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Abstract Background Previous studies have proven that the closure of live poultry markets (LPMs) was an effective intervention to reduce human risk of avian influenza A (H7N9) infection, but evidence is limited on the impact of scale and duration of LPMs closure on the transmission of H7N9. Method Five cities (i.e., Shanghai, Suzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hangzhou) with the largest number of H7N9 cases in mainland China from 2013 to 2017 were selected in this study. Data on laboratory-confirmed H7N9 human cases in those five cities were obtained from the Chinese National Influenza Centre. The detailed information of LPMs closure (i.e., area and duration) was obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture. We used a generalized linear model with a Poisson link to estimate the effect of LPMs closure, reported as relative risk reduction (RRR). We used classification and regression trees (CARTs) model to select and quantify the dominant factor of H7N9 infection. Results All five cities implemented the LPMs closure, and the risk of H7N9 infection decreased significantly after LPMs closure with RRR ranging from 0.80 to 0.93. Respectively, a long-term LPMs closure for 10–13 weeks elicited a sustained and highly significant risk reduction of H7N9 infection (RRR = 0.98). Short-time LPMs closure with 2 weeks in every epidemic did not reduce the risk of H7N9 infection (p > 0.05). Partially closed LPMs in some suburbs contributed only 35% for reduction rate (RRR = 0.35). Shenzhen implemented partial closure for first 3 epidemics (p > 0.05) and all closure in the latest 2 epidemic waves (RRR = 0.64). Conclusion Our findings suggest that LPMs all closure in whole city can be a highly effective measure comparing with partial closure (i.e. only urban closure, suburb and rural remain open). Extend the duration of closure and consider permanently closing the LPMs will help improve the control effect. The effect of LPMs closure seems greater than that of meteorology on H7N9 transmission.…

The ‘hypervirulent’ variant of Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKp) is a predominant cause of community-acquired pyogenic liver abscess in Asia, and is an emerging pathogen in Western countries. hvKp infections have demonstrated ‘metastatic’ dissemination in immunocompetent hosts, an unusual mode of infection associated with severe complications. Two cases alerted us to the possible presence of hvKp at our hospital, both involving elderly Hispanic males who presented with recurrent fever, bacteremia, epigastric pain, and liver abscesses/phlegmon, thus prompting an assessment of hvKp prevalence.

AbstractBackgroundAlthough Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative bacterial bloodstream infections (SAB/GNB) cause substantial morbidity, little is known regarding patient perceptions’ of their impact on quality of life (QOL). Guidance for assessing QOL and disease-specific measures are lacking. We conducted a descriptive qualitative study to gain an in-depth understanding of patients’ experiences with SAB/GNB and concept elicitation phase to inform a patient-reported QOL outcome measure.MethodsProspective one-time, in-depth, semi-structured, individual, qualitative telephone interview 6-8 weeks following bloodstream infection with either SAB or GNB. Patients were enrolled in an institutional registry (tertiary academic medical center) for SAB or GNB. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded. Directed content analysis identified a priori and emergent themes. Theme matrix techniques were used to facilitate analysis and presentation.ResultsInterviews were completed with 30 SAB and 31 GNB patients. Most patients were at or near the end of intravenous antibiotic treatment when interviewed. We identified 3 primary high-level concepts: impact on QOL domains, time as a critical index, and sources of variability across patients. Across both types of bloodstream infection, the QOL domains most impacted were physical and functional, which was particularly evident among SAB patients.ConclusionSAB/GNB impact QOL among survivors. In particular, SAB had major impacts on multiple QOL domains. A combination of existing, generic measures that are purposefully selected and disease-specific items, if necessary, could best capture these impacts. Engaging patients as stakeholders and obtaining their feedback is crucial to conducting patient-centered clinical trials and providing patient-centered care.

