Publications by authors named "Guerrero-Araya E"

The burden of COVID-19 was heterogeneous, indicating that the effects of this disease are synergistic with both other non-communicable diseases and socioeconomic status (SES), highlighting its syndemic character. While the appearance of vaccines moderated the pandemic effects, their coverage was heterogeneous too, both when comparing different countries, and when comparing different populations within countries. Of note, once again SES appears to be a correlated factor.

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is the causative agent of many enterotoxic diseases in humans and animals, and it is present in diverse environments (soil, food, sewage, and water). Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) and Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) have provided a general approach about genetic diversity of ; however, those studies are limited to specific locations and often include a reduced number of genomes. In this study, 372 genomes from multiple locations and sources were used to assess the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relatedness of this pathogen.

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Background: The third wave of the global health crisis attributed to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus reached Colombia in March 2021. Over the following 6 months, it was interpolated by manifestations of popular disapproval to the actual political regime-with multiple protests sprouting throughout the country. Large social gatherings seeded novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) variants in big cities and propagated their facile spread, leading to increased rates of hospitalizations and deaths.

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Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) is a precise microbial typing approach at the intra-species level for epidemiologic and evolutionary purposes. It operates by assigning a sequence type (ST) identifier to each specimen, based on a combination of alleles of multiple housekeeping genes included in a defined scheme. The use of MLST has multiplied due to the availability of large numbers of genomic sequences and epidemiologic data in public repositories.

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Current efforts to understand the epidemiology, transmission dynamics and emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants worldwide has enabled the scientific community to generate critical information aimed at implementing disease surveillance and control measures, as well as to reduce the social, economic and health impact of the pandemic. Herein, we applied an epidemic model coupled with genomic analysis to assess the SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics in Colombia. This epidemic model allowed to identify the geographical distribution, dynamics and predict the course of the pandemic considering current implementation of countermeasures.

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Article Synopsis
  • Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) poses a serious global health threat, with significant changes in its epidemiology over the past 20 years due to genetic variability.
  • An analysis of over 12,000 genomes revealed major taxonomic issues, highlighting the emergence of three new cryptic clades (CI-III) that are much older than previously recognized clades C1-5.
  • These new genomospecies possess unique toxin gene structures, enhancing our understanding of CDI's evolution and potentially affecting how the infection is diagnosed in clinical settings.
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is an obligately anaerobic, spore-forming, Gram-positive pathogenic bacterium that is considered the leading cause of nosocomial diarrhea worldwide. Recent studies have attempted to understand the biology of the outermost layer of spores, the exosporium, which is believed to contribute to early interactions with the host. The fundamental role of the cysteine-rich proteins CdeC and CdeM has been described.

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is a Gram-positive and anaerobic bacterial species previously considered as uncultivable. Although little is known about this family member, its increased abundance has been reported in patients who have recovered from intestinal homeostasis after dysbiosis events. In this context, the aim of the present study was to take advantage of a massive culture protocol that allowed the recovery of extremely oxygen-sensitive species from faecal samples, which led to isolation of .

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B1/NAP1/RT027/ST01 has been responsible for outbreaks of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in clinical settings worldwide and is associated with severe disease presentations and increased mortality rates. Two fluoroquinolone-resistant (FQR) lineages of the epidemic B1/NAP1/RT027/ST01 strain emerged in the USA in the early 1990s and disseminated trans continentally (FQR1 and FQR2). However, it is unclear when and from where they entered Latin America (LA) and whether isolates from LA exhibit unique genomic features when compared to B1/NAP1/RT027/ST01 isolates from other regions of the world.

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Clostridium difficile is a Gram-positive spore-former bacterium and the leading cause of nosocomial antibiotic-associated diarrhea that can culminate in fatal colitis. During the infection, C. difficile produces metabolically dormant spores, which persist in the host and can cause recurrence of the infection.

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Clostridium paraputrificum is a gut microbiota member reported in several cases of bacteremia and coinfections. So far, only one genome sequence of a C. paraputrificum (AGR2156) isolate is available.

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