Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Open Access J Contracept 2018 12;9:91-112. Epub 2018 Nov 12.

Global Health, Population and Nutrition, FHI 360, Durham, NC, USA,

Purpose: Evidence on the association between contraceptive use and risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and bacterial vaginosis (BV) is lacking, with few prospective studies. We systematically reviewed the last 10 years' evidence on the association between contraception and STI/BV, building on the most recent systematic reviews published in 2006 and 2009.

Methods: We searched the MEDLINE and POPLINE databases for peer-reviewed articles p ublished between January 1, 2008 and January 31, 2018 reporting prospective studies that assessed the association between contraceptive use and incident STI and/or incident or recurrent BV. Read More

Actas Dermosifiliogr 2018 Nov 28. Epub 2018 Nov 28.

Servicio de Dermatología, Hospital Universitario Infanta Sofía, San Sebastián de los Reyes, Madrid, España. Electronic address:

Sex Transm Dis 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School and The Fenway Institute, Fenway Health Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Background: Increased gonorrhea detection highlights the need for additional prevention efforts. Gonorrhea may only be acquired when there is contact between infected and uninfected anatomical sites. With three sites of infection this leads to seven plausible routes of MSM transmission: urethra-to-rectum, rectum-to-urethra, urethra-to-oropharynx, rectum-to-oropharynx, oropharynx-to-urethra, oropharynx-to-rectum, and oropharynx-to-oropharynx. Read More

Front Microbiol 2018 20;9:2688. Epub 2018 Nov 20.

Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States.

The mucosal inflammatory response to (Gc) is characterized by recruitment of neutrophils to the site of infection. Gc survives exposure to neutrophils by limiting the ability of neutrophils to make antimicrobial products and by expressing factors that defend against these products. The multiple transferable resistance (Mtr) system is a tripartite efflux pump, comprised of the inner membrane MtrD, the periplasmic attachment protein MtrC, and the outer membrane channel MtrE. Read More

Sci Rep 2018 Dec 4;8(1):17596. Epub 2018 Dec 4.

WHO Collaborating Centre for Gonorrhoea and other Sexually Transmitted Infections, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is common, compromising gonorrhoea treatment internationally. Rapid characterisation of AMR strains could ensure appropriate and personalised treatment, and support identification and investigation of gonorrhoea outbreaks in nearly real-time. Whole-genome sequencing is ideal for investigation of emergence and dissemination of AMR determinants, predicting AMR, in the gonococcal population and spread of AMR strains in the human population. Read More

Caspian J Intern Med 2018 ;9(4):397-402

Department of Bacteriology and Virology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.

Background: and as an obligate human pathogen are two common causes of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of and among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients in the southwest Iran.

Methods: This retrospective study was performed from 2004 to 2013, on HIV patients who were tested for detection of gonorrhea and syphilis infection at Shiraz HIV/AIDS Research Center. Read More

Infect Immun 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605.

the causative agent of gonorrhea, has evolved several mechanisms to subvert complement, including binding of the complement inhibitor factor H (FH). We previously reported FH binding to independently of lipooligosaccharide (LOS) sialylation. Here we report that Factor H-like protein 1 (FHL-1), which contains FH domains 1 through 7 and possesses complement inhibitory activity, also binds to The ligand for both FH and FHL-1 was identified as Neisserial surface protein A (NspA), which has previously been identified as a ligand for these molecules on As with -NspA, NspA bound FH/FHL-1 through FH domains 6 and 7. Read More

Infect Immun 2018 Dec 3. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

releases peptidoglycan fragments during growth, and these molecules induce an inflammatory response in the human host. The proinflammatory molecules include peptidoglycan monomers, peptidoglycan dimers, and free peptides. These molecules can be released by the actions of lytic transglycosylases or an amidase. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2018 Dec 3;18(1):609. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

WHO Collaborating Centre for Gonorrhea and other STIs, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.

Background: The European Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Programme (Euro-GASP) performs annual sentinel surveillance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae susceptibility to therapeutically relevant antimicrobials across the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA). We present the Euro-GASP results from 2016 (25 countries), linked to patient epidemiological data, and compared with data from previous years.

