An unexpected IgE anti-receptor binding domain response following natural infection and different types of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.

Humoral response to SARS-CoV-2 has been studied, predominantly the classical IgG and its subclasses. Although IgE antibodies are typically specific to allergens or parasites, a few reports describe their production in response to SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. Here, we investigated IgE specific to receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 in a Brazilian cohort following natural infection and vaccination.

Multiplex PCR to Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype identification directly in cerebrospinal fluid samples.

Streptococcus pneumoniae causes invasive diseases of significant public health concern, such as meningitis. The culture of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples, the standard technique for meningitis diagnoses, is not always positive. Consequently, meaningful information about the etiological agent is lost, which can compromise effective epidemiological surveillance and the improvement of immunization policies.

Multiplex real-time PCR using SYBR Green: Unspecific intercalating dye to detect antimicrobial resistance genes of Streptococcus pneumoniae in cerebrospinal fluid.

Meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae is still a disease of great impact on Public health, which requires immediate diagnosis and treatment. However, the culture of clinical specimens is often negative and antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) must be performed with isolated strains. Multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) has high sensitivity and specificity, produces faster results to identify the pathogen, and it can also be an important tool to identify resistance antibiotic genes earlier than AST, especially in the absence of an isolated strain.

Recent HIV infections: evaluation of a simple identification score for newly diagnosed patients.

Objective: Recognize incident infection to better characterize the groups that fuel HIV epidemic. We propose a simple score to identify recent infections among newly diagnosed patients as a HIV surveillance tool.

Methods: Newly diagnosed patients were defined as recent infections when a negative serological test in the previous year was available.

SARS-CoV-2 testing among patients and healthcare professionals in an HIV outpatient clinic in Brazil.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil has been marked by high infection and death rates. The immune response generated by current vaccination might be influenced by previous natural infection, and baseline estimates may help in the evaluation of vaccine-induced serological response. We evaluated previous SARS-CoV-2 testing (RT-PCR), and performed rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) and high throughput electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) before vaccination among people living with HIV (PLWH), users of antiretroviral prophylaxis (PrEP/PEP), and healthcare professionals in an HIV outpatient clinic (HCP-HC).

Tuberculosis/COVID-19 co-infection detected in a single sputum sample using a rapid molecular test.

Tuberculosis (TB) and COVID-19 affect the lungs and are transmitted mainly by aerosols or particles of saliva from infected persons. Clinical similarities between diseases can affect correct diagnosis. Individuals belonging to the population deprived of liberty (PDL) are at increased risk of contagion due to precarious sanitary conditions and overcrowded environments.

SARS-CoV-2 intralineage variation and temporal patterns of COVID-19 risk factors in three cities of southeastern Brazil: Age, sex, and race.

The Santo André Regional Center from Adolfo Lutz Institute evaluated 91 537 samples by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from March 2020 to April 2021. The age, sex, and race of patients from three cities in southeastern Brazil, namely São Bernardo do Campo (SBC), Diadema, and Mauá were assessed in association to the rate of positive results using generalized linear models. Circulating lineages were obtained from GISAID and intralineage genetic variation was investigated employing Lasergene software.

Alternative SARS-CoV-2 detection protocol from self-collected saliva for mass diagnosis and epidemiological studies in low-incoming regions.

Until mass vaccination befalls, control of the new betacoronavirus-associated severe acute respiratory syndrome pandemic (SARS-CoV-2) is based on decreasing virus circulation by social distancing and blocking transmission foci after diagnosis. Globally adopted SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic criteria embrace viral RNA detection by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) on nasopharynx secretions, which requires healthcare facilities and specialized personnel for sample collection. To develop an alternative protocol, hydrophilic cotton as the material and saliva as the source for biological sample collection in qRT-PCR/RT-endpoint-PCR SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic methods prepared with local consumables were evaluated using 99 archived nasopharynx samples previously diagnosed as positive for SARS-CoV-2 and 111 prospective saliva samples pared with nasopharynx samples from patients attending the local reference ABC Medical School diagnostic laboratory.

Field evaluation of COVID-19 antigen tests versus RNA based detection: Potential lower sensitivity compensated by immediate results, technical simplicity, and low cost.

One year into the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, diagnostic strategies, although central for contact tracing and other preventive measures, are still limited. To meet the global demand, lower cost and faster antigen tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection are a convenient alternative to the gold standard reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. We tested laboratory-based RT-PCR RNA detection and two rapid antigen detection (RAD) tests, based on the immunochromatography test for nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 Ag ECO Test, ECO Diagnóstica, and Panbio COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Abbott).