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Antibiotics are commonly used to prevent secondary bacterial infection. There are no specific antiviral drugs in common use at this time for FVR, although one study has shown that ganciclovir, PMEDAP, and cidofovir hold promise for treatment. More recent research has indicated that systemic famciclovir is effective at treating this infection in cats without the side effects reported with other anti-viral agents. More severe cases may require supportive care such as intravenous fluid therapy, oxygen therapy, or even a feeding tube. Conjunctivitis and corneal ulcers are treated with topical antibiotics for secondary bacterial infection.
Lysine is commonly used as a treatment, however in a 2015 systematic review, where the authors investigated all clinical trials with cats as well as "in vitro" studies, concluded that lysine supplementation is not effective for the treatment or prevention of feline herpesvirus 1 infection.
Although no specific treatment for acute infection with SuHV1 is available, vaccination can alleviate clinical signs in pigs of certain ages. Typically, mass vaccination of all pigs on the farm with a modified live virus vaccine is recommended. Intranasal vaccination of sows and neonatal piglets one to seven days old, followed by intramuscular (IM) vaccination of all other swine on the premises, helps reduce viral shedding and improve survival. The modified live virus replicates at the site of injection and in regional lymph nodes. Vaccine virus is shed in such low levels, mucous transmission to other animals is minimal. In gene-deleted vaccines, the thymidine kinase gene has also been deleted; thus, the virus cannot infect and replicate in neurons. Breeding herds are recommended to be vaccinated quarterly, and finisher pigs should be vaccinated after levels of maternal antibody decrease. Regular vaccination results in excellent control of the disease. Concurrent antibiotic therapy via feed and IM injection is recommended for controlling secondary bacterial pathogens.
There is a vaccine for FHV-1 available (ATCvet code: , plus various combination vaccines), but although it limits or weakens the severity of the disease and may reduce viral shedding, it does not prevent infection with FVR. Studies have shown a duration of immunity of this vaccine to be at least three years. The use of serology to demonstrate circulating antibodies to FHV-1 has been shown to have a positive predictive value for indicating protection from this disease.
SuHV1 can be used to analyze neural circuits in the central nervous system (CNS). For this purpose the attenuated (less virulent) Bartha SuHV1 strain is commonly used and is employed as a retrograde and anterograde transneuronal tracer. In the retrograde direction, SuHV1-Bartha is transported to a neuronal cell body via its axon, where it is replicated and dispersed throughout the cytoplasm and the dendritic tree. SuHV1-Bartha released at the synapse is able to cross the synapse to infect the axon terminals of synaptically connected neurons, thereby propagating the virus; however, the extent to which non-synaptic transneuronal transport may also occur is uncertain. Using temporal studies and/or genetically engineered strains of SuHV1-Bartha, second, third, and higher order neurons may be identified in the neural network of interest.
Most infections are mild and require no therapy or only symptomatic treatment. Because there is no virus-specific therapy, serious adenovirus illness can be managed only by treating symptoms and complications of the infection. Deaths are exceedingly rare but have been reported.
Treatment depends on the type of opportunistic infection, but usually involves different antibiotics.
Neonatal infection treatment is typically started before the diagnosis of the cause can be confirmed.
Neonatal infection can be prophylactically treated with antibiotics. Maternal treatment with antibiotics is primarily used to protect against group B streptococcus.
Women with a history of HSV, can be treated with antiviral drugs to prevent symptomatic lesions and viral shedding that could infect the infant at birth. The antiviral medications used include acyclovir, penciclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir. Only very small amounts of the drug can be detected in the fetus. There are no increases in drug-related abnormalities in the infant that could be attributed to acyclovir. Long-term effects of antiviral medications have not been evaluated for their effects after growth and development of the child occurs. Neutropenia can be a complication of acyclovir treatment of neonatal HSV infection, but is usually transient. Treatment with immunoglobulin therapy has not been proven to be effective.
The medications prescribed for acute toxoplasmosis are the following:
- Pyrimethamine — an antimalarial medication
- Sulfadiazine — an antibiotic used in combination with pyrimethamine to treat toxoplasmosis
- Combination therapy is usually given with folic acid supplements to reduce incidence of thrombocytopaenia.
- Combination therapy is most useful in the setting of HIV.