Methods: Agar dilution and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) gradient strip methodologies were used to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility (using EUCAST breakpoints) of 2660 N. Read More

MBio 2018 Nov 27;9(6). Epub 2018 Nov 27.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Recent reports suggest that mosaic-like sequences within the (ultiple ransferable esistance) efflux pump locus of , likely originating from commensal sp. by transformation, can increase the ability of gonococci to resist structurally diverse antimicrobials. Thus, acquisition of numerous nucleotide changes within the gene encoding the transcriptional repressor (MtrR) of the efflux pump-encoding operon or overlapping promoter region for both along with those that cause amino acid changes in the MtrD transporter protein were recently reported to decrease gonococcal susceptibility to numerous antimicrobials, including azithromycin (Azi) (C. Read More

Euro Surveill 2018 Nov;23(47)

Authors contributed equally to the work and share joint authorship.

We describe a multidrug-resistant urethritis case with ceftriaxone resistance and azithromycin intermediate resistance in a heterosexual man in Ireland, August 2018. Whole-genome sequencing showed that the isolate IR72 belongs to the internationally spreading multidrug-resistant ceftriaxone-resistant FC428 clade, initially described in Japan in 2015. IR72 was assigned MSLT ST1903, NG-MAST ST17842 and NG-STAR type 1133, including the ceftriaxone resistance-mediating 60. Read More

Nat Prod Commun 2016 Nov;11(11):1667-1669

In Korean folk medicine, Melandrium firmum Rohrbach (Caryophyllaceae) has been used to treat various diseases, including anuria, breast cancer, and gonorrhea. In this study, a high-performance liquid chromatography method with photodiode-array UV detection (HPLC-PDA) was established and then validated for the simultaneous determination of five flavonoids in M firnum: schaftoside, homoorientin, cytisoside, vitexin, and isovitexin. Separation of the five compounds was performed on a Gemini C18 column at 40'C by gradient elution of two mobile phases. Read More

PLoS One 2018 26;13(11):e0206962. Epub 2018 Nov 26.

Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, North Carolina, United States of America.

Introduction: HIV prevention strategies often include outreach to female sex workers at social venues identified as places where people meet new sexual partners. Patrons and staff at these venues may include female sex workers, their clients, as well as others who have high rates of new sexual partnerships. Few studies have compared HIV/STI among venue-based and general populations, across types of venues, or by sub-group of the venue population. Read More

J Arthroplasty 2018 Oct 25. Epub 2018 Oct 25.

Department of Molecular Pathology, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Shahid Behshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Molecular Biology, Dr. Khosroshahi's Pathobiology Laboratory, Tehran, Iran.

Background: PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism) techniques have been used for the diagnosis of bacteria in some infections. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of PCR for the diagnosis of prosthetic joint infections (PJI) and to identify isolated microorganisms, using the RFLP method.

Methods: During January 2015 to January 2018, patients who were suspected of having PJI after arthroplasty surgery or were candidates for revision surgery due to loosening of implant entered the study. Read More

Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin 2018 Nov 19. Epub 2018 Nov 19.

Servicio Enfermedades Infecciosas, OSI Bilbao-Basurto, Osakidetza, Grupo de estudio de ITS (GeITS) de la SEIMC, Instituto de Investigación Biocruces Bizkaia, Bizkaia, España. Electronic address:

The burden of disease from sexually transmitted infections (STI) undermines sexual and reproductive health and the health of newborn infants. The presence of some STI facilitates the transmission of others, such as HIV, and cause cellular changes that precede some types of cancer. For all these reasons STIs are a first order uncontrolled public health problem. Read More

Infect Drug Resist 2018 26;11:1983-1992. Epub 2018 Oct 26.

Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.

Objectives: We investigated the in vitro antimicrobial susceptibilities of clinically important Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) from 16 major teaching hospitals in Taiwan in 2017.

Materials And Methods: (n=686) and bloodstream isolates (n=673), non-typhoid (NTS; n=221) from various sources, species (n=21) from fecal samples, and (n=129) from the genitourinary tract were collected. Antibiotic minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined using the broth microdilution method. Read More

J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc 2018 Nov 21. Epub 2018 Nov 21.

Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, NYU Winthrop Hospital, Mineola, New York.

We report a case of a 3-day-old boy with Neisseria cinerea conjunctivitis, originally misidentified as Neisseria gonorrhoeae conjunctivitis. Neonates are at increased risk for disseminated gonococcal infection, and physicians should be cognizant of N cinerea and its potential to be mistaken for N gonorrhoeae. Read More

Sex Transm Dis 2018 Nov 19. Epub 2018 Nov 19.

