A longitudinal study on SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion, reinfection and neutralisation spanning several variant waves and vaccination campaigns, Heinsberg, Germany, April 2020 to November 2022.

BackgroundSince its emergence in December 2019, over 700 million people worldwide have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 up to May 2024. While early rollout of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 has saved many lives, there was increasing immune escape of new virus variants. Longitudinal monitoring of population-wide SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses from regular sample collection irrespective of symptoms provides representative data on infection and seroconversion/seroreversion rates.

Non-structural genes of novel lemur adenoviruses reveal codivergence of virus and host.

Adenoviruses (AdVs) are important human and animal pathogens and are frequently used as vectors for gene therapy and vaccine delivery. Surprisingly, there are only scant data regarding primate AdV origin and evolution, especially in the most basal primate hosts. We detect and sequence AdVs from faeces of two Madagascan lemur species.

Infection fatality rate of SARS-CoV2 in a super-spreading event in Germany.

A SARS-CoV2 super-spreading event occurred during carnival in a small town in Germany. Due to the rapidly imposed lockdown and its relatively closed community, this town was seen as an ideal model to investigate the infection fatality rate (IFR). Here, a 7-day seroepidemiological observational study was performed to collect information and biomaterials from a random, household-based study population.

Exhaustive TORCH Pathogen Diagnostics Corroborate Zika Virus Etiology of Congenital Malformations in Northeastern Brazil.

The Latin American 2015-2016 Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak was associated with an increase in microcephaly predominantly in northeastern Brazil. To comparatively investigate infectious causes of congenital malformations, we performed a nested case-control study in 32 mothers of cases of suspected congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) and 160 age-matched controls from Bahia, northeastern Brazil. We collected clinical and imaging data and assessed past exposure to ZIKV, Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), dengue virus, and 8 established TORCH (, , rubella virus, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus 1 [HSV-1] and HSV-2, varicella-zoster virus, parvovirus B19) pathogens using multiple serological tests.

Assay optimization for molecular detection of Zika virus.

Objective: To examine the diagnostic performance of real-time reverse transcription (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for Zika virus detection.

Methods: We compared seven published real-time RT-PCR assays and two new assays that we have developed. To determine the analytical sensitivity of each assay, we constructed a synthetic universal control ribonucleic acid (uncRNA) containing all of the assays' target regions on one RNA strand and spiked human blood or urine with known quantities of African or Asian Zika virus strains.

Genetic variation and recombination in Aichi virus.

Aichi virus (AiV), a member of the genus Kobuvirus in the family Picornaviridae, causes gastroenteritis in humans. It was noted that AiV differs from other picornaviruses in its unusually high C content and a very high degree of genome-ordered RNA secondary structures. However, the genetic variability and mutational restrictions on a full-genome scale have not been studied.

Human cardioviruses, meningitis, and sudden infant death syndrome in children.

Cardioviruses cause myocarditis and encephalomyelitis in rodents; human cardioviruses have not been ascribed to any disease. We screened 6,854 cerebrospinal fluid and 10 myocardium specimens from children and adults. A genotype 2 cardiovirus was detected from a child who died of sudden infant death syndrome, and 2 untypeable cardioviruses were detected from 2 children with meningitis.

Aichi virus shedding in high concentrations in patients with acute diarrhea.

We assessed Aichi virus shedding in patients with gastroenteritis and negative test results for other viral and bacterial infections. High concentrations of up to 1.32 × 1012 RNA copies/g stool were found in 10 (2.

Novel human parechovirus from Brazil.

Human parechoviruses (HPeVs) were detected by reverse transcription-PCR in 16.1% of 335 stool samples from children <6 years of age with enteritis in Salvador, Brazil. Whole genome sequencing of 1 sample showed a novel HPeV that has been designated as HPeV8.