West Nile virus seropositivity in Alanya, a coastal city in the Mediterranean region of Turkey

BACKGROUND

West Nile virus (WNV)-related illness is a global health problem. Understanding the seropositivity rates and identifying the risk factors related to WNV in various animal species including humans is crucial for the implementation of effective prevention strategies.

OBJECTIVES

Assess the rate of seropositivity and the risk factors associated with WNV seropositivity.

DESIGN

Descriptive, cross-sectional.

SETTING

Microbiology and virology departments in a veterinary college.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In a sample of healthy human participants in Alanya, located close to regions where WNV activity has been detected, anti-WNV IgG antibody detection was performed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The positive results were confirmed by virus neutralization tests (VNTs). The sample was compared with a second group of age- and gender-matched healthy subjects selected from a previous cross-sectional study.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Determination of the seropositivity and risk factors that were associated with WNV in healthy humans.

SAMPLE SIZE

87 in current study; 356 in previous study.

RESULTS

The first group of 87, which had a high risk of encountering vector mosquitoes, had a positivity rate of 8% (7/87), whereas positivity in the second group was 4.5% (16/356; P=.181). In the entire sample, the anti-WNV IgG antibody was positive in 23 out of 443 (5.2%) samples by the ELISA test. Among these 23 samples, ten were confirmed as positive using VNTs. Therefore, the WNV IgG seropositivity was 2.3% (10/442). Confirmed IgG seropositivity rates were higher among male (3.8%) than female participants (0.9%; P=.054) and among adults aged ≥45 years (4%) than those aged 18-44 years (0.8%; P=.048).

CONCLUSION

This study highlights the presence of WNV infection in the research region. More comprehensive and multidisciplinary studies are required to increase our knowledge about this zoonotic infection including risk factors in line with the One Health approach.

LIMITATIONS

Small sample size.

15-year evaluation of changes in the HBsAg positivity rate in pregnant women in Turkey: the prominent effect of national vaccination

Background: The detection of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity in pregnant women before delivery is crucial to preventing mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the status and rate of testing for HBsAg, the rate of HBsAg positivity and the distribution of this rate by age and to evaluate changes in the HBsAg positivity rate in pregnant women over the study period. Methods: We conducted a multicentre, cross-sectional, descriptive study covering the period January 2005 to June 2019. The 15 years of data for 2 145 668 pregnant women from 27 provinces in all 7 regions of Turkey were collected and recorded in the Excel database before the statistical analysis. Results: We found 1 012 593 (47.1%) pregnant women had been tested for HBsAg and 11 471 (1.1%) were HBsAg-positive. Overall, 97% of the HBsAg positive women were born before 1998, the year that national HBV vaccination was launched in Turkey. The rate of HBsAg positivity in that group was 1.1% compared with 0.3% among women born after 1998. Conclusion: The downward trend in the HBsAg positivity rate among pregnant women in younger age groups, especially in those born after universal HBV vaccination was inaugurated, and the low rate of testing for HBsAg during pregnancy pronounced in our study.

Erythrocyte Autoantibody Positivity in Serological Cross-matching

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the erythrocyte autoantibody positivity detected in the serological cross-matching (XM), and its  possible effects on salient hemogram parameters.

STUDY DESIGN

A descriptive study.

PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY

Balıkesir Atatürk City Hospital's Blood Transfusion Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Balıkesir University, Turkey, from 2017 to 2018.

METHODOLOGY

Erythrocyte autoantibody positivity, which was detected in the traditional serological cross-matching for a pre-transfusion laboratory test were analysed retrospectively. Later, hemogram changes in the previous (no erythrocyte autoantibodies) and following (erythrocyte autoantibodies present) transfusions were investigated using statistical methods.

RESULTS

Erythrocyte autoantibody positivity rate was 10.16% (342/3,365). There was no statistically significant difference in the increase of hemoglobin, hematocrit, and red blood cell between the period when erythrocyte autoantibodies were detected or not, (p = 0.27, 0.13, and 0.09, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Erythrocyte autoantibodies positivity found on routine cross-match exmination, which must be considered together with parameters such as previous transfusion history, other pre-transfusion laboratory test results, and clinical presentation and management. Key Words: Transfusion, Erythrocye autoantibody, Alloantibody, Hemogram, Cross-matching.

Multicenter evaluation of crystal violet decolorization assay (CVDA) for rapid detection of isoniazid and rifampicin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate the performance of the crystal violet decolorization assay (CVDA) for detection of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). This study was performed in 11 centers in two phases. A total of 156 isolates were tested for INH and RIF resistance. In the phase I, 106 clinical isolates were tested in the Center 1–7. In the phase 2, 156 clinical isolates were tested in the center 1–6, center 8–11. Eighty six of 156 tested isolates were the same in phase I. Agreements were 96.2–96.8% for INH and 98.1–98.7% for RIF in the phase I-II, respectively. Mean time to obtain the results in the phase I was 14.3 ± 5.4 days. In the phase II, mean time to obtain the results was 11.6 ± 3.5 days. Test results were obtained within 14days for 62.3% (66/106) of isolates in the phase I and 81.4% (127/156) of isolates in the phase II. In conclusion, CVDA is rapid, reliable, inexpensive, and easy to perform for rapid detection of MDR-TB isolates. In addition, it could be adapted for drug susceptibility testing with all drugs both in developed and developing countries.