Immunogenicity of Comirnaty Omicron XBB.1.5 booster COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in long-term survivors after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Primary mRNA vaccination against COVID-19 typically involves three doses for immunocompromised individuals, including hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) recipients. However, optimal subsequent boosting strategies remain unclear. This study aimed to assess the immunogenicity of a booster dose using the most recently updated vaccine (Comirnaty Omicron XBB.

Antibiotic resistance, virulence genes, and phylogenetic groups of bacteria isolated from wild passerine birds in Iran.

Wild passerine birds may serve as environmental reservoirs and as vectors for the long-distance dispersal of microorganisms and resistance determinants. However, there is no much knowledge on pathogenic bacteria in wild birds in Iran. The present study aimed to analyze antibiotic resistance in wild passerine birds collected from the northeast region of Iran as the rich breeding bird fauna with a special focus on Escherichia coli virulence, integron, and phylogenetic groups.

Proximity to humans is associated with antimicrobial-resistant enteric pathogens in wild bird microbiomes.

Humans are radically altering global ecology, and one of the most apparent human-induced effects is urbanization, where high-density human habitats disrupt long-established ecotones. Changes to these transitional areas between organisms, especially enhanced contact among humans and wild animals, provide new opportunities for the spread of zoonotic pathogens. This poses a serious threat to global public health, but little is known about how habitat disruption impacts cross-species pathogen spread.

in Ticks Blood-Feeding on Migratory Birds in Sweden.

Migratory birds play a dual role as potential reservoirs of tick-borne pathogens, and potential dispersers of pathogen-containing ticks during their migratory journeys. , a prevalent tick species in Northern and Western Europe, serves as a primary vector for -a bacterium with implications for human and animal health. There is limited information available regarding in birds.

Environmental effects rather than relatedness determine gut microbiome similarity in a social mammal.

In social species, group members commonly show substantial similarity in gut microbiome composition. Such similarities have been hypothesized to arise either by shared environmental effects or by host relatedness. However, disentangling these factors is difficult, because group members are often related, and social groups typically share similar environmental conditions.

Catch-up antibody responses and hybrid immunity in mRNA vaccinated patients at risk of severe COVID-19.

Background: The immunogenicity of repeated vaccination and hybrid immunity in vulnerable patients remains unclear.

Methods: We studied the impact of iterative Covid-19 mRNA vaccination and hybrid immunity on antibody levels in immunosuppressed subjects. Patients with liver cirrhosis ( = 38), survivors of allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) ( = 36) and patients with autoimmune liver disease ( = 14) along with healthy controls ( = 20) were monitored for SARS-CoV-2-S1 IgG after their 1st-3rd vaccine doses, 31 of whom became infected with the Omicron variant after the 2nd dose.

A Comparison of Host Responses to Infection with Wild-Type Avian Influenza Viruses in Chickens and Tufted Ducks.

Cross-species transmission of influenza A virus (IAV) from wild waterfowl to poultry is the first step in a chain of events that can ultimately lead to exposure and infection of humans. Herein, we study the outcome of infection with eight different mallard-origin IAV subtypes in two different avian hosts: tufted ducks and chickens. We found that infection and shedding patterns as well as innate immune responses were highly dependent on viral subtypes, host species, and inoculation routes.

Evaluating Effects of AIV Infection Status on Ducks Using a Flow Cytometry-Based Differential Blood Count.

Ducks have recently received a lot of attention from the research community due to their importance as natural reservoirs of avian influenza virus (AIV). Still, there is a lack of tools to efficiently determine the immune status of ducks. The purpose of this work was to develop an automated differential blood count for the mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos), to assess reference values of white blood cell (WBC) counts in this species, and to apply the protocol in an AIV field study.

Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes: captivity changes the gut microbiota composition and diversity in a social subterranean rodent.

Background: In mammals, the gut microbiota has important effects on the health of their hosts. Recent research highlights that animal populations that live in captivity often differ in microbiota diversity and composition from wild populations. However, the changes that may occur when animals move to captivity remain difficult to predict and factors generating such differences are poorly understood.

The swan genome and transcriptome, it is not all black and white.

Background: The Australian black swan (Cygnus atratus) is an iconic species with contrasting plumage to that of the closely related northern hemisphere white swans. The relative geographic isolation of the black swan may have resulted in a limited immune repertoire and increased susceptibility to infectious diseases, notably infectious diseases from which Australia has been largely shielded. Unlike mallard ducks and the mute swan (Cygnus olor), the black swan is extremely sensitive to highly pathogenic avian influenza.

SARS-CoV-2 replicates and displays oncolytic properties in clear cell and papillary renal cell carcinoma.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is currently causing a global pandemic. Infection may result in a systemic disease called COVID-19, affecting primarily the respiratory tract. Often the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys also become involved.

Evolutionary features of a prolific subtype of avian influenza A virus in European waterfowl.