- Clindamycin
- Spiramycin — an antibiotic used most often for pregnant women to prevent the infection of their children.
(other antibiotics, such as minocycline, have seen some use as a salvage therapy).
If infected during pregnancy, spiramycin is recommended in the first and early second trimesters while pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine and leucovorin is recommended in the late second and third trimesters.
Safe and effective adenovirus vaccines were developed for adenovirus serotypes 4 and 7, but were available only for preventing ARD among US military recruits, and production stopped in 1996. Strict attention to good infection-control practices is effective for stopping transmission in hospitals of adenovirus-associated disease, such as epidemic keratoconjunctivitis. Maintaining adequate levels of chlorination is necessary for preventing swimming pool-associated outbreaks of adenovirus conjunctivitis.
Individuals at higher risk are often prescribed prophylactic medication to prevent an infection from occurring. A patient's risk level for developing an opportunistic infection is approximated using the patient's CD4 T-cell count and sometimes other markers of susceptibility. Common prophylaxis treatments include the following:
The preventative measure of keeping cats inside in areas with high infection rates can prevent infection. Approved tick treatments for cats can be used but have been shown not to fully prevent tick bites.
The most often used treatments for cytauxzoonosis are imidocarb dipropionate and a combination of atovaquone and azithromycin. Although imidocarb has been used for years, it is not particularly effective. In a large study, only 25% of cats treated with this drug and supportive care survived. 60% of sick cats treated with supportive care and the combination of the anti-malarial drug atovaquone and the antibiotic azithromycin survived infection.
Quick referral to a veterinarian equipped to treat the disease may be beneficial. All infected cats require supportive care, including careful fluids, nutritional support, treatment for complications, and often blood transfusion.
Cats that survive the infection should be kept indoors as they can be persistent carriers after surviving infection and might indirectly infect other cats after being themselves bitten by a vector tick.
The mainstay of eradication is the identification and removal of persistently infected animals. Re-infection is then prevented by vaccination and high levels of biosecurity, supported by continuing surveillance. PIs act as viral reservoirs and are the principal source of viral infection but transiently infected animals and contaminated fomites also play a significant role in transmission.
Leading the way in BVD eradication, almost 20 years ago, were the Scandinavian countries. Despite different conditions at the start of the projects in terms of legal support, and regardless of initial prevalence of herds with PI animals, it took all countries approximately 10 years to reach their final stages.
Once proven that BVD eradication could be achieved in a cost efficient way, a number of regional programmes followed in Europe, some of which have developed into national schemes.
Vaccination is an essential part of both control and eradication. While BVD virus is still circulating within the national herd, breeding cattle are at risk of producing PI neonates and the economic consequences of BVD are still relevant. Once eradication has been achieved, unvaccinated animals will represent a naïve and susceptible herd. Infection from imported animals or contaminated fomites brought into the farm, or via transiently infected in-contacts will have devastating consequences.
Modern vaccination programmes aim not only to provide a high level of protection from clinical disease for the dam, but, crucially, to protect against viraemia and prevent the production of PIs. While the immune mechanisms involved are the same, the level of immune protection required for foetal protection is much higher than for prevention of clinical disease.
While challenge studies indicate that killed, as well as live, vaccines prevent foetal infection under experimental conditions, the efficacy of vaccines under field conditions has been questioned. The birth of PI calves into vaccinated herds suggests that killed vaccines do not stand up to the challenge presented by the viral load excreted by a PI in the field.
A number of topical antivirals are effective for herpes labialis, including acyclovir, penciclovir, and docosanol.
In people with latent toxoplasmosis, the cysts are immune to these treatments, as the antibiotics do not reach the bradyzoites in sufficient concentration.
The medications prescribed for latent toxoplasmosis are:
- Atovaquone — an antibiotic that has been used to kill "Toxoplasma" cysts inside AIDS patients
- Clindamycin — an antibiotic that, in combination with atovaquone, seemed to optimally kill cysts in mice
Several antiviral drugs are effective for treating herpes, including acyclovir, valaciclovir (valacyclovir), famciclovir, and penciclovir. Acyclovir was the first discovered and is now available in generic. Valacyclovir is also available as a generic and is slightly more effective than aciclovir for reducing lesion healing time.
