Access to HIV prevention, testing and care among people with a migration background in Euregio Meuse-Rhine: a needs and assets assessment.

This study addresses disparities among people with a migration background (PMB) and those in less-urban regions, across the HIV prevention and care continuum (HIVPCC). We conducted a needs assessment and assets assessment to identify gaps between existing initiatives and persisting barriers. The research was conducted in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR), encompassing bordering regions in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, and involved in-depth interviews with fifteen first-generation PMB, including nine with HIV.

Screening for cryptococcal antigenemia and meningeal cryptococcosis, genetic characterization of Cryptococcus neoformans in asymptomatic patients with advanced HIV disease in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

We evaluated the prevalence of serum and meningeal cryptococcosis in asymptomatic outpatients with advanced HIV disease (CD4 < 200 cells/mm3) in a cross-sectional screening context in Kinshasa clinics (DRC). Lumbar puncture (LP) was performed in patients with positive serum cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) test, and Cryptococcus spp. isolated from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were identified by MALDI-TOF-MS, and characterized using serotyping-PCR, ITS-sequencing and multilocus sequence typing (MLST).

Circulating inflammatory cytokines predict severity disease in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: A prospective multicenter study of the European DRAGON consortium.

Background: COVID-19 has put a huge strain on the healthcare systems worldwide, requiring unprecedented intensive care resources. There is still an unmet clinical need for easily available biomarkers capable of predicting the risk for severe disease. The main goal of this prospective multicenter study was to identify biomarkers that could predict ICU admission and in-hospital mortality.

Immunological sub-phenotypes and response to convalescent plasma in COVID-19 induced ARDS: a secondary analysis of the CONFIDENT trial.

Background: Convalescent plasma (CP) reduced the mortality in COVID-19 induced ARDS (C-ARDS) patients treated in the CONFIDENT trial. As patients are immunologically heterogeneous, we hypothesized that clusters may differ in their treatment responses to CP.

Methods: We measured 20 cytokines, chemokines and cell adhesion markers using a multiplex technique at the time of inclusion in the CONFIDENT trial in patients of centers having accepted to participate in this secondary study.

[Vaccines in adults : an underestimated pillar of cardiovascular disease prevention].

This brief article focuses on vaccines targeted against five infectious agents that are linked to an increased cardiovascular risk in adults: COVID-19, influenza, pneumococcus, respiratory syncytial virus, and varicella-zoster virus. The article is divided into three parts. Firstly, it outlines the mechanisms responsible for cardiovascular events that occur during and after infections.

Use of hospital big data to optimize and personalize laboratory test interpretation with an application.

Background And Aims: In laboratory medicine, test results are generally interpreted with 95% reference intervals but correlations between laboratory tests are usually ignored. We aimed to use hospital big data to optimize and personalize laboratory data interpretation, focusing on platelet count.

Material And Methods: Laboratory tests were extracted from the hospital database and exploited by an algorithmic stepwise procedure.

[Pneumococcal vaccination among at-risk groups with comorbidities : guidelines from the "Belgian Superior Health Council" and reimbursement criteria].

Streptococcus pneumoniae infections cause community-acquired pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease such as sepsis and acute meningitis. In the adult population, the risk of severe infections, which can be lethal, is particularly high among people aged above 65 years and subgroups with comorbidities. Pneumococcal vaccines underwent progressive improvement and a new conjugated vaccine targeting 20 serotypes (PCV20) is now available.

Multimeric immunotherapeutic complexes activating natural killer cells towards HIV-1 cure.

Background: Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has dramatically extended the life expectancy of people living with HIV-1 and improved their quality of life. There is nevertheless no cure for HIV-1 infection since HIV-1 persists in viral reservoirs of latently infected CD4 T cells. cART does not eradicate HIV-1 reservoirs or restore cytotoxic natural killer (NK) cells which are dramatically reduced by HIV-1 infection, and express the checkpoint inhibitors NKG2A or KIR2DL upregulated after HIV-1 infection.

Convalescent Plasma for Covid-19-Induced ARDS in Mechanically Ventilated Patients.

Background: Passive immunization with plasma collected from convalescent patients has been regularly used to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Minimal data are available regarding the use of convalescent plasma in patients with Covid-19-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Methods: In this open-label trial, we randomly assigned adult patients with Covid-19-induced ARDS who had been receiving invasive mechanical ventilation for less than 5 days in a 1:1 ratio to receive either convalescent plasma with a neutralizing antibody titer of at least 1:320 or standard care alone.

