Corrigendum to: "High prevalence of hepatitis E and rat hepatitis E viruses in wastewater in Gothenburg, Sweden" [One Health, volume 19, article number 100882].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.onehlt.

Immunogenicity of Comirnaty Omicron XBB.1.5 booster COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in long-term survivors after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Primary mRNA vaccination against COVID-19 typically involves three doses for immunocompromised individuals, including hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) recipients. However, optimal subsequent boosting strategies remain unclear. This study aimed to assess the immunogenicity of a booster dose using the most recently updated vaccine (Comirnaty Omicron XBB.

High prevalence of hepatitis E and rat hepatitis E viruses in wastewater in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) and Rat Hepatitis E virus (RHEV), recognized for their zoonotic potential, pose significant public health concerns. Our previous research identified both viruses in effluent wastewater in Gothenburg, Sweden. However, there are lingering inquiries regarding the prevalence and genetic diversity of these viruses in influent wastewater, as well as the utility of wastewater surveillance in elucidating their community circulation dynamics.

Presence of MDSC associates with impaired antigen-specific T cell reactivity following COVID-19 vaccination in cirrhotic patients.

Background And Aims: Cirrhosis entails high risk of serious infections and abated efficiency of vaccination, but the underlying mechanisms are only partially understood. This study aimed at characterizing innate and adaptive immune functions, including antigen-specific T cell responses to COVID-19 vaccination, in patients with compensated and decompensated cirrhosis.

Methods: Immune phenotype and function in peripheral blood from 42 cirrhotic patients and 44 age-matched healthy controls were analysed after two doses of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines [BNT162b2 (Pfizer BioNTech) or mRNA-1273 (Moderna)].

High Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances and Antibody Responses to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine-an Observational Study in Adults from Ronneby, Sweden.

Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widely used, environmentally ubiquitous, and stable chemicals that have been associated with lower vaccine-induced antibody responses in children; however, data on adults are limited. The drinking water from one of the two waterworks in Ronneby, Sweden, was heavily contaminated for decades with PFAS from firefighting foams, primarily perfluorohexane sulfonic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 offered a unique opportunity to investigate antibody responses to primary vaccination in adults who had been exposed to PFAS.

Catch-up antibody responses and hybrid immunity in mRNA vaccinated patients at risk of severe COVID-19.

Background: The immunogenicity of repeated vaccination and hybrid immunity in vulnerable patients remains unclear.

Methods: We studied the impact of iterative Covid-19 mRNA vaccination and hybrid immunity on antibody levels in immunosuppressed subjects. Patients with liver cirrhosis ( = 38), survivors of allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) ( = 36) and patients with autoimmune liver disease ( = 14) along with healthy controls ( = 20) were monitored for SARS-CoV-2-S1 IgG after their 1st-3rd vaccine doses, 31 of whom became infected with the Omicron variant after the 2nd dose.

Measures against COVID-19 affected the spread of human enteric viruses in a Swedish community, as found when monitoring wastewater.

The quantification of viral genomes in wastewater reflects the prevalence of viral infections within the community. Knowledge of how the spread of common enteric viruses in the community was affected by the Swedish COVID-19 interventions is limited. To investigate this, the weekly wastewater samples collected for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 throughout the COVID-19 pandemic at the Rya sewage treatment plant in Gothenburg were also analyzed for adenovirus, norovirus GII, astrovirus, and rotavirus.

Hepatitis D double reflex testing of all hepatitis B carriers in low-HBV- and high-HBV/HDV-prevalence countries.

Hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection occurs as a coinfection with hepatitis B and increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, decompensated cirrhosis, and mortality compared to hepatitis B virus (HBV) monoinfection. Reliable estimates of the prevalence of HDV infection and disease burden are essential to formulate strategies to find coinfected individuals more effectively and efficiently. The global prevalence of HBV infections was estimated to be 262,240,000 in 2021.

Induction and subsequent decline of S1-specific T cell reactivity after COVID-19 vaccination.

