Article
Infectious Diseases
Markus Schepers, Philipp Zanger, Klaus Jahn, Jochem Konig, Konstantin Strauch, Emilio Gianicolo
Summary: Multi-household social gatherings have become an important target for reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission, especially during times of high infectious pressure.
JOURNAL OF INFECTION
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Marlene Thielecke, Stefanie Theuring, Welmoed van Loon, Franziska Hommes, Marcus A. Mall, Alexander Rosen, Falko Boehringer, Christof von Kalle, Valerie Kirchberger, Tobias Kurth, Joachim Seybold, Frank P. Mockenhaupt
Summary: A study conducted in Berlin on kindergartens during the second wave of the pandemic found that despite some participants showing cold-like symptoms, no SARS-CoV-2 infections were detected, with only one childcare worker testing positive for IgG antibodies. This suggests that kindergartens may not be significant transmission reservoirs for the virus in the community.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Sophia Kindzierski, Welmoed van Loon, Stefanie Theuring, Franziska Hommes, Eberhard Thombansen, Malik Boettcher, Harald Matthes, Heike Roessig, David Weiger, Christof Wiesmann, Tobias Kurth, Valerie Kirchberger, Joachim Seybold, Frank P. Mockenhaupt, Maximilian Gertler
Summary: The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was assessed in teachers and preschool educators, with higher odds of infection found in preschool educators compared to teachers. The private environment was identified as a relevant source of infection for educational staff in 2020.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Felix Reichert, Oliver Stier, Anne Hartmann, Claudia Ruscher, Annika Brinkmann, Marica Grossegesse, Markus Neumann, Dirk Werber, Marius Hausner, Mareike Kunze, Bettina Weiss, Janine Michel, Andreas Nitsche, Matthias an der Heiden, Martin Kriegel, Victor Max Corman, Terry Carleton Jones, Christian Drosten, Tobias Brommann, Udo Buchholz
Summary: This study investigated two choir outbreaks and found that long-range transmission plays a significant role in the spread of the pandemic. The study revealed that particle emission rate was 7 times higher during singing compared to talking, and one choir had much higher transmission risk than the other. The results highlight the importance of non-pharmaceutical interventions, especially in indoor settings where aerosols can accumulate.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Annabel A. Powell, Georgina Ireland, Frances Baawuah, Joanne Beckmann, Ifeanyichukwu O. Okike, Shazaad Ahmad, Joanna Garstang, Andrew J. Brent, Bernadette Brent, Felicity Aiano, James Hargreaves, Sinead M. Langan, Punam Mangtani, Patrick Nguipdop-Djomo, Joanna Sturgess, William Oswald, Katherine Halliday, Emma Rourke, Fiona Dawe, Zahin Amin-Chowdhury, Meaghan Kall, Maria Zambon, John Poh, Samreen Ijaz, Angie Lackenby, Joanna Elli, Kevin E. Brown, Sir Ian Diamond, Mary E. Ramsay, Shamez N. Ladhani
Summary: Following the reopening of schools in England, this study investigated the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in students and staff who were in contact with confirmed cases in school bubbles, as well as their household members. The results showed that the overall risk of secondary infection in school bubbles and their household contacts was low compared to other institutional settings.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Ariadne Brandt, Lena Breucker, Jan Keller, Victor Max Corman, Norma Bethke, Joachim Seybold
Summary: This study investigated the infection status and living conditions of adult asylum seekers arriving in Berlin, and found that precarious living conditions during flight increased the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Factors associated with infection included gender, hygiene behaviors, and travel mode. Public health interventions should be implemented to address these risks.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Maximilian Stich, Roland Elling, Hanna Renk, Ales Janda, Sven F. Garbade, Barbara Mueller, Hans-Georg Kraeusslich, Dorit Fabricius, Maria Zernickel, Peter Meissner, Daniela Huzly, Jurgen Grulich-Henn, Anneke Haddad, Tessa Goerne, Benedikt Spielberger, Linus Fritsch, Alexandra Nieters, Hartmut Hengel, Andrea N. Dietz, Thomas Stamminger, Tina Ganzenmueller, Natalia Ruetalo, Andreas Peter, Jonathan Remppis, Thomas Iftner, Kathrin Jeltsch, Tim Waterboer, Axel R. Franz, Georg Friedrich Hoffmann, Corinna Engel, Klaus-Michael Debatin, Burkhard Toenshoff, Philipp Henneke
