TY - JOUR A1 - Okoro, Chinyere K. A1 - Barquist, Lars A1 - Connor, Thomas R. A1 - Harris, Simon R. A1 - Clare, Simon A1 - Stevens, Mark P. A1 - Arends, Mark J. A1 - Hale, Christine A1 - Kane, Leanne A1 - Pickard, Derek J. A1 - Hill, Jennifer A1 - Harcourt, Katherine A1 - Parkhill, Julian A1 - Dougan, Gordon A1 - Kingsley, Robert A. T1 - Signatures of adaptation in human invasive Salmonella Typhimurium ST313 populations from sub-Saharan Africa JF - PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases N2 - Two lineages of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) of multi-locus sequence type ST313 have been linked with the emergence of invasive Salmonella disease across sub-Saharan Africa. The expansion of these lineages has a temporal association with the HIV pandemic and antibiotic usage. We analysed the whole genome sequence of 129 ST313 isolates representative of the two lineages and found evidence of lineage-specific genome degradation, with some similarities to that observed in S. Typhi. Individual ST313 S. Typhimurium isolates exhibit a distinct metabolic signature and modified enteropathogenesis in both a murine and cattle model of colitis, compared to S. Typhimurium outside of the ST313 lineages. These data define phenotypes that distinguish ST313 isolates from other S. Typhimurium and may represent adaptation to a distinct pathogenesis and lifestyle linked to an-immuno-compromised human population. KW - genome sequence KW - infection KW - pathogenicity KW - children KW - disease KW - adults KW - identification KW - Escherichia coli KW - virulence Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-143779 VL - 9 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Drozd, Valentina M. A1 - Saenko, Vladimir A. A1 - Brenner, Alina V. A1 - Drozdovitch, Vladimir A1 - Pashkevich, Vasilii I. A1 - Kudelsky, Anatoliy V. A1 - Demidchik, Yuri E. A1 - Branovan, Igor A1 - Shiglik, Nikolay T1 - Major Factors Affecting Incidence of Childhood Thyroid Cancer in Belarus after the Chernobyl Accident: Do Nitrates in Drinking Water Play a Role? JF - PLoS One N2 - One of the major health consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident in 1986 was a dramatic increase in incidence of thyroid cancer among those who were aged less than 18 years at the time of the accident. This increase has been directly linked in several analytic epidemiological studies to iodine-131 (I-131) thyroid doses received from the accident. However, there remains limited understanding of factors that modify the I-131-related risk. Focusing on post-Chernobyl pediatric thyroid cancer in Belarus, we reviewed evidence of the effects of radiation, thyroid screening, and iodine deficiency on regional differences in incidence rates of thyroid cancer. We also reviewed current evidence on content of nitrate in groundwater and thyroid cancer risk drawing attention to high levels of nitrates in open well water in several contaminated regions of Belarus, i.e. Gomel and Brest, related to the usage of nitrogen fertilizers. In this hypothesis generating study, based on ecological data and biological plausibility, we suggest that nitrate pollution may modify the radiation-related risk of thyroid cancer contributing to regional differences in rates of pediatric thyroid cancer in Belarus. Analytic epidemiological studies designed to evaluate joint effect of nitrate content in groundwater and radiation present a promising avenue of research and may provide useful insights into etiology of thyroid cancer. KW - analysis KW - areas KW - power-station accident KW - iodine nutrition KW - skin hemagioma KW - pooled KW - risk KW - children KW - radiation KW - exposure KW - radiotherapy Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-141863 VL - 10 IS - 9 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eberhardt, Christiane S. A1 - Haas, Johannes-Peter A1 - Girschick, Hermann A1 - Schwarz, Tobias A1 - Morbach, Henner A1 - Rösen-Wolff, Angela A1 - Foell, Dirk A1 - Dannecker, Guenther A1 - Schepp, Carsten A1 - Ganser, Gerd A1 - Honke, Nora A1 - Eggermann, Thomas A1 - Müller-Berghaus, Jan A1 - Wagner, Norbert A1 - Ohl, Kim A1 - Tenbrock, Klaus T1 - No association of IL-12p40 pro1.1 polymorphism with juvenile idiopathic arthritis JF - Pediatric Rheumatology N2 - Background: IL-12p40 plays an important role in the activation of the T-cell lines like Th17 and Th1-cells. Theses cells are crucial in the pathogenesis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis. A polymorphism in its promoter region and the genotype IL12p40 pro1.1 leads to a higher production of IL-12p40. We studied whether there is a difference in the distribution of the genotype in patients with JIA and the healthy population. Methods: In 883 patients and 321 healthy controls the IL-12p40 promoter genotype was identified by ARMS-PCR. Results: There is no association of IL-12p40 pro polymorphism neither in patients with JIA compared to controls nor in subtypes of JIA compared to oligoarthritis. We found a non-significant tendency of a higher prevalence of the genotype pro1.1 in systemic arthritis (32.4 %) and in rheumatoid factor negative polyarthritis (30.5 %) and a lower pro1.1 genotype in persistent oligoarthritis (20.7 %) and in enthesitis-related arthritis (17 %). Likelihood of the occurrence of genotype IL12-p40 pro1.1 in patients with systemic arthritis (OR 1.722, CI 95 % 1.344-2.615, p 0.0129) and RF-negative polyarthritis (OR 1.576, CI 95 % 1.046-2.376, p 0.0367) compared to persistent oligoarthritis was significantly higher. This was also true for comparison of their homozygous genotypes IL-12p40 pro 1.1 and 2.2 in systemic arthritis (OR 1.779, CI 95 % 1.045-3.029, p 0.0338). However, in Bonferroni correction for multiple hypothesis this was not significant. Conclusion: A tendency of a higher prevalence of the genotype IL-12p40 pro1.1 in systemic arthritis and in rheumatoid factor negative polyarthritis was observed but not significant. Further investigations should be done to clarify the role IL-12p40 in the different subtypes of JIA. KW - polymorphism KW - cytokine KW - children KW - serum KW - IL12B KW - gene KW - cells KW - juvenile idiopathic arthritis KW - IL-12p40 KW - IL-12B KW - promoter Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-136281 VL - 13 IS - 61 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wiegering, V. A1 - Schlegel, P. G. A1 - Winkler, B. A1 - Lazarus, M. A1 - Wirth, C. A1 - Ernestus, K. A1 - Walles, T. A1 - Liese, J. T1 - Persisting Cough as the Single Presenting Symptom of an Intrathoracic Tumor in a Nine-Month-Old Child with Adenovirus Airway Infection JF - Journal of Case Reports and Studies N2 - We report on a nine-month-old girl who presented with persisting cough, and diminished ventilation of the left hemithorax. Viral pneumonia was suspected after Adenovirus detection by PCR, but chest X-rays showed a persistent shadowing of the left hemithorax and persistent coughing despite clinical improvement. Because of the discrepancy between clinical and radiological signs further investigations by ultrasound and CT scan were performed, which visualized an intrathroracic tumor. Histopathology confirmed diagnosis of a teratoma. This case highlights the need for careful evaluation by the treating physicians. If the chest X-ray provides a discrepancy to the clinical findings or persistent pathologies exist, differential diagnosis should be discussed and further diagnostics be performed. KW - tumor KW - children Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-125536 VL - 3 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Streng, Andrea A1 - Prifert, Christiane A1 - Weissbrich, Benedikt A1 - Liese, Johannes G. T1 - Continued high incidence of children with severe influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 admitted to paediatric intensive care units in Germany during the first three post-pandemic influenza seasons, 2010/11–2012/13 JF - BMC Infectious Diseases N2 - Background Previous influenza surveillance at paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in Germany indicated increased incidence of PICU admissions for the pandemic influenza subtype A(H1N1)pdm09. We investigated incidence and clinical characteristics of influenza in children admitted to PICUs during the first three post-pandemic influenza seasons, using active screening. Methods We conducted a prospective surveillance study in 24 PICUs in Bavaria (Germany) from October 2010 to September 2013. Influenza cases among children between 1 month and 16 years of age admitted to these PICUs with acute respiratory infection were confirmed by PCR analysis of respiratory secretions. Results A total of 24/7/20 influenza-associated PICU admissions were recorded in the post-pandemic seasons 1/2/3; incidence estimates per 100,000 children were 1.72/0.76/1.80, respectively. Of all 51 patients, 80 % had influenza A, including 65 % with A(H1N1)pdm09. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was almost absent in season 2 (incidence 0.11), but dominated PICU admissions in seasons 1 (incidence 1.35) and 3 (incidence 1.17). Clinical data was available for 47 influenza patients; median age was 4.8 years (IQR 1.6–11.0). The most frequent diagnoses were influenza-associated pneumonia (62 %), bronchitis/bronchiolitis (32 %), secondary bacterial pneumonia (26 %), and ARDS (21 %). Thirty-six patients (77 %) had underlying medical conditions. Median duration of PICU stay was 3 days (IQR 1–11). Forty-seven per cent of patients received mechanical ventilation, and one patient (2 %) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; 19 % were treated with oseltamivir. Five children (11 %) had pulmonary sequelae. Five children (11 %) died; all had underlying chronic conditions and were infected with A(H1N1)pdm09. In season 3, patients with A(H1N1)pdm09 were younger than in season 1 (p = 0.020), were diagnosed more often with bronchitis/bronchiolitis (p = 0.004), and were admitted to a PICU later after the onset of influenza symptoms (p = 0.041). Conclusions Active screening showed a continued high incidence of A(H1N1)pdm09-associated PICU admissions in the post-pandemic seasons 1 and 3, and indicated possible underestimation of incidence in previous German studies. The age shift of severe A(H1N1)pdm09 towards younger children may be explained by increasing immunity in the older paediatric population. The high proportion of patients with underlying chronic conditions indicates the importance of consistent implementation of the current influenza vaccination recommendations for risk groups in Germany. KW - post-pandemic KW - intensive care KW - children KW - influenza Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-125280 VL - 15 IS - 573 ER -