Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, one of which involves miR-146a-5p as a specific microRNA molecule that is expressed exclusively on immune cells to modulate innate immunity. This study aims to examine and compare the expression of miR-146a-5p in active and latent TB patients. This study utilized a descriptive-analytic and cross-sectional design. We used real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction method to examine the strength of miR-146a-5p expression. Statistical analysis involved employing descriptive statistics to summarize the sample characteristics. One-way analysis of variance was utilized to conduct inferential analysis, evaluating the differences in miR-146a-5p expression across various groups. The odds ratio calculation was employed to assess the strength of association, whereas the receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to examine the diagnostic potential. The results showed that men dominated the incidence of active TB compared to women with a prevalence of 83% and 17%, respectively. While in latent TB, women dominated compared to men (78% and 22%). The results of the examination of miR-146a-5pexpression in active TB samples were up regulation with a value of 24,86535, whereas in latent TB samples were down regulation with a value of 0,22727. Active TB and latent TB samples showed a significant comparison in terms of miR-146a-5p expression. Based on the research we have done, miR-146a-5p can be used as a biomarker in TB infection.

Interferon-γ serves as the pivotal cytokine for macrophage activation. Anti-interferon-γ autoantibody (AIGA)-mediated adult-onset immunodeficiency (AOID) represents a phenocopy of primary immunodeficiency, characterized by recurrent disseminated infections predominantly caused by Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABC) and other nontuberculous mycobacteria. Disseminated MABC (dMABC) in AOID poses significant therapeutic challenges, requiring long-term multidrug antimicrobial therapy combined with AIGA-targeted immunotherapy. This report details three cases of AOID with dMABC. All patients exhibited recurrent fevers, widespread cutaneous erythema, nodules, pustules, and painful multifocal lymphadenopathy over several months to 2 years. Serum AIGA testing was positive in all cases. MABC was isolated from skin and lymph node specimens through culture or next-generation sequencing. Radiologic studies confirmed systemic involvement, including pulmonary, lymphatic, and osteoarticular sites. A therapeutic regimen of combined antibiotics and low-to-medium-dose oral glucocorticoids (prednisone 20-30 mg/day initiated, tapered to 5 mg/day maintenance) was instituted, leading to clinical resolution in all patients. All were discharged successfully and remained disease-free on long-term follow-up.

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) is still a common opportunistic infection among patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, which has significant mortality if not diagnosed and treated in time. This study identified and compared demographic, clinical, and radiological characteristics between individuals with solitary PJP and those with concurrent pulmonary infections with other agents. The medical records of 1040 HIV-positive patients with pulmonary diseases were analyzed, and 140 cases of PJP pneumonia were selected. The average age was 37.2 ± 9.2 years, 72% were male, and 52% were intravenous drug users. Most patients had low CD4+ cell counts (median: 25 cells/mm3), were new cases (65%), and antiretroviral drug-naïve (82%). Among confirmed PJP cases, 25.9% had concurrent infections, mainly tuberculosis (TB; 8 cases) and cytomegalovirus pneumonia (8 cases). The comparison showed that there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of age, gender, history of antiretroviral treatment, history of PJP, history of TB, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, CD4 count, HIV viral load, and the pattern of lung involvement in computed tomography scan imaging. The mortality rates were 17.2% for patients solely infected with PJP and 44.7% for those with coinfections (P < 0.001). These results suggest that diagnosing coinfection of PJP and other pulmonary infections is essential, given the higher mortality.

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) constitutes 15%-20% of the entire tuberculosis (TB) cases worldwide. However, the lack of proper diagnostic methods, the absence of a reliable model system, and limited knowledge of its pathogenesis impair therapeutic efficacy and contribute to compromised treatment strategies. This study aims to evaluate the Mycobacterium marinum-murine infection model to study bone erosion induced by M. marinum and associated changes in the bone density and soft-tissue damage. A thorough understanding of the EPTB infection and the pathogenesis is necessary and requires a reliable in vivo animal model that mimics pathology similar to human infection. All studies involved random, stochastically selected healthy, equal weight and activity of C57BL/6 inbred mice for all experiments. All control mice were mock-injected with sterile phosphate-buffered saline in place of the infectious agent and are maintained in isolators having the same light and dark cycles. At the indicated days postinfection, tail lesions are measure and taken for MicroCT as described. The M. marinum mice infection model presented here offers quantifiable pathological features as the infected tails exhibited infiltration of the immune cells, and the microcomputed tomography imaging showed bone erosion to the extent of the coccygeal vertebral loss. Infection of the mice with Isoniazid Resistant Population (IRP) and Ethambutol Resistant (EmbRP) of M. marinum also exhibited pathological features akin to wild-type M. marinum infection. At the same time, for EmbRP, the severity is significantly reduced. These findings advocate the use of the murine model of mycobacterium to understand the EPTB, precisely bone and spine TB.

Drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), especially rifampicin-resistant/multidrug-resistant TB (RR/MDR-TB), remains difficult to treat due to toxic aminoglycosides. The World Health Organization recommended all-oral bedaquiline-based regimens, but evidence comparing their effectiveness to injectable-containing regimens is limited. This study evaluated treatment success between both approaches. This was a retrospective study, which included 114 adults aged 18 years and above with RR/MDR-TB treated at Kibong'oto Infectious Diseases Hospital with either a 9-11-month injectable-containing regimen from 2018 to 2019 or a modified all-oral bedaquiline regimen from June 2020 to May 2021. Patients were followed monthly for smear/culture conversion and clinical outcomes up to 12 months posttreatment. Analysis was performed using SPSS version 25. Of 114 patients, 71 (62.3%) received an all-oral bedaquiline-containing regimen. Overall, 80 (70.2%) patients were male, with a median age of 37 years (interquartile range: 29-48); 27 (23.9%) patients were human immunodeficiency virus infected, and 37 (22.5%) had prior TB treatment. Culture conversion at month 2 occurred in all 43 patients on injectable regimens, compared to 63 (90%) patients on all-oral regimens (P = 0.03). Treatment success was higher in the all-oral group at 63 (94.4%), compared to 33 (76.7%) in the injectable group (P = 0.001). Mortality was 7 (14.0%) in the injectable group and 4 (5.6%) in the all-oral group (P = 0.004). All-oral bedaquiline regimens demonstrated higher treatment success and lower 12-month posttreatment mortality, while injectable regimens had faster culture conversion at month 2, but poorer overall outcomes, supporting the use of all-oral treatment.

Treatment outcomes, particularly lost to follow-up (LTFU) of tuberculosis (TB) patients, are one of the most fundamental indicators related to TB control. However, national TB programs often ignore those who once come to a health facility and were diagnosed with TB but never come back to the facility to commence anti-TB treatment (i.e. pretreatment [PT] LTFU). We conducted a study to determine the proportions of bacteriologically confirmed PT-LTFU patients with TB found at four facilities in Lusaka, Zambia, in 2024. This is the first multifacility 2024 cohort assessing PT-LTFU trends in urban Zambia. This was a retrospective cohort study, in which the TB laboratory and treatment registers at the study sites were cross-matched. Those who did not commence anti-TB treatment within 14 days after laboratory diagnosis were defined as PT-LTFU patients. A total of 1166 bacteriologically positive TB patients were eligible for the study. Of these, 1158 (99.3%) patients were diagnosed using Xpert MTB/RIF and 8 (0.7%) by the presence of lipoarabinomannan. Their ages ranged from 6 months to 90 years; 850 (72.9%) patients were male and 26 (2.2%) were aged <15 years. The number of PT-LTFU persons was 146 (12.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 10.7%-14.6%) of 1166, and the proportions varied significantly among the study sites, from 1.8% to 20.5%. The proportion of PT-LTFU was 1.6 (95% CI: 1.2-2.2) times higher among the patients who came from outside the facility catchment areas (53/309, 17.1%, 95% CI: 13.1%-21.8%) than for those from within (90/852, 10.6%, 95% CI: 8.6%-12.8%). One hundred eleven (76%) of the 146 PT-LTFU had no documentation of contact details in the registers. The proportions of PT-LTFU diagnosed in June (23.6%, 95% CI: 15.2%-33.8%) and July (19.1%, 95% CI: 12.2%-27.7%) were 3.3 (95% CI: 1.5-7.3) and 2.6 (95% CI: 1.2-6.0) times higher than that of November (7.2%, 95% CI: 3.0%-14.3%), respectively. The proportions of PT-LTFU diagnosed with "low" (16.9%, 95% CI: 13.1%-21.2%) and "trace" levels of positivity (15.8%, 95% CI: 10.9%-21.8%) were 2.1 (95% CI: 1.3-3.1) and 1.9 (95% CI: 1.2-3.1) times higher than those with "high" levels (8.2%, 95% CI: 5.5%-11.6%), respectively. The proportion of PT-LTFU was 12.5% in the four facilities in Lusaka, Zambia, in 2024. This was slightly higher than in a previous study conducted in Lusaka in 2020. The proportions of PT-LTFU were significantly higher among those diagnosed as lower positives with Xpert MTB/RIF, probably because the patients may not have been convinced they had TB. There is a need to strengthen the capacity of laboratories to provide same-day results for patients to reduce the rate of PT-LTFU. Furthermore, there should be strengthened departmental linkages and improved documentation of patients' contact details at health facilities to facilitate patient follow-up for TB service provision and tracing. Enhanced laboratory turnaround, real-time linkage of diagnostic and treatment registers, and improved patient tracing are essential to reduce PT-LTFU and align with the World Health Organization End-TB targets.