Summary: A large-scale study conducted in southwest Germany found that the secondary attack rate of SARS-CoV-2 was significantly higher in exposed adults compared to children in households. Additionally, the transmission rate was higher when the index case-patient was over 60 years old. Risk factors for infectiousness of the index case-patient included SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity, fever, and cough.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Yolanda M. Brooks, Bailey Gryskwicz, Shawn Sheehan, Sheri Piers, Parag Mahale, Susan McNeil, Jenna Chase, Doreen Webber, David Borys, Michael Hilton, Dion Robinson, Stephen Sears, Emer Smith, Emily K. Lesher, Robert Wilson, Matthew Goodwin, Michael Pardales
Summary: Wastewater surveillance was used to identify 2 coronavirus disease outbreaks at a college in Maine. Preceding the outbreaks, there were cumulative increases of >1 log(10) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA in consecutive 24-hour composite samples. RNA was detected in grab samples from residence halls <= 7 days before case discovery in 76% of cases.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Rebecca A. Falender, Paul G. Mitchell, Judith A. Guzman-Cottrill, Paul R. Cieslak, Melissa Sutton
Summary: We estimated the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in children in Oregon, USA at six different time points. The seroprevalence showed a linear increase from November 2020 to December 2021 and peaked at 38.8% (95% CI 32.8%-46.5%) in February 2022. However, there was no further increase in seroprevalence after schools reopened.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Editorial Material
Immunology
Tara Suhs, Daniel Gerlach, Jacob Garfin, Alexandra Lorentz, Melanie Firestone, Meaghan Sherden, Katie Hackman, Talor Gray, Samantha Siebman, Haley Wienkes, Kelley Vilen, Xiong Wang, Kathy Como-Sabetti, Richard Danila, Kirk Smith, Carlota Medus
Summary: The Minnesota Department of Health investigated a COVID-19 outbreak at a fitness center in Olmsted County, Minnesota. The study found that despite following recommended prevention strategies, there were 23 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, including 5 employees and 18 members.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Lotte Jonker, Kimberly J. Linde, Marieke L. A. de Hoog, Robin Sprado, Robin C. Huisman, Richard Molenkamp, Bas B. Oude Munnink, Wietske Dohmen, Dick J. J. Heederik, Dirk Eggink, Matthijs R. A. Welkers, Harry Vennema, Pieter L. A. Fraaij, Marion P. G. Koopmans, Inge M. Wouters, Patricia C. J. L. Bruijning-Verhagen
Summary: The study confirmed the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within schools and substantial asymptomatic circulation, as well as multiple introductions in some cases. However, the absence of air or surface contamination during school outbreaks suggests that environmental contamination is not widespread.
BMC INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Melisa M. Shah, Phillip P. Salvatore, Laura Ford, Emiko Kamitani, Melissa J. Whaley, Kaitlin Mitchell, Dustin W. Currie, Clint N. Morgan, Hannah E. Segaloff, Shirley Lecher, Tarah Somers, Miriam E. Van Dyke, John Paul Bigouette, Augustina Delaney, Juliana DaSilva, Michelle O'Hegarty, Lauren Boyle-Estheimer, Fatima Abdirizak, Sandor E. Karpathy, Jennifer Meece, Lynn Ivanic, Kimberly Goffard, Doug Gieryn, Alana Sterkel, Allen Bateman, Juliana Kahrs, Kimberly Langolf, Tara Zochert, Nancy W. Knight, Christopher H. Hsu, Hannah L. Kirking, Jacqueline E. Tate
Summary: Repeat BinaxNOW antigen testing using 2 groups of readers within 30 minutes showed high concordance (98.9%) in 2110 encounters, with same-day repeat tests not significantly improving sensitivity (77.2% to 81.4%), while maintaining high specificity (99.6%).
