Molecular Detection of SARS-CoV-2 From Throat Swabs Performed With or Without Specimen Collection From the Tonsils: Protocol for a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Testing for SARS-CoV-2 is essential to provide early COVID-19 treatment for people at high risk of severe illness and to limit the spread of infection in society. Proper upper respiratory specimen collection is the most critical step in the diagnosis of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in public settings, and throat swabs were the preferred specimens used for mass testing in many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is still a discussion about whether throat swabs have a high enough sensitivity for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing, as previous studies have reported a large variability in the sensitivity from 52% to 100%.

Patterns of testing in the extensive Danish national SARS-CoV-2 test set-up.

Background: The Danish national SARS-CoV-2 mass test system was among the most ambitious worldwide. We describe its set-up and analyse differences in patterns of testing per demography and time period in relation to the three waves of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Denmark.

Methods: We included all reported PCR- and rapid antigen-tests performed between 27 February 2020 and 10 March 2022 among all residents aged 2 years or above.

Evaluation of four laboratory-based high-throughput SARS-CoV-2 automated antigen tests compared to RT-PCR on nasal and oropharyngeal samples.

Background: The demand for RT-PCR testing has been unprecedented during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Fully automated antigen tests (AAT) are less cumbersome than RT-PCR, but data on performance compared to RT-PCR are scarce.

Methods: The study consists of two parts.

Combined nasal- and oropharyngeal self-swab provides equivalent performance compared to professionally collected oropharyngeal swabs in detecting SARS-CoV-2 in a real-life setting.

Purpose: To investigate the performance of a combined nasal midturbinate- and oropharyngeal (NAOP) self-swab compared to a deep oropharyngeal (OP) swab by health care workers (HCW) in detecting SARS-CoV-2 in a real-life setting.

Methods: Paired swabs from 1119 participants were included. RT-PCR were used to detect SARS-CoV-2 in both swab samples.

A nationwide analytical and clinical evaluation of 44 rapid antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 compared to RT-qPCR.

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has resulted in massive testing by Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) without solid independent data regarding clinical performance being available. Thus, decision on purchase of a specific RAT may rely on manufacturer-provided data and limited peer-reviewed data.

Methods: This study consists of two parts.

Increased transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 by age and viral load.

New lineages of SARS-CoV-2 are of potential concern due to higher transmissibility, risk of severe outcomes, and/or escape from neutralizing antibodies. Lineage B.1.

A Biosecurity Survey in Kenya, November 2014 to February 2015.

A biosecurity survey was performed to gather information on the biosecurity level and laboratory capacity in Kenya for the purpose of providing information outlining relevant components for biosecurity legislation, biosecurity implementation, and enforcement of biosecurity measures in Kenya. This survey is, to the authors' knowledge, the first to be published from an African country. A total of 86 facilities with laboratories covering relevant categories, such as training laboratories, human diagnostic laboratories, veterinary diagnostic laboratories, and research laboratories, were selected to participate in the survey.

Modernizing stockpiles of medical countermeasures against smallpox: Benefits, risks, and knowledge gaps.

Objective: New smallpox medical countermeasures are entering the marketplace, offering the opportunity to modernize existing stockpiles. However, new smallpox countermeasures are developed under the animal rule, meaning that human efficacy data are lacking, and human safety data may be limited. Also, stockpile modernization would require prioritization of increasingly limited public funds.

Development of an ELISA for evaluation of swab recovery efficiencies of bovine serum albumin.

After a potential biological incident the sampling strategy and sample analysis are crucial for the outcome of the investigation and identification. In this study, we have developed a simple sandwich ELISA based on commercial components to quantify BSA (used as a surrogate for ricin) with a detection range of 1.32-80 ng/mL.

Evaluating 6 ricin field detection assays.

This study presents data showing the performance of 6 commercial detection assays against ricin around concentrations specified as detection limits by the producers. A 2-fold dilution series of 20 ng/ml ricin was prepared and used for testing the lateral-flow kits: BADD, Pro Strips™, ENVI, RAID DX, Ricin BioThreat Alert, and IMASS™ device. Three of the 6 tested field assays (IMASS™ device, ENVI assay, and the BioThreat Alert assay) were able to detect ricin, although differences in the measured detection limits compared to the official detection limits and false-negative results were observed.

Botulinum toxin field assays evaluated using cosmetic botox preparations.

Several quick tests for identifying botulinum toxins (BoNTs) are commercially available, but generally these tests have not been evaluated by independent laboratories. This study presents data on the evaluation of a number of commercial tests and demonstrates the use of cosmetic preparations of BoNT A and B as positive controls. For reference we used an in-house ELISA procedure.

Concurrent infections and socioeconomic determinants of geohelminth infection: a community study of schoolchildren in periurban Guinea-Bissau.

We explored the association between subclinical intestinal helminth infections and other gastrointestinal pathogens in 706 schoolchildren from a poor semirural area while adjusting for socioeconomic risk factors. The study was carried out in two neighbouring areas in the capital of Guinea-Bissau in West Africa. Children aged 4-12 years were visited and one child per mother was invited to participate in the study.

Ascaris suum infection negatively affects the response to a Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae vaccination and subsequent challenge infection in pigs.

Since their first introduction more than a century ago, vaccines have become one of the most cost-effective tools to prevent and manage infectious diseases in human and animal populations. It is vital to understand the possible mechanisms that may impair optimal vaccine efficacy. The hypothesis posed in this study was that a concurrent Ascaris suum infection of pigs vaccinated with a Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mh) vaccine would modulate the protective immune response to a subsequent challenge infection.

Infection with parasitic nematodes confounds vaccination efficacy.

T helper (Th) cells produce signature cytokine patterns, induced largely by intracellular versus extracellular pathogens that provide the cellular and molecular basis for counter regulatory expression of protective immunity during concurrent infections. The production of IL-12 and IFN-gamma, for example, resulting from exposure to many bacterial, viral, and protozoan pathogens is responsible for Th1-derived protective responses that also can inhibit development of Th2-cells expressing IL-4-dependent immunity to extracellular helminth parasites and vice versa. In a similar manner, concurrent helminth infection alters optimal vaccine-induced responses in humans and livestock; however, the consequences of this condition have not been adequately studied especially in the context of a challenge infection following vaccination.

Excretion in feces and mucosal persistence of Salmonella ser. Typhimurium in pigs subclinically infected with Oesophagostomum spp.

Objective: To determine interactions between Oesophagostomum spp and Salmonella ser. Typhimurium in pigs.

Animals: 30 healthy 5- to 6-week-old pigs.