World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Gonorrhoea and other STIs, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Microbiology, Örebro University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is compromising the treatment of gonorrhea globally. Recent AMR data are extremely limited in Africa, and mainly totally lacking in Western Africa including Côte d'Ivoire. This study i) established a quality-assured gonococcal antimicrobial surveillance programme (GASP), according to WHO quality criteria, ii) investigated the AMR to eight therapeutic antimicrobials in gonococcal isolates from 2014 to 2017, and iii) provided evidence for updating the national STD syndromic management guidelines in Côte d'Ivoire. Read More

Am J Nurs 2018 Dec;118(12):15

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2018 Nov 19. Epub 2018 Nov 19.

Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Australia.

Two male travelers with histories of gout and hazardous alcohol consumption, presented with a triad of severe culture-positive disseminated gonococcal infection, crystal-positive polyarticular gout, and gonococcal soft tissue collections, following unprotected sexual contact in The Philippines. Both men initially attributed symptoms to gout, since their usual joints were affected, but clinical deterioration occurred with self-administration of anti-inflammatory agents alone. The clinical courses were severe and protracted, requiring aggressive management of infection with prolonged intravenous antimicrobials and repeated surgery, and prolonged anti-inflammatory agents for gout. Read More

J Glob Antimicrob Resist 2018 Nov 15. Epub 2018 Nov 15.

Department of Infection Control and Prevention, Faculty of Nursing, Toho University, Tokyo, Japan.

Objectives: We examined the antimicrobial resistance and molecular characteristics of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates obtained from 1996 -2005 (n=200) and 2008-2016 (n=200) in Fukuoka, Japan.

Methods: MICs were determined by agar dilution and sequence types (STs) were examined using N. gonorrhoeae multi-antigen sequence typing (NG-MAST). Read More

Ann Epidemiol 2018 Oct 29. Epub 2018 Oct 29.

Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA and Department of Health Sciences, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA; Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.

Purpose: Voting may play a critical role in the allocation of social and structural resources to communities, which in turn shapes neighborhood environments, and ultimately, an individual's sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk. We assessed relationships among county-level voter turnout and felony voter disenfranchisement, and STIs.

Methods: This cross-sectional multilevel analysis included 666 women in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study between 2013 and 2015. Read More

BMC Res Notes 2018 Nov 14;11(1):808. Epub 2018 Nov 14.

Department of Histology-Embryology, University of Lomé, Lomé, Togo.

Objectives: Evaluate the practice of sexuality, contraception and the risk of sexually transmitted infections among students in the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lomé, Togo.

Results: Three hundred and sixteen (316) students were interviewed, with a response rate of 43.3%. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2018 Nov 12. Epub 2018 Nov 12.

Division of Pharmacovigilance, Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA.

Background: Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported notifiable condition in the United States (U.S.). Read More

PLoS One 2018 9;13(11):e0206419. Epub 2018 Nov 9.

Thailand Ministry of Public Health-U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Collaboration, Nonthaburi, Thailand.

Antimicrobial-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) infection is a global public health threat, and there is a critical need to monitor patterns of resistance and risk factors. In collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2018 Oct;97(43):e12539

Department of Psychiatry, Chiayi Branch, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Chiayi.

Depressive disorder is a severe mental disorder associated with functional and cognitive impairment. Numerous papers in the literature investigated associations between sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and psychiatric illnesses. However, the results of these studies are controversial. Read More

J Infect 2018 Nov 6. Epub 2018 Nov 6.

Division of Pharmacovigilance, Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA.

Background: Non-meningococcal, non-gonococcal Neisseria spp. are typically commensal and rarely cause invasive disease. Eculizumab is a terminal complement inhibitor that increases susceptibility to meningococcal disease, but data on disease caused by typically-commensal Neisseria spp. Read More

N Engl J Med 2018 11;379(19):1835-1845

From the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans (S.N.T.); University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham (J. Marrazzo, E.W.H.); University of Washington, Seattle (J. Marrazzo); Indiana University, Indianapolis (B.E.B.); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (A.C.S.), and FHI 360, Durham (S.M.J.) - both in North Carolina; Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Bethesda (J.L.), and Emmes, Rockville (M.R.W., H.K.) - both in Maryland; and Entasis Therapeutics, Waltham, MA (K.L., J. Mueller).

Background: Antibiotic-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae has prompted the development of new therapies. Zoliflodacin is a new antibiotic that inhibits DNA biosynthesis. In this multicenter, phase 2 trial, zoliflodacin was evaluated for the treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhea. Read More

N Engl J Med 2018 Nov;379(19):1795-1797

From the Division of Disease Control, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York (S.B., D.C.D.); and the Division of STD Prevention, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta (S.B.).

