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Foreign body aspiration occurs more frequently in young children due to immature anatomical and functional structures like underdeveloped mechanism of swallowing, weak airway protective reflexes or the absence of molars. We describe the case of a 13-months-old girl who presented for a subsided paroxysmal cough with a sudden onset and intermittent wheezing after eating a piece of walnut. We highlight the importance of a well conducted anamneses and an efficient communication in a multidisciplinary team by describing the way we diagnosed the patient, the therapeutic method used in the removal of the foreign body and the favorable evolution. We analyze the medical literature to check the similarities and differences observed in our case. This could raise awareness among pediatricians about this diagnosis and encourage general practitioners to get involved in educating the parents in Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change creates new challenges for preventing and protecting human health against different diseases that could appear and propagate. The Aedes albopictus mosquito species is an important vector for different diseases like dengue fever or zika. Although this species is not "indigenous" in Europe, its presence is noticed in many countries on the continent. The Ae. albopictus establishment is conditioned by the species' characteristics and environmental factors. To assess the possible spread of Ae. albopictus in the Dobrogea region (situated in the Southeast of Romania), we conducted the following analysis: (1) Investigation of the current distribution and climatic factors favoring Ae. albopictus' establishment in Europe; (2) Analysis of climate dynamics in Dobrogea in terms of the parameters identified at stage (1); (3) Testing the hypothesis that the climate from Dobrogea favors Ae. albopictus' establishment in the region; (4) Building a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based model of the potential geographic distribution of Ae. albopictus in Dobrogea. Results show that the climate of Dobrogea favors the apparition of the investigated species and its proliferation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemagglutination-inhibiting serum antibodies to BK virus (BKV were detected in patients with different forms of cancer and in blood donors (positivity percentages: 67.04 and 57.78, respectively). No such antibodies were found in a group of children 1 to 14 years of age. The data point to the presence of a latent human infection with BKV in the population of Romania.

The results of over 200 scientific papers in the field of in vivo and in vitro virus--tumor relationships, worked out in the "Stefan S. Nicolau" Institute of Virology during a period of over 25 years, are very briefly reviewed. Stress is laid on the original theoretical and practical contributions of the institute to the knowledge of viral carcinogenesis in animals and humans. Some personal viewpoints in the interpretation of results are presented and new research prospects in this field--which represents a traditional concern of the institute--are lutlined.

The presence of antibodies to BK virus and SV40 was investigated in 63 patients with Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) and in 83 apparently healthy subjects from the endemic area. Serum antibodies to BK virus were detected in 95.2% of the former and in 74.7% of the latter, high antibody levels being prevalent in the age groups 41-60 years. Antibodies to SV40 were absent in the BEN patients and their frequency in the healthy subjects (27.7%) was much lower than that previously recorded in healthy persons from other zones of Romania (40%). The results obtained plead for a prevalence of BK virus infection in the endemic area with BEN.

Complement fixing (CF) antibodies to the AD--129 strain of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) were detected in patients with different forms of cancer, as well as in blood donors, in a proportion of 16.6% and 73.2%, respectively. The prevalence of CF antibodies to HCMV, strain AT--129, in the population of Romania is similar to that reported in other countries.

Neutralizing antibodies to SV-40 were detected in cerebrospinal fluid samples from 16 out of 43 patients with brain tumors and in 6 out of 20 patients with different nonmalignant chronic neurological diseases. The patients' age excluded the correlation with a vaccine-associated or occupational contact with SV-40. The results ascertain the occurrence of SV-40 or of an antigenically related virus in the population of Romania.

Hemagglutination-inhibiting antibodies to polyoma virus could be detected in sera from apparently healthy subjects, patients with nonmalignant respiratory diseases and patients with different forms of cancer. The positivity percentages (12.97, 12.92 and 16.36, respectively) and the titers recorded were lower than in the case of BK virus. The results obtained suggest a slight antigenic relationship between polyoma and BK virus.