Resistance rate of H. pylori to antibiotics is high in the northwest of Spain. The high resistance to levofloxacin and clarithromycin advises against their wide empirical use of these antibiotics in eradication regimens.

BackgroundFew previous retrospective studies suggest that Plasmodium ovale wallikeri seems to have a longer latency period and produces deeper thrombocytopaenia than Plasmodium ovale curtisi. Prospective studies were warranted to better assess interspecies differences.MethodsPatients with imported P. ovale spp. infection diagnosed by thick or thin film, rapid diagnostic test (RDT) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were recruited between March 2014 and May 2017. All were confirmed by DNA isolation and classified as P. o. curtisi or P. o. wallikeri using partial sequencing of the ssrRNA gene. Epidemiological, analytical and clinical differences were analysed by statistical methods.ResultsA total of 79 samples (35 P. o. curtisi and 44 P. o. wallikeri) were correctly genotyped. Males predominate in wallikeri group (72.7%), whereas were 48.6% in curtisi group. Conversely, 74.3% of curtisi group were from patients of African ethnicity, whilst 52.3% of Caucasians were infected by P. o. wallikeri. After performing a multivariate analysis, more thrombocytopaenic patients (p = 0.022), a lower number of platelets (p = 0.015), a higher INR value (p = 0.041), and shorter latency in Caucasians (p = 0.034) were significantly seen in P. o. wallikeri. RDT sensitivity was 26.1% in P. o. curtisi and 42.4% in P. o. wallikeri. Nearly 20% of both species were diagnosed only by PCR. Total bilirubin over 3 mg/dL was found in three wallikeri cases. Two patients with curtisi infection had haemoglobin under 7 g/dL, one of them also with icterus. A wallikeri patient suffered from haemophagocytosis. Chemoprophylaxis failed in 14.8% and 35% of curtisi and wallikeri patients, respectively. All treated patients with various anti-malarials which included artesunate recovered. Diabetes mellitus was described in 5 patients (6.32%), 4 patients of wallikeri group and 1 curtisi.ConclusionsImported P. o. wallikeri infection may be more frequent in males and Caucasians. Malaria caused by P. o. wallikeri produces more thrombocytopaenia, a higher INR and shorter latency in Caucasians and suggests a more pathogenic species. Severe cases can be seen in both species. Chemoprophylaxis seems less effective in P. ovale spp. infection than in P. falciparum, but any anti-malarial drug is effective as initial treatment. Diabetes mellitus could be a risk factor for P. ovale spp. infection.

Galicia in northwestern Spain has been considered a hotspot for Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections. Infections abruptly emerged in 1998 and, over the next 15 years, were associated with large outbreaks caused by strains belonging to a single clone. We report a recent transition in the epidemiologic pattern in which cases throughout the region have been linked to different and unrelated strains. Global genome-wide phylogenetic analysis revealed that most of the pathogenic strains isolated from infections were associated with globally diverse isolates, indicating frequent episodic introductions from disparate and remote sources. Moreover, we identified that the 2 major switches in the epidemic dynamics of V. parahaemolyticus in the regions, the emergence of cases and an epidemiologic shift in 2015–2016, were associated with the rise of sea surface temperature in coastal areas of Galicia. This association may represent a fundamental contributing factor in the emergence of illness linked to these introduced pathogenic strains.

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