JMIR Med Inform 2018 Nov 6;6(4):e10808. Epub 2018 Nov 6.

The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Background: Gay and bisexual men are disproportionately affected by HIV and other sexually transmissible infections (STIs), yet opportunities for sexual health testing of this population are often missed or incomplete in general practice settings. Strategies are needed for improving the uptake and completeness of sexual health testing in this setting.

Objectives: The goal of the research was to evaluate the impact of an intervention centered around integrated decision support software and routine data feedback on the collection of sexual orientation data and sexual health testing among gay and bisexual men attending general practice. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2018 Nov 6;18(1):549. Epub 2018 Nov 6.

Laboratory Bacteriology Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, De Pintelaan, 185, Ghent, Belgium.

Background: Screening of curable sexually transmitted infections is frequently oriented towards the diagnosis of chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and trichomoniasis, whereas other pathogens, sometimes associated with similar urogenital syndromes, remain undiagnosed and/or untreated. Some of these pathogens are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Methods: In a nested case-control study, vaginal swabs from 79 pregnant women, i. Read More

JAMA Intern Med 2018 Nov 5. Epub 2018 Nov 5.

Int J STD AIDS 2018 Nov 5:956462418803983. Epub 2018 Nov 5.

1 Department of Infectious Disease, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Comprehensive case management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) includes partner notification. We reviewed the recent literature evaluating the acceptability and efficacy of partner notification strategies (i.e. Read More

J Womens Health (Larchmt) 2018 Nov 3. Epub 2018 Nov 3.

2 Division of Family Planning, John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County , Chicago, Illinois.

Objectives: To determine the proportion of women undergoing multiple abortions within 1 year at an urban, public hospital and the association with desired contraception after the index abortion.

Study Design: We conducted a retrospective analysis of all women undergoing abortion up to 13 weeks and 6 days gestation at Stroger Hospital from June 1, 2012 to May 31, 2014. We examined the proportion of women with additional abortions up to 1 year after the index abortion and contraception desired at the index abortion. Read More

Int J STD AIDS 2018 Nov 4:956462418799017. Epub 2018 Nov 4.

3 Infectious Disease Institute, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to gonorrhoea is a threat to global health security. There have been concerns expressed that countries with high rates of disease have poor surveillance. The objectives of the study were to determine the AMR patterns of Neisseria gonorrhoeae clinical isolates to antimicrobial agents in patients with HIV or high risk of HIV acquisition, to compare the concordance of disk diffusion and agar dilution as methods for determining AMR to N. Read More

Actas Dermosifiliogr 2018 Oct 31. Epub 2018 Oct 31.

Servicio de Dermatología, Hospital General Universitario de Valencia, Valencia, España.

Introduction: The incidence of urethritis due to Haemophilus species is increasing. The main aim of this study was to describe the clinical and microbiological characteristics of patients with this form of urethritis. A secondary aim was to discuss the adequacy of treatments in patients with different types of antibiotic resistance. Read More

Sex Transm Dis 2018 Oct 31. Epub 2018 Oct 31.

Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, University of California San Francisco.

Introduction: Gonorrhea and chlamydia (GC/CT) testing falls below recommended rates for people living with HIV (PLWH) in routine care. Despite evidence that homelessness and unstable housing (HUH) negatively impacts clinical outcomes for PLWH, little is known about GC/CT screening for HUH PLWH in routine care METHODS: Using an observational cohort of PWLH establishing care at a large publicly funded HIV clinic in San Francisco between February, 2013 - December, 2014 and with at least one primary care visit (PCV) before February 2016, we assessed GC/CT testing for HUH (staying outdoors, in shelters, in vehicles, or in places not made for habitation in the last year) compared to stably housed patients. We calculated 1) the odds of having GC/CT screening at a PCV using logistic regression with random effects to handle intra-subject correlations 2) the percent of time enrolled in clinical care in which patients had any GC/CT testing ("time-in-coverage") based on 180-day periods and using linear regression modeling. Read More

Am J Public Health 2018 Nov;108(S4):S274-S276

Andy Nguyen is with the Department of Medicine, Mount Auburn Hospital, Cambridge, MA, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Kenneth A. Katz is with the Department of Dermatology, Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco, CA. Kieron S. Leslie and Erin H. Amerson are with the Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco.

