Onemocnění způsobené virem dengue, přenášené komáry rodu Aedes, se vyskytuje především v tropech a subtropech. Celosvětově se jedná o jednu z nejčastějších arbovirových infekcí vůbec. Studie Světové zdravotnické organizace (WHO) Global Burden of Disease) uvádí, že výskyt horečky dengue roste rychleji než kteréhokoli jiného přenosného onemocnění, přičemž za pouhých 13 let (2000-2013) došlo k nárůstu počtu infikovaných o 400 %. Nejvíce je zasažen asijský kontinent, následují země Latinské Ameriky a Afrika. Rychlé geografické šíření viru dengue a jeho vektorů spolu s civilizačními faktory přenáší tento problém i na americký a evropský kontinent. Pro onemocnění jsou typické jak mírné formy infekce, tak smrtelné šokové syndromy. Základem léčby většiny symptomatických pacientů stále zůstává intravenózní hydratační terapie. Vyvíjejí se však nové rychlé diagnostické testy, stejně jako se velmi intenzivně hledají biomarkery pro spolehlivou předpověď rozvoje závažných forem nemoci. První vakcína proti horečce dengue byla licencována v roce 2015. Rychlá diagnostika, účinná vakcína a programy kontroly vektorů viru jsou jedinou možnou účinnou cestou, jak čelit aktivnímu celosvětovému šíření této infekce.

Dengue virus disease, transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, occurs mainly in the tropics and subtropics. Worldwide, it is one of the most common arboviral infections ever. The World Health Organization's Global Burden of Disease study reports that dengue is increasing faster than any other communicable disease, with a 400% increase in infections in just 13 years (2000-2013). The Asian continent is the most affected, followed by Latin American countries and Africa. The rapid geographic spread of dengue virus and its vectors, together with civilisational factors, is bringing the problem to the American and European continents. The disease is characterised by both mild forms of infection and fatal shock syndromes. The mainstay of treatment for most symptomatic patients still remains intravenous hydration therapy. However, new rapid diagnostic tests are being developed, as well as a very intensive search for biomarkers to reliably predict the development of severe forms of the disease. The first dengue vaccine was licensed in 2015. Rapid diagnostics, an effective vaccine and viral vector control programmes are the only possible effective way to counter the active global spread of this infection.

As one of the most significant global health emergencies, COVID-19 has placed extraordinary demands on healthcare systems worldwide. In India, its widespread transmission has been influenced by the country's diverse climatic conditions, geo-ecological complexity, and dense population. This, vector-borne diseases (VBDs)-including malaria, dengue, kala azar, Japanese encephalitis, and chikungunya-have long posed additional challenges to public health infrastructure. Intriguingly, prior exposure to these diseases may shape immune responses, potentially conferring cross-protection against multiple pathogens. A cross-sectional study aimed at assessing the role of VBDs in COVID-19 incidence and mortality revealed a multifaceted relationship. Prior dengue exposure was linked to an increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and mortality, whereas kala azar, Japanese encephalitis, and chikungunya appeared to have protective influences. Notably, malaria had statistically significant protective effects against both SARS-CoV-2 infection and mortality (p < 0.04). These findings suggest that immune mechanisms-such as cross-reactive antibodies or immune regulation-may alter susceptibility to COVID-19. Given the substantial protective effect of malaria, further investigation is warranted to clarify the underlying biological processes involved. Insights from this study could guide public health strategies, optimize resource allocation, and refine intervention measures in regions where both COVID-19 and VBDs remain major concerns.

