Henry M Blumberg

..Oral warts were associated with reductions in virus load, which suggests that this may in part be related to immune reconstitution...

..The resurgence of tuberculosis (TB) in the 1980s and early 1990s in the United States was also accompanied by numerous hospital outbreaks of TB and nosocomial transmission to health care workers...

..The preferred regimen for the treatment of latent TB infection is 9 months of isoniazid. There is now renewed interest in and great need for the development of new drugs to treat TB and latent TB infection...

..Because prescribing practices seemed to be institution specific, interventions should address attitudes of local prescribers. Interventions should target empiric therapy and ordering of appropriate cultures...

..CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated that the CA-MRSA USA300 clone is no longer just a cause of community-acquired infections but has also emerged as a cause of health care-associated infections, causing PJI at our institution...

..Little information is available on the clinical relation between vitamin D, LL-37 concentrations, and disease severity in patients with tuberculosis...

..aureus skin and soft-tissue infection. Empirical use of agents active against community-acquired MRSA is warranted for patients presenting with serious skin and soft-tissue infections...

..A new generation of diagnostic tests, the interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs), have been developed for the detection of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Limited data are available on their use in HIV-infected persons...

..These P. aeruginosa isolates were recovered from bronchoscopically obtained specimens...

..Presence of a wound was the strongest predictor for MDR colonization. More data are needed to reliably predict MDR bacterial colonization...

..The emergence of CA-MRSA colonization represents a new, unrecognized reservoir of MRSA within hospitals, potentially increasing the risk for horizontal transmission...

..Whether community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) genotypes (e.g., USA300) are a major cause of bloodstream infections (BSIs) and health care-associated infections has been poorly defined...

..Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus organisms (VRE) have emerged as common nosocomial pathogens, but few population-based data are available on the impact of invasive VRE infections...

..The basis for vitamin D/TB interactions and a brief literature review are discussed. Data from controlled trials are needed to evaluate the efficacy of vitamin D as adjunctive TB therapy...

..Multidisciplinary antimicrobial utilization teams (AUTs) have been proposed as a mechanism for improving antimicrobial use, but data on their efficacy remain limited...

..The etiology and outcomes of blood-stream infections (BSI) among paediatric patients is not well described in resource-limited countries including Georgia...

..We report two related cases of community-onset pneumonia due to the MRSA USA300 genotype and review the literature regarding the emergence of CA-MRSA pneumonia...

..There is limited data on the effect of HIV status and CD4 counts on performance of Interferon-g Release assays (IGRAs) for diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI)...

..Retrospective review of medical records identified inappropriate practices. These findings have influenced ongoing interventions aimed at optimizing piperacillin-tazobactam use...

..Disseminated disease and the presence of CNS/meningeal TB are associated with poor prognosis...

....

..Herein we describe 2 cases of pancreatic tuberculosis that presented as multicystic masses, and we review the literature to describe the diverse clinical manifestations of this condition...

..Similar studies could guide practices for dealing with such patients in other centers, because the occurrence of MRSA infections at the time of admission may vary widely by geographic area...

..In summary, 2 respiratory specimens proved adequate in establishing a diagnosis of tuberculosis, and the third specimen added little additional diagnostic value...

..When indicators of WNV activity are present and patients are likely to have had intensive mosquito exposure, WNV should be considered in the differential diagnosis of seriously ill, febrile patients...

..Planning for voluntary smallpox vaccination of health and safety officials began in December 2002...

..Thus, the relationship between vitamin D status and LL-37 production may be of importance for host immunity, but little data is available on this subject, especially in the setting of human sepsis syndrome and other critical illness...

..Specific areas needing additional research are listed...

..MDR-Ab is resistant to most standard antimicrobials but often retains susceptibility to polymyxin B and doxycycline...

....

..We conclude that acquisition of MAC from institutional water systems leads to substantial MAC disease but that most patients with MAC recovered from respiratory specimens have only transient colonization by MAC...

..67), and increasing age. In the setting of an effective tuberculosis infection-control program, TST conversion rates were low, and risk of conversion among HCWs was associated most strongly with nonoccupational factors...

..We report the transmission of a strain of community-acquired MRSA in our neonatal intensive care unit...

..Our study objective was to examine the molecular epidemiology of MRSA and assess the prevalence and risk factors for community acquired (CA)-MRSA genotype nasal carriage at the time of ICU admission...

..The audience also includes the full range of medical practitioners, organizations, and institutions involved in the health care of persons in the United States who are at risk for TB...

..Finally, we outline the critical information needed to effectively address the problem of nosocomial transmission of TB in India...

..Clinical trials have not compared this treatment with isoniazid in adults without HIV infection...

..We urge the development of shorter, less toxic TB treatment and prevention regimens. Funding of TB control and research should be reassessed to prevent budget cuts at a time when the disease is killing as many as 2 million people a year...