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Climate change directly and indirectly contributes to the emergence of vector and water borne infections. Other infectious diseases may be introduced to new geographical areas as a result of globalisation and changing human behaviour. Despite the still low absolute risk, the pathogenicity of some of these infections creates a significant challenge for clinicians. Awareness of changing disease epidemiology helps in timely recognition of such infections. Vaccination guidelines for emerging vaccine-preventable diseases, such as tick-borne encephalitis and leptospirosis, may need to be updated.

Background: Since 2016 outbreaks of yellow fever are reported in Brazil. This is a risk to unvaccinated travellers in that area., Case Description: In early January, an unvaccinated traveller returning from São Paulo attended our outpatient clinic complaining of symptoms later diagnosed as yellow fever. The disease manifested itself as fever, lower back pain, nausea and highly elevated liver enzymes. A yellow fever infection has multiple stages. The first stage is acute infection which merges into the second stage which is when improvement occurs. Either improvement continues or transfers into a third stage which is characterized by multi-organ failure. In this particular patient, stage three did not occur., Conclusion: The goal of this case report is to show that vaccination against yellow fever is the most important preventive measure when travelling to an area where the yellow fever virus is in circulation. Yellow fever should not be forgotten in the differential diagnosis of a traveller with fever.

Currently available broad spectrum antibiotics are not sufficiently effective against recurrent Clostridium difficile infections (CDI). Donor faecal microbiota transplantation is a very effective treatment for second and recurrent infection but is time-consuming and requires careful screening of donors. The new narrow spectrum antibiotic fidaxomicin is a good alternative in a first CDI or a first recurrence, but treatment is expensive and there are no data on its effectiveness in a second or later recurrence. Fidaxomicin is less effective against infections caused by the Ribotype 027 strain, a virulent strain that is regularly encountered in the Netherlands. The effectiveness of various other promising narrow spectrum antibiotics is currently being investigated. Medications that support the gut flora or the immune system seem to offer new perspectives. Expectations for the currently available probiotic preparations and toxin binders are not high.

Objective: To study the effect of treating recurrent Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (CDAD) with a suspension of donor faeces., Design: Uncontrolled interventional study., Method: Patients that, despite adequate antibiotic therapy, had developed at least 2 recurrences ofCDAD, including at least one recurrence that had been treated with a vancomycin tapering regimen, were included in the study. Relatives or volunteers served as faeces donor. All donors were previously examined for the presence of HIV, hepatitis B- and C-virus, and acute infection with cytomegalovirus or Epstein-Barr virus. The donor faeces were examined for the presence of C. difficile, Yersinia, Campylobacter, Shigella, Salmonella, and parasites. Before the infusion of donor faeces, the patients were treated for 4 days with vancomycin 500 mg q.i.d., followed by colon lavage. The suspension of 150 g of donor faeces dissolved in 300-400 ml of NaCl was infused into the jejunum via a duodenal catheter or into the caecum via colonoscopy., Results: 7 CDAD patients were included and treated, including 2 with the hypervirulent C. difficile-strain PCR ribotype 027, toxinotype III. In 5 patients, the defaecation frequency returned to normal almost immediately after treatment and the cultures and toxin tests for C. difficile were repeatedly negative. In the remaining 2 patients, the treatment was successful after a repeated infusion of faeces from a different donor., Conclusion: Treatment with donor faeces seems promising for patients who develop repeated recurrences despite adequate therapy and could be valuable in the future during (local) epidemics of the PCR ribotype 027 strain. A randomised nationwide study (FECAL trial) has been started in order to determine the efficacy of this treatment.