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sebastian Ruf, Franziska Hommes, Welmoed van Loon, Joachim Seybold, Tobias Kurth, Marcus A. Mall, Frank P. Mockenhaupt, Stefanie Theuring
Summary: The study investigated an outbreak in a Berlin kindergarten in November and December 2020 and found that viral spread within the facility mainly occurred through kindergarten staff, while children primarily transmitted infections within their families. To prevent outbreaks, strict adherence to hygiene rules, staff vaccinations against SARS-CoV-2, and immediate reaction to suspected cases by quarantining and frequent testing are reasonable measures.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Dena Bushman, Jency Sekaran, Nancy Jeffery, Caroline Rath, Joel Ackelsberg, Don Weiss, Winfred Wu, Katherine Van Oss, Kolthida Johnston, Jamie Huang, Umaima Khatun, Tara Sheikh, Jennie Sutcliff, Benjamin Tsoi
Summary: The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene investigated COVID-19 outbreaks at 2 construction sites from 23 October to 16 November 2020, noting challenges in adhering to state guidelines. To minimize outbreaks, tailored outreach to the construction industry emphasizing infection prevention is recommended.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Victor J. Cantu, Pedro Belda-Ferre, Rodolfo A. Salido, Rebecca Tsai, Brett Austin, William Jordan, Menka Asudani, Amanda Walster, Celestine G. Magallanes, Holly Valentine, Araz Manjoonian, Carrissa Wijaya, Vinton Omaleki, Karenina Sanders, Stefan Aigner, Nathan A. Baer, Maryann Betty, Anelizze Castro-Martinez, Willi Cheung, Evelyn S. Crescini, Peter De Hoff, Emily Eisner, Abbas Hakim, Bhavika Kapadia, Alma L. Lastrella, Elijah S. Lawrence, Toan T. Ngo, Tyler Ostrander, Shashank Sathe, Phoebe Seaver, Elizabeth W. Smoot, Aaron F. Carlin, Gene W. Yeo, Louise C. Laurent, Anna Liza Manlutac, Rebecca Fielding-Miller, Rob Knight
Summary: The study compares two popular sampling media (VTM and SDS) and two popular workflows (Thermo and PerkinElmer) for surface sampling in public schools and finds that the SDS/Thermo pipeline shows superior sensitivity and specificity.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Hebun Erdur, Joachim E. Weber, Anselm Angermaier, Stephan Kinze, Ali Sotoodeh, Claudia Gorski, Kerstin Bollweg, Stefanie Ernst, Farid Kandil, Janina Behrens, Ramanan Ganeshan, Anne Keysers, Malgorzata Kotlarz-Boettcher, Daniel Peters, Ludwig Schlemm, Kirsten Stangenberg-Gliss, Carl Witt, Beata Hennig, Katrin C. Reber, Udo Schneider, Christiana Franke, Ingo Schmehl, Hans-Beatus Straub, Agnes Floeel, Sarah Theen, Matthias Endres, Tobias Kurth, Heinrich J. Audebert
Summary: Implementing a multicomponent system-of-care can reduce the risk of poor outcomes in stroke patients.
ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Ana Sofia Oliveira Goncalves, Jessica L. Rohmann, Marco Piccininni, Tobias Kurth, Martin Ebinger, Matthias Endres, Erik Freitag, Peter Harmel, Irina Lorenz-Meyer, Ira Rohrpasser-Napierkowski, Reinhard Busse, Heinrich J. Audebert
Summary: The study assessed the cost-utility and cost-effectiveness of additional mobile stroke unit (MSU) dispatch in ischemic stroke patients eligible for recanalizing treatments. Results showed that MSU dispatch increased costs but also improved quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and it was considered cost-effective according to internationally accepted thresholds.
ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Clinical Neurology
Tobias Kurth, Jessica L. Rohmann
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Felix P. Chilunga, Pleun S. Schwerzel, Karlijn A. C. Meeks, Erik Beune, Silver Bahendeka, Frank Mockenhaupt, Kerstin Klipstein-Grobusch, Charles Agyemang
Summary: Psychosocial stress is associated with type 2 diabetes and glycaemic control among Ghanaians, especially in men. Negative life events are negatively correlated with type 2 diabetes, while perceived discrimination is positively correlated with type 2 diabetes.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Julian Berges, Simon Y. Graeber, Susanne Haemmerling, Yin Yu, Arne Kruempelmann, Mirjam Stahl, Stephanie Hirtz, Heike Scheuermann, Marcus A. Mall, Olaf Sommerburg
Summary: In this prospective study, the effect of Lumacaftor/ivacaftor on CFTR biomarkers and clinical outcome parameters in CF patients aged 2-11 years was evaluated. The treatment significantly reduced sweat chloride concentration and improved CFTR activity, consistent with previous findings in older CF patients with F508del.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Linus Piehler, Ralf Thalemann, Christine Lehmann, Stephanie Thee, Jobst Roehmel, Zulfiya Syunyaeva, Mirjam Stahl, Marcus A. Mall, Simon Y. Graeber
Summary: Initiation of ETI improves symptoms of depression in adult patients with CF with at least one F508del allele. However, symptoms of anxiety do not change after short-term therapy with ETI.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Critical Care Medicine
Ahmet Z. Uluer, Gordon MacGregor, Pilar Azevedo, Veronica Indihar, Claire Keating, Marcus A. Mall, Edward F. McKone, Bonnie W. Ramsey, Steven M. Rowe, Ronald C. Rubenstein, Jennifer L. Taylor-Cousar, Elizabeth Tullis, Lael M. Yonker, Chenghao Chu, Anna P. Lam, Nitin Nair, Patrick R. Sosnay, Simon Tian, Fredrick Van Goor, Lakshmi Viswanathan, David Waltz, Linda T. Wang, Yingmei Xi, Joanne Billings, Alexander Horsley
Summary: This study demonstrates that once-daily dosing with vanzacaftor-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor is safe and effective in improving lung function and respiratory symptoms in patients with cystic fibrosis, and it enhances CFTR function.
LANCET RESPIRATORY MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Ariadne Brandt, Lena Breucker, Jan Keller, Victor Max Corman, Norma Bethke, Joachim Seybold
Summary: This study investigated the infection status and living conditions of adult asylum seekers arriving in Berlin, and found that precarious living conditions during flight increased the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Factors associated with infection included gender, hygiene behaviors, and travel mode. Public health interventions should be implemented to address these risks.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Merle Hoerig, Sarah M. Klaes, Svetlana Krasovski-Nikiforovs, Welmoed van Loon, Lukas Murajda, Rosa C. O. Rodriguez, Christine Schade, Anabell Specht, Gabriela Equihua Martinez, Ruth Zimmermann, Frank P. Mockenhaupt, Joachim Seybold, Andreas K. Lindner, Navina Sarma
Summary: A retrospective study was conducted to assess the needs of people experiencing homelessness (PEH) admitted to an isolation facility in Berlin during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study found that the facility provided essential medical care, substitution therapy, psychological care, language mediation, and social support, leading to a high compliance rate with the isolation period among PEH.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Fridolin Steinbeis, Charlotte Thibeault, Sarah Steinbrecher, Yvonne Ahlgrimm, Ira An Haack, Dietrich August, Beate Balzuweit, Carla Bellinghausen, Sarah Berger, Irina Chaplinskaya-Sobol, Oliver Cornely, Patrick Doeblin, Matthias Endres, Claudia Fink, Carsten Finke, Sandra Frank, Sabine Hanss, Tim Hartung, Johannes Christian Hellmuth, Susanne Herold, Peter Heuschmann, Jan Heyckendorf, Ralf Heyder, Stefan Hippenstiel, Wolfgang Hoffmann, Sebastian Ulrich Kelle, Philipp Knape, Philipp Koehler, Lucie Kretzler, David Manuel Leistner, Jasmin Lienau, Roberto Lorbeer, Bettina Lorenz-Depiereux, Constanze Dorothea Luettke, Knut Mai, Uta Merle, Lil Antonia Meyer-Arndt, Olga Miljukov, Maximilian Muenchhoff, Moritz Mueller-Plathe, Julia Neuhann, Hannelore Neuhauser, Alexandra Nieters, Christian Otte, Daniel Pape, Rafaela Maria Pinto, Christina Pley, Annett Pudszuhn, Philipp Reuken, Siegberg Rieg, Petra Ritter, Gernot Rohde, Maria Roennefarth, Michael Ruzicka, Jens Schaller, Anne Schmidt, Sein Schmidt, Verena Schwachmeyer, Georg Schwanitz, Werner Seeger, Dana Stahl, Nicole Stobaeus, Hans Christian Stubbe, Norbert Suttorp, Bettina Temmesfeld, Sylvia Thun, Paul Triller, Frederik Trinkmann, Istvan Vadasz, Heike Valentin, Maria Vehreschild, Christof von Kalle, Marie von Lilienfeld-Toal, Joachim Weber, Tobias Welte, Christian Wildberg, Robert Wizimirski, Saskia Zvork, Leif Erik Sander, Janne Vehreschild, Thomas Zoller, Florian Kurth, Martin Witzenrath
Summary: The NAPKON-HAP study is a multi-centered observational study aimed at providing comprehensive data and biospecimen collection for the investigation of the pathophysiology and pathology of COVID-19. It will contribute significant scientific insights and high-quality data to aid researchers in understanding the acute and long-term outcomes of the disease.
