Publications by authors named "Sandra B Fernandes"

Article Synopsis
  • - Dengue virus serotype 2, genotype Cosmopolitan (DENV-2-GII), is widely distributed and was newly identified in Brazil, having been present in other regions since 2019.
  • - A study sequenced 237 confirmed DENV-2 cases from March 2021 to March 2023, discovering that DENV-2-GII circulates in all areas of Brazil, having been introduced multiple times between 2020 and 2022.
  • - Despite its presence, DENV-1 dominated the Brazilian dengue epidemic in 2022, suggesting pre-existing immunity from prior DENV-2-GIII infections may limit symptomatic cases of DENV-2-GII, highlighting the need for ongoing
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Norovirus is a major cause of acute diarrheal disease (ADD) outbreaks worldwide. In the present study, we investigated an ADD outbreak caused by norovirus in several municipalities of Santa Catarina state during the summer season, southern Brazil in 2023. As of the 10th epidemiological week of 2023, approximately 87 000 ADD cases were reported, with the capital, Florianópolis, recording the highest number of cases throughout the weeks.

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The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern (VOC) Gamma in Amazonas during early 2021 fueled a second large COVID-19 epidemic wave and raised concern about the potential role of reinfections. Very few cases of reinfection associated with the VOC Gamma have been reported to date, and their potential impact on clinical, immunological, and virological parameters remains largely unexplored. Here we describe 25 cases of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in Brazil.

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Article Synopsis
  • The COVID-19 pandemic and new variants of SARS-CoV-2 have significant global health impacts, highlighting the need for effective monitoring strategies.
  • This study investigates the use of high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis paired with one-step real-time reverse transcription PCR as a rapid method to detect SARS-CoV-2 mutations that may affect interactions with hosts.
  • HRM analysis successfully distinguished various SARS-CoV-2 variants and shows promise for enhancing genomic surveillance, allowing for more targeted and timely whole genome sequencing of new strains.
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  • SARS-CoV-2 genome surveillance in Santa Catarina, Brazil, tracked 55 strains and four variants (Alpha, Delta, Gamma, and Omicron) from May 2021 to April 2022, highlighting significant shifts in variant prevalence.* -
  • The study recorded low case numbers in May 2021, but there was a spike in deaths associated with the Gamma variant, followed by a surge in cases and dominance of the Omicron variant between December 2021 and February 2022.* -
  • Healthcare workers (HCW) showed similar variant profiles to the general population but experienced a faster transition from Delta to Omicron, underscoring their role in monitoring COVID-19 trends.*
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  • - The influenza A virus (IAV) poses a significant public health risk, causing yearly outbreaks and has the potential for pandemics, with neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) being the primary treatment but new drugs like baloxavir marboxil (BXM) are emerging.
  • - A study evaluated the antiviral resistance of Brazilian IAV strains from 2017 to 2019, identifying specific mutations associated with reduced drug effectiveness, but finding generally low resistance levels in analyzed strains.
  • - Results showed that the majority of Brazilian IAV isolates maintain a normal susceptibility to the most common NAI, oseltamivir (OST), and highlighted the importance of ongoing surveillance for resistance.
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  • * A study analyzed the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and identified 23 variants, with Gamma being the most prevalent during the second wave of infections.
  • * The research provided the first evidence of regional variations in the transmission of the virus, emphasizing the need for ongoing monitoring of variants and their effects on public health.
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  • SARS-CoV-2 has infected nearly 200 million people globally by July 2021, with varying viral lineages influencing the pandemic's progression.
  • Coinfection of individuals with different SARS-CoV-2 lineages could change how COVID-19 develops and lead to new viral variants, but has been hard to study due to low lineage diversity and limited data.
  • A study analyzed Brazilian samples over a year and revealed 9 cases of coinfection (about 0.61% of those sampled), indicating this is rare but suggests even more could exist that are difficult to detect due to similarities among lineages.
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One of the most remarkable severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern (VOC) features is the significant number of mutations they acquired. However, the specific factors that drove the emergence of such variants since the second half of 2020 are not fully resolved. In this study, we describe a new SARS-CoV-2 P.

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Mutations at both the receptor-binding domain (RBD) and the amino (N)-terminal domain (NTD) of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Spike (S) glycoprotein can alter its antigenicity and promote immune escape. We identified that SARS-CoV-2 lineages circulating in Brazil with mutations of concern in the RBD independently acquired convergent deletions and insertions in the NTD of the S protein, which altered the NTD antigenic-supersite and other predicted epitopes at this region. Importantly, we detected the community transmission of different P.

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A previous study demonstrates that most of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) Brazilian strains fell in three local clades that were introduced from Europe around late February 2020. Here we investigated in more detail the origin of the major and most widely disseminated SARS-CoV-2 Brazilian lineage B.1.

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Introduction: In Brazil, more than 487,450 individuals are currently undergoing antiretroviral treatment. In order to monitor the transmission of drug-resistant strains and HIV subtype distribution in the country, this work aimed to estimate its prevalence and to characterize the nationwide pretreatment drug resistance in individuals recently diagnosed with HIV between 2013 and 2015.

Methods: The HIV threshold survey methodology (HIV-THS, WHO) targeting antiretroviral-naive individuals with recent HIV diagnosis was utilized, and subjects were selected from 51 highly populated cities in all five Brazilian macroregions.

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The 2009 pandemic influenza A virus outbreak led to the systematic use of the neuraminidase (NA) inhibitor oseltamivir (OST). Consequently, OST-resistant strains, carrying the mutation H275Y, emerged in the years after the pandemics, with a prevalence of 1-2%. Currently, OST-resistant strains have been found in community settings, in untreated individuals.

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The D222G substitution in the hemagglutinin (HA) gene of the pandemic influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus has been identified as a potential virulence marker, because this change allows for virus invasion deeper into the respiratory tract. In this study, we analyzed D, G and N polymorphisms at residue 222 by pyrosequencing (PSQ). We initially analyzed 401 samples from Brazilian patients.

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Although surveillance efforts that monitor the emergence of drug-resistant strains of influenza are critical, systematic analysis is overlooked in most developing countries. We report on the occurrence of strains of pandemic influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 with resistance and decreased susceptibility to oseltamivir (OST) in Brazil in 2009, 2011 and 2012. We found 7 mutant viruses, 2 with the mutation S247N and other 5 with the mutation H275Y.

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