Twenty-Month Monitoring of Humoral Immune Response to BNT162b2 Vaccine: Antibody Kinetics, Breakthrough Infections, and Adverse Effects.

Background: Vaccination is one of the most effective life-saving medical interventions, and the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines was intended to prevent the serious implications of COVID-19. The objectives of the study were (i) to observe the humoral immune response to the BNT162b2 vaccine and SARS-CoV-2 infection (mainly breakthrough infections), (ii) to demonstrate the persistence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies over time in relation to the number of received vaccine doses and the course of infection, and (iii) to determine the adverse effects after primary vaccine doses.

Methods: To assess the humoral response, IgG and IgA anti-S1 antibodies were quantified by ELISA assays.

[Problems with identification of beta-hemolytic streptococcus resistant to bacitracin isolated from patients with pharyngitis].

Introduction: The genus Streptococcus comprises a number of species characterized by a differential pathogenic potential. These bacteria can be considered as members of microbial physiological flora but they can also cause mild infections or severe, life threatening conditions. The majority of infections of streptococcal etiology are caused by beta-hemolysing species.

Molecular surveillance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat fingerprinting (formerly multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis) and spa typing in a hierarchic approach.

In this study, clonal relatedness of 202 Staphylococcus aureus (mostly methicillin-resistant) isolates recovered in 29 Polish hospitals was investigated by multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat fingerprinting (MLVF) and spa typing. Our analysis yielded 69 MLVF patterns and 34 spa types. Almost all isolates (97.

[Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in patients with advanced carotid atherosclerosis].

Despite the growing number of scientific reports showing different markers of infection caused by Chlamydia pneumoniae in patients with advanced atherosclerosis, there is still no clear confirmation of a pathogenetic link between this infection and atherogenesis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence C. pneumoniae DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and carotid endarterectomy samples obtained from patients with advanced atherosclerosis according to the presence specific antibodies against C.