• MeSH
• COVID-19 * mortality   epidemiology   transmission   MeSH
• Dengue epidemiology   MeSH
• Chikungunya Fever epidemiology   MeSH
• Incidence MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Malaria epidemiology   MeSH
• Vector Borne Diseases * epidemiology   mortality   MeSH
• Cross-Sectional Studies MeSH
• SARS-CoV-2 MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• India MeSH

• MeSH
• Arachnid Vectors pathogenicity   MeSH
• Encephalitis, Tick-Borne * diagnosis   epidemiology   transmission   prevention & control   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Vaccination methods   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH

Host infectiousness to insect vectors is a crucial parameter for understanding the transmission dynamics of insect-borne infectious diseases such as leishmaniases. Despite their importance, critical factors influencing the outwards transmission of Leishmania major, including parasite distribution within the host body and the minimum number of skin amastigotes required for vector infection, remain poorly characterized. To address these gaps, we studied these parameters in the natural North African reservoir host Meriones shawi and in BALB/c mice infected with a low parasite dose. Using qPCR, we quantified Leishmania loads in different zones (regions) of infected ear pinnae, whereas microscale infectiousness was evaluated via microbiopsies and fluorescence microscopy. The amastigote distribution within infected ears was heterogeneous, with pronounced differences between the lesion center, lesion margin, and visually unaffected surrounding skin. Phlebotomus papatasi females that fed in areas where no amastigotes were detected via microscopy did not become infected. In M. shawi, lesion margins have emerged as the most effective source of infection. The number of amastigotes at bite sites where sand fly females became infected ranged from 4--500, with as few as 2--10 amastigotes sufficient to initiate vector infection. This low infection threshold was confirmed by experiments in which P. papatasi was fed through a chick-skin membrane. In contrast, the BALB/c mouse model showed only minor differences in infectiousness between lesion centers and margins. The minimum infectious dose in BALB/c mice was approximately 100 times greater than that in M. shawi, with successful infections occurring at sites containing 1,500-10,000 amastigotes. These findings advance our understanding of Leishmania transmission by addressing critical knowledge gaps and enabling more accurate modelling of cutaneous leishmaniasis epidemiology. Moreover, this study highlights the importance of incorporating natural host models in research, as the dynamics of disease progression and transmission parameters can differ significantly between natural hosts and standard laboratory models.

• MeSH
• Gerbillinae * parasitology   MeSH
• Insect Vectors * parasitology   MeSH
• Skin parasitology   MeSH
• Leishmania major * physiology   pathogenicity   MeSH
• Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous * transmission   parasitology   MeSH
• Disease Models, Animal MeSH
• Mice, Inbred BALB C MeSH
• Mice MeSH
• Parasite Load MeSH
• Phlebotomus * parasitology   MeSH
• Disease Reservoirs * parasitology   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Mice MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

Úvod: Záměrem studie bylo zhodnotit vliv tetrapolární aplikace středofrekvenčních proudů (izoplanárního vektorového pole) v oblasti hrudní páteře na kardiální autonomní nervový systém pomocí vybraných spektrálních a časových ukazatelů variability srdeční frekvence (VSF) u zdravých probandů. Metody: Ve studii byla využita metoda spektrální analýzy variability srdeční frekvence v krátkodobých záznamech. Jednalo se o komparativní studii. Výzkumný soubor se skládal z 11 zdravých jedinců – 6 mužů a 5 žen ve věku 22 až 26 let (průměrný věk byl 24,1 let; SD ±0,7). Kontrolní skupinu tvořilo 12 zdravých jedinců – 3 muži a 9 žen ve věku 22 až 26 let (průměrný věk byl 23,5 let; SD ±0,9). Výsledky: Při porovnání jednotlivých parametrů variability srdeční frekvence v pozici leh 2 (druhý leh před aplikací izoplanárního vektorového pole) a leh 4 (druhý leh po aplikaci izoplanárního vektorového) pole došlo k signifikantnímu vzestupu hodnoty parametru MSSD (p = 0,04). U kontrolní skupiny došlo k signifikantnímu vzestupu hodnoty parametru R-R intervaly (p = 0,003). Závěr: Výsledky studie prokázaly pouze velmi malý vliv středofrekvenčních proudů na kardiální autonomní nervový systém (ANS).

