Publications by authors named "Panambara Arachchige Deshan Madhusanka"
Transmission dynamics, clinical characteristics and sero-surveillance in the COVID-19 outbreak in a population dense area of Colombo, Sri Lanka April- May 2020.
PLoS One
November 2021
Background: The transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 varies depending on social distancing measures, circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants, host factors and other environmental factors. We sought to investigate the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak that occurred in a highly dense population area in Colombo, Sri Lanka from April to May 2020.
Methodology/principal Findings: We carried out RT-qPCR for SARS-CoV2, assessed the SARS-CoV-2 specific total and neutralizing antibodies (Nabs) in a densely packed, underserved settlement (n = 2722) after identification of the index case on 15th April 2020.
In order to understand the molecular epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Sri Lanka, since March 2020, we carried out genomic sequencing overlaid on available epidemiological data until April 2021. Whole genome sequencing was carried out on diagnostic sputum or nasopharyngeal swabs from 373 patients with COVID-19. Molecular clock phylogenetic analysis was undertaken to further explore dominant lineages.
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- The study evaluated the immunogenicity of a single dose of the AZD1222 COVID-19 vaccine among healthcare workers, finding that 93.4% of those who had not been previously infected developed antibodies.
- Almost all naive participants had ACE2 blocking antibodies, but antibody levels were higher for the wild-type virus than for emerging variants like B.1.1.7 and B.1.351.
- Previously infected healthcare workers showed significantly stronger antibody responses to the variants, indicating that one vaccine dose may not provide adequate protection against these emerging strains.