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G Agius

Publications and source records attributed to G Agius.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Concomitant disseminated herpes simplex virus type 2 infection and varicella zoster virus primoinfection in a pregnant woman.

We report the first case of a HSV and VZV coinfection during pregnancy. VZV infection was diagnosed by a seroconversion and PCR. HSV 2 infection was diagnosed by cell culture. The mother and the newborn received no treatment and did not develop any complication. This case report highlights the need for increased surveillance of pregnant women with herpes virus infections.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Changing of hepatitis C virus genotype patterns in France at the beginning of the third millenium: The GEMHEP GenoCII Study.

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate, during a short period between 2000 and 2001, in a large population of patients with chronic hepatitis C, the epidemiological characteristics of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in France. Data from 26 referral centres, corresponding to 1769 patients with chronic hepatitis C were collected consecutively during a 6-month period. HCV genotyping in the 5'-non-coding region (NCR) was performed in each center using the line probe assay (LiPA, in 63% of cases), sequencing (25%) or primer-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (12%). HCV genotypes 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5, non-subtyped 1 and mixed infection were found in 18, 27, 9, 21, 9, 3, 11 and 1% of our population, respectively. HCV genotype distribution was associated with gender, age, source and duration of infection, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, cirrhosis, alcohol consumption, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection. In multivariate analysis, only the source of infection was the independent factor significantly associated with genotype (P = 0.0001). In conclusion, this study shows a changing pattern of HCV genotypes in France, with i.v. drug abuse as the major risk factor, an increase of genotype 4, and to a lesser extent 1a and 5, and a decrease of genotypes 1b and 2. The modification of the HCV genotype pattern in France in the next 10 years may require new therapeutic strategies, and further survey studies.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Human papillomavirus infection of the cervix uteri in women attending a Health Examination Center of the French social security.

Since human papillomavirus (HPV) is the central causal factor in cervical cancer, understanding the epidemiology of this infection constitutes an important step towards development of strategies for prevention. Six hundred and fifty seven cervical samples were tested for HPV using PCR with consensus primers (MY09/MY11), by genotyping (restriction and sequencing analyses) and by cervical cytology, from women who attended a Health Examination Center of the French social security. Women with no cervical smear as well as women with cytological abnormalities within the last 3 years were recruited. HPV DNA was detected in 7.3% of the women (5.3% for high-risk, 2.4% for low-risk, and 0.5% for unknown risk types) including 6 (0.9%) mixed infections. Fifteen different genotypes were detected, of which genotypes 16 (22.2%), 58 (13.0%), 18 (11.1%), 30 (9.2%), and 33 (9.2%) were the most prevalent. In age group 17-25 years, we found the highest frequencies for both any (22.1%) and high-risk (14.7%) HPV, and prevalences gradually decreased with age. 5.2% of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, 0.3% of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, and 1.2% of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance were found. The frequencies of high risk and all HPV types were significantly higher in squamous intraepithelial lesions than in those with normal and reactive/reparative changes (P < 0.0001). The prevalence of high-risk HPV in the atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance/low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion group (28.6%) was significantly higher than in the normal and reactive/reparative changes groups (3.4%) (P < 0.0001). HPV detection was associated with younger age, single marital and non-pregnant status (P < 0.0001), premenopausal status (P = 0.0004), and contraception (P = 0.0008). Marital status (OR 4.5; 95% CI = 2.3-9.0) and tobacco consumption (OR 3.0; 95% CI = 1.6-5.7) were predictive independent factors of HPV infection. The French system of Health Examination Centers might be of interest for following women regularly, especially those with a low socioeconomic status.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Surveillance network for herpes simplex virus resistance to antiviral drugs: 3-year follow-up.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections are very common in the general population and among immunocompromised patients. Acyclovir (ACV) is an effective treatment which is widely used. We deemed it essential to conduct a wide and coordinated survey of the emergence of ACV-resistant HSV strains. We have formed a network of 15 virology laboratories which have isolated and identified, between May 1999 and April 2002, HSV type 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 strains among hospitalized subjects. The sensitivity of each isolate to ACV was evaluated by a colorimetric test (C. Danve, F. Morfin, D. Thouvenot, and M. Aymard, J. Virol. Methods 105:207-217, 2002). During this study, 3900 isolated strains among 3357 patients were collected; 55% of the patients were immunocompetent. Only six immunocompetent patients excreted ACV-resistant HSV strains (0.32%), including one female patient not treated with ACV who was infected primary by an ACV-resistant strain. Among the 54 immunocompromised patients from whom ACV-resistant HSV strains were isolated (3.5%), the bone marrow transplantation patients showed the highest prevalence of resistance (10.9%), whereas among patients infected by human immunodeficiency virus, the prevalence was 4.2%. In 38% of the cases, the patients who excreted the ACV-resistant strains were treated with foscarnet (PFA), and 61% of them developed resistance to PFA. The collection of a large number of isolates enabled an evaluation of the prevalence of resistance of HSV strains to antiviral drugs to be made. This prevalence has remained stable over the last 10 years, as much among immunocompetent patients as among immunocompromised patients.

