Publications by authors named "Sean Buono"

Antibiotics are important for the treatment and prevention of invasive Haemophilus influenzae disease. Reduced susceptibility to clinically relevant drugs, except ampicillin, has been uncommon in the United States. Susceptibility of 700 invasive H.

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  • * A study conducted in Pima County, Arizona, found that the sensitivity of the BinaxNOW test varied based on symptom status and timing, with the highest sensitivity (75%) occurring 8 to 10 days post-exposure.
  • * BinaxNOW provides quicker results (2.5 hours) compared to rRT-PCR (26 hours), making it valuable for rapid identification of infections, despite its lower sensitivity which needs to be considered in testing strategies.
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  • Serologic assays for SARS-CoV-2 detect various antibody subtypes and utilize different target antigens.* -
  • A comparison between the Spike-Protein ELISA and the Abbott ArchitectTM SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay showed they performed similarly.* -
  • The tests had high concordance, meaning they generally agreed with each other, but there were a few rare instances of differing results.*
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  • * In a study involving 3,419 individuals in Arizona, the BinaxNOW test showed a sensitivity of 64.2% for symptomatic and only 35.8% for asymptomatic individuals, with high specificity across both groups.
  • * Negative results from rapid antigen tests should be confirmed with NAATs in cases of high suspicion for COVID-19, as the rapid tests, while useful for screening, have lower sensitivity in detecting infections.
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Effective laboratory-based surveillance and public health response to bacterial meningitis depends on timely characterization of bacterial meningitis pathogens. Traditionally, characterizing bacterial meningitis pathogens such as (Nm) and (Hi) required several biochemical and molecular tests. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) has enabled the development of pipelines capable of characterizing the given pathogen with equivalent results to many of the traditional tests.

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  • The study explored how SARS-CoV-2 spreads within households in the U.S. and calculated the household secondary infection rate (SIR) to help develop strategies for reducing transmission.
  • Researchers recruited patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections and their household members in Utah and Wisconsin, gathering demographic data and conducting tests over several visits.
  • Results showed a 29% overall secondary infection rate, with higher rates among children and spouses, indicating that individuals with weakened immune systems or diabetes are at greater risk, suggesting the need for strict self-isolation measures.
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Background And Objectives: Limited data exist on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in children. We described infection rates and symptom profiles among pediatric household contacts of individuals with coronavirus disease 2019.

Methods: We enrolled individuals with coronavirus disease 2019 and their household contacts, assessed daily symptoms prospectively for 14 days, and obtained specimens for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and serology testing.

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Background: Detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has principally been performed through the use of real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction testing. Results of such tests can be reported as cycle threshold (Ct) values, which may provide semi-quantitative or indirect measurements of viral load. Previous reports have examined temporal trends in Ct values over the course of a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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  • The study analyzed mild and asymptomatic cases of SARS-CoV-2 by observing 198 household contacts in Wisconsin and Utah during a 14-day period.
  • Results showed that common symptoms upon positive COVID-19 testing included upper respiratory (68%) and neurological symptoms (64%), while fever was less commonly reported (19%).
  • A notable 17% of participants were asymptomatic at the time of testing, but all eventually developed symptoms, highlighting the need for effective infection control and contact tracing measures.
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In a household study, loss of taste and/or smell was the fourth most reported symptom (26/42 [62%]) among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case patients and had the highest positive predictive value (83% [95% confidence interval [CI], 55%-95%) among household contacts. Olfactory and taste dysfunctions should be considered for COVID-19 case identification and testing prioritization.

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Background: More laboratories are screening for syphilis with automated treponemal immunoassays. We compared direct costs and downstream consequences when a local public health laboratory switches from a traditional algorithm (nontreponemal screening) to a reverse algorithm (treponemal screening).

Methods: We created a decision analysis model based on laboratory and surveillance data to estimate the cost-effectiveness of a reverse syphilis-screening algorithm from the perspectives of the Los Angeles County Public Health Laboratory and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (laboratory + STD Program costs) in 2015 US dollars.

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We compared the performance and ease of use for three high-throughput treponemal immunoassays: Phoenix Biotech Trep-Sure Total Antibody EIA, Siemens ADVIA® Centaur Syphilis Assay, and DiaSorin LIAISON® Treponema Assay. One thousand serum samples submitted for routine screening were used in this study. Each assay demonstrated comparable sensitivity, specificity, and percent agreement (98-100%) compared with Treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TP-PA).

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  • - Ciprofloxacin resistance (CipR) among gonococcal strains in San Francisco increased significantly from 2001 to 2006 but saw a decline from 2007 to 2009, revealing a trend of strain turnover affecting resistance levels.
  • - A study collected 2,526 samples over nine years, determining CipR prevalence through analysis of 460 selected isolates with molecular typing techniques.
  • - The findings suggest that improved national guidelines for treating gonorrhea may be more effective than local recommendations in managing CipR, as the drop in resistance coincided with a 2007 national directive to discontinue ciprofloxacin use.
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Drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae poses a significant public health challenge. In recent years, gonococci resistant to first- and second-line antibiotics have spread worldwide and new strains have developed that are increasingly resistant to third-generation cephalosporins, which are currently our last line of available treatments. Given the timeline required to develop new drugs or an effective vaccine for N.

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We analyzed 265 urethral Neisseria gonorrhoeae specimens collected from symptomatic males at San Francisco's municipal sexually transmitted disease clinic, a participant in the Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project, during 2009. We used N. gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing to describe characteristics of patients infected with common sequence type families.

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Urogenital Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates (266) collected in San Francisco, CA, in 2009 were analyzed for antimicrobial susceptibility and were subsequently genotyped by N. gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing (NG-MAST). Isolates of identical or closely related sequence types were found to possess highly similar phenotypes with regard to drug susceptibility.

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We identified strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in San Diego County, California, that possess high levels of resistance to azithromycin (8.0-16.0 μg/ml MIC).

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