Autochthonous Human Babesiosis Caused by Babesia venatorum, the Netherlands.

Severe babesiosis with 9.8% parasitemia was diagnosed in a patient in the Netherlands who had previously undergone splenectomy. We confirmed Babesia venatorum using PCR and sequencing.

Virological and immunological correlates of HIV posttreatment control after temporal antiretroviral therapy during acute HIV infection.

Objective: People with HIV rarely control viral replication after cessation of antiretroviral therapy (ART). We present a person with HIV with extraordinary posttreatment control (PTC) for over 23 years after temporary ART during acute HIV infection (AHI) leading to a new insight in factors contributing to PTC.

Design/methods: Viral reservoir was determined by HIV qPCR, Intact Proviral DNA Assay, and quantitative viral outgrowth assay.

Intent to vaccinate against SARS-CoV-2 and its determinants across six ethnic groups living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands: A cross-sectional analysis of the HELIUS study.

Background: Ethnic minority groups experience a disproportionately high burden of infections, hospitalizations and mortality due to COVID-19, and therefore should be especially encouraged to receive SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. This study aimed to investigate the intent to vaccinate against SARS-CoV-2, along with its determinants, in six ethnic groups residing in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Methods: We analyzed data of participants enrolled in the population-based multi-ethnic HELIUS cohort, aged 24 to 79 years, who were tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and answered questions on vaccination intent from November 23, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

HIV-1-infection in a man who has sex with men despite self-reported excellent adherence to pre-exposure prophylaxis, the Netherlands, August 2021: be alert to emtricitabine/tenofovir-resistant strain transmission.

In August 2021, a man who has sex with men was diagnosed with HIV-1 infection despite using event-driven pre-exposure prophylaxis for over 2 years with self-reported excellent adherence. Sequencing identified resistance-associated mutations (RAM) M184V and K65R, conferring resistance to emtricitabine and tenofovir, and RAM V108I and E138A. Background RAM prevalence was two of 164 (1.

SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence and correlates of six ethnic groups living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands: a population-based cross-sectional study, June-October 2020.

Objectives: It has been suggested that ethnic minorities have been disproportionally affected by the COVID-19. We aimed to determine whether prevalence and correlates of past SARS-CoV-2 exposure varied between six ethnic groups in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Design, Setting, Participants: Participants aged 25-79 years enrolled in the Healthy Life in an Urban Setting population-based prospective cohort (n=16 889) were randomly selected within ethnic groups and invited to participate in a cross-sectional COVID-19 seroprevalence substudy.

Differences in SARS-CoV-2 infections during the first and second wave of SARS-CoV-2 between six ethnic groups in Amsterdam, the Netherlands: A population-based longitudinal serological study.

Background: Surveillance data in high-income countries have reported more frequent SARS-CoV-2 diagnoses in ethnic minority groups. We examined the cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 and its determinants in six ethnic groups in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Methods: We analysed participants enrolled in the population-based HELIUS cohort, who were tested for SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies and answered COVID-19-related questions between June 24-October 9, 2020 (after the first wave) and November 23, 2020-March 31, 2021 (during the second wave).

Diagnostic performance of the ZEUS Borrelia VlsE1/pepC10 assay in European LB patients: a case-control study.

This retrospective case-control study assesses the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve of the ZEUS Borrelia VlsE1/pepC10 assay in comparison with the C6-ELISA in European patients with Lyme borreliosis, healthy blood donors, and potentially cross-reactive controls. We included a convenience series of 161 sera from patients with physician-confirmed early localized or disseminated Lyme borreliosis (n = 143), 400 sera from healthy blood donors and 44 sera with potentially cross-reactive antibodies, on which we performed the aforementioned serological assays and the recomLine immunoblot. Diagnostic parameters were compared in various single-tier and two-tier algorithms.

Clinical evaluation of single-swab sampling for rapid COVID-19 detection in outbreak settings in Dutch nursing homes.

Purpose: To assess whether one swab can be used to perform both the antigen-detection rapid diagnostic test (Ag-RDT) and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for COVID-19 detection during an outbreak in the nursing home (NH) setting.

Methods: The single-swab method (SSM), where the Ag-RDT is performed with the transport medium used for RT-PCR, was evaluated in three Dutch NHs and compared to the laboratory setting. We collected Ag-RDT and RT-PCR results, NH resident characteristics and symptomatology.

