Does pertussis infection induce manifestation of allergy?

Summary To evaluate whether pertussis induces the development of allergy, a prospective study was performed in 25 children aged 0.8–12.2 years. The patients underwent allergy diagnostics during pertussis infection and at a follow-up visit 8–14 months later. Diagnostic criteria included the medical history of the patients and their families, a modified skin prick test, measurement of serum IgE and radio-allergosorbent test screening for specific sensitizations. At the time of pertussis, serum IgE concentration in the study group was 62+ 30 kU/ml. At the follow-up visit, there was a significant increase in serum IgE to 137 ± 51 kU/ml, which was also significantly higher than IgE in an age-matched control group. Children at a significantly higher risk for developing IgE increase or new allergic sensitizations were those with a family history of allergy or potentially allergic disease in their personal history. Our results indicate that pertussis may induce IgE production in affected children.Abbreviation SPT skin prick test Dedicated to Prof. Dr. N. Zöllner on the occasion of his 70th birthday     

Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in lesional skin of patients with erythema migrans and acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans by ospA-specific PCR.

The aim of this study was to develop a sensitive and specific PCR for the detection of Borrelia burgdorferi DNA. The plasmid-located gene coding for the outer surface protein A (OspA [31-kDa protein]) was used as a target. Nucleotide sequence information from different B. burgdorferi ospA genotypes was used to design primers homologous to different genotypes. The sensitivity of the nested PCR differed from 1 fg to 1 pg of borrelial DNA, depending on the strain analyzed. No cross-reactions with DNA from spirochetes other than B. burgdorferi or with human DNA were observed. A total of 22 skin biopsy samples from patients with erythema migrans (EM [n = 10]) or acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA [n = 12]) were examined for the presence of B. burgdorferi by nested PCR. Of 22 biopsies, 80% from EM patients and 92% from ACA patients were positive by PCR amplification. By comparison, 50% of the EM patients had elevated B. burgdorferi-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) and/or IgG antibody levels as tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using purified B. burgdorferi flagella as antigen. A total of 33% of ACA patients had elevated IgM titers, and all had high IgG titers in their sera. Only 30% of specimens from patients with EM and none from patients with ACA were positive by culture. All culture-positive specimens were also positive by PCR. Thus, the sensitivities of the PCR were 80 and 92%, respectively, for patients with EM and ACA on the basis of the clinical and histopathological diagnoses of Lyme disease. From these results, we conclude that PCR is a suitable method to detect B. burdorferi sensu lato DNA in skin biopsy samples and could be applied as an additional diagnostic tool.     

Health effects and risks from 222Rn in drinking water

This paper presents an evaluation of the inhalation and ingestion doses from exposure to Rn and Rn progeny; an overview of the human and animal health-effects data; estimations of the cancer risks from Rn and Rn-progeny exposures; and suggested limits for Rn concentrations in drinking water and indoor air. We suggest that a rounded Rn-in-water concentration limit of 10,000 pCi/l can be supported by health-effects considerations alone, based on the conservative "tolerance dose" concept and other conservative assumptions regarding lung dose. A practical concentration limit (or action level) of 20,000 pCi/l has been derived by estimations of exposure distributions in the United States and in relation to current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards for U-tailings-contaminated buildings. Research needed for resolution of the uncertainties in these estimates is suggested. We conclude that before a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for Rn in water can be firmly established, the broader issue of setting the MCL for Rn in indoor air must be addressed.     

Simulation of the metabolism and enterohepatic circulation of endogenous deoxycholic acid in humans using a physiologic pharmacokinetic model for bile acid metabolism