Article
Cell Biology
Susanne M. Krug, Carolin Gruenhagen, Kristina Allers, Christian Bojarski, Joachim Seybold, Thomas Schneider, Joerg-Dieter Schulzke, Hans-Joerg Epple
Summary: Increased mucosal translocation of gut-derived microbial macromolecules has been proposed as an important mechanism in HIV infection and this study quantified the translocation and analyzed the pathways involved. The results showed increased macromolecule permeability in untreated HIV-infected patients which was associated with epithelial apoptosis. Furthermore, two pathways of increased macromolecule translocation in HIV infection were identified: transcytosis and passage through apoptotic leaks.
Article
Respiratory System
Mirjam Stahl, Jobst Roehmel, Monika Eichinger, Felix Doellinger, Lutz Naehrlich, Matthias V. Kopp, Anna-Maria Dittrich, Christopher Lee, Olaf Sommerburg, Simon Tian, Tu Xu, Pan Wu, Aniket Joshi, Partha Ray, Margaret E. Duncan, Mark O. Wielputz, Marcus A. Mall
Summary: This study investigated the effects of LUM/IVA treatment on disease progression in children aged 2 to 5 years with CF. Results showed potential early disease modification with LUM/IVA, as indicated by improvements in chest MRI and various clinical markers. LUM/IVA treatment also led to improvements in lung function and growth parameters.
ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Urology & Nephrology
Frederik Wessels, Max Schmitt, Eva Krieghoff-Henning, Malin Nientiedt, Frank Waldbillig, Manuel Neuberger, Maximilian C. Kriegmair, Karl-Friedrich Kowalewski, Thomas S. Worst, Matthias Steeg, Zoran V. Popovic, Timo Gaiser, Christof von Kalle, Jochen S. Utikal, Stefan Frohling, Maurice S. Michel, Philipp Nuhn, Titus J. Brinker
Summary: A interpretable deep learning model, DINO-ViT, was developed and validated to predict overall and disease-specific survival in ccRCC. The model achieved significant risk stratification and showed good interpretability by extracting image features from nuclei, cytoplasm, and peritumoural stroma.
WORLD JOURNAL OF UROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Respiratory System
A. Susanne Dittrich, Markus Dumke, Ferdinand Kapl, Philipp Schneider, Sabine Wege, Simon Graeber, Mirjam Stahl, Felix J. Herth, Lutz Naehrlich, Marcus A. Mall, Olaf Sommburg
Summary: This study aimed to determine updated FEV1 and BMI percentiles for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and to study their dependence on mortality attrition. Age- and height-adjusted FEV1 and BMI percentiles were calculated from 4,947 CF patients aged 6-50 years from the German CF Registry for the period 2016-2019. The study found that FEV1 increased throughout childhood and decreased substantially during adulthood. The survival-adjusted percentiles were also estimated.
Article
Respiratory System
Lena Wucherpfennig, Felix Wuennemann, Monika Eichinger, Niclas Schmitt, Angelika Seitz, Ingo Baumann, Mirjam Stahl, Simon Y. Graeber, Jaehi Chung, Jens-Peter Schenk, Abdulsattar Alrajab, Hans-Ulrich Kauczor, Marcus A. Mall, Olaf Sommerburg, Mark O. Wielputz
Summary: This study longitudinally evaluated chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) using paranasal sinus magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The results showed that CRS starts early in infancy and progresses in severity until school age. The study also found that lumacaftor/ivacaftor therapy can improve CRS in children with CF.
ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY
(2023)