Volume 33, no. 9, September 2020. COVID-19 infection in pediatric population. Counterfeiting food supplements. Biological rhythms in health and disease. Invasive group B streptococcal neonatal disease - ISS (EN)

Abstracts:

COVID-19 infection in pediatric population
SARS-CoV-2 is a highly contagious virus, which can be transmitted by an infected person or by an asymptomatic carrier through respiratory droplets. This pandemic, although mild and asymptomatic, has also affected the pediatric population. Compared to adults, children are less likely to develop serious complications and they contract the infection mainly through close contact with their parents. Most of the pediatric data comes from a study published on JAMA by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), and from an Italian multicenter study promoted by the Italian Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases (SITIP) and by the Italian Society of Pediatrics (SIP).

Counterfeiting food supplements: the results of the EU Project ASKLEPIOS
The article summarizes the role of the Italian National Institute of Health, ISS (Chemical Medicines Unit of the National Centre for the Control and Evaluation of Medicines) in the EU Project ASKLEPIOS, granted by the European Police Office (EUROPOL) and coordinated by Comando dei Carabinieri N.A.S. (Carabinieri Corps for the prevention of crime endangering public health). The aim of the Project was to struggle the marketing of illegal/counterfeit food supplements in the EU market. ISS in cooperation with Italian Ministry of Health was involved to identify illegal/counterfeit food supplements and to give the police authority useful information on how to run specific controls. Chemical analysis carried out at ISS was aimed to identify the presence of undeclared or forbidden substances in food supplements used for losing weight.

Biological rhythms in health and disease: are there gender differences?
Biological rhythms regulate all bodily functions at any level. They are inherited and transmitted with the DNA, but also characterized by an individual circadian preference (chronotype). The most important rhythm synchronizer is the light/dark alternation, but rhythms may be exposed to possible desynchronizing conditions, such as jet lag, shift work and daylight saving time. A rhythmic pattern is also known for onset of several acute diseases (chronorisk), as well as for possible temporized therapy/chronotherapy. We have less evidence, however, on possible gender differences in biological rhythms and their desynchronization, that seem to have more effects in women.

Invasive group B streptococcal neonatal disease in Italy in the years 2015-2018
Invasive group B streptococcal (GBS) neonatal infections is the leading cause of sepsis and meningitis in the first three months of life. In this article, the clinical and microbiological data on 145 cases received by the Department of Infectious of the Italian National Institute of Health in the years 2015-2018 are reported. The main clinical manifestations were sepsis (58.6%), meningitis (22.7%), bacteraemia (11.7%) and septic shock (6.2%). Preterm deliveries accounted for about 30% of cases; preterm babies represented a fragile population in terms of mortality and permanent brain lesions. Improved clinical management of very premature neonates lead to very long stays in intensive care units with a higher risk of GBS horizontal transfer and occurrence of invasive disease. Further measures for reducing prevention failures are still possible. To this aim, national surveillance is of primary importance.