AbstractBackgroundElevated serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level was observed in most patients with COVID-19.MethodsData of COVID-19 patients with clinical outcome in a designated hospital in Wuhan, China, were retrospectively collected and analyzed from Jan 30 to Feb 20, 2020. The prognostic value of admission CRP was evaluated in patients with COVID-19.ResultsOut of 298 patients enrolled, 84 died and 214 recovered. Most non-survivors tended to be males, old aged, or with chronic diseases. Compared to survivors, non-survivors showed significantly elevated white blood cell and neutrophil count, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII, defined by platelet count multiply by NLR), CRP, procalcitonin, and D-dimer, and decreased red blood cell, lymphocyte, and platelet count. Age, neutrophil count, platelet count, and CRP were identified as independent predictors of adverse outcome. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of CRP (0.896) was significantly higher than that of age (0.833), neutrophil count (0.820), and platelet count (0.678) in outcome prediction (all p

AbstractBackgroundHigher density of Neisseria meningitidis carriage may be associated with transmission of the meningococcus. Our aim was to establish the impact of 4CMenB vaccine on N. meningitidis carriage density.MethodsWe compared 4CMenB vaccine to control among 913 South Australian students aged approximately 15-18 years in a cluster randomized trial who had N. meningitidis carriage at 12 months. Oropharyngeal swabs were collected at baseline and 12 months later to detect N. meningitidis carriage. Colony forming units per millilitre (CFU/ml) were estimated by generating a standard curve that plotted qPCR cycle threshold values against log-normalized CFU.ResultsAmong the 913 students with N. meningitidis carriage at 12 months, there was no difference in mean carriage density between the vaccinated (n=434, 3.80 log CFU/ml [SD 1.29]) and control group (n=479, 3.73 log CFU/ml [SD 1.30]; p=0.51). Higher N. meningitidis carriage density at baseline was associated with an increase in the odds of persistent carriage at 12 months (n=504, odds ratio per 1.0 log CFU/ml increase in density = 1.36 [95% CI, 1.17, 1.58], p

AbstractBackgroundIn December 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) broke out in Wuhan. Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 have been reported, but the relationships between laboratory features and viral load has not been comprehensively described.MethodsAdult inpatients (≥18 years old) with COVID-19 who underwent multiple (≥ 5 times) nucleic acid tests with nasal and pharyngeal swabs were recruited from Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, including general patients (n=70), severe patients (n=195) and critical patients (n=43). Laboratory data, demographic and clinical data were extracted from electronic medical records. The fitted polynomial curve was used to explore the association between serial viral loads and illness severity.ResultsViral load of SARS-CoV-2 peaked within the first few days (2-4 days) after admission, then decreased rapidly along with virus rebound under treatment. Critical patients had the highest viral loads, in contrast to the general patients showing the lowest viral loads. The viral loads were higher in sputum compared with nasal and pharyngeal swab (p=0.026). The positive rate of respiratory tract samples was significantly higher than that of gastrointestinal tract samples (p

Abstract Background Kosakonia cowanii, formerly known as Enterobacter cowanii, is a Gram-negative bacillus belonging to the order Enterobacterales. The species is usually recognized as a plant pathogen and has only anecdotally been encountered as a human pathogen. Here we describe the rare case of a K. cowanii infection presenting as an acute cholecystitis and provide a review of available literature. Evident difficulties in species identification by biochemical profiling suggests that potentially, K. cowanii might represent an underestimated human pathogen. Case presentation A 61-year old immunocompromised man presented to the hospital with fever and pain in the upper right abdomen. Sonography revealed an inflamed gall bladder and several gall stones. A cholecystectomy proved diagnosis of an acute cholecystitis with a partial necrosis of the gall bladder. Surgical specimen grew pure cultures of Gram-negative rods unambiguously identified as K. cowanii by MALDI-TOF, 16S-rRNA analysis and whole genome sequencing. Conclusions Reporting cases of Kosakonia species can shed light on the prevalence and clinical importance of this rare cause of human infection. Our case is the first to describe an infection without prior traumatic inoculation of the pathogen from its usual habitat, a plant, to the patient. This raises the question of the route of infections as well as the pathogen’s ability to colonize the human gut.…

Abstract Background Plasmodium vivax rarely develops severe complications when compared to severe falciparum malaria. However, severe vivax malaria also needs urgent, intensive care and treatment as severe falciparum malaria. This systematic review aimed to explore pooled prevalence of severe vivax malaria and to identify factors related to poor outcome of patients who developed severe manifestation. Methods The systematic review conducted by two reviewers independently through searching of research publications related to severe P. vivax malaria in three databases including MEDLINE, Web of Science (ISI), and Scopus until October, 22 2019. The pooled prevalence of severe vivax malaria was achieved using STATA and RevMan 5 Software. Factors related to poor outcome of patients with severe vivax malaria were analyzed using SPSS 11.5 Software. Results Among 2615 research publications retrieved from three databases, 49 articles reporting on 42,325 severity cases were selected for calculating pooled prevalence. Seventy-six patients from case reports, case series, letter to editors, and research communications were collected to identify factors related to poor outcome of patients with severe vivax malaria. The results showed that severe anemia, jaundice, respiratory distress, impaired consciousness, and renal failure were the most common major manifestations of severe malaria guided by the World Health Organization (WHO) criterion. The meta-analysis indicated that severe malaria was less frequent in patient with P. vivax compared to those with P. falciparum (P -value

