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Anisakis simplex parasitism was the causative agent of allergic and gastric symptoms. Gastroallergic anisakiasis appears to be a relatively common disease, that may have been underdiagnosed.

Epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of children with disease due toBordetella pertussis in Santa Fe, ArgentinaIntroduction: Pertussis, a vaccine-preventable respiratory disease, remains a public health problem. Objective: The goal of this study is to describe epidemiological and clinical patterns of B. pertussis-caused respiratory infection over the period 2006-2010 in Santa Fe, Argentina. Methods: Inpatients and outpatients < 14 years of age, meeting pertussis case definition criteria were included. Household family contacts of confirmed cases with compatible symptoms were also surveyed. Results: 1074 patients were evaluated, 102 (9.49%) were confirmed through PCR. The proportion of confirmed cases was: in 2006, 35.5%; 2007, 21.2%; 2008, 4.9%. In 2009 and 2010 no cases were detected. 94.2% of hospitalized patients and 42.8% of outpatients were less than six months of age. Of all patients, 67.6% required hospitalization as they had a moderate to severe illness. The length of stay for these patients was over six days. 27.5% had pre-existing medical conditions, the most frequent being prematurity and malnutrition. The outcome was severe in 23.1% of cases, all of whom hadn't started the vaccination schedule. Severe pulmonary hypertension was present in five patients. Fatality rate was 4.9%. Conclusions: Pertussis mainly affected children < 6 months, non-vaccinated or with less than 3 doses. The bacterium was also detected among adults and teenagers.

Background  During 2009 occurred the emergence and global spread of a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus. We describe the clinical and epidemiologic features of hospitalized patients who survived and patients who died because of pandemic 2009 influenza A (H1N1) infection reported in Santa Fe, Argentina, from May to July 2009. Methods  Using medical charts, we collected data on 242 patients who were hospitalized with confirmed laboratory results (defined as positive by specific PCR for pandemic 2009 influenza A H1N1). Results  During the study period, there were 242 cases of hospitalization or death. Of the 242, 46% were admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) and 33·5% died. The mean age was 27·8 years for surviving and 39·6 for those who died. Twenty‐eight percent of hospitalizations involved persons under the age of 15 years; 33% of the patients were between the age of 15 and 44 years; and only 3·3% were 65 years of age or older. Sixty‐seven percent had an underlying medical conditions, including diabetes, obesity, heart and lung diseases, and pregnancy. Of the 242 patients, 68% had findings consistent with pneumonia. Treatment with oseltamivir was administered to 227 (93·8%) patients from which 38 received oseltamivir within 48 hours after the onset of symptoms. Conclusions  The pandemic strain caused severe illness, including pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome, and resulted in ICU admissions in 46% of patients and death in 33·5%. The mean age of hospitalized infected cases was lower than is common with seasonal influenza. Underlying medical conditions were common in the 67% the evaluated patients. Patients who died had a higher prevalence of comorbidities (86·4%) than those who survived (57%), suggesting that the presence of chronic illness may increase the likelihood of death. However, the severe illness was also identified among young, healthy persons.

Human rhinoviruses (HRVs) were historically considered upper airway pathogens. However, they have recently been proven to cause infections in the lower respiratory tract, resulting in hospitalization of children with pneumonia, bronchiolitis, and chronic pulmonary obstruction. In this report, HRV frequency and seasonality are described together with patient clinical-epidemiological aspects. From a total of 452 surveyed samples, the HRV nucleic acids was detected in 172 (38.1%) and found in every month of the study year. 60% of inpatients with acute respiratory infection (ARI) associated with HRV were under 6 months of age and 31% had a clinical history, being preterm birth and recurrent wheezing the prevailing conditions. The most frequent discharge diagnoses were pneumonia (35.2%), bronchiolitis (32.4%), and bronchitis (12.4%). Fifteen point nine percent of patients required admission into intensive care units. The results obtained in this study demonstrated the association between HRV and children hospitalizations caused by ARI.