Anna Papa

..None of the samples was found positive with the PPT primers. The sequence analysis showed that the virus that was responsible for these 11 HFRS cases was the Dobrava virus, which is endemic throughout the Balkans...

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..Sequence and phylogenetic analyses showed that the causative strain was Dobrava/Belgrade virus, which is genetically closer to strains associated with Apodemus flavicollis rodents...

..The shepherd of that flock was a member of a family affected by CCHF 10 days before the collection of goats' sera, and he presented a mild form of the disease...

..Human, animal, and vector surveillance systems have to be implemented to provide an early detection of WNV activity in Greece...

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..This article provides an overview of the WNV outbreaks in Greece and discusses the knowledge gained from these events...

..Given the dynamics of CCHF emergence in the past decade, development of new anti-viral drugs and a vaccine is urgently needed to treat and prevent this acute, life-threatening disease...

..2%. The increased aggressiveness of R. sanguineus might be related to the weather conditions occurred during 2007-2008, while a variety of factors, including climate, might play a role in CCHF emergence...

..Physicians have to be aware of MSF in patients with severe disease who are returning from the Mediterranean area...

..The most prevalent enterovirus in Greece during the period 2006-2007 was E6, and was associated with aseptic meningitis. A high degree of heterogeneity was observed among Greek E6 strains...

..4% and 2.9% of cases, respectively. There is a seasonal and clinical overlapping among the 4 diseases in Albania, suggesting that testing for these agents is necessary in cases with fever and haemorrhagic manifestations...

..A sharp decrease in the IgM levels was observed, mainly in patients who had high IgM index value in the acute phase. All patients were WNV IgG positive at the follow-up...

..A strain of Greek goat encephaltitis virus was isolated from engorged Ixodes ricinus ticks that had fed on goats in northern Greece. The strain was almost identical to the prototype strain isolated 35 years ago...

..Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that the Greek CCHF virus strain had high sequence identity with other Balkan CCHF virus strains...

..Isolates were clustered into five distinct clones. The majority of isolates were carrying the bla(OXA-58) gene, while a new clone emerged in 2008...

..The high seroprevalence, combined with the high antibody titers observed, suggest that TOSV, or an antigenically-related virus, circulates or has been circulating extensively in the region...

..A great genetic diversity was observed among CCHFV strains. In order to gain an insight into the topology of the strain in the CCHFV phylogenetic trees, the full-length S and partial L segments were additionally sequenced and analyzed...

..The new virus is genetically closer (similarity 77.1% at nucleotide level) to Arbia virus, which belongs to the Salehabad serocomplex. Its distribution and probable pathogenicity to humans remain to be elucidated...

..1 ± 4.9 and 12.6 ± 11.3 days after onset of illness in neuroinvasive and non-neuroinvasive cases, respectively (p < 0.001), suggesting that a delay in the development of WNV IgG antibodies is seen in non-neuroinvasive cases...

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..There is a need for caution when evaluating serologic results of flaviviral infections, while efforts have to be focused on the development of diagnostic assays with increased specificity...

..A non-synonymous mutation present in the strains of this study was not observed in other coxsackie virus B5 strains...

..No significant difference in CCR2 allele frequency between the two groups was observed...

..The Greek strain, which forms an independent clade, differed from the causative strain by 25.3% at the nucleotide level...

..We report the epidemiologic characteristics of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Bulgaria, as well as the first genetic characterization of the virus strains circulating in the country in 2002 to 2003 that caused disease in humans...

..The physician was successfully treated with oral ribavirin. These cases yielded the first genetically studied C-CHFV human isolates in the Balkans...

..Genotypic resistance patterns of CRF04_cpx samples were found to be similar to those identified in subtype B viruses, suggesting that the drug-selective pressure has similar effects on both subtype B and CRF04_cpx...

..The proportion of CRF04_cpx strains is larger than previously reported, suggesting that the CRF04_cpx is significantly contributing to the Greek HIV-1 epidemic...

..5% and from the reference CCHFV strain IbAr10200 by a mean of 22%, suggesting that the genus Nairovirus comprises a group of genetically highly diverse strains...

