Possible effects of ancestry-related oxysterol-binding protein-like 10 genetic polymorphisms on dengue virus replication and anti-dengue immune response.

Purpose: Oxysterol-binding protein-like 10 (OSBPL10) gene has been associated with reduced susceptibility to severe dengue in individuals of African descent. The aim of this study was to determine the possible effect of OSBPL10 on dengue virus (DENV) replication as well as the impact of African and European haplotypes of six OSBPL10 small nuclear polymorphisms (SNPs) on dengue multiplication and innate immune response.

Methods: We conducted gene knockdown experiments targeting OSBPL10 in THP-1 and Huh-7D12 cell lines, followed by a DENV-2 replication assay.

Compounds with potentialities as novel chemotherapeutic agents in leishmaniasis at preclinical level.

Leishmaniasis are neglected infectious diseases caused by kinetoplastid protozoan parasites from the genus Leishmania. These sicknesses are present mainly in tropical regions and almost 1 million new cases are reported each year. The absence of vaccines, as well as the high cost, toxicity or resistance to the current drugs determines the necessity of new treatments against these pathologies.

Immunogenicity and safety assessment of a SARS-CoV-2 recombinant spike RBD protein vaccine (Abdala) in paediatric ages 3-18 years old: a double-blinded, multicentre, randomised, phase 1/2 clinical trial (ISMAELILLO study).

Background: COVID-19 in paediatric ages could result in hospitalizations and death. In addition, excluding children from vaccination could turn them into reservoirs of the SARS-COV-2. Safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines are urgently needed for large-scale paediatric vaccination.

Anti-Treponema pallidum IgA response as a potential diagnostic marker of syphilis.

Objectives: Serological tests for syphilis detect mainly total Ig, IgM or IgG antibodies. We aimed to evaluate the specific IgA response in syphilis patients according to disease stage.

Methods: A serum IgA-enzyme immunoassay was developed using commercially available microplates coated with recombinant treponemal antigens and an anti-IgA-conjugate.

infection in Cuban adolescent and young populations.

Background: In Cuba, little is known regarding the prevalence of (CT) infection in adolescents and young people. We study the frequency of CT infection in these populations, and its association with clinical-epidemiological variables.

Methods: A total of 496 individuals aged 12 to 24 were recruited from November 2018 to November 2019.

Neuroangiostrongyliasis: Updated Provisional Guidelines for Diagnosis and Case Definitions.

is the main causative agent for eosinophilic meningoencephalitis in humans. Larvae are rarely found in the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). Consequently, serology and DNA detection represent important diagnostic tools.

First report of natural Wolbachia infections in mosquitoes from Cuba.

Mosquitoes are extensively responsible for the transmission of pathogens. Novel strategies using Wolbachia could transform that scenario, since these bacteria manipulate mosquito reproduction, and can confer a pathogen transmission-blocking phenotype in culicids. Here, we screened the Wolbachia surface protein region by PCR in eight Cuban mosquito species.

Early diagnostic indicators of dengue versus other febrile illnesses in Asia and Latin America (IDAMS study): a multicentre, prospective, observational study.

Background: Improvements in the early diagnosis of dengue are urgently needed, especially in resource-limited settings where the distinction between dengue and other febrile illnesses is crucial for patient management.

Methods: In this prospective, observational study (IDAMS), we included patients aged 5 years and older with undifferentiated fever at presentation from 26 outpatient facilities in eight countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, El Salvador, Indonesia, Malaysia, Venezuela, and Viet Nam). We used multivariable logistic regression to investigate the association between clinical symptoms and laboratory tests with dengue versus other febrile illnesses between day 2 and day 5 after onset of fever (ie, illness days).

Adverse Drug Reactions during COVID-19 Treatment: A Comprehensive Analysis Focused on Hospitalized Patients, with the Use of a Survey in Cuba in 2020.

Aims: To evaluate the prevalence and type of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), together with associated risk factors, among Cuban COVID-19 patients treated with chloroquine (CQ), lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r), or interferon 2b (IFN 2b), according to the Cuban protocol.

Materials And Methods: A prospective descriptive analysis of ADRs was performed on 200 COVID-19 patients who were admitted consecutively to three hospitals in Havana and Pinar del Río from April to July 2020. Information on demographics, ADRs, outcomes, behavioral, and health-related factors was collected using a validated questionnaire and clinical records.

Aedes albopictus (Skuse) dispersion in Havana City, Cuba, 1995-2018.

Various arboviruses are transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, particularly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, two invasive and frequently sympatric species. The objective of this study was to evaluate the dispersion and the behavior of Ae. albopictus in relation to houses and its association with other mosquitoes in the province of Havana, Cuba.

Educational intervention for the control of Aedes aegypti with Wolbachia in Yucatan, Mexico.

Unlabelled: The implementation of new control strategies for Aedes aegypti (Ae. Aegpyti), a vector of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses, requires communities to adopt specific behaviors to achieve the success of these innovations.

Aim: We evaluated the effect of an educational intervention based on the Precede-Proceed Model (PPM) and the Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DIT) for the control and prevention of diseases transmitted by Ae.

High Levels of Serum Bile Acids in COVID-19 Patients on Hospital Admission.

Introduction: Bile acids are signaling molecules with immune, metabolic and intestinal microbiota control actions. In high serum concentrations they increase inflammatory response from the liver-gut axis, until causing multiorgan failure and death; therefore, they may be associated with COVID-19's clinical progression, as a consequence of tissue and metabolic damage caused by SARS-CoV-2. While this topic is of considerable clinical interest, to our knowledge, it has not been studied in Cuba.

Temporal-Spatial Distribution of Vibrio cholerae in Cuba: July 1997-December 2019.