Serologic Surveillance and Phylogenetic Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Hospital Health Care Workers.

Importance: It is unclear when, where, and by whom health care workers (HCWs) working in hospitals are infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Objective: To determine how often and in what manner nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection occurs in HCW groups with varying exposure to patients with COVID-19.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study comprised 4 weekly measurements of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies and collection of questionnaires from March 23 to June 25, 2020, combined with phylogenetic and epidemiologic transmission analyses at 2 university hospitals in the Netherlands.

Head-to-head validation of six immunoassays for SARS-CoV-2 in hospitalized patients.

Background: Detecting SARS-CoV-2 antibodies may help to diagnose COVID-19. Head-to-head validation of different types of immunoassays in well-characterized cohorts of hospitalized patients remains needed.

Methods: We validated three chemiluminescence immunoassays (CLIAs) (Liaison, Elecsys, and Abbott) and one single molecule array assay (SIMOA) (Quanterix) for automated analyzers, one rapid immunoassay RIA (AllTest), and one ELISA (Wantai) in parallel in first samples from 126 PCR confirmed COVID-19 hospitalized patients and 158 pre-COVID-19 patients.

Cell-associated HIV-1 RNA predicts viral rebound and disease progression after discontinuation of temporary early ART.

Plasma viral load (VL) and CD4+ T cell count are widely used as biomarkers of HIV type 1 (HIV-1) replication, pathogenesis, and response to antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, the clinical potential of cell-associated (CA) HIV-1 molecular markers is much less understood. Here, we measured CA HIV-1 RNA and DNA in HIV-infected individuals treated with temporary ART initiated during primary HIV-1 infection.

CD32CD4 T Cells Are Highly Enriched for HIV DNA and Can Support Transcriptional Latency.

The HIV latent reservoir forms the major hurdle to an HIV cure. The discovery of CD32 as marker of this reservoir has aroused much interest, but subsequent reports have challenged this finding. Here, we observe a positive correlation between the percentages of CD32 cells among CD4 T cells of aviremic cART-treated, HIV-infected individuals and their HIV DNA loads in peripheral blood.

High pCO promotes coral primary production.

While research on ocean acidification (OA) impacts on coral reefs has focused on calcification, relatively little is known about effects on coral photosynthesis and respiration, despite these being among the most plastic metabolic processes corals may use to acclimatize to adverse conditions. Here, we present data collected between 2016 and 2018 at three natural CO seeps in Papua New Guinea where we measured the metabolic flexibility (i.e.

Thermal performance of scleractinian corals along a latitudinal gradient on the Great Barrier Reef.

Species have evolved different mechanisms to cope with spatial and temporal temperature variability. Species with broad geographical distributions may be thermal generalists that perform well across a broad range of temperatures, or they might contain subpopulations of locally adapted thermal specialists. We quantified the variation in thermal performance of two coral species, Porites cylindrica and Acropora spp.

Dendritic cells potently purge latent HIV-1 beyond TCR-stimulation, activating the PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway.

Background: The latent HIV-1 reservoir in treated patients primarily consists of resting memory CD4 T cells. Stimulating the T-cell receptor (TCR), which facilitates transition of resting into effector T cells, is the most effective strategy to purge these latently infected cells. Here we supply evidence that TCR-stimulated effector T cells still frequently harbor latent HIV-1.

Acquisition of wild-type HIV-1 infection in a patient on pre-exposure prophylaxis with high intracellular concentrations of tenofovir diphosphate: a case report.

Background: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate is highly effective against acquisition of HIV infection, and only two cases of infection with a multidrug-resistant virus have been reported under adequate long-term adherence, as evidenced by tenofovir diphosphate concentrations in dried blood spots. We report a case of wild-type HIV-1 infection despite consistent use of emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.

Methods: The patient participated in the Amsterdam PrEP project, a demonstration project of daily and event-driven PrEP.

From clinical sample to complete genome: Comparing methods for the extraction of HIV-1 RNA for high-throughput deep sequencing.