We analyzed magnitude and duration of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses in healthy, infection-naïve subjects receiving COVID-19 vaccines. Overlapping peptides spanning the N-terminal spike 1 (S1) domain of the spike protein triggered secretion of the T cell-derived cytokine interleukin-2 ex vivo in 94/94 whole blood samples from vaccinated subjects at levels exceeding those recorded in all 45 pre-vaccination samples. S1-specific T cell reactivity was stronger in vaccinated subjects compared with subjects recovering from natural COVID-19 and decayed with an estimated half-life of 134 days in the first six months after the 2nd vaccination.

Hepatitis E Virus Infection, a Risk for Liver Transplant Recipients in Sweden.

Unlabelled: Following exposure to hepatitis E virus (HEV), liver transplant (LT) recipients have an increased risk of developing chronic infection, which may rapidly progress to severe liver damage if not treated. The prevalence of HEV infection after LT is unclear and likely varies geographically. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of acute and chronic HEV infection among LT recipients in an HEV endemic region.

High real-world effectiveness of 12-week elbasvir/grazoprevir without resistance testing in the treatment of patients with HCV genotype 1a infection in Norway.

Background And Aims: The recommended treatment duration of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1a (GT1a) infection with elbasvir/grazoprevir (EBR/GZR) in the presence of a high baseline viral load and resistance associated substitutions (RAS) is 16 weeks with ribavirin added. The objective of this study was to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of 12 weeks of EBR/GZR without ribavirin and regardless of baseline viral load and RAS testing.

Method: This retrospective, observational cohort study was performed at five Norwegian hospitals that did not systematically utilize RAS testing.

The amount of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater relates to the development of the pandemic and its burden on the health system.

Virus surveillance in wastewater can be a useful indicator of the development of the COVID-19 pandemic in communities. However, knowledge about how the amount of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater relates to different data on the burden on the health system is still limited. Herein, we monitored the amount of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and the spectrum of virus variants in weekly pooled wastewater samples for two years from mid-February 2020 and compared them with several clinical data.

Transient and durable T cell reactivity after COVID-19.

This study analyzed whole blood samples ( = 56) retrieved from 30 patients at 1 to 21 (median 9) mo after verified COVID-19 to determine the polarity and duration of antigen-specific T cell reactivity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-derived antigens. Multimeric peptides spanning the entire nucleocapsid protein triggered strikingly synchronous formation of interleukin (IL)-4, IL-12, IL-13, and IL-17 ex vivo until ∼70 d after confirmed infection, whereafter this reactivity was no longer inducible. In contrast, levels of nucleocapsid-induced IL-2 and interferon-γ remained stable and highly correlated at 3 to 21 mo after infection.

Impaired SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell reactivity in patients with cirrhosis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.

Background & Aims: Cirrhosis entails elevated risk of COVID-19-associated mortality. This study determined T cell-mediated and antibody reactivity against the spike 1 (S1) protein of SARS-CoV-2 among 48 patients with cirrhosis and 39 healthy controls after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.

Methods: SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell reactivity was measured by induced level of T cell-derived interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in blood cells stimulated with multimeric peptides spanning the N-terminal portion of S1.

Deficiency of SARS-CoV-2 T-cell responses after vaccination in long-term allo-HSCT survivors translates into abated humoral immunity.

Recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) for hematological diseases are at risk of severe disease and death from COVID-19. To determine the safety and immunogenicity of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines, samples from 50 infection-naive allo-HSCT recipients (median, 92 months from transplantation, range, 7-340 months) and 39 healthy controls were analyzed for serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) against the receptor binding domain (RBD) within spike 1 (S1) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; anti-RBD-S1 IgG) and for SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell immunity, reflected by induction of T-cell-derived interferon-γ in whole blood stimulated ex vivo with 15-mer SI-spanning peptides with 11 amino acid overlap S1-spanning peptides. The rate of seroconversion was not significantly lower in allo-transplanted patients than in controls with 24% (12/50) and 6% (3/50) of patients remaining seronegative after the first and second vaccination, respectively.

