Acute lower respiratory infections, which broadly include pneumonia and bronchiolitis, are still the leading cause of childhood mortality. ALRI contributed to 18% of all deaths in children younger than five years of age in 2008 [1], and the main pathogens responsible for high mortality were Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and respiratory syncytial virus [2-4]. In addition, meni...

Polymicrobial infections involving Staphylococcus aureus exhibit enhanced disease severity and morbidity. We reviewed the nature of polymicrobial interactions between S. aureus and other bacterial, fungal, and viral cocolonizers. Microbes that were frequently recovered from the infection site with S. aureus are Haemophilus influenzae, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus...

Evidence is mounting that influenza virus interacts with other pathogens colonising or infecting the human respiratory tract. Taking into account interactions with other pathogens may be critical to determining the real influenza burden and the full impact of public health policies targeting influenza. This is particularly true for mathematical modelling studies, which have become critical in p...

To the Editor: The effect of influenza on young children is substantial , but most infections are clinically unrecognized (1). As a result, without routine laboratory confirmation of influenza infection in patients admitted to the hospital with influen-zalike illness, accurate estimates of influenza-related hospitalization rates are difficult to obtain. Several statistical models have been deve...

Background: A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay with primers from “hpd” gene was compared with culture for the detection of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) in CSF samples from children suspected of meningitis. Methods: 300 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from suspected meningitis cases were studied by culture (Leventhal & Chocolate Agar) and PCR. Results: The latter method could detec...

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of the Haemophilus influenzae b (Hib) conjugate vaccine in reducing the incidence of meningitis among children under five years old. METHODS A 'before-after' design was used to compare Hib meningitis incidence rates in the pre-vaccine (July 1995 - June 1999) and post-vaccine (July 1999 - June 2001) periods in the state of Goias, central Brazil. Bacterial meningi...

Abstract Background Isolated sphenoid sinus disease (ISSD) is a rare, often misdiagnosed condition of the paranasal sinus. If left untreated, it can lead to complications involving pituitary gland, cavernous sinus, neurologic, and vascular structures nearby. Case report We present case 60-year-old female with history severe left-sided headache, facial pain, diplopia, lateral rectus palsy. She w...

BACKGROUND Many questions remain concerning the burden, risk factors and impact of bacterial and viral co-infection in patients with pandemic influenza admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). OBJECTIVES To examine the burden, risk factors and impact of bacterial and viral co-infection in Australian patients with severe influenza. PATIENTS/METHODS A cohort study conducted in 14 ICUs was p...

Penicillin binding protein-1A (PBP-1A; IPR011816) plays a pivotal role in the biogenesis of cell-wall and biosynthesis of peptidoglycan in bacteria. It is considered to be a novel target for pneumonia. The present study is to deduce the structure of the PBP-1A using ICM Molsoft and to validate the same with Ramachandran plot. These bioinformatics tools have been used to identify a lead molecule...

The Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is used against tuberculosis. According to the vaccination program in Turkey, DaBT-Hib-IPV (diphtheriapertussis [acellular]-tetanus-haemophilus influenza type b-inactive poliovaccine), PVC13 (pneumoccocal conjugate vaccine) and BCG vaccines are given simultaneously to all 2-months-old infants, using different administration techniques. We report a 2-mon...