Introduction: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of tetrapolar application of medium frequency currents (isoplanar vector field) in the thoracic spine area on the cardiac autonomic nervous system evaluated using the selected spectral and temporal indicators of heart rate variability (HRV) in healthy probands. Methods: The study used the method of spectral analysis of heart rate variability in short-term recordings. The experimental group consisted of 11 healthy individuals, 6 males and 5 females, aged 22 to 26 years (mean age 24.1 years; SD ±0.7). The control group consisted of 12 healthy individuals, 3 males and 9 females, aged 22 to 26 years (mean age 23.5 years; SD ±0.9). Results: When comparing the individual parameters of heart rate variability in the position of supine 2 (the second supine before the application of the isoplanar vector field) and supine 4 (the second supine after the application of the isoplanar vector field), there was a significant increase in the value of the MSSD parameter (P = 0.04). In the control group, there was a significant increase in the value of the R-R interval parameter (P = 0.003). Conclusion: The results of the study showed only a very small effect of tetrapolar application of medium frequency currents on the cardiac autonomic nervous system (ANS).

• Keywords
• variabilita srdeční frekvence, středofrekvenční proudy,
• MeSH
• Autonomic Nervous System * MeSH
• Electric Stimulation Therapy * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Spectrum Analysis MeSH
• Heart Rate * MeSH
• Research MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH

Zoonózy se každoročně v České republice významně podílejí na počtu hlášených infekčních onemocnění. Stoupající tendence výskytu zoonotických virů, jako je virus zika virus, virus horečky dengue, virus chikungunyi a virus západonilské horečky, přenášených invazivními tropickými druhy komárů, je v první řadě důsledkem dlouhodobého, postupného a prakticky nezastavitelného šíření tohoto hmyzu po evropském kontinentu, včetně severských států. Evropa nyní již pravidelně zažívá opakované každoroční vlny veder, stejně jako časté záplavy. Navyšuje se nejen počet letních dnů s tropickými teplotami, ale období léta jako takového se významně prodlužuje. Stírají se jarní a podzimní období, rychlost nástupu letních teplot po období zim je často až drastická. Tento proces navozuje příznivé životní podmínky pro etablování tropických druhů komárů na našem území. Například ještě v roce 2013 se invazivní druh komára Aedes albopictus, původem z Asie, vyskytoval „pouze" v osmi evropských zemích a zasaženo bylo 114 regionů. O pouhých deset let později byl jeho výskyt potvrzen již ve třinácti zemích a 337 oblastech, včetně České republiky. Tento trend bude pokračovat, je proto nutné očekávat nárůsty autochtonních infekcí, včetně komplikovaných průběhů infekcí a úmrtí, obzvláště v rizikových skupinách rychle stárnoucí evropské populace. Kromě nutnosti hledat nové způsoby kontroly populací komárů, vývoje nových desinsekčních a larvicidních chemikálií je třeba zásadně posilovat programy surveillance napříč spolupracující Evropou, prosazovat používání osobních ochranných pomůcek a jednoznačně posílit výzkum a vývoj specifických antivirotik a nových očkovacích látek.

Zoonoses contribute significantly to the number of reported infectious diseases in the Czech Republic each year. The rising trend in zoonotic viruses such as Zika virus, dengue virus, Chikungunya virus, West Nile virus, transmitted by invasive tropical mosquito species, is primarily due to the long-term, gradual and virtually unstoppable spread of these insects across the European continent, including the Nordic countries. Europe now regularly experiences recurrent annual heat waves as well as frequent flooding. Not only are the number of summer days with tropical temperatures increasing, but the summer period itself is being significantly extended. The spring and autumn seasons are becoming shorter, and the speed of the onset of summer temperatures after winter is often drastic. This process creates favorable living conditions for the establishment of tropical mosquito species in our territory. For example, as recently as 2013, the invasive mosquito species Aedes albopictus, native to Asia, was present in "only" eight European countries and 114 regions were affected. In 2023, its presence has already been confirmed in thirteen countries and 337 regions, including the Czech Republic. This trend is set to continue, so increases in autochthonous infections, including complicated infection patterns and deaths, are to be expected, especially in at-risk groups of the rapidly ageing European population. In addition to the need to find new ways of controlling mosquito populations, the development of new disinsecticidal and larvicidal chemicals, surveillance programs across a cooperating Europe need to be substantially strengthened, the use of personal protective equipment needs to be promoted, and research and development of specific antivirals and new vaccines needs to be clearly stepped up.

