Abstract. Bartonella henselae is the bacterial agent responsible for cat scratch disease. This infection is frequently the cause of localized lymphadenitis in children. It is also sometimes responsible for endocarditis, encephalitis, hepatic peliosis and in rare cases osteomyelitis. We describe the second known case of unifocal thoracic osteomyelitis in a 10-year-old child.

last accessed). This isolate (submitted in 2010) originated from Poland and is described as methicillin susceptible. Multilocus sequence typing showed that the isolate belonged to the novel sequence type ST2497, a single-locus variant of ST1943 with one nucleotide difference in the glpF gene.The isolate described in this study represents the first detection of an mecC-containing MRSA from an animal host in Norway. The mecC gene has been detected recently in a total of eight MRSA isolates from humans in Norway 7 (and K. W. Larssen, unpublished data). All eight mecC MRSAs, isolated during 2006-12, belonged to CC130. The genotype of the feline isolate represents a new mecC-positive genotype identified in our country; however, isolates within this clonal lineage with mecC have been described from other countries. 1,4 The detection of mecC in an MRSA from a clinical sample from a cat submitted to our diagnostic bacteriological service unit demonstrates the importance of taking mecC into consideration in diagnostic units that examine samples from companion animals. Our finding extends our knowledge of MRSA carrying mecC from animals and demonstrates that detection of mecC is not only a rare event when screening historical isolate collections.

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In the present retrospective study, we described a series of 45 non-icteric leptospirosis and 44 nephropathia epidemica (NE) patients diagnosed in the northeast of France from 1995 to 2005 and compared their clinical picture and laboratory parameters, as well as some epidemiological data. Loin pain (P < 0.001), abdominal pains (P = 0.007), rise of blood pressure (P < 0.001) and pharyngitis (P = 0.01) were more frequently found in NE patients. Aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT) (P = 0,006), creatine phosphokinase (CPK) (P < 0.0001) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (P < 0.0001) were higher in leptospirosis, whereas creatinine (P = 0.009) was higher in NE. Leptospirosis mainly concerns occupational hazards, e.g. farmers, and leisure activities like swimming, and NE concerns professional foresters or leisure activities in the forest and the cleaning of attics. During hospitalisation, patients receiving antibiotics were more frequent among leptospirosis than among NE patients (80% versus 59%, P = 0.06). Among the various common clinical signs, only acute myopia appeared to be a pathognomonic but inconsistently observed clinical sign, which was only observed in 47% of NE cases.

IntroductionHeart transplant (HT) recipients have a high risk of developing severe COVID-19. Immunoglobulin G antibodies are considered to provide protective immunity and T-cell activity is thought to confer protection from severe disease. However, data on T-cell response to mRNA vaccination in a context of HT remains limited.MethodsIn 96 HT patients, a IFN-γ release assay and an anti-Spike antibody test were used to evaluate the ability of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines to generate cellular and humoral immune response. Blood samples were collected few weeks to 7 months after vaccination. Multiple fractional polynomial and LASSO regression models were used to define predictors of T-cell response.ResultsThree to five months after vaccination, three doses of vaccine induced a positive SARS-CoV-2 T-cell response in 47% of recipients and a positive humoral response in 83% of recipients, 11.1% of patients remained negative for both T and B cell responses. Three doses were necessary to reach high IgG response levels (&gt;590 BAU/mL), which were obtained in a third of patients. Immunity was greatly amplified in the group who had three vaccine doses plus COVID-19 infection.ConclusionOur study revealed that T and B immunity decreases over time, leading us to suggest the interest of a booster vaccination at 5 months after the third dose. Moreover, a close follow-up of immune response following vaccination is needed to ensure ongoing immune protection. We also found that significant predictors of higher cellular response were infection and active smoking, regardless of immunosuppressive treatment with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF).