Publications by authors named "J Gubbay"
Article Synopsis
- A new oral antiviral called nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) was approved in Canada to combat COVID-19, but there are concerns about mutations in the M protein that could lead to resistance.
- A study analyzed over 93,000 M gene sequences from Ontario to assess the prevalence and trends of M mutations associated with nirmatrelvir resistance.
- Results indicated a slight decline in non-synonymous M mutations over time, with a very low incidence of resistant mutations, suggesting minimal widespread resistance to nirmatrelvir among Omicron variants in Ontario as of September 2023.
Article Synopsis
- False positive norovirus results were suspected after using the BioFire® FilmArray® Gastrointestinal panel at six labs in British Columbia, prompting further investigation.
- The study involved additional molecular testing and whole genome sequencing (WGS) to confirm results from BF-GIP, with 215 out of 784 results initially suspecting false positives.
- Ultimately, it was found that BF-GIP does produce false positives for norovirus, and these cannot be reliably predicted through a review of melting curves.
Article Synopsis
- This study aimed to evaluate how effective the MVA-BN vaccine is at preventing mpox infections in real-world settings, specifically in Ontario, Canada.
- Researchers matched vaccinated men (who received the vaccine at least 15 days prior) with unvaccinated men based on several health and demographic factors, assessing the rate of mpox infections over a 153-day period.
- Results indicated that the MVA-BN vaccine was about 58% effective in reducing the risk of mpox infection compared to unvaccinated individuals, suggesting that it can be a valuable tool in controlling outbreaks.
Introduction: The incidence of varicella in Canada has decreased by almost 99% since vaccination was introduced. However, variation in the timing and eligibility of vaccination programs across the country has resulted in some cohorts being under-vaccinated and therefore potentially susceptible to infection.
Methods: We used nationally representative specimens from the Biobank of Statistics Canada's Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) as well as residual specimens from Ontario collected between 2009-2014 to estimate population immunity across age-groups and geography, and identify any groups at increased risk of varicella infection.