Genetic determinants of COVID-19 severity and mortality: Alu 287 bp polymorphism and , , expression in hospitalized patients.

Background: The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and the transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) are central human molecules in the SARS-CoV-2 virus-host interaction. Evidence indicates that may influence expression. This study aims to determine whether ACE1, ACE2, and TMPRSS2 mRNA expression levels, along with the ACE1 Alu 287 bp polymorphism (rs4646994), contribute to the severity and mortality of COVID-19.

Metabolic acidosis with elevated anion gap and euglycemic ketoacidosis in pregnant and postpartum women with severe Covid-19.

Background/objectives: Pregnant and postpartum women have a higher risk for developing severe Covid-19 and other clinical and obstetric complications. This study aims to evaluate the frequency of metabolic acidosis with elevated anion gap and describe a case series of euglycemic ketoacidosis (EKA) in pregnant and postpartum women with severe confirmed or suspected Covid-19.

Materials And Methods: Observational retrospective study carried in a reference intensive care unit from May 2020 to June 2022.

Longitudinal H NMR-Based Metabolomics in Saliva Unveils Signatures of Transition from Acute to Post-Acute Phase of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

COVID-19 can range from a mild to severe acute respiratory syndrome and also could result in multisystemic damage. Additionally, many people develop post-acute symptoms associated with immune and metabolic disturbances in response to viral infection, requiring longitudinal and multisystem studies to understand the complexity of COVID-19 pathophysiology. Here, we conducted a H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance metabolomics in saliva of symptomatic subjects presenting mild and moderate respiratory symptoms to investigate prospective changes in the metabolism induced after acute-phase SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Mpox outbreak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: A translational approach.

Mpox is a zoonotic disease historically reported in Africa. Since 2003, limited outbreaks have occurred outside Africa. In 2022, the global spread of cases with sustained interhuman transmission and unusual disease features raised public health concerns.

The decline of measles antibody titers in previously vaccinated adults: a cross-sectional analysis.

The global reemergence of measles in 2018-2019 reinforces the relevance of high-coverage immunization to maintain the disease elimination. During an outbreak in the Sao Paulo State in 2019, several measles cases were reported in individuals who were adequately vaccinated according to the current immunization schedule recommends. This study aimed to assess measles IgG antibody seropositivity and titers in previously vaccinated adults.

Lessons from a Multilaboratorial Task Force for Diagnosis of a Fatal Toxoplasmosis Outbreak in Captive Primates in Brazil.

Toxoplasmosis is an important zoonotic disease caused by the parasite and is especially fatal for neotropical primates. In Brazil, the Ministry of Health is responsible for national epizootic surveillance, but some diseases are still neglected. Here, we present an integrated investigation of an outbreak that occurred during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic among eleven neotropical primates housed at a primatology center in Brazil.

REDbox: a comprehensive semantic framework for data collection and management in tuberculosis research.

Clinical research outcomes depend on the correct definition of the research protocol, the data collection strategy, and the data management plan. Furthermore, researchers often need to work within challenging contexts, as is the case in tuberculosis services, where human and technological resources for research may be scarce. Electronic Data Capture Systems mitigate such risks and enable a reliable environment to conduct health research and promote result dissemination and data reusability.

Multicenter Diagnostic Evaluation of a Novel Coronavirus Antigen Lateral Flow Test among Symptomatic Individuals in Brazil and the United Kingdom.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the commercialization of many antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs), requiring independent evaluations. This report describes the clinical evaluation of the Novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV Antigen Test (Colloidal Gold) (Beijing Hotgen Biotech Co., Ltd.

Human monkeypox virus infection in women and non-binary individuals during the 2022 outbreaks: a global case series.

Background: Between May and November, 2022, global outbreaks of human monkeypox virus infection have been reported in more than 78 000 people worldwide, predominantly in men who have sex with men. We describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of monkeypox virus infection in cisgender (cis) and transgender (trans) women and non-binary individuals assigned female sex at birth to improve identification and understanding of risk factors.

Methods: International collaborators in geographical locations with high numbers of diagnoses of monkeypox virus infection were approached and invited to contribute data on women and non-binary individuals with confirmed monkeypox virus infection.

A SARS-CoV-2 Negative Antigen Rapid Diagnostic in RT-qPCR Positive Samples Correlates With a Low Likelihood of Infectious Viruses in the Nasopharynx.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) transmission occurs even among fully vaccinated individuals; thus, prompt identification of infected patients is central to control viral circulation. Antigen rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) are highly specific, but sensitivity is variable. Discordant RT-qPCR vs.

From a recombinant key antigen to an accurate, affordable serological test: Lessons learnt from COVID-19 for future pandemics.

Serological tests detect antibodies generated by infection or vaccination, and are indispensable tools along different phases of a pandemic, from early monitoring of pathogen spread up to seroepidemiological studies supporting immunization policies. This work discusses the development of an accurate and affordable COVID-19 antibody test, from production of a recombinant protein antigen up to test validation and economic analysis. We first developed a cost-effective, scalable technology to produce SARS-COV-2 spike protein and then used this antigen to develop an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Plasma and memory antibody responses to Gamma SARS-CoV-2 provide limited cross-protection to other variants.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to be a global problem in part because of the emergence of variants of concern that evade neutralization by antibodies elicited by prior infection or vaccination. Here we report on human neutralizing antibody and memory responses to the Gamma variant in a cohort of hospitalized individuals. Plasma from infected individuals potently neutralized viruses pseudotyped with Gamma SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, but neutralizing activity against Wuhan-Hu-1-1, Beta, Delta, or Omicron was significantly lower.

