Collage of microbes, bacteria, disease

Tracking progress along the WHO Neglected Tropical Diseases Road Map to 2030: A guide to the Gap Assessment Tool (GAT) and results from the 2023-2024 assessment

Tue, 07/01/2025 - 06:00
The monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework for the World Health Organization (WHO) Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) road map includes both quantitative and qualitative assessments of progress at key timepoints up to 2030. These assessments provide critical information to improve programmatic action and identify immediate research needs. Quantitative assessments process multi-sourced data on a predefined number of global indicators. Qualitative assessments are based on results obtained from...

Resurgence of chikungunya in the Indian Ocean Region in 2024-2025

Fri, 06/27/2025 - 06:00
In the wake of a large outbreak in Reunion and Mayotte the GeoSentinel network has been signalling chikungunya cases among returning travellers acquired in multiple African and Asian countries between August 1st 2024 and June 10th 2025. These surveillance data suggest a resurgence of chikungunya in the Indian Ocean Region.

Clinical Practice Guideline-Supported Administration of Monoclonal Antibody Therapy for High-Risk Patients with COVID-19: Experience of a Quaternary Care Centre

Wed, 06/25/2025 - 06:00
CONCLUSION: CPG-supported mAb administration for management of COVID-19 in high-risk patients was associated with favourable clinical outcomes and may be a useful model to guide future therapies.

Antibiotic synergy against <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em>: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Tue, 06/17/2025 - 06:00
Antimicrobial combinations have been extensively evaluated in vitro to identify synergistic combinations for clinical use. Despite the available literature, no studies comprehensively summarize the findings for antimicrobial combinations against Staphylococcus aureus. We performed a systematic review to identify synergistic combinations that may be beneficial for clinical use against S. aureus. The PubMed, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases were queried from inception to February 2024 for...

Exposome-Scale Investigation of Cl-/Br-Containing Chemicals Using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry, Multistage Machine Learning, and Cloud Computing

Thu, 05/22/2025 - 06:00
Over 70% of organic halogens, representing chlorine- and bromine-containing disinfection byproducts (Cl-/Br-DBPs), remain unidentified after 50 years of research. This work introduces a streamlined and cloud-based exposomics workflow that integrates high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) analysis, multistage machine learning, and cloud computing for efficient analysis and characterization of Cl-/Br-DBPs. In particular, the multistage machine learning structure employs progressively different...

In vivo validation of a smart sensor-enabled dressing for remote wound monitoring

Sun, 05/18/2025 - 06:00
Every second, a person with diabetes develops a foot ulcer. At least half of these wounds become infected, which dramatically increases the risk of hospitalization, amputation, and death. Wound environment pH is a possible marker of infection, however, clinical application has yet to be achieved. Herein, we introduce a hydrogel sheet dressing made out of a transparent calcium alginate body, which is embedded by a pH-sensitive color changing dye named α-naphtholphthalein that equilibrates to...

Evidence of Coxiella burnetii and Bartonella species infections among patients with persistent febrile illness in four low- and middle-income countries

Thu, 05/08/2025 - 06:00
CONCLUSIONS: Direct and indirect evidence of C. burnetii or Bartonella sp. infections was observed in persistent fever cases. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the burden of these diseases in LMICs.

Cytomegalovirus-Induced Colitis Presenting as Acute Appendicitis in an Immunocompetent Patient With Ulcerative Colitis

Mon, 05/05/2025 - 06:00
We report a rare case of cytomegalovirus (CMV) colitis presenting radiologically as acute appendicitis in an immunocompetent 71-year-old man known for ulcerative colitis. Although initial imaging revealed acute appendicitis, a lack of clinical improvement with antibiotic therapy prompted further evaluation with colonoscopy, which led to the diagnosis of CMV colitis on a background of mild ulcerative colitis flare. Most individuals infected by CMV will exhibit lifelong latency; however, the virus...

Systems analysis unravels a common rural-urban gradient in immunological profile, function, and metabolic dependencies

Wed, 04/30/2025 - 06:00
Urbanization affects environmental exposures and lifestyle, shaping immune system variation and influencing disease susceptibility and vaccine responses. Here, we present systems analysis of immune profiles across the rural-urban gradient, comparing rural and urban Senegalese with urban Dutch individuals. By integrating single-cell phenotyping, metabolic profiling, and functional analysis, we reveal a trajectory of immune remodeling along the gradient. This includes enrichment of proinflammatory...

Identifying patients at high risk for antibiotic treatment following hospital admission: a predictive score to improve antimicrobial stewardship measures

Tue, 04/15/2025 - 06:00
CONCLUSION: The PILGRIM score effectively identifies newly hospitalized patients likely to receive antibiotics, demonstrating high specificity and PPV. Its application can improve future AMS programs and trial recruitment by facilitating targeted inclusion of patients, especially in the hematological and oncological setting. Further -external and prospective- validation is needed to broaden the model's applicability.

Comparison of ciprofloxacin and aminoglycoside susceptibility testing for ceftriaxone non-susceptible Enterobacterales by disk diffusion and VITEK 2 vs. broth microdilution using updated Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute breakpoints

Tue, 04/01/2025 - 06:00
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that both disk diffusion and to a greater extent the AST-N391 card for the VITEK 2 system will overcall non-susceptibility according to current CLSI breakpoints for ciprofloxacin. By contrast, the existing AST-N391 VITEK 2 card can likely be used to correctly infer susceptibility to gentamicin and tobramycin.
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