Clinical Performance of the LiquidArray Gastrointestinal VER 1.0 Assay in Patients with Suspected Gastroenteritis.

Background/objectives: Rapid and accurate pathogen identification is essential for the proper management of patients with infectious gastroenteritis, as well as for a better control of disease outbreaks. This observational, non-interventional, single-site study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of LiquidArray Gastrointestinal VER 1.0, a multiplex PCR syndromic panel capable of detecting up to 26 clinically relevant enteropathogens.

Near real-time severe acute respiratory illness surveillance characterising influenza and COVID-19 epidemiology in hospitalised adults, 2021-22.

Objectives: We report the findings of a novel enhanced syndromic surveillance that characterised influenza- and SARS-CoV-2-associated severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) in the 2021/2022 winter season.

Methods: Prospective cohort study of adults admitted to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, with a severe acute respiratory illness. Patient demographics, clinical history, admission details, and outcomes were recorded.

Examining trends in the incidence of HIV infection among people with a history of drug use to inform an outbreak investigation and response: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: In the context of an outbreak of HIV among people who inject drugs in Glasgow, Scotland, identified in 2015, our objectives were to: (1) develop epidemiological methods to estimate HIV incidence using data linkage, and (2) examine temporal changes in HIV incidence to inform public health responses.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study involving data linkage of laboratory HIV testing data to identify individuals with a history of drug use. Person-years (PY) and Poisson regression were used to estimate incidence by time period (pre-outbreak: 2000-2010 and 2011-2013; early outbreak: 2014-2016; ongoing outbreak: 2017-2019).

Evaluating the risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection with the Omicron or Delta variant in Wales, UK.

Recent studies suggest an increased risk of reinfection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant compared with previous variants, potentially due to an increased ability to escape immunity specific to older variants, high antigenic divergence of Omicron from earlier virus variants as well as its altered cell entry pathway. The present study sought to investigate epidemiological evidence for differential SARS-CoV-2 reinfection intervals and incidence rates for the Delta versus Omicron variants within Wales. Reinfections in Wales up to February 2022 were defined using genotyping and whole genome sequencing.

Double testing with lateral flow antigen test devices for COVID-19: does a second test in quick succession add value?

Background/objectives: We investigated if performing two lateral flow device (LFD) tests, LFD2 immediately after LFD1, could improve diagnostic sensitivity or specificity for detecting severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigen.

Study Design: Individuals aged ≥16 years attending UK community testing sites (February-May 2021) performed two successive LFD tests and provided a nose-and-throat sample for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Using the PCR result as the reference diagnosis, we assessed whether improvements could be achieved in sensitivity (by counting a positive result in either LFD as a positive overall test result) or specificity (by using LFD2 as confirmatory test).

Automation and standardisation of a quantitative multiplex PCR assay using PCR.Ai.

Background: We previously undertook a prospective clinical study to evaluate PCR.Ai's (www.pcr.

How do we conduct a national transfusion related lookback program?

Background: Lookback investigations are conducted by blood services when a risk of transmission of infection from a donor to a recipient has been identified. They involve tracing transfusion recipients and offering them testing for the relevant infectious agent. Results are relayed to the recipient to provide reassurance that there has been no transmission or to ensure appropriate treatment and care if required, and blood services are able to learn lessons from the planning, delivery, and outcomes of the investigation.

KCL TEST: an open-source inspired asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 surveillance programme in an academic institution.

Rapid and accessible testing was paramount in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our university established KCL TEST: a SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic testing programme that enabled sensitive and accessible PCR testing of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in saliva. Here, we describe our learnings and provide our blueprint for launching diagnostic laboratories, particularly in low-resource settings.

Evaluating the effect of direct-acting antiviral agent treatment scale-up on Hepatitis C virus prevalence among people who inject drugs in UK.

Background: There is limited empirical work assessing the effectiveness of treatment as prevention (TasP) in reducing HCV prevalence among people who inject drugs (PWID). Here, we used survey data from the UK during 2010-2020, to evaluate the impact of direct-acting antiviral agent (DAA) treatment scale-up, which started in 2015, on HCV prevalence among PWID.

Methods: We fitted a logistic regression to time/location specific data on prevalence from the Needle Exchange Surveillance Initiative in Scotland and Unlinked Anonymous Monitoring programme in England.

Hepatitis C virus diversity and treatment outcomes in Benin: a prospective cohort study.

Background: 10 million people are chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in sub-Saharan Africa. The assessment of viral genotypes and treatment response in this region is necessary to achieve the WHO target of worldwide elimination of viral hepatitis by 2030. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of HCV genotypes and outcomes of treatment with direct-acting antiviral agents in Benin, a country with a national HCV seroprevalence of 4%.