Abstract Background Reports of human rickettsial infection in Indonesia are limited. This study sought to characterize the epidemiology of human rickettsioses amongst patients hospitalized with fever at 8 tertiary hospitals in Indonesia. Methods Acute and convalescent blood from 975 hospitalized non-dengue patients was tested for Rickettsia IgM and IgG by ELISA. Specimens from cases with seroconversion or increasing IgM and/or IgG titers were tested for Rickettsia IgM and IgG by IFA and Rickettsia genomes using primers for Rickettsia (R.) sp, R. typhi, and Orientia tsutsugamushi. Testing was performed retrospectively on stored specimens; results did not inform patient management. Results R. typhi, R. rickettsii, and O. tsutsugamushi IgG antibodies were identified in 269/872 (30.8%), 36/634 (5.7%), and 19/504 (3.8%) of samples, respectively. For the 103/975 (10.6%) non-dengue patients diagnosed with acute rickettsial infection, presenting symptoms included nausea (72%), headache (69%), vomiting (43%), lethargy (33%), anorexia (32%), arthralgia (30%), myalgia (28%), chills (28%), epigastric pain (28%), and rash (17%). No acute rickettsioses cases were suspected during hospitalization. Discharge diagnoses included typhoid fever (44), dengue fever (20), respiratory infections (7), leptospirosis (6), unknown fever (6), sepsis (5), hepatobiliary infections (3), UTI (3), and others (9). Fatalities occurred in 7 (6.8%) patients, mostly with co-morbidities. Conclusions Rickettsial infections are consistently misdiagnosed, often as leptospirosis, dengue, or Salmonella typhi infection. Clinicians should include rickettsioses in their differential diagnosis of fever to guide empiric management; laboratories should support evaluation for rickettsial etiologies; and public policy should be implemented to reduce burden of disease.…

Abstract Background Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is one of the most common causes of community acquired pneumonia (CAP). Establishing an early diagnosis of M. pneumoniae pneumonia in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) may have important therapeutic implications. Methods We describe diagnosis and management of M. pneumoniae pneumonia induced ARDS in a case series of adults and youth hospitalized with radiographically confirmed CAP prospectively enrolled in an observational cohort study in two university teaching hospitals, from November 2017 to October 2019. Results In all 10 patients, early and rapid diagnosis for severe M. pneumoniae pneumonia with ARDS was achieved with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) testing of samples from the lower respiratory tract or pleural effusion. The average PaO2/FiO2 of all patients was 180 mmHg. Of the 10 cases, 4 cases had moderate ARDS (100 mmHg ≤ PaO2/FiO2 

Abstract Background Mycobacterium fortuitum complex is a group of rapidly growing nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) associated with skin and soft-tissue infections after surgery or trauma. Treatment of NTM is challenging, due to resistance to multiple antimycobacterial agents. Bedaquiline is a diarylquinoline that inhibits mycobacterial ATP-synthase. The drug has recently been approved for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and evidence of its in vitro efficacy against NTM, including Mycobacterium fortuitum complex, has been published. Case presentation A 20-year-old Caucasian woman with chronic skin and soft tissue infection in the lower leg following a traffic accident in Vietnam underwent a tedious journey of healthcare visits, hospital admissions, empiric antimicrobial treatments, surgical debridement and plastic reconstruction before definite diagnosis of Mycobacterium fortuitum complex-infection was established by culture from a tissue biopsy and targeted antimycobacterial therapy was administered. Histopathological examination revealed granulomatous purulent inflammation, which strongly supported the diagnosis. Genotypic identification was performed and broth microdilution for susceptibility testing showed macrolide resistance. Five weeks of induction treatment with intravenous amikacin, imipenem / cilastin, and oral levofloxacin was administered, followed by all-oral treatment with bedaquiline combined with levofloxacin for four months, which was well-tolerated and led to persistent healing with scars but without signs of residual infection. Conclusions Bedaquiline is a promising novel agent for NTM treatment, although clinical data are limited and trials evaluating efficacy, safety, and resistance of bedaquiline are required. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of successful in vivo use of bedaquiline for a skin and soft tissue infection caused by Mycobacterium fortuitum complex.…

