Publications by authors named "Sylvie Van Der Werf"

Article Synopsis
  • Understanding how viruses like influenza A interact with cellular processes can help develop treatments targeting host cells.
  • Researchers found that specific components of the Cullin 4-RING E3 ubiquitin ligases (CRL4), essential for virus replication, change their interactions during infection.
  • The study revealed that IAV infection alters protein associations, impacting cellular functions such as protein folding and stress responses, which could lead to new antiviral strategies.
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Background: Pacific Islanders are underrepresented in vaccine efficacy trials. Few studies describe their immune response to COVID-19 vaccination. Yet, this characterization is crucial to re-enforce vaccination strategies adapted to Pacific Islanders singularities.

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Antibodies play a pivotal role in protecting from SARS-CoV-2 infection, but their efficacy is challenged by the continuous emergence of viral variants. In this study, we describe two broadly neutralizing antibodies cloned from the memory B cells of a single convalescent individual after infection with ancestral SARS-CoV-2. Cv2.

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  • The ANRS|MIE CoviCompareP study investigated COVID-19 breakthrough infections among vaccinated adults during the Omicron variant's circulation, focusing on those vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
  • The study involved healthy adults divided into groups based on previous SARS-CoV-2 infection status and monitored their neutralizing antibodies after vaccination and boosters.
  • Results showed that 31% of participants experienced breakthrough infections, with lower infection risks linked to older age, more booster doses, and higher neutralizing antibody levels, especially in those with prior infections.
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Data on the SARS-CoV-2 infection among primary health care workers (PHCWs) are scarce but essential to reflect on policy regarding prevention and control measures. We assessed the prevalence of PHCWs who have been infected by SARS-CoV-2 in comparison with modeling from the general population in metropolitan France, and associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted among general practitioners (GPs), pediatricians, dental and pharmacy workers in primary care between May and August 2021.

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  • A study in France aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among the population using blood test samples, but it lacked detailed data on individuals' infection or vaccination status.
  • Researchers developed a machine learning model to predict if individuals were infected or vaccinated based solely on serological test results from earlier cohorts.
  • The findings revealed a significant increase in the percentage of vaccinated individuals and those infected with SARS-CoV-2 from 2021 to 2022, highlighting that vaccination played a crucial role in decreasing the overall seronegative population.
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It has been suggested that the outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are better in individuals having recently received an influenza vaccine than in non-vaccinated individuals. We hypothesized that this association depends on the humoral responses against influenza viruses. We aim to assess the relationship between the humoral immunity against influenza and the 3-month all-cause mortality among hospitalized older patients with COVID-19.

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Bats are a major reservoir of zoonotic viruses, including coronaviruses. Since the emergence of SARS-CoV in 2002/2003 in Asia, important efforts have been made to describe the diversity of circulating in bats worldwide, leading to the discovery of the precursors of epidemic and pandemic sarbecoviruses in horseshoe bats. We investigated the viral communities infecting horseshoe bats living in Northern Vietnam, and report here the first identification of sarbecoviruses in and bats.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in four French mink farms during late 2020, amidst concerns of forming a new viral reservoir due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • On one farm, a high percentage (96.6%) of serum samples tested positive, indicating significant circulation of the virus, with genetic analysis showing several variants cocirculating.
  • Other farms showed lower seroprevalence but were positive for an alphacoronavirus, suggesting potential viral recombination, which may explain varied clinical symptoms across infected farms in Europe.
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The impact of variants of concern (VoC) on SARS-CoV-2 viral dynamics remains poorly understood and essentially relies on observational studies subject to various sorts of biases. In contrast, experimental models of infection constitute a powerful model to perform controlled comparisons of the viral dynamics observed with VoC and better quantify how VoC escape from the immune response. Here we used molecular and infectious viral load of 78 cynomolgus macaques to characterize in detail the effects of VoC on viral dynamics.

