UNLABELLED Accurate and early diagnosis of active tuberculosis (TB) is problematic as current diagnostic methods show low sensitivity (acid-fast bacilli smears), are time-consuming (culture of biological samples) or show variable results [Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)-specific PCR]. OBJECTIVES In the course of infection, MTB-specific T cells clonally expand at the site of infection and may...

Accurate biomarkers of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection activity would significantly improve early diagnosis, treatment and management of M. tuberculosis infection. We hypothesised that circulating B-lymphocytes may be useful biomarkers of tuberculosis (TB) infection status in highly TB-endemic settings. Ex-vivo and in-vitro mycobacteria-specific B-cell ELISPOT assays were used to examine t...

In industrialized countries, it is recommended that adults with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection undergo baseline screening for pathogens that might cause latent or active infections, such as syphilis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, infection due to Toxoplasma gondii, and cytomegalovirus infection. A paucity of data exist from sub-Saharan Africa describing the prevalence of thes...

visceral leishmaniasiam caused by leishmania infantum has become endemic in meshkjn-shahr area, northwest iran, so that in the last 8 years, more than 1600 cases have been diagnosed and treated, the majority of them among children younger than 5 years of age. the present study was carried out to determine the probable vectors in this area. during the active season of sandflies in l991,we collec...

background and purpose: candidiasis, an important fungal infection, is considered the fourth most common nosocomial blood stream infection. nowadays, because of increased fungal resistance to antibiotics, the use of herbal medicine has gained particular attention. cyclamen species are medicinal plants containing triterpenoid saponins, which are shown to have antimicrobial properties. materials ...

OBJECTIVE We performed a pooled analysis to examine cigarette smoking and household passive smoke exposure in relation to the risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2+ (CIN2+). METHODS Data were pooled from 12 cross-sectional studies for cervical cancer screenings from 10 provinces of China in 1999-2007. A total of 16,422 women were analyzed,...

CONTEXT The correct diagnosis and effective treatment of Helicobacter pylori gastric infection are essential in controlling this infection. OBJECTIVE To compare the diagnostic value of three tests based in endoscopic gastric biopsies histopathological evaluation with hematoxylin-eosin (H-E) staining, urease rapid test and microbiological culture for detecting Helicobacter pylori active infect...

conclusions the current study revealed that 44% of those who received prophylaxis did not need it. in the patients who received antibiotics, the most common mistakes were antibiotic selection followed by prolonged prophylaxis (> 24 hours) and excess dose. results of the total 8586 patients who took antibiotics for preventive purposes, 4815 (56%) required antimicrobial prophylaxis, and 3771 (44%...