HHV-8 antibodies are highly prevalent in Egyptian children, suggesting that, in developing countries, HHV-8 infection may be acquired early in life through routes other than sexual transmission. The lower seroprevalence of HHV-8 relative to that of the other herpesviruses suggests that HHV-8 is less transmissible than other common herpesviruses.

We investigated 400 cases of dengue-like illness in persons hospitalized during an outbreak in Al Hudaydah, Yemen, in 2012. Overall, 116 dengue and 49 chikungunya cases were diagnosed. Dengue virus type 2 was the predominant serotype. The co-circulation of these viruses indicates that mosquitoborne infections represent a public health threat in Yemen.

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Background: The incidence of candidiasis caused by non-albicans Candida (NAC) species is increasing. Candida tropicalis has emerged as one of the most important NAC species. This study aims to examine the antifungal susceptibility profile and some virulence factors of C. tropicalis isolated from various clinical specimens. Methods: A total of 71 C. tropicalis isolates from various clinical specimens (69.01%, 18.31%, 9.86%, and 2.82% of isolates were collected from urine, respiratory samples, blood, and skin and soft tissue infections, respectively) from ICU patients in Alexandria, Egypt. The isolates were identified at species level by CHROMagar Candida and VITEK 2 compact system. Furthermore, the antifungal susceptibility was determined using the VITEK 2 system AST-YS07 card containing different antifungals. Hemolysin, phospholipase, and proteinase activity and biofilm formation were also tested as virulence factors. Results: Only 30 isolates (42.25%) were non-susceptible (MIC ≥ 4 µg/mL) to fluconazole, of which 28 isolates showed non-susceptibility (MIC ≥ 0.25 µg/mL) to voriconazole. All isolates showed both hemolysin and proteinase activities, while only 9 isolates (12.68%) showed phospholipase production and 70 isolates (98.59%) demonstrated biofilm formation. Strong biofilm production was observed among the blood culture isolates (85.71%), followed by the respiratory and urinary isolates (61.54% and 46.94%, respectively). Conclusions: This study sought to provide useful data on the antifungal susceptibility of C. tropicalis isolates from ICU patients suffering from invasive infections with an increased trend towards elevated MICs levels of both fluconazole and voriconazole. Due to the high incidence of systemic candidiasis and antifungal resistance, C. tropicalis is emerging as a serious root of infections. Therefore, early and accurate identification of Candida species along with susceptibility testing is of utmost importance.

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