Interim 2023/2024 Season Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness in Primary and Secondary Care in the United Kingdom.

Background: We report 2023/2024 season interim influenza vaccine effectiveness for three studies, namely, primary care in Great Britain, hospital settings in Scotland and hospital settings in England.

Methods: A test negative design was used to estimate vaccine effectiveness.

Results: Estimated vaccine effectiveness against all influenzas ranged from 63% (95% confidence interval 46 to 75%) to 65% (41 to 79%) among children aged 2-17, from 36% (20 to 49%) to 55% (43 to 65%) among adults 18-64 and from 40% (29 to 50%) to 55% (32 to 70%) among adults aged 65 and over.

End of 2022/23 Season Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness in Primary Care in Great Britain.

Background: The 2022/23 influenza season in the United Kingdom saw the return of influenza to prepandemic levels following two seasons with low influenza activity. The early season was dominated by A(H3N2), with cocirculation of A(H1N1), reaching a peak late December 2022, while influenza B circulated at low levels during the latter part of the season. From September to March 2022/23, influenza vaccines were offered, free of charge, to all aged 2-13 (and 14-15 in Scotland and Wales), adults up to 49 years of age with clinical risk conditions and adults aged 50 and above across the mainland United Kingdom.

Transitioning from Triton X-100 to Tergitol 15-S-9: impacts on diagnostic assays using viral PCR sample solution.

In 2019, the European Union banned Triton X-100, a detergent widely used in laboratory diagnostics, including the Viral PCR Sample Solution (VPSS), and urged manufacturers to find environmentally sustainable alternatives. Tergitol 15-S-9 (VPSS2) has been proposed as an alternative surfactant. This multicenter study evaluated the effectiveness of VPSS2, a Tergitol-based viral solution, as a replacement for VPSS.

Impact of molecular ciprofloxacin resistance testing in management of gonorrhoea in a large urban clinic.

Objectives: Antibiotic resistance in gonorrhoea is of significant public health concern with the emergence of resistance to last-line therapies such as ceftriaxone. Despite around half of isolates tested in the UK being susceptible to ciprofloxacin, very little ciprofloxacin is used in clinical practice. Testing for the S91F mutation associated with ciprofloxacin resistance is now available in CE-marked assays and may reduce the requirement for ceftriaxone, but many patients are treated empirically, or as sexual contacts, which may limit any benefit.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on HIV Test Uptake Among People Who Inject Drugs in the Context of an HIV Outbreak.

Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, has been experiencing an HIV outbreak among people who inject drugs (PWID) since 2015. A key focus of the public health response has been to increase HIV testing among those at risk of infection. Our aim was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on HIV testing among PWID in Glasgow.

A Multinational Case Series Describing Successful Treatment of Persistent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection Caused by Omicron Sublineages With Prolonged Courses of Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir.

The optimum treatment for persistent infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is not known. Our case series, across 5 hospitals in 3 countries, describes 11 cases where persistent SARS-CoV-2 infection was successfully treated with prolonged courses (median, 10 days [range, 10-18 days]) of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid). Most cases (9/11) had hematological malignancy and 10 (10/11) had received CD20-depleting therapy.

Impact of swab removal in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 weakly-positive specimens.

Removing the swab after collection can speed up diagnosis and improve the quality of laboratory procedures. This study investigates the impact of swab removal on SARS-CoV-2 detection in clinical specimens with a focus on high Cycle threshold (Ct) samples (Cts≥32). The method assessed pairs of SARS-CoV-2 samples mimicking combined throat and nose swabs and tested them on two real-time-PCR platforms; the Applied Biosystems 7500 and the Abbott Alinity.

Swab pooling enables rapid expansion of high-throughput capacity for SARS-CoV-2 community testing.

Background: The challenges of rapid upscaling of testing capacity were a major lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic response. The need for process adjustments in high-throughput testing laboratories made sample pooling a challenging option to implement.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether pooling samples at source (swab pooling) was as effective as qRT-PCR testing of individuals in identifying cases of SARS-CoV-2 in real-world community testing conditions using the same high-throughput pipeline.

Postpandemic rebound of adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2) infections temporally associated with an outbreak of unexplained severe acute hepatitis in children in the United Kingdom.

Over 1000 cases of unexplained severe acute hepatitis in children have been reported to date worldwide. An association with adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2) infection, a human parvovirus, prompted us to investigate the epidemiology of AAV in the United Kingdom. Three hundred pediatric respiratory samples collected before (April 03, 2009-April 03, 2013) and during (April 03, 2022) the COVID-19 pandemic were obtained.