The metabolism and enterohepatic circulation of deoxycholic acid (DCA), a major secondary bile acid in humans, was simulated using a linear multicompartmental physiologic pharmacokinetic model. The model was similar to that previously reported and used to simulate the metabolism of cholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid, but differed in two respects: (a) the input of newly formed DCA molecules originated from colonic absorption rather than from de novo hepatic biosynthesis and (b) a new type of transfer coefficient was proposed to describe the movement of DCA molecules from an insoluble, bound compartment to a soluble compartment. Simulations were performed to define the effect of varying fractional colonic absorption (from 0.1 to 0.6) as well as varying fractional formation of DCA from cholic acid (from 0.3 to 1). The simulations indicated that the exchangeable total DCA pool expanded up to 12-fold as fractional colonic absorption was increased from 0.1 to 0.6. The fractional turnover rate of the DCA pool showed a corresponding decrease. Increased conversion of cholic acid to DCA had an effect on DCA pool size that was similar to that resulting from increased colonic fractional absorption. So long as ileal absorption was efficient, the "soluble" colonic pool of DCA remained small relative to other organ pools, and the absorption of unconjugated DCA from the colon was less than 10% of the total DCA absorption from the ileum. It is proposed that the relatively large proportion of DCA in the biliary bile acids of white adults in the Western world as compared with that of most other mammals is attributable to (a) a high fractional absorption of DCA because of a diet relatively low in fiber, (b) the absence of hepatic 7-hydroxylation of DCA, and (c) effective competition by DCA conjugates for active transport by the terminal ileum.     

Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 Lineage at Outpatient Testing Site,Berlin, Germany,January–March 2021

Within 5 weeks in 2021, B.1.1.7 became the dominant severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 lineage at an outpatient testing site in Berlin, Germany. Compared with outpatients with wild-type virus infection, patients with B.1.1.7 had similar cycle threshold values, more frequent sore throat and travel history, and less frequent anosmia/ageusia.     

Tula Virus as Causative Agent of Hantavirus Disease in Immunocompetent Person,Germany

We report molecular evidence of Tula virus infection in an immunocompetent patient from Germany who had typical signs of hantavirus disease. Accumulating evidence indicates that Tula virus infection, although often considered nonpathogenic, represents a threat to human health.     

Authors’ reply to Grundtvig Gram et al.

European Journal of Epidemiology -     

Detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in serum specimens from patients with mycoplasma pneumonia by PCR

There are few data on detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae from blood, serum or plasma, and systematic studies on this diagnostic approach in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) are scarce. Compared to testing respiratory specimens, this approach has the advantages that it is less dependent on proper specimen collection, serum is easily stored and handled, and the pathogen is detected in a primary sterile site, where colonization can be ruled out. In this study, acute-phase serum specimens from 29 patients of Vienna University Hospital (treated between 11/1994 and 6/2004; female: 14, male: 15; median age: 31 years, range: 15-66 years) with CAP and serologically verified M. pneumoniae infection, who had not received anti-mycoplasma therapy prior to serum collection, were tested for M. pneumoniae by conventional PCR and real-time PCR. Conventional PCR yielded negative results for all specimens, but real-time PCR detected M. pneumoniae in 15/29 patient sera (52%). These findings indicate that M. pneumoniae is present in the bloodstream of a substantial proportion of patients with mycoplasma pneumonia. Despite the possible adherence of M. pneumoniae to human erythrocytes, the pathogen can be detected from serum, if a method with enhanced sensitivity is applied. However, the negative predictive value of PCR from serum with regard to etiological diagnosis is low. With regard to the potential clinical benefit of blood-based PCR diagnosis of mycoplasma pneumonia the diagnostic accuracy of this approach using either serum or whole-blood specimens should be addressed by large-scale studies.     

The influence of bacterial contaminations on the biodegradation of PLA implants

Metal implants employed in orthopaedic surgery have certain disadvantages. Intensive research work is therefore being done in the field of biodegradable implants, the behavior of which in the case of possible contamination or infection at the operation site has not yet been studied. In-vitro experiments on PLA-test bodies were performed to clarify the influence of bacteria on the polymer degradation. The investigated parameters were germ growth, course of the pH-value of the culture media, bending stiffness of the PLA-test bodies and the decrease in their molecular weight. The experiments performed did not demonstrate an accelerated degradation of PLA specimen in vitro incubated in different bacterial contaminated media. Therefore bacterial contamination may possibly not lead to a premature collapse of the PLA used in connection with fracture treatment by biodegradable osteosynthesis implants.