SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study after the first wave among persons living and working in an overcrowded Swiss prison.

Purpose: Prisons can be epicentres of infectious diseases. However, empirical evidence on the impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in prison is still scarce. This study aims to estimate the seroprevalence rates of anti-SARS-CoV-2 in the largest and most crowded Swiss prison and compare them with the seroprevalence rate in the general population.

Feasibility of home-based ELISA capillary blood self-testing for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.

Objectives: Serological assays for the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies are crucially needed for research and monitoring of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Antibodies are reliability detected in capillary blood, a minimally invasive and cost-effective alternative to venous blood testing. However, there is a limited knowledge on feasibility of capillary blood self-sampling.

A Comparative Study of Nine SARS-CoV-2 IgG Lateral Flow Assays Using Both Post-Infection and Post-Vaccination Samples.

Background: Since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, lateral flow assays (LFA) detecting specific antibodies have entered the market in abundance. Despite being CE-IVD-labeled, the antigenic compounds of the assays are often unknown, the performance characteristics provided by the manufacturer are often incomplete, and the samples used to obtain the data are not detailed.

Objective: To perform a comparative evaluation of nine lateral flow assays to detect IgG responses against SARS-CoV-2.

[Methicillin-resistant : 15 years of molecular epidemiology in Western Switzerland].

Since the introduction of antibiotics, successive waves of Staphylococcus aureus clones occurred, each one having characteristic susceptibility pattern to antibiotics and virulence factors. We report here the results of a molecular epidemiological surveillance of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in French-speaking Switzerland between 2006 and 2020 showing the emergence and disappearance of clones known for their international dissemination, and the sporadic appearance of other international clones.

SARS-CoV-2 Ig G among Healthcare Workers and the General Population.

It is assumed that healthcare workers are at the highest risk to be infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, few data from healthcare workers who do not primarily take care of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection support this assumption. We investigated the prevalence of immunoglobulin G (Ig G) against SARS-CoV-2 among healthcare workers who do not primarily take care of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and the general population in a well-defined geographical area.

Head-to-Head Evaluation of Five Automated SARS-CoV-2 Serology Immunoassays in Various Prevalence Settings.

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic performances of five automated anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoassays, Epitope (N), Diasorin (S1/S2), Euroimmun (S1), Roche N (N), and Roche S (S-RBD), and to provide a testing strategy based on pre-test probability.

Methods: We assessed the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) areas under the curve (AUC) values, along with the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values (PPVs), and negative predictive values (NPVs), of each assay using a validation sample set of 172 COVID-19 sera and 185 negative controls against a validated S1-immunofluorescence as a reference method. The three assays displaying the highest AUCs were selected for further serodetection of 2033 sera of a large population-based cohort.

Coinfections between Persistent Parasitic Neglected Tropical Diseases and Viral Infections among Prisoners from Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.

In Swiss prisons, more than 70% of detained people are foreigners and over one-third originate from sub-Saharan Africa or Latin America. These two regions are endemic for various tropical diseases and viral infections, which persist after migration to nonendemic countries. Parasitic infections (schistosomiasis; strongyloidiasis) and cooccurrent viral infections (HIV, hepatitis B (HBV), and hepatitis C (HCV)) are especially of concern for clinical care but have been neglected in empirical research.

Hepatitis B prevalence, risk factors, infection awareness and disease knowledge among inmates: a cross-sectional study in Switzerland's largest pre-trial prison.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major health concern in prison, but data are scarce in European prisons. This study aims to measure the prevalence of HBV infection, risk factors, awareness about infection, and HBV knowledge among inmates in Switzerland's largest pre-trial prison.

Methods: Serological blood tests (HBsAg, anti-HBs, and anti-HBc) and a standardized socio-demographic and sexual health survey were offered to consenting prisoners in 2009 and 2011.

In vitro activity of nifuratel on vaginal bacteria: could it be a good candidate for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis?

Bacterial vaginosis is characterized by a shift of the physiological flora to a diverse spectrum of bacteria, where Gardnerella vaginalis and Atopobium vaginae are the most important markers. In this study, the antimicrobial activity of nifuratel against G. vaginalis, A.

Ciclopirox: recent nonclinical and clinical data relevant to its use as a topical antimycotic agent.

Ciclopirox is a topical antimycotic agent belonging to the chemical class of hydroxypyridones and not related to azoles or any other class of antifungal agents. Its antimicrobial profile includes nearly all of the clinically relevant dermatophytes, yeasts and moulds, and is therefore broader than that of most other antimycotics. It is also active against certain frequently azole-resistant Candida species and against some bacteria.

Antifungal activity, experimental infections and nail permeation of an innovative ciclopirox nail lacquer based on a water-soluble biopolymer.

P-3051 is an innovative 8% ciclopirox nail lacquer, based on hydroxypropyl chitosan (HPCH) as a film-forming agent. The authors' aim was to investigate P-3051's in vitro antifungal activity, as well as its in vitro and in vivo nail permeation. The dilution susceptibility tests performed for Trichophyton rubrum (T.

Acid proteinase secreted by Candida tropicalis: functional analysis of preproregion cleavages in C. tropicalis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The 40 kDa secreted aspartyl proteinase (Sapt1) of Candida tropicalis is a pepsin-like enzyme encoded by the SAPT1 gene. According to the deduced amino acid sequence. Sapt1 has a putative preproregion of 60 amino acids preceding the mature enzyme.