HIV/AIDS and COVID-19: Shared Lessons from Two Pandemics.

The global experiences with the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics hold important lessons for preparing for, and responding to, future outbreaks of emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases. Scores of infectious diseases have emerged or re-emerged over the past four decades, and future outbreaks are inevitable. The next emerging pathogen likely will again come from unanticipated sources and pose puzzles in terms of microbiology, transmission, natural history, pathogenesis, epidemiology, and will present challenges to developing countermeasures such as diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.

Correlation of Clinical Severity of Trachomatous Inflammation and Chlamydia trachomatis Bacterial Load.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between bacterial load of Chlamydia trachomatis as measured from quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and the relative clinical severity of trachomatous inflammation. Individuals with trachoma from rural communities in Ethiopia had photographs taken as well as swabs obtained of the upper tarsal conjunctivas. Conjunctival swabs were processed with PCR assay, which provided quantitative results of ocular chlamydial load.

Commercial Chinese polyherbal preparation: current status and future perspectives.

Objective: With the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry, the investment in research and development of new commercial Chinese polyherbal preparations (CCPPs) is increasing, and the varieties of CCPPs are growing. CCPPs play an increasingly important role in the TCM industry. This study has comprehensively summarized and analyzed the current situation of CCPPs that has been on the market in China, and provided suggestions for the research and promotion of CCPPs.