Publications by authors named "Lydia J Atherton"
Article Synopsis
- The study assessed the effectiveness of the updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine against hospitalization for two variant lineages, XBB and JN, in hospitalized patients across 26 hospitals in the U.S. between October 2023 and March 2024.
- The results indicated a vaccine effectiveness (VE) of 54.2% against XBB and 32.7% against JN, suggesting that the JN lineage may have some level of immune escape.
- However, the severity of cases with the JN lineage was not significantly worse compared to those with the XBB lineage, indicating similar risks of severe outcomes like ICU admission and death.
Background: Assessing COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) and severity of SARS-CoV-2 variants can inform public health risk assessments and decisions about vaccine composition. BA.2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The endemic coronaviruses OC43, HKU1, NL63, and 229E cause cold-like symptoms and are related to SARS-CoV-2, but their natural histories are poorly understood. In a cohort of children followed from birth to 4 years, we documented all coronavirus infections, including SARS-CoV-2, to understand protection against subsequent infections with the same virus (homotypic immunity) or a different coronavirus (heterotypic immunity).
Methods: Mother-child pairs were enrolled in metropolitan Cincinnati during the third trimester of pregnancy in 2017-2018.
Article Synopsis
- Prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infections may pose a risk for the development of mutated variants, particularly in immunocompromised individuals, but the specific types of immunosuppressive conditions that increase this risk have not been extensively studied.
- A study conducted across five US medical centers involved 150 immunocompromised patients to identify factors contributing to extended SARS-CoV-2 infections through regular testing and genetic sequencing.
- Results showed that patients with B-cell dysfunction and those who had solid organ transplants or HIV had longer durations of infection compared to those with autoimmune conditions, indicating varying risks based on the type of immunosuppression.
Notes from the Field: Early Identification of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2.86 Variant by the Traveler-Based Genomic Surveillance Program - Dulles International Airport, August 2023.
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
October 2023
Article Synopsis
- The study focused on prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infections in immunocompromised patients, aiming to identify which types of immunosuppression might lead to longer infections and increased viral mutations.
- Conducted at five hospitals, the research enrolled 150 adults with various immunocompromising conditions and monitored their nasal specimens for changes in viral presence and mutations over several months.
- Results indicated that while prolonged infections were rare, individuals with infections lasting over 56 days developed unique spike mutations not commonly found in the broader population, highlighting the risk of viral evolution in these patients.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) causes serious respiratory tract illness and substantial morbidity and some mortality in populations at the extremes of age, i.e., infants, young children, and the elderly.
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