Findings from new methods have, during recent years, increased the knowledge of diseases in the past, good examples being tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy. Analyses of DNA and cell wall lipids have, in addition to osteology, been used to demonstrate these diseases in ancient bones. An old example of TB is from a bison existing in Wyoming, USA 17,000 years ago. TB has furthermore been shown in several ancient human skeletons, e.g., in a woman and a child who lived in the Eastern Mediterranean 9000 years ago and in humans who lived in East Asia and America before the arrival of the Europeans. These results indicate that TB was widespread in ancient times. Lipid studies support the hypothesis that TB bacteria originate from nonpathogenic mycobacteria in the environment. Several studies show that leprosy existed in Europe during the Middle Ages but does not seem to stretch back more than 2000 years. There are, however, osteological evidence indicating that leprosy was present in India over 4000 years ago. An interesting finding is that co-infections with both leprosy and TB have been demonstrated in several historical samples, i.e., a Viking grave.

Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) has a major global impact and has been reported as one of the most relevant complications in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aim of this study was to analyze the bibliometric parameters of the scientific literature indexed in Scopus regarding the coinfection between PTB and SLE. A bibliometric study was conducted using a search strategy with MeSH terms to identify articles indexed in Scopus. After screening, 122 articles were included in the study. Bibliometric tools (SciVal, VOSviewer, and Bibliometrix) were used to analyze publication metadata. Scientific production showed an annual growth rate of 4.56%, with a mean of 22.4 citations per publication per year. Rheumatology International, ranked in Q2, was the most relevant journal in the field of PTB and SLE, followed by Clinical Rheumatology and the Indian Journal of Tuberculosis. India demonstrated the greatest growth, with approximately 125 articles, whereas Brazil ranked fifth with sustained productivity. National collaboration was most frequent (46.7%); however, articles with international authorship achieved greater impact, with 209.8 citations per publication and 148% more citations than expected. Scientific output on PTB and SLE has steadily increased over the past 20 years. India, China, and Brazil lead the field, with international cooperation playing an emerging but significant role. The main publication venues are journals ranked in Q2 and Q3.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global public health challenge, with an increasing incidence of extrapulmonary forms. Isolated muscular involvement is extremely rare, even in high-endemic regions. This study highlights an unusual case of muscular TB in a 24-year-old patient with no medical history, presenting with a painless swelling on the outer leg, without fever or other symptoms. Blood tests were normal, whereas imaging and biopsy initially suggested an infected hematoma. The culture of bacteriological samples on specific culture solid media confirmed the presence of Koch's bacillus. The patient was treated with drainage, lavage, and anti-TB therapy, showing significant clinical and radiological improvement after 6 months. TB should be included in the differential diagnosis for any unexplained soft-tissue swelling, particularly in individuals originating from regions where TB is endemic. To our knowledge, no cases of muscular involvement in the lateral compartment of the leg have been reported, making our case unique.

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. This study aimed to compare serum interleukin-17 (IL-17) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels among Sudanese patients with and without leprosy to assess their impact on disease immunopathogenesis. A case-control cross-sectional study was conducted at Abu Rouf Leprosy Clinic and Khartoum Dermatology Teaching Hospital between August 2018 and October 2020. IL-17 and TNF-α levels were quantified using Sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits (Sunlong Biotech, China). Statistical analyses were performed in SPSS v21. Leprosy patients had significantly lower mean IL-17 levels (1.6 ± 1.2 pg/ml) than healthy controls (5.5 ± 2.6 pg/ml, P < 0.001), whereas TNF-α was higher in patients (103.1 ± 25.5 ng/L) than controls (30.8 ± 15.1 ng/L, P < 0.001). IL-17 correlated negatively with disease duration, while TNF-α showed a positive correlation (r = 0.201, P = 0.037). Cytokine dysregulation, particularly reduced IL-17 and elevated TNF-α, reflects distinct immune pathways in leprosy pathogenesis. These biomarkers may aid in assessing disease activity and treatment response.