Three exposures to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 by either infection or vaccination elicit superior neutralizing immunity to all variants of concern.

Infection-neutralizing antibody responses after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection or coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination are an essential component of antiviral immunity. Antibody-mediated protection is challenged by the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VoCs) with immune escape properties, such as omicron (B.1.

Rapid and sensitive identification of omicron by variant-specific PCR and nanopore sequencing: paradigm for diagnostics of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.

On November 26, 2021, the World Health Organization classified B.1.1.

Multicentre comparison of quantitative PCR-based assays to detect SARS-CoV-2, Germany, March 2020.

Containment strategies and clinical management of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients during the current pandemic depend on reliable diagnostic PCR assays for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Here, we compare 11 different RT-PCR test systems used in seven diagnostic laboratories in Germany in March 2020. While most assays performed well, we identified detection problems in a commonly used assay that may have resulted in false-negative test results during the first weeks of the pandemic.

The polyomaviruses WUPyV and KIPyV: a retrospective quantitative analysis in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Background: The polyomaviruses WUPyV and KIPyV have been detected in various sample types including feces indicating pathogenicity in the gastrointestinal (GI) system. However, quantitative viral load data from other simultaneously collected sample types are missing. As a consequence, primary replication in the GI system cannot be differentiated from swallowed virus from the respiratory tract.