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The author discusses the paper "Synergistic interaction between phage therapy and antibiotics clears Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in endocarditis and reduces virulence," by F. Oechslin and colleagues. Topics discussed include the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, the combination of antimicrobial therapy and phage therapy for treating the infection, and the reduction of virulence.

Background. We systematically reviewed the evidence for an association between male circumcision and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection and genital warts in men. Methods. PubMed and Embase were searched to 15 September 2010. The measure of effect was the adjusted odds ratio (OR) or rate ratio (RR) when present and the crude estimate otherwise. Random effects meta-analyses were used to calculate summary measures of effect. Results. We identified 23 papers about the association between circumcision and HPV DNA. Circumcised men were less likely to have prevalent genital HPV infection than uncircumcised men (summary OR, 0.57, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.45-0.71) with between-study heterogeneity (P-heterogeneity = 0.006; I22 = 50.5%; 19 studies). Similar summary associations were seen in clinical and methodological subgroups. The effect of circumcision was stronger at the glans/corona (OR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.37-0.60) and urethra (OR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.12- 1.05) compared with sites more distal to the foreskin. There was weak evidence that circumcision was associated with decreased HPV incidence (summary RR, 0.75, 95% CI, 0.57-0.99; 3 studies) and increased HPV clearance (summary RR, 1.33; 95% CI, 0.89-1.98; 3 studies) but no evidence of an association with prevalent genital warts (OR, 0.93, 95% CI, 0.65-1.33; 15 studies). Conclusions. Several countries are expanding access to voluntary medical male circumcision to reduce HIV prevalence. This could provide additional benefit in reducing HPV prevalence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Only a few of the recommendations made in this supplement are implemented in ongoing HIV remission studies that involve an analytical treatment interruption. The absence of these recommendations in protocols puts sexual partners of study participants at serious risk. This paper addresses one possible barrier to implementation: a certain misunderstanding among sponsors and research entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the paper "The Rebound Effect and the Emergence of Pyrimethamine Resistance in Plasmodium Falciparum After Single-Dose Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine," by F. Marks, V. von Kalckreuth, and R. Kobbe, published in the December 2005 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases. The researchers show that the first P. falciparum infections after sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine treatment of 9-month-old aparasitemic infants near Kumasi, Ghana, were highly resistant to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. The prevalence of drug-resistant falciparum infections was higher in the treated group than in the placebo group from week 9 until week 26 after treatment. The prevalence of all infections was higher in the treated group during the same interval, although this difference was not significant, possibly because of the small sample size.