Articles Related to Immunology

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most common serious bacterial infection in febrile children younger than 3 months, with reported rates ranging from 5% to 20% depending on different series. Neonates and infants up to age 2 months who have pyelonephritis usually do not have symptoms localized to the urinary tract.

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Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of meningitis. Although rates of bacterial meningitis have decreased after pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduction, pneumococcal meningitis has not been eliminated. In this case series, we describe the presentation, serotypes, and outcomes of 11 children with pneumococcal meningitis at a tertiary children’s hospital after the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) was introduced, from 2011-2013. The median age of children with meningitis was 7 years. The majority of the isolates (82%) were susceptible to penicillin. Most isolates (73%) were serotyped and there was no evidence of disease caused by serotypes contained in PCV7

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Infective endocarditis is most often seen affecting the left side of the heart, with the pulmonary valve being the least frequently involved valve. The most common organisms responsible for infective endocarditis are Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus viridans. Here we report a rare case of pulmonary valve endocarditis due to Streptococcus pneumoniae, a rare pathogen for this setting. The clinical features, presentation, and review of the literature are discussed.

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Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) pathway is a signal transduction pathway that functions in a wide range of physiological and pathophysiological cellular events including cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, migration, inflammation, metabolic disorders and diseases.

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