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  • - A domestic cat in France was found to be infected with a dangerous strain of avian influenza (H5N1) after living near a duck farm that had cases of the virus.
  • - The specific strain detected in the cat belongs to the clade 2.3.4.4b, which is closely related to the virus affecting the birds.
  • - To stop the virus from spreading to other mammals and potentially humans, experts suggest increased monitoring of domestic pets that show symptoms and have been in contact with infected birds.
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The SARS-CoV2 Omicron variants have acquired new Spike mutations leading to escape from the most of the currently available monoclonal antibody treatments reducing the options for patients suffering from severe Covid-19. Recently, both and data have suggested that Sotrovimab could retain partial activity against recent omicron sub-lineage such as BA.5 variants, including BQ.

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The landscape of SARS-CoV-2 variants dramatically diversified with the simultaneous appearance of multiple subvariants originating from BA.2, BA.4, and BA.

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Bat sarbecovirus BANAL-236 is highly related to SARS-CoV-2 and infects human cells, albeit lacking the furin cleavage site in its spike protein. BANAL-236 replicates efficiently and pauci-symptomatically in humanized mice and in macaques, where its tropism is enteric, strongly differing from that of SARS-CoV-2. BANAL-236 infection leads to protection against superinfection by a virulent strain.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Genetic analysis showed multiple lineages of the virus co-circulating in the infected farm, linking it to human cases from the same period.
  • * Other farms had lower infection rates, but one contained a mink coronavirus similar to earlier strains found in Danish farms, raising concerns about potential viral recombination and varied clinical impacts among infected farms.
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The segmented RNA genome of influenza A viruses (IAVs) enables viral evolution through genetic reassortment after multiple IAVs coinfect the same cell, leading to viruses harboring combinations of eight genomic segments from distinct parental viruses. Existing data indicate that reassortant genotypes are not equiprobable; however, the low throughput of available virology techniques does not allow quantitative analysis. Here, we have developed a high-throughput single-cell droplet microfluidic system allowing encapsulation of IAV-infected cells, each cell being infected by a single progeny virion resulting from a coinfection process.

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Background: In 2021-2022, influenza A viruses dominated in Europe. The I-MOVE primary care network conducted a multicentre test-negative study to measure influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE).

Methods: Primary care practitioners collected information on patients presenting with acute respiratory infection.

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Since the first cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Wuhan in December 2019, this RNA virus gave rise to different viral lineages with different virological, epidemiological and immunological properties. Here we describe the dynamics of circulation of SARS-CoV-2 lineages in an Amazonian South American French overseas territory, French Guiana (FG). The data analyzed are based on the general epidemic course, and genomic surveillance data come from whole genome sequencing (WGS) as well as typing PCRs.

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Article Synopsis
  • A lot of money has been spent on studying the COVID-19 virus in Africa, leading to over 100,000 virus samples being analyzed to understand the spread of the disease.
  • *More countries in Africa are now able to do these studies themselves, which helps them get results faster and keep a close watch on the virus.
  • *To keep fighting COVID and other diseases, more funding and support for testing and research in Africa is really important for the future.
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SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis is a cornerstone for the management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Numerous studies have assessed saliva performance over nasopharyngeal sampling (NPS), but data in young children are still rare. We explored saliva performance for SARS-CoV-2 detection by RT-PCR according to the time interval from initial symptoms or patient serological status.

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  • The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of testing drugs in large animal models to ensure effective clinical applications after in vitro results.
  • This study investigates favipiravir, a drug shown to work against RNA viruses, and its effects on Zika and SARS-CoV-2 in cynomolgus macaques.
  • The findings indicate that favipiravir effectively reduces Zika viral load but has no beneficial effect on SARS-CoV-2, with some treated animals experiencing worsening conditions.
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Background: The protective immunity against omicron following a BNT162b2 Pfizer booster dose among elderly individuals (ie, those aged >65 years) is not well characterised.

Methods: In a community-based, prospective, longitudinal cohort study taking place in France in which 75 residents from three nursing homes were enrolled, we selected 38 residents who had received a two-dose regimen of mRNA vaccine and a booster dose of Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccine. We excluded individuals that did not receive three vaccine doses or did not have available sera samples.

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