Infectious Disease Commons^™

Codon Bias Can Determine Sorting Of A Potassium Channel Protein, Anja J. Engel, Marina Kithil, Markus Langhans, Oliver Rauh, Matea Cartolano, James L. Van Etten, Anna Moroni, Gerhard Thiel

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Due to the redundancy of the genetic code most amino acids are encoded by multiple synonymous codons. It has been proposed that a biased frequency of synonymous codons can affect the function of proteins by modulating distinct steps in transcription, translation and folding. Here, we use two similar prototype K⁺ channels as model systems to examine whether codon choice has an impact on protein sorting. By monitoring transient expression of GFP-tagged channels in mammalian cells, we find that one of the two channels is sorted in a codon and cell cycle-dependent manner either to mitochondria or the secretory pathway. …

Case Report: Covid-19 Associated Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Matthew Aharonov, Neelesh Parikh, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

We report a case of a 72-year-old female who presented to the emergency department with a complaint of generalized weakness. The patient was found to have ascending muscle weakness and subsequently diagnosed with Covid-19 related Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Our patient was negative for Campylobacter jejuni. It is noteworthy that the patient did not have fever, respiratory symptoms or loss of the sensation of taste.

Flexor Tenosynovitis After Bite By Sugar Glider, Dominick Siconolfi, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna, Russell Mordecai

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Flexor tenosynovitis is one of the few orthopedic emergencies, often first identified in the emergency department. Pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis is an infection of the flexor tendon sheath of a finger causing local inflammation and tissue destruction. The pathognomonic symptoms of flexor tenosynovitis are known as Kanavel’s signs, a constellation of symptoms that include: pain with passive extension of the finger, tenderness over the flexor tendon sheath, fusiform swelling of the affected finger, and the finger held in passive flexion. The most common cause of flexor tenosynovitis is penetrating trauma into the flexion tendon sheath. Our case involves a 59-year-old male …

Use Of Electronic Pharmacy Transaction Data And Website Development To Assess Antibiotic Use In Nursing Homes, Sunah Song, Brigid M. Wilson, Robin L.P. Jump

Faculty Scholarship

Background: In 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services required all long-term care facilities, including nursing homes, to have an antibiotic stewardship program. Many nursing homes lack the resources, expertise, or infrastructure to track and analyze antibiotic use measures. Here, we demonstrate that pharmacy invoices are a viable source of data to track and report antibiotic use in nursing homes. Methods: The dispensing pharmacy working with several nursing homes in the same healthcare corporation provided pharmacy invoices from 2014 to 2016 as files formatted as comma separated values. We aggregated these files by aligning elements into a consistent set …

Covid-19 Newsletter (Vol. 70), Center For Disaster Medicine, New York Medical College

COVID-19 Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Neonatal Gut Microbiota Alterations And Local Inflammation Induced By Escherichia Coli Infection Are Modified By Lactobacillus Rhamnosus Prophylaxis, Susana Chavez-Bueno, Hao Xuan, Shahid Umar, Concong Zhong, Wei Yu, Venkatesh Sampath

Presentations

Background: E. coli is a leading cause of neonatal sepsis. Newborns ingest E. coli, which transcytoses the gut producing bacteremia. Lactobacillus spp. decrease E. coli gut transcytosis but the mechanisms involved in this protective effect are not well understood.

Objective: To determine the effects of Lactobacillus pretreatment on the intestinal microbiota and inflammation in neonatal rats orally infected with E. coli.

Design/Methods: Newborn rats were orally pretreated on day of life (DOL) 1 and 2 with four doses of 107 colony forming units (CFU) of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) or PBS. On DOL 2, pups received orally 106 CFU of …

Antibiotic Durations For Skin And Soft Tissue Infections In Pediatric Urgent Care Clinics, Megan Hamner, Amanda Nedved, Holly Austin, Donna Wyly, Alaina N. Burns, Diana King, Brian R. Lee, Rana El Feghaly

Posters

Background: Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are the second most common diagnosis leading to pediatric antibiotic prescriptions in the outpatient setting after respiratory diagnoses. However, most antibiotic stewardship programs have mainly focused on the latter. Children seen in the ambulatory setting for SSTIs often receive >7 days of antibiotics, although current society guidelines recommend 5-7 days for most diagnoses.


Objective: To determine the baseline percentage of patients receiving antibiotic prescriptions for >7 days for SSTIs in urgent care clinics (UCC)s of a pediatric health system and to evaluate factors that influence providers towards longer durations.