• Keywords
• tropičtí komáři,
• MeSH
• Culicidae MeSH
• Zika Virus Infection epidemiology   transmission   therapy   MeSH
• Mosquito Vectors * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Zika Virus * isolation & purification   drug effects   MeSH
• Zoonoses * epidemiology   transmission   therapy   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Geographicals
• Europe MeSH

Leták, který informuje o přenosu svrabu a o jeho léčbě. Určeno široké veřejnosti.

• MeSH
• Arachnid Vectors MeSH
• Hygiene MeSH
• Communicable Disease Control MeSH
• Scabies * MeSH

• Conspectus
• Patologie. Klinická medicína
• NML Fields
• parazitologie
• dermatovenerologie
• zdravotní výchova
• NML Publication type
• informační publikace

Full recovery from spinal cord injury requires axon regeneration to re-establish motor and sensory pathways. In mammals, the failure of sensory and motor axon regeneration has many causes intrinsic and extrinsic to neurons, amongst which is the lack of adhesion molecules needed to interact with the damaged spinal cord. This study addressed this limitation by expressing the integrin adhesion molecule α9, along with its activator kindlin-1, in sensory neurons via adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors. This enabled sensory axons to regenerate through spinal cord injuries and extend to the brainstem, restoring sensory pathways, touch sensation and sensory behaviours. One of the integrin ligands in the injured spinal cord is tenascin-C, which serves as a substrate for α9β1 integrin, a key receptor in developmental axon guidance. However, the adult PNS and CNS neurons lack this receptor. Sensory neurons were transduced with α9 integrin (which pairs with endogenous β1 to form a α9β1 tenascin receptor) together with the integrin activator kindlin-1. Regeneration from sensory neurons transduced with α9integrin and kindlin-1 was examined after C4 and after T10 dorsal column lesions with C6,7 and L4,5 sensory ganglia injected with AAV1 vectors. In animals treated with α9 integrin and kindlin-1, sensory axons regenerated through tenascin-C-expressing connective tissue strands and bridges across the lesions and then re-entered the CNS tissue. Many axons regenerated rostrally to the level of the medulla. Axons grew through the dorsal grey matter rather than their normal pathway the dorsal columns. Growth was slow, axons taking 12 weeks to grow from T10 to the medulla, a distance of 4-5 cm. Functional recovery was confirmed through cFos activation in neurons rostral to the injury after nerve stimulation and VGLUT1/2 staining indicating new synapse formation above the lesion. Behavioural recovery was seen in both heat and mechanical sensation, as well as tape removal tests. This approach demonstrates the potential of integrin-based therapies for long distance sensory axon regeneration and functional recovery following thoracic and partial recovery after cervical spinal cord injury.

• MeSH
• Axons MeSH
• Dependovirus genetics   MeSH
• Genetic Vectors MeSH
• Rats MeSH
• Disease Models, Animal MeSH
• Mice MeSH
• Sensory Receptor Cells * metabolism   physiology   pathology   MeSH
• Recovery of Function physiology   MeSH
• Spinal Cord Injuries * pathology   physiopathology   metabolism   MeSH
• Rats, Sprague-Dawley MeSH
• Nerve Tissue Proteins metabolism   genetics   MeSH
• Nerve Regeneration * physiology   MeSH
• Tenascin metabolism   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Rats MeSH
• Mice MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH

Toscana virus (TOSV) is an emerging but neglected human pathogen currently circulating around the Mediterranean basin including North Africa. Human illness ranges from asymptomatic or mild flu-like syndromes to severe neurological diseases such as meningitis or meningoencephalitis. Despite its significant impact, understanding of TOSV transmission and epidemiology remains limited. Sand flies (Diptera: Phlebotominae), specifically Phlebotomus perniciosus and Phlebotomus perfiliewi, are believed to be the primary vectors of TOSV. However, the spread of TOSV to new geographical areas and its detection in other sand fly species suggest that additional species play a role in the circulation and transmission of this virus. This study investigated the vector competence of four sand fly species - P. tobbi, P. sergenti, P. papatasi, and Sergentomyia schwetzi - for two TOSV strains: 1500590 (TOSV A lineage) and MRS20104319501 (TOSV B lineage). Sand flies were orally challenged with TOSV via bloodmeals. None of the tested species showed susceptibility to the TOSV A strain. However, for TOSV B strain, P. tobbi demonstrated a high potential as a new vector, exhibiting high infection and dissemination rates. P. sergenti also showed some susceptibility to TOSV B, with the virus dissemination observed in all infected females. These finding suggests that P. tobbi and P. sergenti are new potential vectors for TOSV B. Given that P. tobbi and P. sergenti are the primary vectors of human leishmaniases in the Balkans, Turkey and Middle East, their susceptibility to TOSV could have significant epidemiological consequences. On the other hand, P. papatasi and S. schwetzi appeared refractory to TOSV B infection. Refractoriness of P. papatasi, a highly anthropophilic species distributed from the Mediterranean to the Middle East and India, suggests that this species does not contribute to TOSV circulation.

• MeSH
• Insect Vectors * virology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Phlebotomus * virology   MeSH
• Psychodidae * virology   classification   MeSH
• Sandfly fever Naples virus * physiology   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

Flow cytometry immunophenotyping is critical for the diagnostic classification of mature/peripheral B-cell neoplasms/B-cell chronic lymphoproliferative disorders (B-CLPD). Quantitative driven classification approaches applied to multiparameter flow cytometry immunophenotypic data can be used to extract maximum information from a multidimensional space created by individual parameters (e.g., immunophenotypic markers), for highly accurate and automated classification of individual patient (sample) data. Here, we developed and compared five diagnostic classification algorithms, based on a large set of EuroFlow multicentric flow cytometry data files from a cohort 659 B-CLPD patients. These included automatic population separators based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA), Neighbourhood Component Analysis (NCA), Support Vector Machine algorithms (SVM) and a variant of the CA(Canonical Analysis) algorithm, in which the number of SDs (Standard Deviations) varied for each of the comparisons of different pairs of diseases (CA-vSD). All five classification approaches are based on direct prospective interrogation of individual B-CLPD patients against the EuroFlow flow cytometry B-CLPD database composed of tumor B-cells of 659 individual patients stained in an identical way and classified a priori by the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria into nine diagnostic categories. Each classification approach was evaluated in parallel in terms of accuracy (% properly classified cases), precision (multiple or single diagnosis/case) and coverage (% cases with a proposed diagnosis). Overall, average rates of correct diagnosis (for the nine B-CLPD diagnostic entities) of between 58.9 % and 90.6 % were obtained with the five algorithms, with variable percentages of cases being either misclassified (4.1 %-14.0 %) or unclassifiable (0.3 %-37.0 %). Automatic population separators based on CA, SVM and PCA showed a high average level of correctness (90.6 %, 86.8 %, and 86.0 %, respectively). Nevertheless, this was at the expense of proposing a considerable number of multiple diagnoses for a significant proportion of the test cases (54.5 %, 53.5 %, and 49.6 %, respectively). The CA-vSD algorithm generated the smaller average misclassification rate (4.1 %), but with 37.0 % of cases for which no diagnosis was proposed. In contrast, the NCA algorithm left only 2.7 % of cases without an associated diagnosis but misclassified 14.0 %. Among correctly classified cases (83.3 % of total), 91.2 % had a single proposed diagnosis, 8.6 % had two possible diagnoses, and 0.2 % had three. We demonstrate that the proposed AI algorithms provide an acceptable level of accuracy for the diagnostic classification of B-CLPD patients and, in general, surpass other algorithms reported in the literature.

• MeSH
• Algorithms MeSH
• B-Lymphocytes * pathology   MeSH
• Immunophenotyping * methods   MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Lymphoproliferative Disorders * diagnosis   classification   MeSH
• Flow Cytometry * methods   MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Support Vector Machine MeSH
• Check Tag
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Comparative Study MeSH