The BEEHIVE (Bridging the Evolution and Epidemiology of HIV in Europe) project aims to analyse nearly-complete viral genomes from >3000 HIV-1 infected Europeans using high-throughput deep sequencing techniques to investigate the virus genetic contribution to virulence. Following the development of a computational pipeline, including a new de novo assembler for RNA virus genomes, to generate larger contiguous sequences (contigs) from the abundance of short sequence reads that characterise the data, another area that determines genome sequencing success is the quality and quantity of the input RNA. A pilot experiment with 125 patient plasma samples was performed to investigate the optimal method for isolation of HIV-1 viral RNA for long amplicon genome sequencing.

Sources of HIV infection among men having sex with men and implications for prevention.

New HIV diagnoses among men having sex with men (MSM) have not decreased appreciably in most countries, even though care and prevention services have been scaled up substantially in the past 20 years. To maximize the impact of prevention strategies, it is crucial to quantify the sources of transmission at the population level. We used viral sequence and clinical patient data from one of Europe's nationwide cohort studies to estimate probable sources of transmission for 617 recently infected MSM.

Association between gp120 envelope V1V2 and V4V5 variable loop profiles in a defined HIV-1 transmission cluster.

Objective: Variations in the HIV-1 gp120 Env variable loop sequences correlate with virus phenotypes associated with transmission and/or disease progression. We aimed to identify whether signature sequences could be identified in the gp120 Env between acute infection and chronic infection viruses obtained from a group of individuals infected with closely related viruses.

Methods: To analyse acute infection versus chronic infection viruses, we studied a transmission cluster of 11 individuals, in which six presented during acute infection and five during chronic infection.

Twelve-Month Antiretroviral Therapy Suppresses Plasma and Genital Viral Loads but Fails to Alter Genital Levels of Cytokines, in a Cohort of HIV-Infected Rwandan Women.

Background: Genital viral load (GVL) is the main determinant of sexual transmission of human immune-deficiency virus (HIV). The effect of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on local cervico-vaginal immunological factors associated with GVL is poorly described. We aimed to identify the risk factors of detectable GVL, and the impact of ART on HIV genital shedding and its correlates in a cohort of HIV-infected women, attending HIV care in Kigali, Rwanda.

Temporary treatment during primary HIV infection does not affect virologic response to subsequent long-term treatment.

Temporary cART during primary HIV-infection (PHI) did not select for drug resistance mutations after treatment interruption and did not affect the subsequent virological response to long-term cART. Our data demonstrate that fear of drug resistance development is not a valid argument to refrain from temporary early treatment during PHI.

Lactobacillus-dominated cervicovaginal microbiota associated with reduced HIV/STI prevalence and genital HIV viral load in African women.

Cervicovaginal microbiota not dominated by lactobacilli may facilitate transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), as well as miscarriages, preterm births and sepsis in pregnant women. However, little is known about the exact nature of the microbiological changes that cause these adverse outcomes. In this study, cervical samples of 174 Rwandan female sex workers were analyzed cross-sectionally using a phylogenetic microarray.

High prevalence of hepatitis B virus dual infection with genotypes A and G in HIV-1 infected men in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, during 2000-2011.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is divided into 8 definite (A-H) and 2 putative (I, J) genotypes that show a geographical distribution. HBV genotype G, however, is an aberrant genotype of unknown origin that demonstrates severe replication deficiencies and very little genetic variation. It is often found in co-infections with another HBV genotype and infection has been associated with certain risk groups such as intravenous drug users and men having sex with men (MSM).

Triple infection with HIV-1, HTLV-1 and Strongyloides stercoralis, rendering CD4+ T-cell counts a misleading entity.

We report the case of a Gabonese HIV-patient who presented with haemoptysis, weight loss, fulminant diarrhoea and subsequent ileus and elevated CD4+ T-cell counts. He was diagnosed with Strongyloides stercoralis and human T-lymphotrophic virus type-1 infection. After treatment of the strongyloides hyperinfection syndrome, his CD4+ T-cell counts dropped greatly.

Translational HIV-1 research: from routine diagnostics to new virology insights in Amsterdam, the Netherlands during 1983-2013.

An HIV-1 diagnostic laboratory was established in the Academic Medical Center (AMC) of the University of Amsterdam after the discovery of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the cause of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The first AIDS patients were diagnosed here in 1981 and since 1983 we have tested the samples of 50992 patients using a variety of assays that greatly improved over the years. We will describe some of the basic results from this diagnostic laboratory and then focus on the spin-off in terms of the development of novel virus assays to detect super-infections and ultra-sensitive assays to measure the intracellular HIV-1 RNA load.