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Los Institutos Nacionales de Salud (INS) miembros de la Red Regional Latinoamericana de la Asociación Internacional de Institutos Nacionales de Salud Pública, reunidos en forma presencial en la sede del Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública de México, en la Ciudad de Cuernavaca, los días 5 al 7 de octubre de 2022, contando con la participación de los directores o representantes de los INS de (...

Low Performance of Sinovac Vaccine Particularly With Belatacept Therapy in a Study With Different Types of COVID-19 Vaccines in Transplanted Patients.

The huge impact of SARS-CoV-2 infections on organ transplant recipients makes it necessary to optimize vaccine efficacy in this population. To effectively implement multiple strategies, it is crucial to understand the performance of each type of available vaccine. In our study, the antibody titer was measured, and the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 was evaluated after 90 days of immunization; furthermore, the differences between hybrid immunity, immunity by vaccination, and immunosuppressant type were identified.

Comparison of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibody Responses Generated by the Administration of Ad26.COV2.S, AZD1222, BNT162b2, or CoronaVac: Longitudinal Prospective Cohort Study in the Colombian Population, 2021/2022.

To mitigate the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), vaccines have been rapidly developed and introduced in many countries. In Colombia, the population was vaccinated with four vaccines. Therefore, this research aimed to determine the ability of the vaccines introduced in the National Vaccination Plan to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and induce seroconversion and sought to investigate the longevity of antibodies in the blood.

Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Colombia, 2020: A population-based study.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to cause very high morbidity and mortality throughout Latin American countries. However, few population-based seroprevalence surveys have been conducted to quantify attack rates and characterize drivers of transmission.

Methods: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study to assess the seroprevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in ten cities in Colombia between September and December 2020.

Pregnancy, Birth, Infant, and Early Childhood Neurodevelopmental Outcomes among a Cohort of Women with Symptoms of Zika Virus Disease during Pregnancy in Three Surveillance Sites, Project (VEZ), Colombia, 2016-2018.

Project (VEZ), an intensified surveillance of pregnant women with symptoms of the Zika virus disease (ZVD) in Colombia, aimed to evaluate the relationship between symptoms of ZVD during pregnancy and adverse pregnancy, birth, and infant outcomes and early childhood neurodevelopmental outcomes. During May-November 2016, pregnant women in three Colombian cities who were reported with symptoms of ZVD to the national surveillance system, or with symptoms of ZVD visiting participating clinics, were enrolled in Project VEZ. Data from maternal and pediatric (up to two years of age) medical records were abstracted.

Novel Highly Divergent SARS-CoV-2 Lineage With the Spike Substitutions L249S and E484K.

COVID-19 pandemics has led to genetic diversification of SARS-CoV-2 and the appearance of variants with potential impact in transmissibility and viral escape from acquired immunity. We report a new and highly divergent lineage containing 21 distinctive mutations (10 non-synonymous, eight synonymous, and three substitutions in non-coding regions). The amino acid changes L249S and E484K located at the CTD and RBD of the Spike protein could be of special interest due to their potential biological role in the virus-host relationship.

Substitutions in Spike and Nucleocapsid proteins of SARS-CoV-2 circulating in South America.

SARS-CoV-2 is a new member of the genus Betacoronavirus, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus crossed the species barrier and established in the human population taking advantage of the spike protein high affinity for the ACE receptor to infect the lower respiratory tract. The Nucleocapsid (N) and Spike (S) are highly immunogenic structural proteins and most commercial COVID-19 diagnostic assays target these proteins.

Molecular analysis of several in-house rRT-PCR protocols for SARS-CoV-2 detection in the context of genetic variability of the virus in Colombia.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 is a public health problem unprecedented in the recent history of humanity. Different in-house real-time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) methods for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis and the appearance of genomes with mutations in primer regions have been reported. Hence, whole-genome data from locally-circulating SARS-CoV-2 strains contribute to the knowledge of its global variability and the development and fine tuning of diagnostic protocols.

Neurodevelopmental findings in children 20-30 months of age with postnatal Zika infection at 1-12 months of age, Colombia, September-November 2017.

Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy can cause infant brain and eye abnormalities and has been associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in exposed infants. Evidence is limited on ZIKV's effects on children infected postnatally within the first year of life.

Objective: To determine whether any adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes occurred in early childhood for children infected postnatally with ZIKV during infancy, given the neurotoxicity of ZIKV infection and the rapid brain development that occurs in infancy and early childhood.

Spatial distribution of the relative risk of Zika virus disease in Colombia during the 2015-2016 epidemic from a Bayesian approach.

Objective: To determine the spatial distribution of the risk of Zika virus disease in each region of Colombia during the 2015-2016 epidemic.

Methods: An ecological study was designed to estimate the risks for each Colombian region using first-order neighbors, covariate effects, and three adjacent periods of time (beginning, development, and end of the epidemic) to analyze the spatial distribution of the disease based on a Bayesian hierarchical model.

Results: Spatial distribution of the estimated risks of Zika virus disease showed that it increased in a strip that crosses the central area of the country from west to east.

Dengue, chikungunya and zika virus coinfection: results of the national surveillance during the zika epidemic in Colombia.

Our objective was to determine the frequency of zika (ZIKV), chikungunya (CHIKV) and dengue (DENV) virus coinfection and describe the mortality cases that occurred during the epidemiologic surveillance of the ZIKV epidemic in Colombia. We analysed all cases of suspected ZIKV infection that were reported to the National Institute of Health (October 2015-December 2016). DENV, CHIKV and ZIKV RNA were detected in serum or tissue samples using polymerase chain reaction assay.

Ocular Histopathologic Features of Congenital Zika Syndrome.

Importance: Congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) is known to be associated with severe malformations in newborns. Although microcephaly is the hallmark of this disease, the ocular findings are important given the severe visual impairment that has been observed in these patients. Regardless of the increased number of CZS cases reported, to date, no studies have described the ocular histopathologic findings of this entity.

Zika Virus Disease in Children in Colombia, August 2015 to May 2016.

Background: Children are considered a potentially vulnerable population for Zika virus infection. However, data on paediatric Zika virus infection are sparse.

Methods: We analysed data from Colombia's national surveillance system during the 2015-2016 Zika virus outbreak on patients meeting the clinical case definition of Zika virus disease (ZVD) among children aged 1 month to 18 years to estimate incidence by demographic characteristics and characterize the occurrence of selected complications.

Serial Head and Brain Imaging of 17 Fetuses With Confirmed Zika Virus Infection in Colombia, South America.

Objective: To evaluate fetal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging findings among a series of pregnant women with confirmed Zika virus infection to evaluate the signs of congenital Zika syndrome with respect to timing of infection.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective case series of pregnant women referred to two perinatal clinics in Barranquilla and Ibagué, Colombia, who had findings consistent with congenital Zika syndrome and Zika virus infection confirmed in maternal, fetal, or neonatal samples. Serial ultrasound measurements, fetal magnetic resonance imaging results, laboratory results, and perinatal outcomes were evaluated.

Zika Virus Disease in Colombia - Preliminary Report.

Background: Colombia began official surveillance for Zika virus disease (ZVD) in August 2015. In October 2015, an outbreak of ZVD was declared after laboratory-confirmed disease was identified in nine patients.

Methods: Using the national population-based surveillance system, we assessed patients with clinical symptoms of ZVD from August 9, 2015, to April 2, 2016.