Background: Mumps virus (MV), a single-stranded RNA virus of the paramyxoiridae family, is highly contagious and is most commonly associated with parotitis. There has been a significant increase in the amount of mumps cases nationally in 2023. For patients...
Respiratory syncytial virus and influenza A and B Following the start of the 2023 respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season in week 6 (week ending 11 February), detection rates continued to increase during March, predominantly in the <5 year age group. RSV...
We are presenting here the PathCare susceptibility data for common hospital-acquired organisms isolated from blood cultures from patients in the Western Cape Province over the last 2 years. The focus is on the ESKAPE organisms, an acronym coined by die Infectious...
Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is an autoimmune neuromuscular disorder mediated by autoantibodies that target functionally vital proteins in the post-synaptic membrane at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ).1 MG presents clinically with a fluctuating degree and variable...
During the month of January 2023, Pathcare confirmed a number of Rickettsia infections although both serological confirmation as well as PCR confirmation have significant limitations. The two common spotted fever diseases in Southern Africa are boutonneuse fever-like...
Measles morbillivirus (MV) is one of the most contagious human pathogens. MV infection occurs worldwide, sporadically or through outbreaks, such as the current outbreak in South Africa. Since late 2022, MV outbreaks have been declared in 5 provinces, namely,...
DPYD, the gene encoding dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) is the rate-limiting enzyme for fluoropyrimidine catabolism. In the context of 5-fluorouracil, four decreased function DPYD variants are of primary relevance due to their population frequency and...
INFLUENZA, RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS AND SARS-COV-2 Influenza A, influenza B and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) returned to the characteristic seasonal circulation (Figure 1), having shown atypical patterns in 2020 and 2021. The influenza season showed a biphasic...
The recent COVID-19 pandemic renewed the focus of the role of vaccination in the prevention of infection across all ages and in all communities. Apart from reducing infectious episodes in individual patients, vaccination is an often-overlooked strategy to also combat...
The positivity rates for SARS-CoV-2 increased to the 15-20% range during October. It must be noted that the number of tests performed for SARS-CoV-2 remains low and the NICD has reported no significant increase in hospitalizations during this period. Detection of...