Acyclovir↗
PubMed2003

Maternal Herpes simplex virus type 2 encephalitis following Cesarean section.

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) encephalitis is rare especially during pregnancy. In immunocompetent patients, HSV-2 meningitis (contrary to HSV-1 meningitis) is usually mild, without encephalitis. We report a rare case of maternal HSV-2 encephalitis following Cesarean section. The woman had no symptomatic genital lesion, and the infant was not infected. The route of meningeal infection (neuronal or hematogenous) is discussed.

Acyclovir↗
PubMed2001

Fatal adenovirus type 7b infection in a child with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome.

Adenovirus type 7 causes worldwide respiratory tract infections, mainly in children. Severe systemic infections can occur, especially in immunocompromised patients and in patients with underlying chronic diseases. This report describes the first case of a fatal disseminated adenovirus type 7 infection in a child with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, a rare autosomal recessive disorder due to a primary enzymatic defect in cholesterol metabolism. Nasopharyngeal secretions and autopsy specimens including liver, lung, pleural fluid, and rectum were collected for viral culture. Adenovirus serotype 7 strains were obtained from all anatomic sites, except the liver. All these clinical isolates were analyzed using restriction endonuclease digestion of the genome, identifying them as genome type 7b, a virulent type. In this case, the fatal evolution could have been accelerated by the presence of an immunodeficiency although immunodeficiency is not included in the definition of Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome. The frequent recurrent banal infections in Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome could be prevented by a cholesterol supplementation regimen. Finally, this report emphasizes the need for efficient therapy for disseminated adenovirus infections, especially for virulent genome types.

Adenovirus Infections, Human↗
PubMed1999

Nucleotide sequence analysis of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I pX and LTR regions from patients with sicca syndrome.

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) is associated with adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM). Other inflammatory disorders may occur in HTLV-I-infected patients, such as sicca syndrome resembling Sjögren's syndrome. The sicca syndrome may be the unique clinical manifestation of HTLV-I infection, but is associated frequently with TSP/HAM, which could suggest that sicca syndrome might be an early event in disease progression to TSP/HAM in some cases. We investigated whether peculiar pX and LTR mutations could be related to sicca syndrome, or might argue the existence of clinical progression to TSP/HAM. pX, especially pX(I), pX(II), and pX(IV) ORFs corresponding to Tax cytotoxic T-lymphocyte epitopes, and LTR regions from Caribbean patients who have sicca syndrome with or without TSP/HAM, ATL patients, and healthy carriers were sequenced. The sequences were aligned and compared with ATK-1 prototype and published sequences. LTR sequences exhibited 1.5-2.4% of divergence with ATK-1. pX-sequenced regions showed a lower homology within p12(I) encoding sequences. Only few mutations were found within functionally important regions, but were not associated specifically with the clinical status. Finally, no mutations that could be related to sicca syndrome or argue the existence of clinical progression to TSP/HAM were found. It would be of interest to study the clinical evolution of HTLV-I-sicca syndrome in patients and to determine HTLV-I sequences from peripheral blood and salivary glands at different stages.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Genital recurrent infection occurring 6 months after meningitis due to the same herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) strain evidence by restriction endonuclease analysis.

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is more often sexually transmitted and associated with genital recurrent infection. However, HSV-2 neurological manifestations such as meningitis were already reported. We describe a case of meningitis due to HSV-2, preceded by signs suggesting a common cystitis, in a woman with no history of primary or recurrent genital infection. Six months later genital herpetic lesions occurred. One HSV-2 strain was obtained from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and another from genital lesions. The molecular comparative analysis using restriction endonuclease digestion patterns showed the similarity of the two strains. Our report illustrates that HSV-2 infections are underdiagnosed and that molecular techniques can be of value in clarifying the physiopathology of HSV diseases.

Cerebrospinal Fluid↗
PubMed1998

[Rhinovirus infections in hospitalized children: a 3-year study].