Abstract Background The Xpert MTB/RIF assay is an automated molecular test that is designed to simultaneously detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) complex and rifampin resistance. However, there are relatively few studies on this method in China. Xpert has been routinely used at Peking University People’s Hospital (PKUPH) since November 2016. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of Xpert, and provide a reference and guidance for the detection and diagnosis of TB in non-TB specialized hospitals. Methods The medical records of inpatients simultaneously tested with Xpert, acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear microscopy, and interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA, by T-SPOT®.TB) at PKUPH from November 2016 to October 2018 were reviewed. Active TB cases were considered according to a composite reference standard (CRS). Then, the three methods were evaluated and compared. Results In total, 787 patients simultaneously tested with Xpert, AFB, and IGRA were enrolled; among them 11.3% (89/787) were diagnosed and confirmed active pulmonary TB (PTB, 52 cases), extrapulmonary TB (EPTB, 17 cases), and tuberculous pleurisy (TP, 20 cases). The sensitivity of Xpert in detecting PTB, EPTB, and TP was 88.5, 76.5, and 15.0%, respectively, which was slightly lower than IGRA (96.2, 82.4, and 95.0%, respectively), but higher than AFB (36.5, 11.8, and 0%, respectively); IGRA showed the highest sensitivity, but its specificity (55.9, 67.1, and 45.2%, respectively) was significantly lower than Xpert (99.6, 99.4, and 100%, respectively) and AFB (99.0, 99.4, and 100%, respectively) (P 

Abstract Background Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is an important cause of acute hepatitis worldwide. In pregnant women, HEV can cause more severe symptoms, with high rates of fatal hepatic failure in endemic countries. However, HEV prevalence and circulation among pregnant women from South America is almost unknown. We aimed to investigate HEV infection in pregnant women for the first time in Argentina. Methods IgG and IgM anti-HEV antibodies and RNA-HEV were investigated (by ELISA assays and RT-Nested-PCR, respectively) in 202 serum samples from pregnant women collected in the central region of Argentina between 2015 and 2017. A control group of 155 non-pregnant women was included (year 2018). Results The IgG anti-HEV positivity rate was 8.4% (17/202), higher than the 2.6% (4/155) obtained for the non-pregnant women control group, and showing association between pregnancy and HEV infection (p = 0.023, OR = 3.5, CI95% = 1.1–10.5). Women younger than 25 years old presented higher levels of antibodies, and there were no differences in the prevalences between trimesters of pregnancy. Two samples were reactive for IgM anti-HEV, showing recent infections, although no symptoms were registered in these patients. All samples were negative for RNA-HEV amplification. Conclusions HEV produces infections in pregnant women from Argentina, alerting health teams to consider it as a possible cause of liver disease.…

Tropical Medicine & International Health, Accepted Article.

Tropical Medicine & International Health, Accepted Article.

Tropical Medicine & International Health, Accepted Article.

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the northern hemisphere and is caused by spirochetes of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex. Lyme borreliae infect diverse vertebrate reservoirs without triggering apparent manifestations in these animals; however, Lyme borreliae strains differ in their reservoir hosts. The mechanisms that drive those differences are unknown. To survive in vertebrate hosts, Lyme borreliae require the ability to escape from host defense mechanisms, in particular complement.

The parasitic mite, Varroa destructor, has shaken the beekeeping and pollination industries since its spread from its native host, the Asian honey bee (Apis cerana), to the naïve European honey bee (Apis mellifera) used commercially for pollination and honey production around the globe. Varroa is the greatest threat to honey bee health. Worrying observations include increasing acaricide resistance in the varroa population and sinking economic treatment thresholds, suggesting that the mites or their vectored viruses are becoming more virulent.

The bacterial flagellum is beneficial in most cases but it can become a burden when the energy source is low because it is very costly to assemble and energize for motility. Recent electron cryo-tomography and real-time fluorescence microscopy studies suggest that bacteria can remove their flagella under starvation in a programmed way.

Journal of Medical Virology, Accepted Article.