Avian influenza A virus (AIV) is ubiquitous in waterfowl and is detected annually at high prevalence in waterfowl during the Northern Hemisphere autumn. Some AIV subtypes are globally common in waterfowl, such as H3N8, H4N6, and H6N2, and are detected in the same populations at a high frequency, annually. In order to investigate genetic features associated to the long-term maintenance of common subtypes in migratory ducks, we sequenced 248 H4 viruses isolated across 8 years (2002-9) from mallards () sampled in southeast Sweden.

Transatlantic spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 by wild birds from Europe to North America in 2021.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses of the A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage (GsGd), which threaten the health of poultry, wildlife and humans, are spreading across Asia, Europe, Africa and North America but are currently absent from South America and Oceania. In December 2021, H5N1 HPAI viruses were detected in poultry and a free-living gull in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Detection of DNA in blood donors in southeastern Sweden.

Background: The tick-borne bacterium can cause persistent asymptomatic bloodstream infections, but transfusion-mediated transmission has not been reported. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of in blood donors, and recipients of blood components from -positive donors were traced.

Methods: In 2019 and 2021, 1007 blood donors were recruited.

Impaired SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell reactivity in patients with cirrhosis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.

Background & Aims: Cirrhosis entails elevated risk of COVID-19-associated mortality. This study determined T cell-mediated and antibody reactivity against the spike 1 (S1) protein of SARS-CoV-2 among 48 patients with cirrhosis and 39 healthy controls after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.

Methods: SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell reactivity was measured by induced level of T cell-derived interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in blood cells stimulated with multimeric peptides spanning the N-terminal portion of S1.

Freeze-drying can replace cold-chains for transport and storage of fecal microbiome samples.

Background: The transport and storage of samples in temperatures of minus 80 °C is commonly considered as the gold standard for microbiome studies. However, studies conducting sample collection at remote sites without a reliable cold-chain would benefit from a sample preservation method that allows transport and storage at ambient temperature.

Methods: In this study we compare alpha diversity and 16S microbiome composition of 20 fecal sample replicates from Damaraland mole-rats () preserved in a minus 80 °C freezer and transported on dry ice to freeze-dried samples that were stored and transported in ambient temperature until DNA extraction.

Deficiency of SARS-CoV-2 T-cell responses after vaccination in long-term allo-HSCT survivors translates into abated humoral immunity.

Recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) for hematological diseases are at risk of severe disease and death from COVID-19. To determine the safety and immunogenicity of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines, samples from 50 infection-naive allo-HSCT recipients (median, 92 months from transplantation, range, 7-340 months) and 39 healthy controls were analyzed for serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) against the receptor binding domain (RBD) within spike 1 (S1) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; anti-RBD-S1 IgG) and for SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell immunity, reflected by induction of T-cell-derived interferon-γ in whole blood stimulated ex vivo with 15-mer SI-spanning peptides with 11 amino acid overlap S1-spanning peptides. The rate of seroconversion was not significantly lower in allo-transplanted patients than in controls with 24% (12/50) and 6% (3/50) of patients remaining seronegative after the first and second vaccination, respectively.

Migration distance affects how closely Eurasian wigeons follow spring phenology during migration.

Background: The timing of migration for herbivorous migratory birds is thought to coincide with spring phenology as emerging vegetation supplies them with the resources to fuel migration, and, in species with a capital breeding strategy also provides individuals with energy for use on the breeding grounds. Individuals with very long migration distances might however have to trade off between utilising optimal conditions en route and reaching the breeding grounds early, potentially leading to them overtaking spring on the way. Here, we investigate whether migration distance affects how closely individually tracked Eurasian wigeons follow spring phenology during spring migration.

Presence of interferon-λ 4, male gender, absent/mild steatosis and low viral load augment antibody levels to hepatitis C virus.

Objectives: Despite recombinant interferon-λ 4 (IFN-λ4) demonstrating anti-viral activity and the ancestral functional gene () being conserved in all other primates, there has been speculation that IFN-λ4 may be detrimental in humans. In light of recent rekindled interest in humoral immunity, this study aimed at evaluating the impact of baseline characteristics, including , on antibody levels to hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Materials And Methods: Pretreatment sera from 279 well-characterized North European Caucasians with chronic HCV genotype 2 or 3 infection having undergone liver biopsy were analyzed regarding (rs12979860) and anti-HCV antibody levels using a commercially available assay.

Absence of interferon-λ 4 enhances spontaneous clearance of acute hepatitis C virus genotypes 1-3 infection.

Objectives: Absence of a functional interferon-λ 4 (IFN-λ4) gene () predicts spontaneous resolution of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in regions with a predominance of genotype 1, whereas variants of the inosine triphosphate pyrophosphatase (ITPase) gene () entailing reduced activity associate with increased sustained virologic response rates following some therapeutic regimens. This study aimed at investigating the impact of on acute HCV genotype 2 or 3 infections, and whether ITPase activity influenced outcome.

Materials And Methods: Two hundred and seven people who injected drugs (PWID) with documented anti-HCV seroconversion, and 57 PWID with reinfection with HCV were analyzed regarding (rs368234815 and rs12979860) and (rs1127354 and rs7270101), and longitudinally followed regarding HCV RNA.