Infectious Disease Commons^™

Development Of Vaccines And Antivirals Against Zika Virus, Aryamav Pattnaik

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The re-emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV), an arbovirus, poses a major global human health concern because of its ability to cause congenital abnormalities and neurological diseases. While many candidate vaccines and antiviral drugs are in the developmental pipeline, none have been approved for use against ZIKV infection. This dissertation describes the characterization of one vaccine and two antiviral drug candidates against ZIKV infection. A bacterial ferritin-based nanoparticle vaccine, termed zDIII-F, is designed to display multiple copies of ZIKV E protein domain III on its surface. These stable nanoparticles are shown to induce robust antibody-mediated protection against lethal ZIKV infection in …

Infectious Disease Screening In A Dedicated Primary Care Clinic For Children In Foster Care, Jill Mcleigh, Sarah Lairmore, Kimberly Stone, Rong Huang

Health Status, Outcomes, and Literacy and Healthcare Utilization

Children in foster care are considered at high risk for infectious diseases, and guidelines recommend screening for tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. Little is known about the prevalence of infectious disease in children in foster care.

For questions about this study or others, please email [email protected]

childrens.com/fostercare

Clinical Characteristics And Laboratory Biomarkers For Patients With Suspected Covid-19 Infection Within Hca Healthcare, Scott Gutovitz, Justin Hanson, Christian Vandever, Dietrich Jehle

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

The coronavirus infection (COVID-19), also known as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), caused significant illness and a worldwide pandemic beginning in 2020. Early case reports showed common patient characteristics, clinical variables and laboratory values in these patients. We compared a large population of American COVID-19 patients to see if they had similar findings to these smaller reports. In addition, we examined our population to identify any differences between mild or severe COVID-19 infections.

Methods

We retrospectively accessed a de-identified, multi-hospital database managed by HCA Healthcare to identify all adult emergency department (ED) patients that were tested …

Acute Psychosis With Recurrent Neurocysticercosis: A Case Presentation, Nasir F. Siddique, Kristy A. Fisher, Joshua Chang, Clara L. Alvarez Villalba

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Neurocysticercosis, a parasitic infection of the central nervous system (CNS) caused by the Taenia solium cestode, presents clinically with a large and diverse spectrum of symptomatology, dependent upon lesion number, locale and ensuing inflammatory response. To this date, there are only two documented cases of psychosis presenting in patients with neurocysticercosis, both of which were published in India. This case presentation depicts the first documented case of Psychotic Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition: Neurocysticercosis in the United States. The authors postulate that the atypical presentation of the neuropsychiatric instability with the aberrant recurrence of neurocysticercosis is predominantly attributable to …

A Case Report: Utilization Of Topical Amphotericin In Postoperative Mucormycosis, Kenny Wang, Jomel Jacinto, Alex Davis, Andrei Hetman, Alok Kumar

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Mucormycosis is a rare devastating fungal infection with a high mortality rate often associated with diabetic and immunosuppressed individuals. However, infections found in postoperative states and in immunocompetent patients are rare. Systemic liposomal amphotericin is viewed as a first line treatment for mucormycosis in addition to aggressive debridement to prevent the spread of infection. Literature describing the treatment of mucormycosis with both systemic and topical amphotericin B is scarce. We present a case of an immunocompetent male admitted for perforated diverticulitis who received a left hemicolectomy with colostomy creation. During hospitalization, stool from the colostomy bag was reportedly leaking into …

A Rare Fatal Case Of Adenovirus Serotype 4 Associated Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis In An Adult: A Case Report, Zahra Qamar, Catherine Tucker, Lawrence C. Kenyon, Tricia. Royer

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is an autoimmune demyelinating disease directed against the myelin sheath of the central nervous system that typically presents 1–4 weeks after an infection or vaccination, most commonly in children. We describe a case of a young female who presented with rapidly progressive mental deterioration and died secondary to ADEM following an adenovirus upper respiratory tract infection.

Comparison Of Clinical Characteristics And Outcomes Between Covid-19 Pneumonia And H1n1 Influenza, Nosheen Nasir, Iffat Khanum, Kiren Habib, Rimsha Ahmed, Mujahid Hussain, Zahra Hasan, Muhammad Irfan

Department of Medicine

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has been likened to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. We aim to study the similarities and differences between patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and H1N1 influenza in order to provide better care to patients, particularly during the co-circulation of Influenza A Subtype H1N1 and SARS-CoV-2.
Material and methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in order to compare clinical characteristics, complications, and outcomes of hospitalized patients with PCR-confirmed H1N1 influenza pneumonia and COVID-19 at a tertiary care center in Karachi, Pakistan.
Results: A total of 115 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were compared with 55 patients with H1N1 …

Covid-19 Newsletter (Vol. 78), Center For Disaster Medicine, New York Medical College

COVID-19 Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Circumcision As An Intervening Strategy Against Hiv Acquisition In The Male Genital Tract, Adhikarimayum Lakhikumar Sharma, Joseph Hokello, Mudit Tyagi