..The severity of the disease ranges from a mild or moderate form to severe and fatal cases. Several endemic foci for HFRS have been identified. Phylogenetic analysis of hantavirus sequences revealed a stable geographical distribution...

..Phylogenetic analysis of partial L RNA segment sequences revealed that the strain from Cyprus differed from sandfly Sicilian virus by 6.7% at the nucleotide level...

..An outbreak of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome occurred in 2002 in Serbia and Montenegro. The epidemiologic characteristics and genetic relatedness of Dobrava/Belgrade virus strains responsible for most cases are described...

..A CCHF outbreak took place in Albania in 2003. As in other viral hemorrhagic fevers cytokines may be involved and play a role in the pathogenesis and outcome of the disease...

..8%). TBE was not confirmed by laboratory findings in any of the patients with CNS infection. Results of this study revealed that a flavivirus of the TBE serocomplex is circulating in Greece, yet is not a major public health problem...

..Prevalence in ticks varied according to year, season, and geographic region. TBEV is not endemic in Greece, and most probably the seroprevalence of TBE antibodies in humans is due to cross-reactivity to GGEV...

..Enteroviruses are the most common cause of aseptic meningitis, presenting in epidemic or endemic form...

..Rickettsia slovaca was detected in one pool of Rhipicephalus bursa ticks, representing the first report of detection of R. slovaca in Greece...

..were present in 9/11 prefectures, Boophilus spp. in 4/11, while Dermacentor spp. were found only in one. Results of this study give an insight into the ecology of ticks and their potential of tick-borne diseases in the country...

..tobbi (9.6%) predominated in the mainland. As most of these species are proven or suspected vectors of human and animal pathogens, prevention measures have to be taken in these areas during the summer months when sandflies are active...

..34 x 10(-4), 1.22 x 10(-4), and 1.01 x 10(-4), respectively. Many discrepancies in clustering were seen, most probably caused by reassortment events, leading in complex patterns of evolution...

..The virus showed closest genetic relationship to the lineage 2 strain that emerged in Hungary in 2004; increased virulence may be associated with amino acid substitution H249P...

..The 5'NCR and VP1-2A RT-PCR with sequence analysis were found to be superior to conventional methods for direct diagnosis and the typing of EVs...

..Complication by a hospital-acquired Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia resulted in 2 months of hospitalization. Slight ataxia was still present on discharge...

..DOBV was isolated from an A. flavicollis mouse trapped in northeastern Greece. This is the third DOBV cell culture isolate in the world, clustering together with other Greek DOBV sequences from HFRS patients and rodents...

..68% from the New Jersey D6 strain and by 5.5% from the MV vaccine strain Edmonston B (U03656) belonging to genotype A...

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..8%. Results of this study show that among HIV-1-infected patients in Yugoslavia subtype B predominates (91.5%), whereas non-B subtypes are present at a low percentage, mostly related to travel abroad...

..Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is the most common idiopathic interstitial pneumonia. The human herpesviruses and especially Epstein-Barr virus have been implicated in the etiology of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in a number of studies...

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..Infected patients who died appeared to have higher viral loads; low viral loads correlated with IgG detection...

..The last wild poliomyelitis case in Greece was detected in 1996, and the last vaccine-related strain was isolated in 1998. The whole of Europe, including Greece, is now considered to be polio-free...

..The aim of the study was to identify the etiology and determine the frequency of aseptic meningitis and encephalitis due to HHVs and EVs in an immunocompetent adult population...

..Specific IgG antibodies were detected in 9.1% of the animals from both lowland and mountainous areas. In total, a slightly higher percentage of antibodies was detected in sheep and goats (9.8%) than in cattle (7.9%)...

..Recognition of such virulent community-acquired strains is of great importance because they could prove to be emerging pathogens for life-threatening diseases...

..To define the epidemiological profile and the clinical characteristics associated with HBoV infection in a population of children hospitalized with respiratory tract infection...

..Humans are infected by inhaling the excreta of infected rodents. Persons at increased risk for infection are farmers, loggers/forest workers, and soldiers...

..phagocytophilum sequences, providing the first molecular evidence for the circulation of A. phagocytophilum in I. ricinus ticks in Greece...