Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a lymphotropic herpesvirus causing clinically self-limiting but lifelong persisting infections. Although several severe diseases (e.g., Hodgkin's disease) are associated with EBV, its role in lower respiratory tract infections is still elusive. The prevalence of EBV, herpes simplex virus (HSV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) in bronchoalveolar fluid (BAL) samples was evaluated in a retrospective study. BAL samples from 135 patients in the intensive or coronary care unit (ICU/ICC) at University Hospital Frankfurt/Main (Germany) were investigated using an in-house real-time PCR to detect EBV-, HSV- and CMV-specific DNA. Overall, herpesvirus DNA was detected in n = 82/135 BAL samples (60.7 %). Besides mono-infections with either EBV or HSV, concomitant infection with EBV and HSV DNA was most frequent, whereby the relative HSV viral load was typically higher. Patients with HSV-positive BAL required mechanical ventilation on average 5 days longer than patients with HSV-negative BAL (p = 0.006). Additionally, the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6 was significantly elevated in sera of patients positive for EBV in comparison with patients with EBV-negative BAL (p = 0.01). This study demonstrates a high prevalence of herpesviruses in BAL samples of ICU/ICC patients. The detection of one or more herpesvirus in BAL is strongly associated with the duration of ventilation and patient's age. The association between IL-6 levels and EBV detection should be evaluated in further studies.

BackgroundEurope was certified to be polio-free in 2002 by the WHO. However, wild polioviruses remain endemic in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria, occasionally causing polio outbreaks, as in Tajikistan in 2010. Therefore, effective surveillance measures and vaccination campaigns remain important. To determine the poliovirus immune status of a German study population, we retrospectively evaluated the seroprevalence of neutralizing antibodies (NA) to the poliovirus types 1, 2 and 3 (PV1, 2, 3) in serum samples collected from 1,632 patients admitted the University Hospital of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 2001, 2005 and 2010.MethodsTesting was done by using a standardized microneutralization assay.ResultsLevel of immunity to PV1 ranged between 84.2% (95%CI: 80.3-87.5), 90.4% (88.3-92.3) and 87.5% (85.4-88.8) in 2001, 2005 and 2010. For PV2, we found 90.8% (87.5-90.6), 91.3% (89.3-93.1) and 89.8% (88.7-90.9), in the same period. Seroprevalence to PV3 was 76.6% (72.2-80.6), 69.8% (66.6-72.8) and 72.9% (67.8-77.5) in 2001 and 2005 and 2010, respectively. In 2005 and 2010 significant lower levels of immunity to PV3 in comparison to PV1 and 2 were observed. Since 2001, immunity to PV3 is gradually, but not significantly decreasing.ConclusionImmunity to PV3 is insufficient in our cohort. Due to increasing globalization and worldwide tourism, the danger of polio-outbreaks is not averted - even not in developed countries, such as Germany. Therefore, vaccination remains necessary.

In resource-limited or point-of-care settings, rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), that aim to simultaneously detect HIV antibodies and p24 capsid (p24CA) antigen with high sensitivity, can pose important alternatives to screen for early infections. We evaluated the performance of the antibody and antigen components of the old and novel version of the Determine™ HIV-1/2 Ag/Ab Combo RDTs in parallel to quantifications in a fourth-generation antigen/antibody immunoassay (4G-EIA), p24CA antigen immunoassay (p24CA-EIA), immunoblots, and nucleic acid quantification. We included plasma samples of acute, treatment-naïve HIV-1 infections (Fiebig stages I-VI, subtypes A1, B, C, F, CRF02_AG, CRF02_AE, URF) or chronic HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections. The tests' antigen component was evaluated also for a panel of subtype B HIV-1 transmitted/ founder (T/F) viruses, HIV-2 strains and HIV-2 primary isolates. Furthermore, we assessed the analytical sensitivity of the RDTs to detect p24CA using a highly purified HIV-1 NL4-3 p24CA standard. We found that 77% of plasma samples from acutely infected, immunoblot-negative HIV-1 patients in Fiebig stages II-III were identified by the new RDT, while only 25% scored positive in the old RDT. Both RDTs reacted to all samples from chronically HIV-1-infected and acutely HIV-1-infected patients with positive immunoblots. All specimens from chronically infected HIV-2 patients scored positive in the new RDT. Of note, the sensitivity of the RDTs to detect recombinant p24CA from a subtype B virus ranged between 50 and 200 pg/mL, mirrored also by the detection of HIV-1 T/F viruses only at antigen concentrations tenfold higher than suggested by the manufacturer. The RTD failed to recognize any of the HIV-2 viruses tested. Our results indicate that the new version of the Determine™ HIV-1/2 Ag/Ab Combo displays an increased sensitivity to detect HIV-1 p24CA-positive, immunoblotnegative plasma samples compared to the precursor version. The sensitivity of 4G-EIA and p24CA-EIA to detect the major structural HIV antigen, and thus to diagnose acute infections prior to seroconversion, is still superior.

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