gene-environment interactions likely modify infectious disease susceptibility, including for leptopsirosis, this has not been documented. In a 1998 leptospirosis outbreak investigation among triathletes in a lake swim, swallowing lake-water was a disease risk-factor. We used genomic DNA from 85 anonymized blood-sample remainders from that investigation to examine the association of laboratory-confirmed leptospirosis with gene polymorphisms (TNF-alpha alleles and serologically defined genotypes for HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1). HLA-DQ6-positive triathletes had increased risk of laboratory-confirmed leptospirosis (OR=2.8, P=0.04) compared to DQ6-negatives. DQ6-positive triathletes swallowing lake-water had greatest risk (OR 8.46, P< or =0.001). This first report of a genetic risk-factor affecting susceptibility to leptospirosis is also the first documented gene-environment interaction (DQ6 and swallowed water) affecting infectious disease susceptibility. Based on these preliminary findings, we hypothesize a role for superantigens in leptospirosis and underscore the importance of outbreak investigations for understanding infectious disease gene-environment interactions.
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PMID:HLA-DQ6 and ingestion of contaminated water: possible gene-environment interaction in an outbreak of Leptospirosis. 1501 29

Leptospirosis is a reemerging infectious disease in California. Leptospirosis is the most widespread zoonosis throughout the world, though it is infrequently diagnosed in the continental United States. From 1982 to 2001, most reported California cases occurred in previously healthy young adult white men after recreational exposures to contaminated freshwater. We report five recent cases of human leptospirosis acquired in California, including the first documented common-source outbreak of human leptospirosis acquired in this state, and describe the subsequent environmental investigation. Salient features in the California cases include high fever with uniform renal impairment and mild hepatitis. Because leptospirosis can progress rapidly if untreated, this reemerging infection deserves consideration in febrile patients with a history of recreational freshwater exposure, even in states with a low reported incidence of infection.
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PMID:Reemerging leptospirosis, California. 1510 5

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis with a worldwide distribution very common in most countries. In Italy this acute febrile illness is more frequent in the Northern than in the Southern regions. In the period 1994-1996, the number of cases of Leptospirosis in Sicily was lower with respect to the northern-central regions (7.2% and 73.4% respectively). Between January 1990 and December 1999, a total of 9 leptospirosis cases were observed in the Regional Centre for Leptospirosis of Palermo. The patients were all males (age between 22 and 59 years) and their occupations varied. Laboratory diagnosis is performed by the classical microagglutination microscopical (MAT) but this test is very complex and time-consuming. This study compared the classical MAT with ELISA IgM by using 19 serum samples from 9 patients with confirmed leptospirosis. We also tested 23 serum samples from blood-donors and 29 serum samples from patients with other infectious diseases. By the MAT and the PanBio IgM ELISA all sera from patients were found to be positive. Our results indicate that MAT represents the test with the highest degree of specificity (100%), but ELISA is simpler to perform, considering the favourable degree of sensitivity (100%) and specificity (95.9%).
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PMID:Evaluation of an IgM-ELISA test for the diagnosis of human leptospirosis. 1516 25

Q fever is a widespread zoonosis caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Coxiella burnetii. Aborting domestic ruminants are the main sources of human infection but the reservoir of infection is extremely wide. In humans, Q fever may occur as acute pneumonia, hepatitis or flu-like illness or may take a severe chronic form, characterized by endocarditis, chronic hepatitis and chronic fatigue syndrome. In animals, the main clinical manifestation is late abortion. Infection with C. burnetii can be diagnosed using cultural, serological and genetic methods but because the organism is potentially dangerous and requires specialized skills only specialist laboratories are capable of undertaking diagnostic tests. This paper provides a brief overview of the epidemiology and pathogenesis of Q fever (coxiellosis).
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PMID:Q fever (coxiellosis): epidemiology and pathogenesis. 1519 98

Tularemia is a zoonosis caused by Francisella tularensis; it mainly affects wild animals and only occasionally affects human beings. Uncontrolled trade involving "exotic" animals could become a new route of acquisition. We report the case of a 3-year-old boy who contracted the disease through a bite from a prairie dog. Outbreaks of tularemia have recently been described in some of these animals captured in Texas (USA) and subsequently sold to other countries. Infection due to Yersinia pestis has also been described in humans through contact with prairie dogs with the disease. Streptomycin and gentamicin are currently the drugs of choice against tularemia infection.
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PMID:[Francisella tularensis infection transmitted by prairie dog]. 1520 72

Zoonoses are infectious diseases that can be transmitted from vertebrate animals to humans. Their significance lies in the large number of cases that occur, the high case fatality ratio of certain zoonoses, and the potential for some pathogens as yet restricted to animal hosts to cross the species barrier and infect humans. Changing habits in food production (for example, intensive animal husbandry) and food consumption as well as demographic, climatic, and ecological factors contribute to the spread of zoonotic pathogens. Several zoonoses are notifiable in Germany according to the Protection Against Infection Act enacted 1 January 2001. The European Commission issued a new directive on the monitoring of zoonoses and zoonotic agents on 17 November 2003. There is ongoing need to develop further measures to prevent and control zoonotic diseases on a national as well as international basis.
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PMID:[Zoonotic infections in humans. Review of the epidemiological situation in Germany]. 1525 17

The control of infectious diseases transmitted from animals to humans (zoonoses) was recently put on a new basis in the European Union when a new Zoonoses Directive entered into force. Brucellosis, campylobacteriosis, echinococcosis, listeriosis, salmonellosis, trichinosis, and the respective causative agents, tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis, and verotoxigenic Escherichia coli must be included in monitoring. Additional zoonoses and zoonotic agents are to be monitored according to the epidemiological situation. Against this background, the current knowledge on important zoonoses transmitted from livestock and some wildlife animals to humans as well as the epidemiological situation in Germany with regard to these diseases is summarized.
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PMID:[Zoonoses in working- and wild animals and their significance in Germany. An overview]. 1525 18

Zoonoses are fundamental determinants of community health. Preventing, identifying and managing these infections must be a central public health focus. Most current zoonoses research focuses on the interface of the pathogen and the clinically ill person, emphasizing microbial detection, mechanisms of pathogenicity and clinical intervention strategies, rather than examining the causes of emergence, persistence and spread of new zoonoses. There are gaps in the understanding of the animal determinants of emergence and the capacity to train highly qualified individuals; these are major obstacles to preventing new disease threats. The ability to predict the emergence of zoonoses and their resulting public health and societal impacts are hindered when insufficient effort is devoted to understanding zoonotic disease epidemiology, and when zoonoses are not examined in a manner that yields fundamental insight into their origin and spread. Emerging infectious disease research should rest on four pillars: enhanced communications across disciplinary and agency boundaries; the assessment and development of surveillance and disease detection tools; the examination of linkages between animal health determinants of human health outcomes; and finally, cross-disciplinary training and research. A national strategy to predict, prevent and manage emerging diseases must have a prominent and explicit role for veterinary and biological researchers. An integrated health approach would provide decision makers with a firmer foundation from which to build evidence-based disease prevention and control plans that involve complex human/animal/environmental systems, and would serve as the foundation to train and support the new cadre of individuals ultimately needed to maintain and apply research capacity in this area.
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PMID:Perspectives on emerging zoonotic disease research and capacity building in Canada. 1575 32

Q fever is a zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii. Infection with C burnetii can be acute or chronic, and exhibits a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations. The extreme infectivity of the bacterium results in large outbreaks and makes it a potential bioweapon. In the past decade, the complete genome sequencing of C burnetii, the exploration of bacterial interactions with the host, and the description of the natural history of the disease in human beings and in experimental models have all added to our knowledge about this fascinating disease. Advances in understanding the pathophysiology and natural history of Q fever are reviewed.
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PMID:Natural history and pathophysiology of Q fever. 1631 Jan 41


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