Publications by authors named "Shanna Bolcen"
Article Synopsis
- A standardized multiplex immunoassay for measuring IgG antibodies against group B streptococcus (GBS) capsular polysaccharide (CPS) is essential for evaluating maternal GBS vaccines and establishing protection correlates in infants.
- An interlaboratory study involving five labs used consistent reagents and protocols with 44 human sera, achieving good precision and reproducibility across all six GBS serotypes.
- The study confirmed the assay's robustness, showing that anti-CPS IgG concentrations were reliably produced across different laboratories when following standardized methods.
Article Synopsis
- SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, was identified in 2019 and has led to a significant global health crisis.
- The study evaluated the effectiveness of various serological tests for detecting SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies, including in-house ELISA and commercial assays, using samples from confirmed COVID-19 patients and a control group.
- All tests showed high sensitivity (95.4-96.6%) and diagnostic accuracy, but the researchers emphasized the need for independent evaluations to enhance the interpretation of serological test results.
The placental transfer of antibodies that mediate bacterial clearance via phagocytes is likely important for protection against invasive group B (GBS) disease. A robust functional assay is essential to determine the immune correlates of protection and assist vaccine development. Using standard reagents, we developed and optimized an opsonophagocytic killing assay (OPKA) where dilutions of test sera were incubated with bacteria, baby rabbit complement (BRC) and differentiated HL60 cells (dHL60) for 30 min.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The mechanism for anaphylaxis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination has been widely debated; understanding this serious adverse event is important for future vaccines of similar design. A mechanism proposed is type I hypersensitivity (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- - SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and the initial US cases emerged in January 2020.
- - Researchers tested 7,389 blood donation samples from the American Red Cross collected between December 2019 and January 2020 to look for SARS-CoV-2-reactive antibodies, utilizing various diagnostic assays.
- - Out of the tested samples, 106 showed reactivity for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, indicating that the virus might have been present in the US before the first confirmed case on January 19, 2020.
In southern California, ocular infections caused by Onchocerca lupi were diagnosed in 3 dogs (1 in 2006, 2 in 2012). The infectious agent was confirmed through morphologic analysis of fixed parasites in tissues and by PCR and sequencing of amplicons derived from 2 mitochondrially encoded genes and 1 nuclear-encoded gene. A nested PCR based on the sequence of the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 gene of the parasite was developed and used to screen Simulium black flies collected from southern California for O.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe describe an outbreak of Nocardia cyriacigeorgica soft-tissue infections attributable to unlicensed cosmetic injections and the first report using multilocus sequence typing sequence data for determining Nocardia strain relatedness in an outbreak. All 8 cases identified had a common source exposure and required hospitalization, surgical debridement, and prolonged antimicrobial therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGordonia species are aerobic actinomycetes recently recognized as causing human disease, often in the setting of intravascular catheter-related infections. We describe a case of Gordonia bronchialis bacteremia and pleural space infection in the absence of an indwelling intravascular catheter and review the breadth of reported infections with this emerging pathogen.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring the past decade, extended-spectrum cephalosporin resistance has increased among human isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg, the fourth most common serotype in the United States. We therefore characterized 54 Heidelberg isolates with decreased susceptibility (minimum inhibitory concentrations >or=2 mg/L) to ceftriaxone or ceftiofur; 49 (90.7%) contained the CMY-type beta-lactamase (bla(CMY)) gene.
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