Evidence supports the use of acyclovir and valacyclovir in the treatment of herpes labialis as well as herpes infections in people with cancer. The evidence to support the use of acyclovir in primary herpetic gingivostomatitis is weaker.
Treatment of infections caused by "Bartonella" species include:
Some authorities recommend the use of azithromycin.
Docosanol, a saturated fatty alcohol, is a safe and effective topical application that has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for herpes labialis in adults with properly functioning immune systems. It is comparable in effectiveness to prescription topical antiviral agents. Due to its mechanism of action, there is little risk of drug resistance. The duration of symptoms can be shortened a bit if an antiviral, anesthetic, zinc oxide or zinc sulfate cream is applied soon after it starts.
Effective antiviral medications include acyclovir and penciclovir, which can speed healing by as much as 10%. Famciclovir or valacyclovir, taken in pill form, can be effective using a single day, high-dose application and is more cost effective and convenient than the traditional treatment of lower doses for 5–7 days.
Some vertically transmitted infections, such as toxoplasmosis and syphilis, can be effectively treated with antibiotics if the mother is diagnosed early in her pregnancy. Many viral vertically transmitted infections have no effective treatment, but some, notably rubella and varicella-zoster, can be prevented by vaccinating the mother prior to pregnancy.
If the mother has active herpes simplex (as may be suggested by a pap test), delivery by Caesarean section can prevent the newborn from contact, and consequent infection, with this virus.
IgG antibody may play crucial role in prevention of intrauterine infections and extensive research is going on for developing IgG-based therapies for treatment and vaccination.
People with AIDS are given macrolide antibiotics such as azithromycin for prophylactic treatment.
People with HIV infection and less than 50 CD4+ T-lymphocytes/uL should be administered prophylaxis against MAC. Prophylaxis should be continued for the patient's lifetime unless multiple drug therapy for MAC becomes necessary because of the development of MAC disease.
Clinicians must weigh the potential benefits of MAC prophylaxis against the potential for toxicities and drug interactions, the cost, the potential to produce resistance in a community with a high rate of tuberculosis, and the possibility that the addition of another drug to the medical regimen may adversely affect patients' compliance with treatment. Because of these concerns, therefore, in some situations rifabutin prophylaxis should not be administered.
Before prophylaxis is administered, patients should be assessed to ensure that they do not have active disease due to MAC, M. tuberculosis, or any other mycobacterial species. This assessment may include a chest radiograph and tuberculin skin test.
Rifabutin, by mouth daily, is recommended for the people's lifetime unless disseminated MAC develops, which would then require multiple drug therapy. Although other drugs, such as azithromycin and clarithromycin, have laboratory and clinical activity against MAC, none has been shown in a prospective, controlled trial to be effective and safe for prophylaxis. Thus, in the absence of data, no other regimen can be recommended at this time.The 300-mg dose of rifabutin has been well tolerated. Adverse effects included neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, rash, and gastrointestinal disturbances.
It is currently recommended that HIV-infected individuals with TB receive combined treatment for both diseases, irrespective of CD4+ cell count. ART (Anti Retroviral Therapy) along with ATT (Anti Tuberculosis Treatment) is the only available treatment in present time. Though the timing of starting ART is the debatable question due to the risk of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). The advantages of early ART include reduction in early mortality, reduction in relapses, preventing drug resistance to ATT and reduction in occurrence of HIV-associated infections other than TB. The disadvantages include cumulative toxicity of ART and ATT, drug interactions leading to inflammatory reactions are the limiting factors for choosing the combination of ATT and ART.
A systematic review investigated the optimal timing of starting antiretroviral therapy in adults with newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis. The review authors included eight trials, that were generally well-conducted, with over 4500 patients in total. The early provision of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected adults with newly diagnosed tuberculosis improved survival in patients who had a low CD4 count (less than 0.050 x 109 cells/L). However, such therapy doubled the risk for IRIS. Regarding patients with higher CD4 counts (more than 0.050 x 109 cells/L), the evidence is not sufficient to make a conclusion about benefits or risks of early antiretroviral therapy.
To reduce neonatal infection, routine screening of pregnant women for HIV, hepatitis B, syphilis, and rubella susceptibility is required in the UK.
Treatment with an vaginal antibiotic wash prior to birth does not prevent infection with group B streptococcus bacteria. Breast milk protects against necrotizing enterocolitis.