Center for Translational Medicine Faculty Papers

Unsafe sex with HIV-infected individuals remains a major route for HIV transmission, and protective strategies, such as the distribution of free condoms and pre-or post-prophylaxis medication, have failed to control the spread of HIV, particularly in resource-limited settings and high HIV prevalence areas. An additional key strategy for HIV prevention is voluntary male circumcision (MC). International health organizations (e.g., the World Health Organization, UNAIDS) have recommended this strategy on a larger scale, however, there is a general lack of public understanding about how MC effectively protects against HIV infection. This review aims to discuss the acquisition of HIV through the …

Covid-19 Newsletter (Vol. 77), Center For Disaster Medicine, New York Medical College

COVID-19 Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 Newsletter (Vol. 76), Center For Disaster Medicine, New York Medical College

COVID-19 Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Personalized Digital Phenotype Score, Healthcare Management And Intervention Strategies Using Knowledge Enabled Digital Health Framework For Pediatric Asthma, Utkarshani Jaimini, Amit Sheth

Publications

Asthma is a personalized, and multi-trigger respiratory condition which requires continuous monitoring and management of symptoms and medication adherence. We developed kHealth: Knowledge-enabled Digital Healthcare Framework to monitor and manage the asthma symptoms, medication adherence, lung function, daily activity, sleep quality, indoor, and outdoor environmental triggers of pediatric asthma patients. The kHealth framework collects up to 1852 data points per patient per day. It is practically impossible for the clinicians, parents, and the patient to analyze this vast amount of multimodal data collected from the kHealth framework. In this chapter, we describe the personalized scores, clinically relevant asthma categorization using …

Covid-19 Treatment Combinations And Associations With Mortality In A Large Multi-Site Healthcare System., Dagan Coppock, Michael Baram, Anna Marie Chang, Patricia Henwood, Alan Kubey, Ross Summer, John Zurlo, Michael Li, Bryan Hess

Division of Infectious Diseases and Environmental Medicine Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, mortality associated with the disease declined in the United States. The standard of care for pharmacological interventions evolved during this period as new and repurposed treatments were used alone and in combination. Though these medications have been studied individually, data are limited regarding the relative impact of different medication combinations. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the association of COVID-19-related mortality and observed medication combinations and to determine whether changes in medication-related practice patterns and measured patient characteristics, alone, explain the decline in mortality seen early in the COVID-19 …

Prevalence And Risk Factors Associated With Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms (Mdro) Carriage Among Pediatric Patients At The Time Of Admission In A Tertiary Care Hospital Of A Developing Country. A Cross-Sectional Study, Sonia Qureshi, Noshi Maria, Mohammad Zeeshan, Seema Irfan, Farah Naz Qamar

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: The rise of Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) poses a considerable burden on the healthcare systems, particularly in low-middle income countries like Pakistan. There is a scarcity of data on the carriage of MDRO particularly in the pediatrics population therefore, we aimed to determine MDRO carriage in pediatric patients at the time of admission to a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, and to identify the risk factors associated with it.
Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted at the pediatric department of Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) from May to September 2019 on 347 children aged 1-18 years. For identification of MDRO …

Covid-19 Newsletter (Vol. 75), Center For Disaster Medicine, New York Medical College

COVID-19 Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Intracranial Mycoplasma Hominis Infection Following Emergent Craniectomy, Zahra Qamar, Stavropoula Tjoumakaris, Matthew Pattengill, Maliha Ahmed, Bryan Hess

Division of Infectious Diseases and Environmental Medicine Faculty Papers

We present a case of a young healthy female who developed recurrent cranial wound infections after a traumatic injury, the etiologic organism finally identified as Mycoplasma hominis, an uncommon and difficult to isolate bacterium.

Plasmodium In The Bone Marrow: Case Series From A Hospital In Pakistan, 2007-2015, Muhammad Shariq Shaikh, Basim Ali, Mahin Janjua, Ayesha Akbar, Syed Arish Haider, Bushra Moiz, Ahmed Raheem Buksh, John Kevin Baird, Mohammad Asim Beg

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: Malaria is a life-threatening, multisystem disease caused by the plasmodial parasite with a global incidence of approximately 229 million annually. The parasites are known to have unique and crucial interactions with various body tissues during its life cycle, notably the liver, spleen, and recent work has shown the bone marrow to be a reservoir of infection.
Methods: This study is a case series of patients in whom examination of bone marrow revealed malarial parasites. A retrospective record review of 35 parasite-positive bone marrow specimens examined at Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi, Pakistan, over the years 2007 to 2015 …

Draft Genome Sequences Of 13 Vibrio Cholerae Strains From The Rio Grande Delta, Jeffrey W. Turner, Jorge Duran-Gonzalez, David A. Laughlin, Daniel Unterweger, David Silva, Boris Ermolinsky, Stefan Pukatzki, Daniele Provenzano

Publications and Research

Vibrio cholerae is the etiologic agent of cholera, an acute and often fatal diarrheal disease that affects millions globally. We report the draft genome sequences of 13 non-O1/O139 V. cholerae strains isolated from the Rio Grande Delta in Texas. These genomes will aid future analyses of environmental serovars.

Transient Leukopenia, Thrombocytopenia, And Severe Neutropenia Associated With Acute Sars-Cov-2 Infection, Austin Schatzman, Julia Vandenheuvel Md, Tibisay Villalobos Md, Kris Rooney Md

Department of Pediatrics

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 Newsletter (Vol. 74), Center For Disaster Medicine, New York Medical College

COVID-19 Newsletter

No abstract provided.