BACKGROUND: Rhinoviruses (RH) are responsible for acute respiratory illnesses, mainly in the upper respiratory tract. POPULATION AND METHODS: 3,152 children aged under 16 years, admitted to the Paediatrics department of the University Hospital Centre of Poitiers from January 1, 1993 to December 31, 1995 with ear, nose and throat (ENT) and/or respiratory symptoms were systematically investigated. One hundred and forty-five RH strains were isolated from nasopharyngeal secretions of 87 boys and 58 girls (mean age: 20.3 months). Among these, 92 (63.4%) were less than 1 year of age. Bacteriological investigations were done for 29 patients when a concomitant bacterial infection was suspected. RESULTS: RH infection rate was maximum before 1 year of age (median age: 6.5 months) and decreased with age. RH were isolated throughout the 3 years, with a first peak from February to April, and a second one in autumn. The main symptoms were sibilants (27.6%) and cough (24.1%). Sibilants were more frequently associated in children under 12 months of age (P = 0.01). Sometimes, ophthalmologic or digestive symptoms were present. Three children with respiratory distress were transferred to the reanimation ward. In addition, a RH strain was isolated from a child who died of sudden infant death. Thirty-four children (23.4%) were co-infected by one or several viruses; the most frequently detected were the respiratory syncytial virus (41.2%) and the adenoviruses (35.3%). Twenty-nine children were infected by two viruses and five by three. Associated bacterial infections were diagnosed in 23 children, especially conjunctivitis due to Haemophilus influenzae (21.7%). Among these children, eight had a multiple viral infection. CONCLUSION: RH have a limited pathogenicity but can be associated with serious illnesses among infants and children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Carbon monoxide poisoning: easy to treat but difficult to recognise.

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a common medical emergency and a frequent cause of deliberate or accidental death. It can cause acute and chronic central nervous system damage which may be minimised by prompt treatment with 100% oxygen or hyperbaric oxygen therapy. However, recognition of this intoxication can be difficult. Failure to diagnose it may have disastrous effects on the patient, and other members of the household who could subsequently become intoxicated. Guidance on the correct diagnosis of this condition is provided in the light of a number of studies screening emergency room populations. Guidelines for treatment with hyperbaric oxygen therapy are also reviewed.

Brain Diseases↗
PubMed1995

[Epidemic of viral gastroenteritis in an elderly community].

Rotaviruses and adenoviruses are the main aetiologic pathogens of gastroenteritis in infants. Adults may also be concerned with usually mild clinical symptoms. An epidemic of viral gastroenteritis occurred in a long-term hospitalization ward from July 25 to August 21, 1991: 101 patients. This study involved 26 females and 6 males with a mean age of 86 years (range 70-101 years), presenting clinical symptoms of gastroenteritis. The clinical attack rate was 27.7%. Outcome was favourable for the majority of patients who recovered in 4-5 days. The main clinical signs were diarrhoea (90.6%), hyperthermia (18.8%) and vomiting (18.8%). Virology investigations gave the diagnosis of 8 rotavirus infections, 6 adenovirus infections and 2 rotavirus and adenovirus mixed infections. Among staff members, 3 rotavirus and one adenovirus infections were diagnosed. The precise origin of the epidemic could not be determined from rotavirus electropherotypes obtained from stools of elderly and paediatric patients hospitalized during the same period. This outbreak recalls the viral involvement in diarrhoeal episodes of elderly people. These episodes of viral gastroenteritis are responsible for high morbidity in the elderly and may upset a precarious physiological state.

Adenovirus Infections, Human↗
PubMed1995

Seroprevalences of Toxoplasma, malaria, rubella, cytomegalovirus, HIV and treponemal infections among pregnant women in Cotonou, Republic of Benin.

Seroprevalences for toxoplasmosis, malaria, rubella, cytomegalovirus, HIV and treponemal infections were evaluated among 211 pregnant women residing in the Cotonou area, Republic of Benin. One hundred and thirteen women (53.6%) had toxoplasma antibodies, 185 (87.7%) malaria antibodies and 181 (85.8%) rubella antibodies. Among the 205 (97.2%) women with cytomegalovirus antibodies, 6 presented recent or current infection. No HIV seropositivity was detected. Five (2.4%) of these women had a positive treponematosis serology corresponding to previous infection or reinfection. These results were compared with previous studies conducted in Africa. Routine serological screening should be recommended in young age and in pregnancy for rubella, only in pregnant women for HIV and toxoplasma infections, in order to control their possible consequences on women and newborns.

Adolescent↗