Vaccines (Basel)
January 2024
The recently emerged SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sublineages, including the BA.2-derived XBB.1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe raising of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants led to the use of COVID-19 bivalent vaccines, which include antigens of the wild-type (WT) virus, and of the Omicron strain. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of bivalent vaccination on the neutralizing antibody (NAb) response. We enrolled 93 volunteers who had received three or four doses of monovalent vaccines based on the original virus (n = 61), or a booster shot with the bivalent vaccine (n = 32).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present case study describes the dermatological manifestations of COVID-19 in a patient with genetic thrombophilia (MTHFR-C677T mutation) and the identification of a SARS-CoV-2 variant of interest (VOI). A female patient, 47 years old, unvaccinated, with thrombophilia, was diagnosed with COVID-19. She presented with urticarial and maculopapular eruptions from the seventh day of symptoms, which progressed to multiple lesions with dark centers (D-dimer value > 1450 ng/mL).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccines (Basel)
February 2023
Background: Here, we investigated the impact of IFN-lambda-3 polymorphism on specific IgG responses for COVID-19 in older adults seropositive for CMV.
Methods: Blood samples of 25 older adults of both sexes were obtained at three different times: during a micro-outbreak (MO) of SARS-CoV-2 in 2020; eight months after (CURE); and 30 days after the administration of the second dose of ChadOx-1 vaccine (VAC). The specific IgG for both SARS-CoV-2 and CMV antigens, neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, and also the polymorphism profile for IFN-lambda-3 (rs12979860 C > T) were assessed.
We investigated the anti-SARS-CoV-2 post-vaccine response through serum and salivary antibodies, serum antibody neutralizing activity and cellular immune response in samples from health care workers who were immunized with two doses of an inactivated virus-based vaccine (CoronaVac) who had or did not have COVID-19 previously. IgA and IgG antibodies directed at the spike protein were analysed in samples of saliva and/or serum by ELISA and/or chemiluminescence assays; the neutralizing activity of serum antibodies against reference strain B, Gamma and Delta SARS-CoV-2 variants were evaluated using a virus neutralization test and SARS-CoV-2 reactive interferon-gamma T-cell were analysed by flow cytometry. CoronaVac was able to induce serum and salivary IgG anti-spike antibodies and IFN-γ producing T cells in most individuals who had recovered from COVID-19 and/or were vaccinated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was confirmed in Brazil in February 2020, the first cases were followed by an increase in the number of cases throughout the country, resulting in an important public health crisis that requires fast and coordinated responses.
Objectives: The objective of this work is to describe the isolation and propagation properties of SARS-CoV-2 isolates from the first confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Brazil.
Methods: After diagnosis in patients that returned from Italy to the São Paulo city in late February by RT-PCR, SARS-CoV-2 isolates were obtained in cell cultures and characterised by full genome sequencing, electron microscopy and in vitro replication properties.