Because GBS bacteria can colonize the lower reproductive tract of 30% of women, typically pregnant women are tested for this pathogen from 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy. Before delivery treatment of the mother with antibiotics reduces the rate of neonatal infection. Prevention of the infection of the baby is done by treating the mother with penicillin. Since the adoption of this prophylatic treatment, infant mortality from GBS infection has decreased by 80%.
Mothers with symptomatic HSV and who are treated with antiviral prophylaxis are less prone to have an active, symptomatic case at the time of birth and it may be able to reduce the risk of passing on HSV during birth. Cesarean delivery reduces the risk of infection of the infant.
Among the categories of bacteria most known to infect patients are the category MRSA (resistant strain of "S. aureus"), member of gram-positive bacteria and "Acinetobacter" ("A. baumannii"), which is gram-negative. While antibiotic drugs to treat diseases caused by gram-positive MRSA are available, few effective drugs are available for "Acinetobacter". "Acinetobacter" bacteria are evolving and becoming immune to existing antibiotics, so in many cases, polymyxin-type antibacterials need to be used. "In many respects it’s far worse than MRSA," said a specialist at Case Western Reserve University.
Another growing disease, especially prevalent in New York City hospitals, is the drug-resistant, gram-negative "Klebsiella pneumoniae". An estimated more than 20% of the "Klebsiella" infections in Brooklyn hospitals "are now resistant to virtually all modern antibiotics, and those supergerms are now spreading worldwide."
The bacteria, classified as gram-negative because of their reaction to the Gram stain test, can cause severe pneumonia and infections of the urinary tract, bloodstream, and other parts of the body. Their cell structures make them more difficult to attack with antibiotics than gram-positive organisms like MRSA. In some cases, antibiotic resistance is spreading to gram-negative bacteria that can infect people outside the hospital. "For gram-positives we need better drugs; for gram-negatives we need any drugs," said Dr. Brad Spellberg, an infectious-disease specialist at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and the author of "Rising Plague", a book about drug-resistant pathogens.
One-third of nosocomial infections are considered preventable. The CDC estimates 2 million people in the United States are infected annually by hospital-acquired infections, resulting in 20,000 deaths. The most common nosocomial infections are of the urinary tract, surgical site and various pneumonias.
When HIV-negative children take isoniazid after they have been exposed to tuberculosis, their risk to contract tuberculosis is reduced. A Cochrane review investigated whether giving isoniazid to HIV-positive children can help to prevent this vulnerable group from getting tuberculosis. They included three trials conducted in South Africa and Botswana and found that isoniazid given to all children diagnosed with HIV may reduce the risk of active tuberculosis and death in children who are not on antiretroviral treatment. For children taking antiretroviral medication, no clear benefit was detected.
Postinfection treatment involves a combination of antituberculosis antibiotics, including rifampicin, rifabutin, ciprofloxacin, amikacin, ethambutol, streptomycin, clarithromycin or azithromycin.
NTM infections are usually treated with a three-drug regimen of either clarithromycin or azithromycin, plus rifampicin and ethambutol. Treatment typically lasts at least 12 months.
Although studies have not yet identified an optimal regimen or confirmed that any therapeutic regimen produces sustained clinical benefit for patients with disseminated MAC, the Task Force concluded that the available information indicated the need for treatment of disseminated MAC. The Public Health Service therefore recommends that regimens be based on the following principles:
- Treatment regimens outside a clinical trial should include at least two agents.
- Every regimen should contain either azithromycin or clarithromycin; many experts prefer ethambutol as a second drug. Many clinicians have added one or more of the following as second, third, or fourth agents: clofazimine, rifabutin, rifampin, ciprofloxacin, and in some situations amikacin. Isoniazid and pyrazinamide are not effective for the therapy of MAC.
- Therapy should continue for the lifetime of the patient if clinical and microbiologic improvement is observed.
Clinical manifestations of disseminated MAC—such as fever, weight loss, and night sweats—should be monitored several times during the initial weeks of therapy. Microbiologic response, as assessed by blood culture every 4 weeks during initial therapy, can also be helpful in interpreting the efficacy of a therapeutic regimen.Most patients who ultimately respond show substantial clinical improvement in the first 4–6 weeks of therapy. Elimination of the organisms from blood cultures may take somewhat longer, often requiring 4–12 weeks.