Publications by authors named "Abigail Collingwood"
Article Synopsis
- The study focused on evaluating the effectiveness of vaccination and previous SARS-CoV-2 infection in protecting Utah middle and high school students against COVID-19 during the omicron variant surge.
- Data from 17,910 students showed that those with hybrid immunity (previous infection and vaccination) had the highest protection, especially those who received three vaccine doses.
- Overall, the research concluded that hybrid immunity offered the best defense against SARS-CoV-2 infection among students, highlighting the importance of vaccination and prior infections.
Article Synopsis
- * Patient A developed penile lesions that spread to multiple body parts, while Patient B experienced lesions starting from the foot and extending to the leg and finger.
- * Both patients had a mild form of the illness, with symptom resolution taking about 30 days for Patient A and 22 days for Patient B.
The only licensed dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, increases risk of severe dengue when given to individuals without prior dengue virus (DENV) infection but is protective against future disease in those with prior DENV immunity. The World Health Organization has recommended using rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) to determine history of prior DENV infection and suitability for vaccination. Dengue experts recommend that these assays be highly specific (≥98%) to avoid erroneously vaccinating individuals without prior DENV infection, as well as be sensitive enough (≥95%) to detect individuals with a single prior DENV infection.
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- Klebsiella is a common intestinal bacterium found in hospitalized patients and is a major contributor to health care-associated infections, with a notable risk for those who are colonized.* -
- A study tracked 1,978 patients who were colonized by Klebsiella for 90 days, revealing a 4.3% infection rate, with a mean infection onset of about 21 days; most infections originated from the same strain that colonized the patients.* -
- Factors such as overall health, depression, and low albumin levels at swab collection were linked to an increased risk of infection, suggesting that monitoring colonized patients could help prevent illness.*
Cessation of kindergarten through grade 12 in-person instruction and extracurricular activities, which has often occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, can have negative social, emotional, and educational consequences for children (1,2). Although preventive measures such as masking, physical distancing, hand hygiene, and improved ventilation are commonly used in schools to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and support in-person instruction (3-6), routine school-based COVID-19 testing has not been as widely implemented. In addition to these types of standard preventive measures, Utah health and school partners implemented two high school testing programs to sustain extracurricular activities and in-person instruction and help identify SARS-CoV-2 infections: 1) Test to Play,* in which testing every 14 days was mandated for participation in extracurricular activities; and 2) Test to Stay, which involved school-wide testing to continue in-person instruction as an alternative to transitioning to remote instruction if a school crossed a defined outbreak threshold (3).
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- Prior colonization by certain bacteria, particularly vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), is linked to subsequent infections in ICU patients, prompting the need for effective screening methods.
- The study involved screening ICU patients for VRE and other bacteria using rectal swab cultures during two periods, analyzing a total of 2,452 patients to determine associations with demographics and health outcomes.
- Results indicated a significant association between colonization and VRE, with distinct microbial community structures identified among colonized versus non-colonized patients, suggesting that simultaneous screening for both could enhance infection prevention strategies.
Article Synopsis
- Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), especially the ST258 strain, are increasingly resistant to antibiotics, with ST258 and its variants spreading globally and causing health care concerns due to their ability to cause various infections.* -
- Whole-genome sequencing has revealed that ST258 can be divided into two clades, ST258a and ST258b, with some ST258b strains having a significant gene deletion yet still remaining prevalent in clinical settings.* -
- Transcriptome analysis demonstrated that iron limitation leads to distinct gene expression patterns in the two subtypes, indicating that both clades can adapt to low iron availability despite genetic differences, suggesting the potential for continued survival and growth in hostile environments.*