Journal of Medical Virology, Accepted Article.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the disease it causes, Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), has put healthcare and financial systems worldwide under tremendous pressure. At present, COVID-19 has afflicted millions globally and the death toll is rapidly rising. Awaiting the development of effective and safe vaccines and antiviral therapies, researchers are struggling to better understand the disease and optimise supportive treatment.

To date, an outbreak of infectious diseases--coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused infection in over 2 millions people around the world. [1] Recent report by Fang et al showed that severe cases of COVID-19 had a prolonged time of viral RNA shedding. [2] Based on currently available information, the relationship between the dynamic of serum antibodies and viral replication is unclear. In this study, we investigated the correlation between serum antibodies and duration of viral RNA shedding.

In 1968, Joseph Sachs et al. published a report in the New England Journal of Medicine on urinary concentrations of nitrofurantoin after its oral administration to an unspecified number of hospitalized patients, some of whom required treatment for active urinary tract infection [1]. Nitrofurantoin recovery in the urine appeared to be linearly related to creatinine clearance. In “uremic” patients, whose creatinine clearances were not reported, the highest nitrofurantoin concentrations reached were considered likely too low to inhibit the growth of uropathogens, although neither minimal inhibitory concentrations nor microbiological or clinical outcomes were reported.

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise globally, evidence from large randomised controlled trials is still lacking. Currently, numerous trials testing potential treatment and preventative options are undertaken all over the world.

AbstractBackgroundWe previously reported that lymphocytopenia and T cell exhaustion is notable in acute COVID19 patients, especially in aged and severe cases. Thymosin alpha 1 (Tα1) had been used in the treatment of viral infections as an immune response modifier for many years. However, clinical benefits and mechanism of Tα1 supplement to COVID-19 are still unclear.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the clinical outcomes of 76 severe cases with COVID-19 admitted into two hospitals in Wuhan from December 2019 to March 2020. The thymus output in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from COVID-19 patients was measured by T cell receptor excision circles (TREC). The levels of T cell exhaustion markers PD-1 and Tim-3 on CD8+ T cells were detected by flow cytometry.ResultsCompared with untreated group, Tα1 treatment significantly reduces mortality of severe COVID-19 patients (11.11% vs. 30.00%, p=0.044). Tα1 timely enhances blood T cell numbers in COVID-19 patients with severe lymphocytopenia (the counts of CD8+ T cells or CD4+ T cells in circulation lower than 400/μL or 650/μL, respectively). Under such conditions, Tα1 also successfully restores CD8+ and CD4+ T cell numbers in aged patients. Meanwhile, Tα1 reduces PD-1 and Tim-3 expression on CD8+ T cells from severe COVID-19 patients in comparison with untreated cases. It is of note that restoration of lymphocytopenia and acute exhaustion of T cells are roughly parallel to the rise of TRECs.ConclusionsTα1 supplement significantly reduce mortality of severe COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 patients with the counts of CD8+ T cells or CD4+ T cells in circulation lower than 400/μL or 650/μL, respectively, gain more benefits from Tα1. Tα1 reverses T cell exhaustion and recovers immune reconstitution through promoting thymus output during SARS-CoV-2 infection.

AbstractDespite the existence of established treatments for hepatitis C virus (HCV), more effective means of preventing infection, such as a vaccine, are arguably needed to help reduce substantial global morbidity and mortality. Given the expected challenges of developing such a vaccine among those at heightened risk of infection, controlled human infection studies seem to be a promising potential approach to HCV vaccine development, but they raise substantial ethical and practical concerns. In this paper, we describe some of the challenges related to the possibility of using controlled human infection studies to accelerate HCV vaccine development. The related ethical and practical concerns require further deliberation before such studies are planned and implemented.

AbstractBackgroundWashington State served as the initial epicenter of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the United States. An understanding of the risk factors and clinical outcomes of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 may provide guidance for management.MethodsAll laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in adults admitted to an academic medical center in Seattle, WA between March 2 and March 26, 2020 were included. We evaluated individuals with and without severe disease, defined as admission to the intensive care unit or death.ResultsOne-hundred-five COVID-19 patients were hospitalized. Thirty-five percent were admitted from a senior home or skilled nursing facility. The median age was 69 years and half were women.Three or more comorbidities were present in 55% of patients, with hypertension (59%), obesity (47%), cardiovascular disease (38%) and diabetes (33%) being the most prevalent. Most (63%) had symptoms for 5 days or longer prior to admission. Only 39% had fever in the first 24 hours, whereas 41% had hypoxia at admission. Seventy-three percent of patients had lymphopenia. Of 50 samples available for additional testing, no viral coinfections were identified. Severe disease occurred in 49%. Eighteen percent of patients were placed on mechanical ventilation and the overall mortality rate was 33%.ConclusionsDuring the early days of the COVID-19 epidemic in Washington State, the disease had its greatest impact on elderly patients with medical comorbidities. We observed high rates of severe disease and mortality in our hospitalized patients.

