Fostemsavir resistance-associated polymorphisms in HIV-1 subtype C in a large cohort of treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced individuals in Botswana.

Fostemsavir (FTR) is a newly licensed antiretroviral drug that has been shown to have activity against HIV-1. The mechanism of action of FTR is different from all currently available antiretrovirals (ARVs), and as such, it offers hope for HIV-1 suppression in those people with HIV (PWH) who harbor HIV-1 variants with drug resistance mutations to currently used ARVs. Using 6,030 HIV-1 sequences covering the HIV-1 envelope from PWH in Botswana who are antiretroviral therapy (ART) naïve as well as those who are failing ART, we explored the sequences for FTR resistance-associated polymorphisms.

Comparison of the AmpFire® Multiplex HPV Assay to the Xpert® HPV Assay for detection of human papillomavirus and cervical disease in women with human immunodeficiency virus: a pragmatic performance evaluation.

Background: Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) account for nearly 85% of the global cervical cancer burden, yet have the least access to high-performance screening. International guidelines recommend human papillomavirus testing (HPV) as primary screening, yet implementation is inhibited by the cost of HPV testing. Atila AmpFire® HPV Assay (AmpFire) is both affordable and easy to use, and offers individual genotyping.

Near-complete genome of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant of concern identified in a symptomatic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) in Botswana.

We sought to investigate whether SARS-CoV-2 was present, and to perform full-length genomic sequencing, in a 5-year-old male crossbreed dog from Gaborone, Botswana that presented overt clinical signs (flu-like symptoms, dry hacking cough and mild dyspnoea). It was only sampled a posteriori, because three adult owners were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Next-generation sequencing based on Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) was performed on amplicons that were generated using a reverse transcriptase real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) of confirmed positive SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal and buccal swabs, as well as a bronchoalveolar lavage with mean real cycle threshold (qCt) value of 36 based on the Nucleocapsid (N) gene.

Comparison of the AmpFire Multiplex HPV Assay to the Xpert HPV Assay for detection of human papillomavirus and cervical disease in women with human immunodeficiency virus: A pragmatic performance evaluation.

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) account for nearly 85% of the global cervical cancer burden, yet have the least access to high-performance screening. International guidelines recommend human papillomavirus testing (HPV) as primary screening, yet implementation is inhibited by the cost of HPV testing.Atila AmpFire HPV Assay (AmpFire) is both affordable and easy to use, and offers individual genotyping.

Rapid epidemic expansion of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in southern Africa.

The SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in southern Africa has been characterized by three distinct waves. The first was associated with a mix of SARS-CoV-2 lineages, while the second and third waves were driven by the Beta (B.1.