HIV/HCV co-infection is emerging as a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the 21st century. This editorial reviews the prevalence of co-infection, the factors involved in acquisition of HCV, and the influence of co-infection on disease progression. We examine the results of the major co-infection trials including APRICOT, ACTG 5071 and RIBAVIC. These trials, in association with emerging e...

Dear Editor, I read the recent publication on Zika virus infection with great interest. As noted by Zammarchi et al. 1 “it is advisable that the healthcare professionals working in non-endemic areas maintain full awareness on this issue in order to practice proper management of the imported cases of Zika virus infection.” There are many interesting issues for discussion. First, the importation ...

To construct a semen bank, the collection of donated semen has to be done and an important concern is the safety of collected semen. The contamination is a big problem. Basically, the infectious pathogens can exist within donated semen, hence, a good donor screening is very important. Although viruses have an indirect role in sperm quality, but the evidence in banked semen is presently lack. Th...

The clinical microbiology laboratory is an essential component of an effective infection control program. Laboratory personnel have a broad range of technologies, from traditional methods of detecting and identifying organisms to modern molecular typing methods, that they can use to support and enhance the efforts of the infection control staff. If the infection control team applies these techn...

Background: The methods to ascertain cases of an emerging infectious disease are typically biased toward with more severe disease, which can affect estimates the average infection-severity profile. We examine potential for using data from secondary cases, identified through transmission studies or contact tracing index characterize severity. Methods: extracted information on reported symptom...