Rapid Cytokine Release Assays for Analysis of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2-Specific T Cells in Whole Blood.

Background: Waning of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) complicates the diagnosis of past infection. The durability of T-cell memory against SARS-CoV-2 remains unclear, and most current T-cell protocols are unsuited for large-scale automation.

Methods: Whole-blood samples from 31 patients with verified past coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and 46 controls, of whom 40 received COVID-19 vaccine, were stimulated with peptides spanning the nucleocapsid (NC) or spike 1 (S1) regions of SARS-CoV-2 and analyzed for interferon γ in supernatant plasma.

Presence of interferon-λ 4, male gender, absent/mild steatosis and low viral load augment antibody levels to hepatitis C virus.

Objectives: Despite recombinant interferon-λ 4 (IFN-λ4) demonstrating anti-viral activity and the ancestral functional gene () being conserved in all other primates, there has been speculation that IFN-λ4 may be detrimental in humans. In light of recent rekindled interest in humoral immunity, this study aimed at evaluating the impact of baseline characteristics, including , on antibody levels to hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Materials And Methods: Pretreatment sera from 279 well-characterized North European Caucasians with chronic HCV genotype 2 or 3 infection having undergone liver biopsy were analyzed regarding (rs12979860) and anti-HCV antibody levels using a commercially available assay.

Hepatitis C elimination in Sweden: Progress, challenges and opportunities for growth in the time of COVID-19.

Background & Aims: In 2014, the burden of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Sweden was evaluated, to establish a baseline and inform public health interventions. Considering the changing landscape of HCV treatment, prevention, and care, and in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this analysis seeks to evaluate Sweden's progress towards the World Health Organization (WHO) elimination targets and identify remaining barriers.

Methods: The data used for modelling HCV transmission and disease burden in Sweden were obtained through literature review, unpublished sources and expert input.

Absence of interferon-λ 4 enhances spontaneous clearance of acute hepatitis C virus genotypes 1-3 infection.

Objectives: Absence of a functional interferon-λ 4 (IFN-λ4) gene () predicts spontaneous resolution of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in regions with a predominance of genotype 1, whereas variants of the inosine triphosphate pyrophosphatase (ITPase) gene () entailing reduced activity associate with increased sustained virologic response rates following some therapeutic regimens. This study aimed at investigating the impact of on acute HCV genotype 2 or 3 infections, and whether ITPase activity influenced outcome.

Materials And Methods: Two hundred and seven people who injected drugs (PWID) with documented anti-HCV seroconversion, and 57 PWID with reinfection with HCV were analyzed regarding (rs368234815 and rs12979860) and (rs1127354 and rs7270101), and longitudinally followed regarding HCV RNA.

Surveillance of wastewater revealed peaks of SARS-CoV-2 preceding those of hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

SARS-CoV-2 was discovered among humans in Wuhan, China in late 2019, and then spread rapidly, causing a global pandemic. The virus was found to be transmitted mainly by respiratory droplets from infected persons or by direct contact. It was also shown to be excreted in feces, why we investigated whether the virus could be detected in wastewater and if so, to which extent its levels reflects its spread in society.

Sick leave and disability pension in patients with chronic hepatitis C compared with a matched general population: a nationwide register study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate sick leave and disability pension in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection as compared with a matched general population cohort.

Design: Retrospective register study.

Setting: Nationwide in Sweden.

The relation of 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentrations to liver histopathology, seasonality and baseline characteristics in chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 2 or 3 infection.

Background And Objectives: The hydroxylation to 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) occurs in the liver and the impact of liver disease on vitamin D is unclear. This study evaluated the relationship between vitamin D concentrations and hepatic histopathology, seasonality and patient characteristics in well-characterized patients having undergone a liver biopsy.

Method: 25(OH)D was measured post-hoc in pre-treatment serum from 331 North European patients with chronic HCV genotype 2 or 3 infection (NORDynamIC study).