Olfactory Dysfunction in Patients With Mild COVID-19 During Gamma, Delta, and Omicron Waves in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This study uses data obtained through an updated version of the Brazilian National Health System Questionnaire for COVID-19 to assess olfactory dysfunction in patients with mild COVID-19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Evaluation of the Panbio COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Test in Subjects Infected with Omicron Using Different Specimens.

Community testing is a crucial tool for the early identification of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and transmission control. The emergence of the highly mutated Omicron variant (B.1.

Identification and characterisation of SARS-CoV-2 and Human alphaherpesvirus 1 from a productive coinfection in a fatal COVID-19 case.

Background: During routine Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnosis, an unusually high viral load was detected by reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in a nasopharyngeal swab sample collected from a patient with respiratory and neurological symptoms who rapidly succumbed to the disease. Therefore we sought to characterise the infection.

Objectives: We aimed to determine and characterise the etiological agent responsible for the poor outcome.

Accuracy and ease-of-use of seven point-of-care SARS-CoV-2 antigen-detecting tests: A multi-centre clinical evaluation.

Background: Antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) for SARS-CoV-2 are important diagnostic tools. We assessed clinical performance and ease-of-use of seven Ag-RDTs in a prospective, manufacturer-independent, multi-centre cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study to inform global decision makers.

Methods: Unvaccinated participants suspected of a first SARS-CoV-2 infection were recruited at six sites (Germany, Brazil).

Prolonged SARS-CoV-2 Positivity in Immunocompetent Patients: Virus Isolation, Genomic Integrity, and Transmission Risk.

Current guidelines for patient isolation in COVID-19 cases recommend a symptom-based approach, averting the use of control real-time reverse transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) testing. However, we hypothesized that patients with persistently positive results by RT-PCR for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) could be potentially infectious for a prolonged time, even if immunocompetent and asymptomatic, which would demand a longer social isolation period than presently recommended. To test this hypothesis, 72 samples from 51 mildly symptomatic immunocompetent patients with long-lasting positive rRT-PCR results for SARS-CoV-2 were tested for their infectiousness in cell culture.

Performance of an alternative RT-PCR procedure using residual sample from the Panbio™ Ag COVID-19 test.

Introduction: In the current standard of care (SoC) RT-PCR method for COVID-19, the patient's swab was extracted in viral transport media (VTM). For the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test, the patient swab is flushed out in extraction buffer, of which a small fraction is used for testing, leaving more than half the sample unused. This study was designed to show that RT-PCR results from the residual sample of the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test (called Novel RT-PCR) are not worse than the SoC RT-PCR result.

Intra-host evolution during SARS-CoV-2 prolonged infection.

Long-term infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) represents a challenge to virus dispersion and the control of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The reason why some people have prolonged infection and how the virus persists for so long are still not fully understood. Recent studies suggested that the accumulation of intra-host single nucleotide variants (iSNVs) over the course of the infection might play an important role in persistence as well as emergence of mutations of concern.

Association between ACE2 and TMPRSS2 nasopharyngeal expression and COVID-19 respiratory distress.

ACE2 and TMPRSS2 are key players on SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells. However, it is still unclear whether expression levels of these factors could reflect disease severity. Here, a case-control study was conducted with 213 SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals where cases were defined as COVID-19 patients with respiratory distress requiring oxygen support (N = 38) and controls were those with mild to moderate symptoms of the disease who did not need oxygen therapy along the entire clinical course (N = 175).

A Permissioned Blockchain Network for Security and Sharing of De-identified Tuberculosis Research Data in Brazil.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease and is among the top 10 causes of death in the world, and Brazil is part of the top 30 high TB burden countries. Data collection is an essential practice in health studies, and the adoption of electronic data capture (EDC) systems can positively increase the experience of data acquisition and analysis. Also, data-sharing capabilities are crucial to the construction of efficient and effective evidence-based decision-making tools for managerial and operational actions in TB services.

Data Integration in the Brazilian Public Health System for Tuberculosis: Use of the Semantic Web to Establish Interoperability.

Background: Interoperability of health information systems is a challenge due to the heterogeneity of existing systems at both the technological and semantic levels of their data. The lack of existing data about interoperability disrupts intra-unit and inter-unit medical operations as well as creates challenges in conducting studies on existing data. The goal is to exchange data while providing the same meaning for data from different sources.

Yellow fever: profile of cases and factors associated with death in a hospital in the State of Rio de Janeiro, 2017-2018.

Objective: Describe the clinical and epidemiological profile of confirmed cases of yellow fever whose patients were hospitalized in a general hospital for infectious diseases in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from March 11, 2017 to June 15, 2018, during a recent outbreak and factors associated with death.

Methods: This is a retrospective observational study with analysis of secondary databases of local epidemiological surveillance system, and complementary data collection from epidemiological investigation records and clinical records. Study variables included demographic, epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory data.