AbstractIn a post-hoc analysis of samples from an intra-partum azithromycin randomized-clinical-trial, we found that children whose mothers had been treated with the drug had higher prevalence of macrolide resistance genes msr(A) and ermC at 28 days but not at 12 months. The two genes were positively associated in the nasopharynx…

Thelazia callipaeda is a nematode living on the surface of the eyes of domestic and wild carnivores and lagomorphs, being transmitted by zoophilic drosophilids belonging to the genus Phortica. It also infects humans, mainly children and the elderly in poor economic settings. For a long time it has been referred to as the oriental eyeworm for its distribution in many areas of southeast Asia (i.e., from China to Indonesia) and India. Since the early 1990s it has also been reported in Europe, arising in some spots in Italy.

Nature Medicine, Published online: 22 May 2020; doi:10.1038/d41591-020-00021-1Nature Medicine summarizes all the research you need to know this week to keep on top of how science is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Foeller ME, Ribeiro do Valle CC, Foeller TM, Oladapo OT, Roos E, Thorson AE. Pregnancy and breastfeeding in the context of Ebola: a systematic review. Lancet Infect Dis 2020; published online April 30. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30194-8—In this Review, the copyright license should have read “2020 World Health Organization. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved”. This correction has been made to the online version as of May 22, 2020, and will be made to the print version.

We read with interest the Correspondence from Sahaj Rathi and colleagues1 on hydroxychloroquine prophylaxis for COVID-19 contacts in India. The authors see the decision by the Indian Council of Medical Research, under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to recommend chemoprophylaxis with hydroxychloroquine in select groups of contacts at high risk as an abandonment of scientific reasoning in desperate times. We present our counterview on this issue.

AbstractWe simulated three transmission modes including close contact, respiratory droplets and aerosol routes in labratory. SARS-CoV-2 can be highly transmitted among naive hACE2 mice via close contact because 7/13 naive hACE2 mice were SARS-CoV-2 antibodies seropositivity on 14 days after introduced into the same cage with 3 infected-hACE2 mice. For respiratory droplets, SARS-CoV-2 antibodies from 3/10 naive hACE2 mice showed seropositivity on 14 days after introduced into the grids separated same cage from 3 infected-hACE2 mice. Additionally, hACE2 mice cannot be experimentally infected via aerosol inoculation until continued up to 25 min with high virus concentrations.

AbstractHistorical data regarding time to viral rebound following analytical treatment interruption (ATI) have been used to determine therapeutic efficacy in HIV cure trials; however, such data were collected from studies conducted a decade or more ago and included participants receiving older antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens with infrequent virologic monitoring. We conducted a study of 22 HIV-infected participants receiving “modern” ART to determine the kinetics of plasma viral rebound following ATI. Our data suggest that “modern” ART does not alter kinetics of viral rebound when compared to previous regimens and that immunologic interventions may be necessary to achieve ART-free virologic remission.

Journal of Medical Virology, Accepted Article.

Journal of Medical Virology, Accepted Article.

Journal of Medical Virology, Accepted Article.

Journal of Medical Virology, Accepted Article.

Journal of Medical Virology, Accepted Article.

Rabies accounts for more than 59,000 deaths worldwide per year (Hampson et al., 2015). Rabies is endemic in the Philippines, with 200–300 human rabies-related deaths annually, a third of them occurring in children…

AbstractInfluenza vaccine effectiveness against influenza and non-influenza respiratory viruses (NIRV) was assessed by test-negative design using historic datasets of the community-based Canadian Sentinel Practitioner Surveillance Network (SPSN), spanning 2010-11 to 2016-17. Vaccine significantly reduced the risk of influenza illness by >40% with no effect on coronaviruses or other NIRV risk.

AbstractExposure to agents acting on the renin-angiotensin system was not associated to a risk increase of COVID-19 infection in two Italian matched case-control studies, one nested in hypertensive patients and the other in patients with cardiovascular diseases or diabetes.