Objectives: To describe collection and reporting of gender data, including for transgender individuals and other gender minorities, in HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) surveillance in the United States.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of the top 50 US jurisdictions in 2015 for incident infections of HIV, gonorrhea, chlamydia, or primary and secondary syphilis. For each jurisdiction, we described gender-reporting options on HIV and STI data collection forms (also called confidential morbidity report forms) and data surveillance reports, which present aggregate data at either the county or the state level. Read More

Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2018 Oct 29. Epub 2018 Oct 29.

ECD Serono, One Technology Place, Rockland, MA 02370.

Zoliflodacin is a novel spiropyrimidinetrione with activity against bacterial Type II topoisomerases that inhibits DNA biosynthesis and results in accumulation of double strand cleavages in bacteria. We report results from two Phase 1 studies that investigated the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics (PK) of zoliflodacin, and the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) after single doses in healthy volunteers. In the single ascending dose study, zoliflodacin was rapidly absorbed with a T between 1. Read More

Mil Med Res 2018 10 30;5(1):37. Epub 2018 Oct 30.

Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, Public Health Division, Defense Health Agency, Silver Spring, MD, USA.

Background: Historically, sexually transmitted infections have affected the health of the U.S. military. Read More

Biostatistics 2018 Oct 26. Epub 2018 Oct 26.

Department of Statistics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 340 Hardin Hall North, Lincoln, NE, USA.

Group testing involves pooling individual specimens (e.g., blood, urine, swabs, etc. Read More

F1000Res 2018 10;7:569. Epub 2018 May 10.

HIV/STI Reference Laboratory, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.

It is unclear why antimicrobial resistance in in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States has tended to first appear in men who have sex with men (MSM). We hypothesize that increased exposure to antimicrobials from intensive STI screening programmes plays a role. We assess if there is a difference in the distribution of azithromycin, cefixime and ceftriaxone minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) between MSM and women in the United Kingdom (UK) where 70% of MSM report STI screening in the past year vs. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2018 Oct 26;18(1):534. Epub 2018 Oct 26.

Shandong Provincial Institute of Dermatology and Venereology, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 27397 Jingshi Road, Jinan, 250022, China.

Background: A population-based study of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infections is essential in designing a specific control program; however, no large investigation of CT infections among the general population in mainland China has been conducted since 2000. We aimed to determine the prevalence, risk factors, and associated medical costs of CT among residents, 18-49 years of age, in Shandong, China.

Methods: From May to August 2016, a multistage probability sampling survey involving 8074 individuals was distributed. Read More

Adv Emerg Nurs J 2018 Oct/Dec;40(4):304-311

Memorial Medical Center, Modesto, California; and Johns Hopkins University, School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland.

Urinary symptoms, such as dysuria, urinary urgency, frequency, and suprapubic pain, are frequent complaints made in the emergency department (ED; ). Although it is easy to relate urinary symptoms with a urinary tract infection (UTI), both UTI and sexually transmitted disease (STD) can share same urinary symptoms that mask each other from detection. It presents challenges for ED clinicians to precisely distinguish between two infections, causing misdiagnosis and mistreatment, resulting in patient morbidity and high health care costs. Read More

Am Fam Physician 2018 Nov;98(10):577-583

Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.

The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any nation in the world. Approximately 870 of every 100,000 U.S. Read More

Am J Emerg Med 2018 Oct 18. Epub 2018 Oct 18.

Southern Illinois University, School of Medicine, 201 E. Madison Street, Springfield, IL 62794-9664, United States of America. Electronic address:

Biometrics 2018 Oct 24. Epub 2018 Oct 24.

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, USA.

Infectious disease testing frequently takes advantage of two tools-group testing and multiplex assays-to make testing timely and cost effective. Until the work of Tebbs et al. (2013) and Hou et al. Read More

Mol Cell Proteomics 2018 Oct 23. Epub 2018 Oct 23.

Orebro University, Sweden.

The sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea (causative agent: ) remains an urgent public health threat globally due to its reproductive health repercussions, high incidence, widespread antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and absence of a vaccine. To mine gonorrhea antigens and enhance our understanding of gonococcal AMR at the proteome level, we performed the first large-scale proteomic profiling of a diverse panel (n=15) of gonococcal strains, including the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) reference strains. These strains show all existing AMR profiles - established through phenotypic characterization and reference genome publication - and are intended for quality assurance in laboratory investigations. Read More

Wellcome Open Res 2018 25;3:65. Epub 2018 Sep 25.

Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, Population Health Science, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK.

The (fucosyltransferase-2) gene determines blood group secretor status. Being homozygous for the inactive "non-secretor" rs601338(A) allele confers resistance to certain infections (e.g. Read More