ing improved outcomes. The result of longer healing times in fungal ulcers may be influenced by this. Re-epithelialization is a difficult endpoint tomeasure, particularly in fungal keratitis, so this result should be interpreted with some caution. Other factors associated with fungal and bacterial keratitis cases, such as geographic location of the patients, could act as confounders in this stu...

Thirty malnourished and 25 well-nourished children were studied six to 31 days after the onset of a measles rash. Evidence of the virus was found in 40% of the malnourished children but in none of the well-nourished controls. Giant cells were found in the nasal secretions of five out of 17 malnourished children and measles antigen was detected in the lymphocytes of eight out of 28. The malnouri...

The development of cervical cancer is preceded by precursor lesions (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia). Evidence-based epidemiological and molecular data suggest that persistent infections with human papillomavirus (HPV) types that carry ahigh oncogenic risk are the intermediate endpoints, leading to both intraepithelial and invasive cervical neoplasia. Integration of highly oncogenic HPVs in...

A mutation leading to substitution of a key amino acid in the prM protein of West Nile virus (WNV) occurred during persistent infection of an immunocompetent patient. WNV RNA persisted in the patient's urine and serum in the presence of low-level neutralizing antibodies. This case demonstrates active replication of WNV during persistent infection.

hepatitis c virus (hcv) infection causes chronic hepatitis, which frequently leads to hepatic fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (hcc). alanine aminotransferase (alt) is a biomarker of hepatocyte injury and is associated with the progression of hepatic fibrosis. advanced hepatic fibrosis also predisposes hcv carriers to a risk of hcc. in contrast, some cases with persistent hcv infection hav...

Subclinical infection of murine norovirus (MNV) was detected in a mixed breeding group of WT and Stat1(-/-) mice with no outward evidence of morbidity or mortality. Investigations revealed the presence of an attenuated MNV variant that did not cause cytopathic effects in RAW264.7 cells or death in Stat1(-/-) mice. Histopathological analysis of tissues from WT, heterozygous and Stat1(-/-) mice r...

We explore the emergence of persistent infection in a closed region where the disease progression of the individuals is given by the SIRS model, with an individual becoming infected on contact with another infected individual. We investigate the persistence of contagion qualitatively and quantitatively, under increasing heterogeneity in the partitioning of the population into different disease ...

A variety of human diseases are associated with gammaherpesviruses, including neoplasms of lymphocytes (e.g. Burkitt's lymphoma) and endothelial cells (e.g. Kaposi's sarcoma). Gammaherpesvirus infections usually result in either a productive lytic infection, characterized by expression of all viral genes and rapid cell lysis, or latent infection, characterized by limited viral gene expression a...

A number of bacteria have been implicated as causing reactive arthritis. In epidemiological studies Chlamydia have been identified as the most common bacteria triggering reactive arthritis in Western countries. Only 1–3% of patients acquiring infection at the urogenital tract as the primary site of infection develop Chlamydia-induced arthritis. It has been shown that C trachomatis reaches the j...