Publications by authors named "Carlos Davina Nunez"
Background: The development of new large-scale saliva pooling detection strategies can significantly enhance testing capacity and frequency for asymptomatic individuals, which is crucial for containing SARS-CoV-2.
Objective: This study aims to implement and scale-up a SARS-CoV-2 screening method using pooled saliva samples to control the virus in critical areas and assess its effectiveness in detecting asymptomatic infections.
Methods: Between August 2020 and February 2022, our laboratory received a total of 928,357 samples.
Background: To infer a reliable SARS-CoV-2 antibody protection level from a serological test, an appropriate quantitative threshold and solid equivalence across serological tests are needed. Additionally, tests should show a solid correlation with neutralising assays and with the protection observed in large population cohorts even against emerging variants.
Objectives: We studied convalescent and vaccinated populations using 11 commercial antibody assays.
Article Synopsis
- The study examines how social restrictions and different variants, specifically Alpha, Delta, and Omicron-BA.1, affected the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Galicia, Spain.
- Using genomic data and mobility statistics, the research found that initial variant introductions mostly came from other Spanish regions and France, later shifting to include imports from Portugal and the U.S.
- Despite the number of introductions, most did not contribute significantly to the pandemic's evolution in Galicia, but major coastal cities were identified as key areas for viral transmission.
To control the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, healthcare systems have focused on ramping up their capacity for epidemiological surveillance through viral whole genome sequencing. In this paper, we tested the performance of two protocols of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid enrichment, an amplicon enrichment using different versions of the ARTIC primer panel and a hybrid-capture method using KAPA RNA Hypercap. We focused on the challenge of the Omicron variant sequencing, the advantages of automated library preparation and the influence of the bioinformatic analysis in the final consensus sequence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study investigates how social restrictions and different variants, specifically Alpha, Delta, and Omicron, affected SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Galicia, Spain.
- Using genomic data and mobility information, the research shows that the Alpha variant initially spread from other Spanish regions and France, while later variants saw increased influences from Portugal and the USA.
- Key coastal cities in Galicia were identified as significant hubs for the virus's dissemination, underscoring the importance of regional connectivity for public health strategies.
The Modification of the Illumina CovidSeq™ Workflow for RSV Genomic Surveillance: The Genetic Variability of RSV during the 2022-2023 Season in Northwest Spain.
Int J Mol Sci
November 2023
Article Synopsis
- There is an increasing focus on tracking the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) for emerging mutations that may affect the effectiveness of antiviral treatments.
- A new scalable protocol for enhancing viral nucleic acid analysis has been developed based on the Illumina CovidSeq workflow, successfully sequencing numerous RSV genomes.
- This method achieved significant coverage of key viral genes and identified mutations linked to reduced treatment efficacy, aiding in timely detection and response to potential RSV mutations.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been and remains one of the major challenges modern society has faced thus far. Over the past few months, large amounts of information have been collected that are only now beginning to be assimilated. In the present work, the existence of residual information in the massive numbers of rRT-PCRs that tested positive out of the almost half a million tests that were performed during the pandemic is investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: SARS-CoV-2 variant tracking is key to the genomic surveillance of the COVID-19 pandemic. While next-generation sequencing (NGS) is commonly used for variant determination, it is expensive and time-consuming. Variant-specific PCR (vsPCR) is a faster, cheaper method that detects specific mutations that are considered variant-defining.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF