The impact of SARS-CoV-2 on respiratory syndromic and sentinel surveillance in Israel, 2020: a new perspective on established systems.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges for the existing respiratory surveillance systems, and adaptations were implemented. Systematic assessment of the syndromic and sentinel surveillance platforms during the pandemic is essential for understanding the value of each platform in the context of an emerging pathogen with rapid global spread.AimWe aimed to evaluate systematically the performance of various respiratory syndromic surveillance platforms and the sentinel surveillance system in Israel from 1 January to 31 December 2020.

Lineage-matched versus mismatched influenza B vaccine effectiveness following seasons of marginal influenza B circulation.

Background: Several countries have recently transitioned from the trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV) to the quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (QIV) in order to outweigh influenza B vaccine-mismatch. However, few studies thus far evaluated its benefits versus the TIV in a systematic manner. Our objective was to compare the QIV VE with lineage-mismatched TIV VE.

An Initiative to Decrease Laboratory Testing in a NICU.

Background And Objectives: Laboratory testing is performed frequently in the NICU. Unnecessary tests can result in increased costs, blood loss, and pain, which can increase the risk of long-term growth and neurodevelopmental impairment. Our aim was to decrease routine screening laboratory testing in all infants admitted to our NICU by 20% over a 24-month period.

Diversity in the Circulation of Influenza A(H3N2) Viruses in the Northern Hemisphere in the 2018-19 Season.

While vaccination is considered the most effective means to prevent influenza infection, its seasonal effectiveness varies, depending on the circulating influenza strains. Here, we characterized the circulation of influenza strains in October-2018 and March-2019 around the world. For this, we used nasopharyngeal samples collected from outpatient and hospitalized patients in Israel and data reported in ECDC, CDC, and WHO databases.

Genomic variation and epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 importation and early circulation in Israel.

Severe acute respiratory disease coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which causes corona virus disease (COVID-19) was first identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and has since led to a global pandemic. Importations of SARS-CoV-2 to Israel in late February from multiple countries initiated a rapid outbreak across the country. In this study, SARS-CoV-2 whole genomes were sequenced from 59 imported samples with a recorded country of importation and 101 early circulating samples in February to mid-March 2020 and analyzed to infer clades and mutational patterns with additional sequences identified Israel available in public databases.

Influenza vaccine effectiveness against laboratory-confirmed influenza in a vaccine-mismatched influenza B-dominant season.

Background: The 2017-2018 influenza season in Israel was characterized by the predominance of influenza B Yamagata, with a lesser circulation of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and influenza A(H3N2). We estimated vaccine effectiveness (VE) of the inactivated influenza vaccine which was selected for use that season.

Methods: End-of-season VE and 95% confidence intervals (CI) against laboratory-confirmed influenza-like illness (ILI) were estimated by means of the test-negative design.

Seropositivity of measles antibodies in the Israeli population prior to the nationwide 2018 - 2019 outbreak.

Measles vaccine is administered in Israel as part of the routine childhood immunization program, at ages 1 and 6 years. In this study, we assessed seropositivity of the Israeli population against measles before the onset and propagation of the 2018-2019 measles outbreak. From the Israel Center for Disease Control National Serum Bank, 3,164 samples collected during 2015 were tested for measles antibodies.

Influenza A Virus Inhibits RSV Infection via a Two-Wave Expression of IFIT Proteins.

Influenza viruses and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are respiratory viruses that primarily circulate worldwide during the autumn and winter seasons. Seasonal surveillance has shown that RSV infection generally precedes influenza. However, in the last four winter seasons (2016-2020) an overlap of the morbidity peaks of both viruses was observed in Israel, and was paralleled by significantly lower RSV infection rates.

Comprehensive Analyses of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in a Public Health Virology Laboratory.

SARS-CoV-2 has become a major global concern as of December 2019, particularly affecting healthcare workers. As person-to-person transmission is airborne, crowded closed spaces have high potential for rapid virus spread, especially early in the pandemic when social distancing and mask wearing were not mandatory. This retrospective study thoroughly investigates a small-scale SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Israel's central virology laboratory (ICVL) in mid-March 2020, in which six staff members and two related family members were infected.

Adenovirus load correlates with respiratory disease severity among hospitalized pediatric patients.

Objectives: Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) are common pathogens that can cause respiratory, gastrointestinal and other infections. We investigated the correlation between adenovirus viral load in clinical respiratory samples and the respiratory disease severity in pediatric patients.

Methods: Medical records of patients hospitalized in the Sheba Medical Center (SMC) with confirmed adenovirus infection were retrospectively analyzed.

Predominance of a Drifted Influenza A (H3N2) Clade and its Association with Age-specific Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Variations, Influenza Season 2018-2019.

Influenza A (H3N2) clade 3C.3a was the predominant influenza virus in Israel throughout the 2018-2019 season, constituting a drift from the influenza A (H3N2) vaccine. We estimated the end-of season vaccine effectiveness (VE) by age, among community patients with influenza-like illness (ILI), considering the hemagglutinin (HA) gene mutations and amino acid substitutions of influenza A (H3N2) viruses detected.

Rhinovirus infections in infants suggest that early detection can prevent unnecessary treatment.

Background: Human rhinoviruses (hRV) are small, RNA viruses of the Picornaviridae family, which are divided into three subtypes (A, B, C). hRVs are among the most common causes for acute respiratory illnesses (ARI) involving both the upper and lower respiratory tract.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the magnitude and characteristics of hRV infections in hospitalized children, aged less than 5 years, hospitalized in Israel during 2011-2012.

Temporal analysis of distribution pattern of islet cells and antioxidant enzymes for diabetes onset in postnatal critical development window in rats.

Aim: At performing a temporal analysis of the distribution pattern of islet endocrine cells and antioxidant enzymes in diabetic rats during the post-natal critical development window.

Main Methods: The newborns received streptozotocin (STZ) at birth for diabetes induction, and control females received the vehicle. The animals were euthanized at different lifetimes: D5, D10, D15, and D30.

Comparison of the new fully automated extraction platform eMAG to the MagNA PURE 96 and the well-established easyMAG for detection of common human respiratory viruses.

Respiratory viral infections constitute the majority of samples tested in the clinical virology laboratory during the winter season, and are mainly diagnosed using molecular assays, namely real-time PCR (qPCR). Therefore, a high-quality extraction process is critical for successful, reliable and sensitive qPCR results. Here we aimed to evaluate the performance of the newly launched eMAG compared to the fully automated MagNA PURE 96 (Roche, Germany) and to the semi-automated easyMAG (bioMerieux, France) extraction platforms.

Human tuberculosis brain promotes neuronal apoptosis but not in astrocytes with high expression of vascular endothelial growth factor.

The present study aimed to investigate the involvement of the angiogenic marker vascular endothelia growth factor (VEGF) and apoptotic markers of Bcl-2 and Bax in the neurons and astrocytes in the brain infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The immunohistochemistry staining was performed to analyze the expression of the VEGF, Bcl-2 and Bax in the astrocytes and neurons. The expression of VEGF was high in neurons and astrocytes in both the infected brain and control tissues with no difference of angiogenic activity (p = 0.

Effectiveness of influenza vaccine in preventing medically-attended influenza virus infection in primary care, Israel, influenza seasons 2014/15 and 2015/16.

IntroductionInfluenza vaccine is recommended for the entire population in Israel. We assessed influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons in Israel, for the first time. Combined nose and throat swab specimens were collected from patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) presenting to sentinel primary care clinics and tested for influenza virus by RT-PCR.

Exceptional influenza morbidity in summer season of 2017 in Israel may predict the vaccine efficiency in the coming winter.

Influenza infections are the leading cause of respiratory viral infections worldwide, and are mostly common in the winter season. The seasonal influenza vaccine is currently the most effective preventive modality against influenza infection. Immediately following each winter season the World Health Organization (WHO) announces the vaccine composition for the following winter.

Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness in Preventing Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza in Primary Care in Israel, 2016-2017 Season: Insights Into Novel Age-Specific Analysis.

Background: The 2016-2017 influenza season in Israel was dominated by the circulation of influenza A(H3N2). Influenza vaccine is recommended for the entire population in Israel aged >6 months. The inactivated influenza vaccine was chosen for use this season.

Genetic divergence of Influenza A(H3N2) amino acid substitutions mark the beginning of the 2016-2017 winter season in Israel.

Background: Influenza vaccine composition is reevaluated each year due to the frequency and accumulation of genetic changes that influenza viruses undergo. The beginning of the 2016-2017 influenza surveillance period in Israel has been marked by the dominance of influenza A(H3N2).

Objectives: To evaluate the type, subtype, genetic evolution and amino acid substitutions of influenza A(H3N2) viruses detected among community patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) and hospitalized patients with respiratory illness in the first weeks of the 2016-2017 influenza season.

A(H1N1)pdm09 influenza infection: vaccine inefficiency.

The last influenza pandemic, caused by the swine A(H1N1)pdm09 influenza virus, began in North America at 2009. Since then, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended integration of the swine-based virus A/California/07/2009 strain in yearly vaccinations. Yet, infections with A(H1N1)pdm09 have continued in subsequent years.

Updates on Knowledge, Attitude and Preventive Practices on Tuberculosis among Healthcare Workers.

Ranking as the most communicable disease killer worldwide, tuberculosis, has accounted with a total of 9.6 million new tuberculosis cases with 1.5 million tuberculosis-related deaths reported globally in 2014.

Influenza A(H1N1)pdm 2009 and influenza B virus co-infection in hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients during the 2015-2016 epidemic season in Israel.

Background: Influenza A and B viruses co-infections are rare events and mainly occurred in immunocompromised patients.

Objectives: In this study we report an unusually high occurrence of influenza A (H1N1)pdm 2009 and influenza B virus co-infections during the epidemic year 2015-2016.

Study Design: Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 1919 patients visiting 26 outpatient clinics distributed throughout Israel and presenting with influenza-like illness.

Human enterovirus D68 in clinical and sewage samples in Israel.

Background: Since mid-August 2014, North America experienced a wide outbreak of Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) associated with severe respiratory illness in children. Several other countries also reported cases of EV-D68 in 2014.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether EV-D68 circulated in Israel in 2014, caused severe respiratory illness in children and was the causative agent of Acute Flaccid Paralysis.

Ineffectiveness of the 2014-2015 H3N2 influenza vaccine.

The seasonal influenza vaccine is currently the most effective preventive modality against influenza infection. Nasopharyngeal samples of vaccinated and non-vaccinated patients presenting with Influenza-like-illness (ILI) were collected from over 20 outpatient clinics located in different geographic parts of Israel and were tested for the presence of influenza viruses (influenza A and influenza B). Here we show, that in the 2014-2015 season, the vaccine that included the A/Texas/50/2012 H3N2 virus was ineffective.