Design/Methods: We built a …

Human Lactoferrin And The Siderophore Aerobactin Independently Impact Intestinal Invasion By Neonatal Escherichia Coli Bacteremia Isolates, Susana Chavez-Bueno, Joshua Wheatley, Jennifer Tabakh

Posters

Background: E. coli is a major cause of neonatal sepsis. After ingestion, E. coli translocates the neonatal gut causing bacteremia. E. coli virulence depends on iron acquisition mechanisms, including siderophore systems. Lactoferrin (LF) protects against neonatal sepsis through immunomodulatory and antimicrobial effects which include iron chelation. However, it is not known whether siderophores in neonatal E. coli strains have an impact on LF’s effects on bacterial invasion and survival in intestinal epithelium.


Objective: To investigate the effects of human LF and the siderophore aerobactin on intestinal invasion and survival of septicemia-producing neonatal E. coli.


Design/Methods: Neonatal E. coli septicemia isolates …

Prevalence Of Mycoplasma Genitalium And Macrolide Resistance In Adolescent Females Receiving Care At A Pediatric Hospital, Kayla Barnes, Bishnu Adhikari, Rangaraj Selvarangan, Christopher J. Harrison, Melissa K. Miller

Posters

Background: Mycoplasma genitalium is an established sexually transmitted cause of nongonococcal urethritis in males and macrolide resistance is increasing. The pathogenic role is less well-defined in adolescent females and guidelines recommend M. genitalium testing only be considered in cases of persistent or recurrent cervicitis and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). We lack understanding of the prevalence and macrolide resistance of M. genitalium in adolescent females.


Objective: To determine the prevalence of M. genitalium and rate of detected macrolide resistance among adolescent females seeking care at a pediatric children’s hospital.


Design/Methods: We collected 200 salvaged urogenital samples (56 urine and 144 vaginal) …

Current Challenges In Covid-19 Triaging: A Global Perspective, Mauli Patel, Robin Sudandiradas, Trini Mathew, Paul Kilgore, Mahadev Rao, Chiranjay Mukhopadhay, Marcus Zervos

Conference Presentation Abstracts

Background and Objectives: Although countries around the world have been combatting the same COVID-19 pandemic over the last year, the triage approach taken by various Emergency Departments (ED) is unique. This paper outlines the guidelines followed by two tertiary care hospitals in Detroit, USA and Manipal, India. By comparing hospital triage implementation protocols, this paper offers insight regarding similarities and differences between Detroit and Manipal ED, as well as strategies to overcome respective challenges. Methods: Triage algorithms from the Detroit Medical Centre in Detroit and Kasturba Medical College Hospital in Manipal were contrasted to illustrate the similarities and differences in …

Lessons From The Pandemic: How A Children’S Hospital Responded To The Challenges Of Covid-19, John Lantos, Paul Kempinski, Laurie Ellison, Jennifer Watts, Angela Myers

Presentations

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged doctors and hospital administrators as did no other event in our lifetimes. Leaders needed to develop a pandemic command structure with the agility to respond to rapidly evolving situations. They had to deal with drastic financial implications, develop new methods of delivering health care, and collaborate regionally. They learned the importance of communication with staff, policy makers, the local medical community, and the public. They had to allocate of scarce resources internally and externally, and balancing rational policy making against irrational fears. For children’s hospitals, some specific challenges included determining our role in a pandemic that …

Outpatient Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs In Children’S Hospitals: Status, Needs, Barriers, Rana El Feghaly, Elizabeth Monsees, Alaina N. Burns, Brian Lee, Ann L. Wirtz, Adam L. Hersh, Jason Newland

Posters

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) are an essential tool to combat the increasing threat of antibiotic resistance. ASPs traditionally reside in acute care settings with a focus on inpatient prescribing. However, in 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention affirmed the importance of outpatient ASP through its 4 core elements. Incorporation of these elements requires time, personnel, and funding, which may not be available in many institutions.


Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the current state of outpatient ASP in a large network of children’s hospitals and inform a programming agenda.


Design/Methods: This cross-sectional study used an investigator-developed survey …

Global Trends In Norovirus Genotype Distribution Among Children With Acute Gastroenteritis., Jennifer L. Cannon, Joseph Bonifacio, Filemon Bucardo, Javier Buesa, Leesa Bruggink, Martin Chi-Wai Chan, Tulio M. Fumian, Sidhartha Giri, Mark D. Gonzalez, Joanne Hewitt, Jih-Hui Lin, Janet Mans, Christian Muñoz, Chao-Yang Pan, Xiao-Li Pang, Corinna Pietsch, Mustafiz Rahman, Naomi Sakon, Rangaraj Selvarangan, Hannah Browne, Leslie Barclay, Jan Vinjé

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Noroviruses are a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) among adults and children worldwide. NoroSurv is a global network for norovirus strain surveillance among children(genotype and polymerase type) and uploaded 1,325 dual-typed sequences to the NoroSurv web portal during 2016-2020. More than 50% of submitted sequences were GII.4 Sydney[P16] or GII.4 Sydney[P31] strains. Other common strains included GII.2[P16], GII.3[P12], GII.6[P7], and GI.3[P3] viruses. In total, 22 genotypes and 36 dual types, including GII.3 and GII.20 viruses with rarely reported polymerase types, were detected, reflecting high strain diversity. Surveillance data captured in NoroSurv enables the monitoring of trends in norovirus strains …

Clinical Characteristics And Outcomes Of Covid-19: Experience At A Major Tertiary Care Center In Pakistan, Nosheen Nasir, Kiren Habib, Iffat Khanum, Naveera Khan, Zehra Abdul Muhammad, Syed Faisal Mahmood

Section of Internal Medicine

Introduction: Limited data exist on clinical characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in low-middle income countries. We aimed to describe the clinical spectrum and outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients at a tertiary-care center in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methodology: We conducted an observational study of adult COVID-19 patients hospitalized between February-June 2020. Patients with a discharge diagnosis of COVID-19 and PCR positivity were included. We created logistic regression models to understand association of clinical characteristics with illness severity and in-hospital mortality.
Results: The study population comprised 445 patients [67% males, median age 53 (IQR 40-64) years]. Majority of patients (N = …

Thyreos Completes Seed Funding From Invest Nebraska, Strategic Angel Investors, Nebraska Combine

The Combine

First paragraph:

Thyreos (https://www.thyreosvaccines.com/), a vaccine company that is developing a novel vaccine platform that protects against a range of herpesviruses, has announced a $750,000 investment round led by Invest Nebraska with participation from other local angel investors in the animal health and veterinary space.

Hypertension As A Sequela In Patients Of Sars-Cov-2 Infection., Ganxiao Chen, Xun Li, Zuojiong Gong, Hao Xia, Yao Wang, Xuefen Wang, Yan Huang, Hector Barajas-Martinez, Dan Hu

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a respiratory infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, and cardiovascular damage is commonly observed in affected patients. We sought to investigate the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on cardiac injury and hypertension during the current coronavirus pandemic.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The clinical data of 366 hospitalized COVID-19-confirmed patients were analyzed. The clinical signs and laboratory findings were extracted from electronic medical records. Two independent, experienced clinicians reviewed and analyzed the data.

RESULTS: Cardiac injury was found in 11.19% (30/268) of enrolled patients. 93.33% (28/30) of cardiac injury cases were in the severe group. The laboratory findings indicated that …

Identification Of A Chlorovirus Pbcv-1 Protein Involved In Degrading The Host Cell Wall During Virus Infection, Irina V. Agarkova, Leslie C. Lane, David D. Dunigan, Cristian F. Quispe, Garry A. Duncan, Elad Milrot, Abraham Minsky, Ahmed Esmael, Jayadri S. Ghosh, James L. Van Etten

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Chloroviruses are unusual among viruses infecting eukaryotic organisms in that they must, like bacteriophages, penetrate a rigid cell wall to initiate infection. Chlorovirus PBCV-1 infects its host, Chlorella variabilis NC64A by specifically binding to and degrading the cell wall of the host at the point of contact by a virus-packaged enzyme(s). However, PBCV-1 does not use any of the five previously characterized virus-encoded polysaccharide degrading enzymes to digest the Chlorella host cell wall during virus entry because none of the enzymes are packaged in the virion. A search for another PBCV-1-encoded and virion-associated protein identified protein A561L. The fourth domain …

Covid-19 Newsletter (Vol. 69), Center For Disaster Medicine, New York Medical College

COVID-19 Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Streptococcus Anginosus Lung Infection And Empyema: A Case Report And Review Of The Literature, Nishita Tripathi, Kuldeep Ghosh, Anupama Raghuram

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Streptococcus milleri group (SMG) also referred to as the Streptococcus anginosus group. These are Gram-positive, variable hemolysis, catalase negative, microaerophilic, non-motile facultative anaerobes which have been known to cause abscesses in humans. We report a case of empyema caused by Streptococcus anginosus in a patient with an unresolved pneumonia for over a month. In early October 2018, the patient presented to an emergency room with the complaints of shortness of air, productive cough, chills, subjective fever and weight loss for 4 weeks. A chest X-ray revealed a left lower lobe pneumonia. He was treated with 250 mg of azithromycin for …

Covid-19 Newsletter (Vol. 68), Center For Disaster Medicine, New York Medical College

COVID-19 Newsletter

No abstract provided.