Introduction: Vibrio cholerae is a microorganism that causes acute diarrheal diseases and cholera, one of the leading causes of global morbidity and mortality, especially in children under five years old. It is present in many regions and has been isolated from diverse sources such as water, soil and food. Surveillance of this microorganism in Cuba from 1985 through June 1997 showed circulation of non-epidemic non-O1/non-O139 serogroups, but surveillance continued to identify distribution of V.

Epidemiological Characterization of Patients in the First Eight Weeks Following Detection of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 (omicron) Variant in Cuba.

Introduction: In November 2021, omicron-a new SARS-CoV-2 variant-was identified in South Africa and almost immediately, WHO declared it a 'variant of concern'. In view of its rapid worldwide spread and its imminent introduction in Cuba, genomic surveillance was strengthened.

Objective: Describe cases during the first eight epidemiological weeks (epiweeks) of SARS-CoV-2 infection attributable to omicron variant in Cuba by clinical and epidemiological variables.

Hepatitis E virus in Cuba: A cross-sectional serological and virological study in pigs and people occupationally exposed to pigs.

Surveillance of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in risk groups is an important strategy to monitor its circulation pattern and to timely detect changes thereof. The aims of this cross-sectional study were to estimate the prevalence of HEV infections in pigs and humans from different regions of the country, to identify risk factors for increasing anti-HEV IgG prevalence and to characterize HEV strains. The presence of anti-HEV antibodies was assessed by commercial ELISA in serum samples from the general population, farm and slaughterhouse employees, as well as pigs sampled in the three regions of Cuba from February to September 2016.

Imported cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Cuba, 2017: role of human movement.

Background: Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease caused by several species from genus Leishmania. An increase in the number of cases related to human movement has been informed in the last years. Due to the increase of suspicious leishmaniasis cases arriving in Cuba during 2017, a general analysis is presented herein.

Community-Acquired Uropathogenic , Antimicrobial Susceptibility, and Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase Detection.

Introduction: Urinary tract infection is the second-leading reason for consults in primary health care. Bacterial urinary tract infections are the most common, of which is the main etiologic agent. Antimicrobial resistance and multidrug resistance complicate effective community treatment, especially if resistance is caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase production.

Carbapenamase-Producing Acinetobacter baumannii in China, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Introduction: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii is a complex health problem, causing difficulties in clinical-therapeutic management worldwide. It is of particular concern in Latin America, the Caribbean and China, where it is an emerging health problem. Carbapenemases produced by these organisms inactivate carbapenem antibiotics.

Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Havana, Cuba, March-June 2020: Epidemiological Implications.

Introduction: The percentage of asymptomatic COVID-19 cases worldwide is estimated at 18-50%; 53% in Cuba specifically, and 58% in Havana, the Cuban capital and the 2020 epicenter of the country's COVID-19 epidemic. These figures, however, do not represent the transmission capacity or behavior of asymptomatic cases. Understanding asymptomatic transmission's contribution to SARS-CoV-2 spread is of great importance to disease control and prevention.

SARS-CoV-2: theoretical analysis of the proposed algorithms to the enhancement and segmentation of high-resolution microscopy images-Part II.

Today is a reality that the novel coronavirus SARS-Cov-2 has become a global pandemic. For this reason, the study of real microscopic images of this coronavirus is of great importance, as it allows us to carry out a more precise research on it. However, as we pointed out in a former paper as reported by Roberto Rodríguez (SARS-CoV-2: Enhancement and Segmentation of High-Resolution Microscopy Images.

Subtype-Dependent Co-receptor Tropism in Cuban HIV-1-Infected Patients: Implications for Maraviroc Treatment.

Introduction: Unlike most high-income countries where subtype B viruses predominate, the Cuban HIV-1 epidemic is characterized by a great diversity of subtypes and circulating recombinant forms. Some studies have shown that HIV variants exhibiting a preference for the CXCR4 co-receptor (X4-tropic) could have impacts on disease pathogenesis, with clinical implications for antiviral treatment plans. Determination of HIV co-receptor tropism is crucial for clinicians in deciding whether maraviroc is an appropriate antiviral.

Multi-Tissue Transcriptomic-Informed In Silico Investigation of Drugs for the Treatment of Dengue Fever Disease.

Transcriptomics, proteomics and pathogen-host interactomics data are being explored for the in silico-informed selection of drugs, prior to their functional evaluation. The effectiveness of this kind of strategy has been put to the test in the current COVID-19 pandemic, and it has been paying off, leading to a few drugs being rapidly repurposed as treatment against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Several neglected tropical diseases, for which treatment remains unavailable, would benefit from informed in silico investigations of drugs, as performed in this work for Dengue fever disease.

SARS-CoV-2: preliminary study of infected human nasopharyngeal tissue by high resolution microscopy.

Background: The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the etiological agent of COVID-19. This virus has become one of the most dangerous in recent times with a very high rate of transmission. At present, several publications show the typical crown-shape of the novel coronavirus grown in cell cultures.

Use of different approaches for the culture-independent typing of Mycoplasma pneumoniae from two geographically distinct regions.

We used multi-locus variable-number of tandem repeat analysis (MLVA), p1, multi-locus sequence (MLS) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) typing to characterize a collection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae strains from Cuba and Germany. Among 67 strains, 5 p1, 7 MLVA, 11 MLS, and 11 SNP types were obtained.

Clinical-Epidemiological Characteristics of the First Patients Diagnosed with COVID-19 in Cuba.

Introduction: COVID-19 is caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, the same day that the first cases in Cuba were diagnosed. In Cuba, all confirmed cases of COVID-19 were hospitalized from this point forward.

Objective: Characterize the first patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Cuba.