Artemisinin resistance in falciparum malaria has emerged in western Cambodia exactly where chloroquine resistance arose 50 years ago. Similarly to the resistance to chloroquine that spread to Africa, the experts are wondering whether artemisinin resistance will spread as widely. In such a case the consequences would be disastrous.
A double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation, phase 1 study was performed in 60 healthy subjects between 18 and 49 years of age. The two-dose regimen induced the development of neutralizing antibodies in high percentages of the subjects (from 88% to 100% of subjects depending on antigen content)”.
As parts of Germany are considered potential colonization areas for A. albopictus, monitoring the trends of Chikungunya importation to Germany is a prerequisite for early detection of potential autochthonus cases.
The authors describe a case of imported Plasmodium knowlesi infection in a French tourist acquired in Thailand. The patient had spent a three month beach holiday on the west coast of Thailand including a one month stay on the Island of Ko Payam.
The authors analyzed data on 444 imported cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Sweden during the period 2000-2003. The risk for MRSA carriage or infection in returning travellers ranged from 0.1 per million travellers returning from Nordic countries to 59.4 per million travellers returning from North Africa and the Middle East.
The authors present data on 15 individuals infected by Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) -producing strains of Staphylococcus aureus. Intra-familial spread was documented in one case, and occupational transmission was most likely in another case. spa typing of the strains revealed a broad range of variants, though some strains were clonally related. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was found in three cases.
In September 2010, two cases of autochthonous dengue fever were diagnosed in metropolitan France for the first time. The cases occurred in Nice, southeast France, where the vector Aedes albopictus is established.
Aedes aegypti is a highly specialized mosquito species feeding predominantly on humans and breeding in artificial water holding containers in urban areas, and currently restricted to subtropical and tropical areas. Williams et al. focus on the reasons why Ae. aegypti once occurred in locations where the mosquito does not occur anymore in Australia, the more temperate drier parts of the country.
In recent years human diseases due to mosquito-borne viruses were increasingly reported in Emilia-Romagna region (Italy), from the chikungunya virus in 2007 to the West Nile virus (WNV) in 2008. An extensive entomological survey was performed in 2009 to establish the presence and distribution of mosquito arboviruses in this region, with particular reference to flaviviruses.