Human herpesvirus-8 infection in Tunisian adult acute leukemia patients.

Background: Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) has been linked to the development of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)and multiple other hematologic malignant disorders. However, the role of HHV-8 in acute leukemia patients is unknown.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of HHV-8 in Tunisian acute leukemia patients and in healthy blood donors.

Pooling Nasopharyngeal Swab Specimens to Improve Testing Capacity for SARS-CoV-2 by Real-Time RT-PCR.

Background: The detection of SARS-CoV-2 using qRT-PCR with the pooling of samples can reduce workload and costs especially when the prevalence rate of COVID-19 in a population is low. To analyse the effect of pooling samples on the sensitivity of RT-qPCR for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection, we compared the cycle threshold (Ct) values of pools of 5 and 10 that tested positive with Ct values of individual samples that tested positive in that pool. Twenty positive nasopharyngeal (NP) specimens with low to high viral load were selected and pooled individually with four and nine negative NP.

Cytomegalovirus Glycoprotein Polymorphisms and Increasing Viral Load in Non-Transplant Patients with Hematological Malignancies Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Prospective Observational Study.

Introduction: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) predisposes to several clinical complications and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients, including patients with hematological malignancies (HM). The present study was carried out to determine the distribution of CMV glycoprotein B, N, and O (gB, gN, and gO) genotypes and their potential effect on its viral load and on clinical outcomes in a cohort of Tunisian non-hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients with HM undergoing chemotherapy.

Methods: CMV viral load was evaluated by real-time quantitative PCR.

Co-infections of human herpesviruses (CMV, HHV-6, HHV-7 and EBV) in non-transplant acute leukemia patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Background: Human herpesviruses (HHVs) remain latent after primary infection and can be reactivated in response to immunosuppression and chemotherapy. Little is known about their incidence, potential relationships, risk factors and clinical impact in non-transplant leukemia patients. This study investigated prospectively incidence, risk factors, clinical impact and possible association of HHVs-(1-7) infections in patients with newly diagnosed acute leukemia.