Development of Nested PCR for SARS-CoV-2 Detection and Its Application for Diagnosis of Active Infection in Cats.

SARS-CoV-2 emerged in 2019 and found diagnostic laboratories unprepared worldwide. To meet the need for timely and accurate virus detection, laboratories used rapid Ag tests and PCR kits based on costly multi-channel real-time techniques. This study aimed to develop a conventional nested PCR based on the SARS-CoV-2 N gene, validate it against some approved assays, and apply it to samples from six cats with respiratory symptoms obtained in early 2020 during the first COVID-19 wave in humans in Bulgaria.

Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of non-invasive S. pneumoniae isolates recovered from PCV10-vaccinated children in Bulgaria.

Purpose: The non-invasive pneumococcal disease (NIPD) is a common infection during childhood. We aimed to define the clonal spread of pediatric non-invasive isolates recovered during the PCV10-period in Bulgaria concerning the serotype and antimicrobial susceptibility.

Materials And Methods: Serogrouping/serotyping were performed using latex agglutination and capsular swelling reaction.

Clonal Distribution, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Pilus Islets in S. pneumoniae Isolates from PCV10-Vaccinated Children with Suppurative AOM in Bulgaria (2015‒2020).

Streptococcus pneumoniae is still a leading bacterial pathogen of acute otitis media (AOM), despite the availability of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs). We conducted a study on the population structure, antibiotic nonsusceptibility, serotype distribution, and presence of pilus in middle ear fluids ‒ S. pneumoniae isolates recovered from PCV10-vaccinated children with suppurative АОМ in Bulgaria.