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First Identification and Description of Rickettsioses and Q Fever as Causes of Acute Febrile Illness in Nicaragua.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Rickettsial infections and Q fever present similarly to other acute febrile illnesses, but are infrequently diagnosed because of limited diagnostic tools. Despite sporadic reports, rickettsial infections and Q fever have not been prospectively studied in Central America. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:We enrolled consecutive patients presenting with undifferentiated fever in western Nicaragua and collected epidemiologic and clinical data and acute and convalescent sera. We used ELISA for screening and paired sera to confirm acute (?4-fold rise in titer) spotted fever and typhus group rickettsial infections and Q fever as well as past (stable titer) infections. Characteristics associated with both acute and past infection were assessed. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:We enrolled 825 patients and identified acute rickettsial infections and acute Q fever in 0.9% and 1.3%, respectively. Clinical features were non-specific and neither rickettsial infections nor Q fever were considered or treated. Further study is warranted to define the burden of these infections in Central America.

SUBMITTER: Reller ME

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5201229 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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First Identification and Description of Rickettsioses and Q Fever as Causes of Acute Febrile Illness in Nicaragua.

Reller Megan E ME Chikeka Ijeuru I Miles Jeremy J JJ Dumler J Stephen JS Woods Christopher W CW Mayorga Orlando O Matute Armando J AJ

PLoS neglected tropical diseases 20161230 12

<h4>Background</h4>Rickettsial infections and Q fever present similarly to other acute febrile illnesses, but are infrequently diagnosed because of limited diagnostic tools. Despite sporadic reports, rickettsial infections and Q fever have not been prospectively studied in Central America.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>We enrolled consecutive patients presenting with undifferentiated fever in western Nicaragua and collected epidemiologic and clinical data and acute and convalescent sera. ...[more]

PMID: 28036394

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Project description:BackgroundAcute kidney injury (AKI) and blackwater fever (BWF) are related but distinct renal complications of acute febrile illness in East Africa. The pathogenesis and prognostic significance of BWF and AKI are not well understood.MethodsA prospective observational cohort study was conducted to evaluate the association between BWF and AKI in children hospitalized with an acute febrile illness. Secondary objectives were to examine the association of AKI and BWF with (i) host response biomarkers and (ii) mortality. AKI was defined using the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria and BWF was based on parental report of tea-colored urine. Host markers of immune and endothelial activation were quantified on admission plasma samples. The relationships between BWF and AKI and clinical and biologic factors were evaluated using multivariable regression.ResultsWe evaluated BWF and AKI in 999 children with acute febrile illness (mean age 1.7 years (standard deviation 1.06), 55.7% male). At enrollment, 8.2% of children had a history of BWF, 49.5% had AKI, and 11.1% had severe AKI. A history of BWF was independently associated with 2.18-fold increased odds of AKI (95% CI 1.15 to 4.16). When examining host response, severe AKI was associated with increased immune and endothelial activation (increased CHI3L1, sTNFR1, sTREM-1, IL-8, Angpt-2, sFlt-1) while BWF was predominantly associated with endothelial activation (increased Angpt-2 and sFlt-1, decreased Angpt-1). The presence of severe AKI, not BWF, was associated with increased risk of in-hospital death (RR, 2.17 95% CI 1.01 to 4.64) adjusting for age, sex, and disease severity.ConclusionsBWF is associated with severe AKI in children hospitalized with a severe febrile illness. Increased awareness of AKI in the setting of BWF, and improved access to AKI diagnostics, is needed to reduce disease progression and in-hospital mortality in this high-risk group of children through early implementation of kidney-protective measures.

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Project description:BackgroundCommon causes of acute febrile illness in tropical countries have similar symptoms, which often mimic those of dengue. Accurate clinical diagnosis can be difficult without laboratory confirmation and disease burden is generally under-reported. Accurate, population-based, laboratory-confirmed incidence data on dengue and other causes of acute fever in dengue-endemic Asian countries are needed.Methods and principal findingsThis prospective, multicenter, active fever surveillance, cohort study was conducted in selected centers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam to determine the incidence density of acute febrile episodes (≥ 38 °C for ≥ 2 days) in 1,500 healthy children aged 2-14 years, followed for a mean 237 days. Causes of fever were assessed by testing acute and convalescent sera from febrile participants for dengue, chikungunya, hepatitis A, influenza A, leptospirosis, rickettsia, and Salmonella Typhi. Overall, 289 participants had acute fever, an incidence density of 33.6 per 100 person-years (95% CI: 30.0; 37.8); 57% were IgM-positive for at least one of these diseases. The most common causes of fever by IgM ELISA were chikungunya (in 35.0% of in febrile participants) and S. Typhi (in 29.4%). The overall incidence density of dengue per 100 person-years was 3.4 by nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) antigen positivity (95% CI: 2.4; 4.8) and 7.3 (95% CI: 5.7; 9.2) by serology. Dengue was diagnosed in 11.4% (95% CI: 8.0; 15.7) and 23.9% (95% CI: 19.1; 29.2) of febrile participants by NS1 positivity and serology, respectively. Of the febrile episodes not clinically diagnosed as dengue, 5.3% were dengue-positive by NS1 antigen testing and 16.0% were dengue-positive by serology.ConclusionsDuring the study period, the most common identified causes of pediatric acute febrile illness among the seven tested for were chikungunya, S. Typhi and dengue. Not all dengue cases were clinically diagnosed; laboratory confirmation is essential to refine disease burden estimates.

Dataset Information

First Identification and Description of Rickettsioses and Q Fever as Causes of Acute Febrile Illness in Nicaragua.

Publications

First Identification and Description of Rickettsioses and Q Fever as Causes of Acute Febrile Illness in Nicaragua.

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