Drivers of the dynamics of the spread of cholera in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2000-2018: An eco-epidemiological study.

Background: The dynamics of the spread of cholera epidemics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), from east to west and within western DRC, have been extensively studied. However, the drivers of these spread processes remain unclear. We therefore sought to better understand the factors associated with these spread dynamics and their potential underlying mechanisms.

Cluster Analysis Identifies Distinct Patterns of T-Cell and Humoral Immune Responses Evolution Following a Third Dose of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in People Living with HIV.

(1) Background: Many vaccines require higher, additional doses or adjuvants to provide adequate protection for people living with HIV (PLWH). Despite their potential risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019, immunological data remain sparse, and a clear consensus for the best booster strategy is lacking. (2) Methods: Using the data obtained from our previous study assessing prospective T-cell and humoral immune responses before and after administration of a third dose of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, we assessed the correlations between immune parameters reflecting humoral and cellular immune responses.

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) in Belgium: results from a national survey.

Background: Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare heritable disorder that is characterized by recurrent, circumscribed, nonpitting, nonpruritic, often painful subepithelial swellings of sudden unpredictable onset that generally fade during 48-72 h. Epidemiological data of hereditary angioedema patients in Belgium is lacking.

Methods: We set up a nation-wide, multicentric study involving the 8 Belgian hospitals known to follow-up patients with Type I and II HAE.

Clinical practice of hereditary angioedema in Belgium: opportunities for optimized care.

Introduction: Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare disorder characterized by unpredictable painful and potentially life-threatening swelling episodes. The international WAO/EAACI guideline on the diagnosis and management of HAE was recently updated and provides up-to-date guidance for the management of. In this paper, we assessed to what extent the Belgian clinical practice was aligned with the revised guideline, and whether there were opportunities to optimise Belgian clinical practice in HAE.

Retention in care and predictors of attrition among HIV-infected patients who started antiretroviral therapy in Kinshasa, DRC, before and after the implementation of the 'treat-all' strategy.

The retention of patients in care is a key pillar of the continuum of HIV care. It has been suggested that the implementation of a "treat-all" strategy may favor attrition (death or lost to follow-up, as opposed to retention), specifically in the subgroup of asymptomatic people living with HIV (PLWH) with high CD4 counts. Attrition in HIV care could mitigate the success of universal antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-limited settings.

The anti-caspase 1 inhibitor VX-765 reduces immune activation, CD4 T cell depletion, viral load, and total HIV-1 DNA in HIV-1 infected humanized mice.

HIV-1 infection results in the activation of inflammasome that may facilitate viral spread and establishment of viral reservoirs. We evaluated the effects of the caspase-1 inhibitor VX-765 on HIV-1 infection in humanized NSG mice engrafted with human CD34 hematopoietic stem cells. Expression of caspase-1, NLRP3, and IL-1β was increased in lymph nodes and bone marrow between day 1 and 3 after HIV-1 infection (mean fold change (FC) of 2.

[Apexxnar®, 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine].

Streptococcus pneumoniae infections cause bacteremic and non-bacteremic community-acquired pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPD) such as bacteremia, sepsis and acute meningitis. They are potentially lethal. Although polysaccharide vaccines (PPV23, Pneumovax 23®) have already provided protection in at-risk individuals, they have been imperfect, mainly because the development of anti-polysaccharide antibodies occurs without the help of T cells.

The Dynamic Relationship between the Intention and Final Decision for the COVID-19 Booster: A Study among Students and Staff at the University of Liège, Belgium.

While many studies have documented the intentions for the COVID-19 vaccine booster, few have explored the change from intention to final decision. This study explores the COVID-19 booster intentions and the change from intention to decision in a primo-vaccinated university population, with a distinction between staff members and students. It looks at the sociodemographic and medical characteristics, health literacy, personal COVID-19 infection and vaccination history, and attitudes/intentions regarding the booster, among the 1030 participants (64.

[Phage therapy, an additional strategy against multidrug-resistant bacteria].

Phages are viruses that infect bacteria in a very specific way. They are naturally present throughout the biosphere and are also involved in various biological processes in humans. The beginning of the twentieth century saw the birth of phage therapy which consisted of using phages to fight against bacterial infections.