The number of patients with hematological malignancies (HMs) and those undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has been on rise during the last three decades. Febrile neutropenia (FN) is the most common complication in this specific patient group and requires urgent intervention. Bacteremia […] Read More
Necrotizing fasciitis (NF), one of the necrotizing soft tissue infections, is an infection that primarily involves subcutaneous adipose tissue, which consists of superficial fascia, vascular and neural structures, and involves in deep fascia and progresses with mortality. It may be difficult to differentiate (...) Read More
In early December 2019, interstitial pneumonia of unknown origin emerged in Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei province. The pathogen was identified as a novel beta coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 was later named (...) Read More
Clinically COVID-19 can be observed with mild symptoms such as fever, malaise, cough, and also severe symptoms such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) that may require respiratory support in up to 25% of the patients . COVID-19 has a high mortality rate, in hospitalized (...)
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Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among young children and adults 65 years and older. S. pneumoniae is one of the most important causes of serious diseases, such as pneumonia, meningitis, and bacteremia. According to 2018 surveillance data from US Centers for Disease (...) Read More
West Nile Virus (WNV) is an enveloped RNA virus with icosahedral symmetry and with a size of 45-50 nm belonging to the family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus (1). The virus, which was first isolated from a woman living in the West Nile region of Uganda in 1937, was noted with consecutive outbreaks in North Africa (...) Read More
International collaborative consultations are significantly beneficial in combatting pandemics, although such opportunities were quite limited during the COVID-19 pandemic. We had the chance to convene with the experts to share experiences and review the practices in Kosova. Two days of expert consultation hybrid meeting […] Read More
Hand hygiene improvement is a critical part of effective infection prevention and control (IPC) and therefore constitutes a priority for patient and health worker’s safety. However, hand hygiene compliance in healthcare settings remains sub-optimal globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends (...) Read More
Following the increase in number of pediatric cases with acute severe hepatitis of unknown etiology (ASHep-UE), in collaboration with European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) and the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA), a special late breaking session “Hepatitis of unknown origin” was (...) Read More
Scrub typhus is a mite-borne infectious disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, a gram-negative intracellular bacterium. It is a severe public health problem that affects mainly Asia-Pacific areas. Scrub typhus threatens one billion people and causes illness worldwide each year. Scrub typhus is prevalent in many parts of India, but specific data are not (...) Read More
Despite the decrease in incidence after having widespread vaccination programs, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause high morbidity and mortality in the world in its second year. Especially elderly people (over 65 years old), people with underlying health conditions, and healthcare workers (HCWs) are still at high risk for COVID-19 disease. Since […] Read More
Dear Editor, In 2012, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation launched a health initiative campaign named Choosing Wisely to advance a national dialogue on avoiding unnecessary medical tests, treatments, and procedures. Subsequently, each specialty society developed evidence-based recommendation lists about tests and treatments that were overused and did not provide meaningful benefit for patients. Today, the Choosing Wisely campaign (...) Read More
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762), a British writer and poet, was the wife of the British Ambassador at Istanbul (then, Constantinople). Among other qualifications, she is known to be the first person who introduced smallpox vaccination (variolation) to the Western World. She had a scarred face due to a previous smallpox infection and her brother […] Read More