Article
Immunology
Raphael E. Cuomo, Zhuoran Li, Vidya Purushothaman, Chenna Basavapatna-Shankar, Matthew Nali, Tim K. Mackey
Summary: A case-control study was conducted to identify risk factors for COVID-19 among athletes in the NBA. The study found that behavioral factors and stadium attendance significantly decreased the time to COVID-19 infection, but local COVID-19 rates were not associated with the infection risk in a multivariable model.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Joshua Nealon, Alain Bouckenooghe, Margarita Cortes, Laurent Coudeville, Carina Frago, Denis Macina, Clarence C. Tam
Summary: Dengue endemicity varies across countries, and there is limited comparative data available. This study used serological data from multiple countries to estimate dengue force of infection (POI) and found that children in endemic countries have early and intense exposure to dengue, increasing their risk of secondary infection. The findings highlight the need for serosurveys at fine spatial resolutions to inform vaccination campaigns.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Maria Bousali, Vasiliki Pogka, Giannis Vatsellas, Theodoros Loupis, Emmanouil Athanasiadis, Katerina Zoi, Dimitris Thanos, Dimitrios Paraskevis, Andreas Mentis, Timokratis Karamitros
Summary: The first SARS-CoV-2 case in Greece was confirmed on February 26, 2020. This study aims to analyze the genetic variants circulating in Greece during the early days of the pandemic and the role of the first imported group of travelers. The findings highlight the importance of founder effects and molecular epidemiology approaches in understanding and combating future outbreaks.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Courtney M. Yuen, Chuan-Chin Huang, Ana Karina Millones, Roger Calderon, Abigail L. Manson, Judith Jimenez, Carmen Contreras, Ashlee M. Earl, Mercedes C. Becerra, Leonid Lecca, Megan B. Murray
Summary: This study explored the utility of brief Mycobacterium tuberculosis whole-genome sequencing (WGS) snapshots at a sentinel site in Lima, Peru for evaluating local transmission dynamics over time. The results showed that within a specific area, a certain percentage of isolates collected during two different time periods were clustered, with a disproportionate relationship between isolates from the later period and large historic clusters in Lima from the earlier period. Monitoring the persistence of large transmission clusters might be more useful than using WGS snapshots at a sentinel site for monitoring transmission. This study discusses the potential utility and limitations of using Mycobacterium tuberculosis whole-genome sequencing at a sentinel site in a high-incidence setting to assess changes in transmission dynamics over time.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Matthew A. Crane, Aleksandra Popovic, Rohan Panaparambil, Andrew Stolbach, John A. Romley, Khalil G. Ghanem
Summary: Reporting of infectious diseases other than COVID-19 has significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The decrease varies depending on the routes of transmission, reporting state, and COVID-19 incidence at the time of reporting. These findings emphasize the importance of continued investment in routine surveillance efforts despite pandemic conditions.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Giorgio Bozzi, Lavinia Fabeni, Isabella Abbate, Giulia Berno, Antonio Muscatello, Lucia Taramasso, Massimiliano Fabbiani, Silvia Nozza, Giuseppe Tambussi, Stefano Rusconi, Andrea Giacomelli, Emanuele Foca, Carmela Pinnetti, Gabriella D'Ettorre, Cristina Mussini, Vanni Borghi, Benedetto Maurizio Celesia, Giordano Madeddu, Antonio Di Biagio, Diego Ripamonti, Nicola Squillace, Andrea Antinori, Andrea Gori, Maria Rosaria Capobianchi, Alessandra Bandera
Summary: This study found that diverse non-B subtypes made a significant contribution to the formation of transmission clusters among individuals with primary HIV-1 infection in Italy.
SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Max Schurwanz, Peter Adam Hoeher, Sunasheer Bhattacharjee, Martin Damrath, Lukas Stratmann, Falko Dressler
Summary: This study explores the application of molecular communication in mimicking biological and chemical communication mechanisms, as well as viral infection processes, focusing on aerosol and droplet transmission. The research suggests that in pathogen-laden aerosol transmission, the mutual information between nodes should be minimized, and proposes countermeasures to achieve this goal. These findings are supported by experimental results and an advanced particle simulation tool, and have significant implications for practical applications.
IEEE COMMUNICATIONS MAGAZINE
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Thomas Ward, Alex Glaser, Christopher E. Overton, Bob Carpenter, Nick Gent, Anna C. Seale
Summary: New SARS-CoV-2 variants pose a major risk to public health globally, with the potential for phenotypic changes, increased pathogenicity, enhanced transmissibility, and the ability to evade vaccines. Understanding the characteristics and timing of these new variants in terms of infection, hospitalization, and death is crucial for informing public health responses. This study analyzed data on contact tracing, testing, and hospitalization in England to investigate the time periods associated with different variants. The findings revealed variations in the incubation period, time from infection to hospitalization, and time from hospitalization to death among different variants. Shorter incubation periods were associated with a higher risk of fatality, while shorter hospitalization and death times were linked to variant severity. These findings have important implications for assessing the risk of new variants and their potential impact on population health.
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Debapriyo Chakraborty, Claire Guinat, Nicola F. Muller, Francois-Xavier Briand, Mathieu Andraud, Axelle Scoizec, Sophie Lebouquin, Eric Niqueux, Audrey Schmitz, Beatrice Grasland, Jean-Luc Guerin, Mathilde C. Paul, Timothee Vergne
Summary: This study analyzed the spatiotemporal dynamics of the highly pathogenic avian influenza epidemic in France in 2016-2017 and assessed the impact of control measures on viral spread. The results showed that large-scale culling of ducks significantly reduced viral spread between regions, while restrictions on duck transport within regions may not completely stop the viral spread.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Saurav Dhar, Chengchen Zhang, Ion I. Mandoiu, Mukul S. Bansal
Summary: The inference of disease transmission networks is an important problem in epidemiology. Most existing phylogenetic approaches for transmission network inference are computationally intensive and cannot consider within-host strain diversity. In this study, a new phylogenetic approach called TNet is introduced, which uses multiple strain sequences from each host to infer transmissions. TNet is simpler and more accurate than existing approaches and is able to distinguish between ambiguous and unambiguous transmission inferences.
IEEE-ACM TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Alisa Aliaga-Samanez, Raimundo Real, Marina Segura, Carlos Marfil-Daza, Jesus Olivero
Summary: Yellow fever is a disease transmitted by mosquitoes, and in recent years, infections have occurred in areas where it was previously absent, possibly due to the rapid spread of mosquito vectors and the evolutionary dynamics of the virus in non-human primates. The study identifies the Amazon basin and southern Brazil in South America, as well as the western region of Africa, as areas with significant yellow fever transmission. It highlights the importance of monitoring yellow fever infections in primates in these regions.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Chloe E. Myers, Charlotte J. Houldcroft, Sunando Roy, Ben K. Margetts, Timothy Best, Cristina Venturini, Jose A. Guerra-Assuncao, Charlotte A. Williams, Rachel Williams, Helen Dunn, John C. Hartley, Kanchan Rao, Kathryn J. Rolfe, Judith Breuer
Summary: A recent study investigated a surge in human mastadenovirus cases among hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients using whole genome sequencing. The study found that mixed infections were common and comprehensive surveillance is needed for immunosuppressed patients. This led to routine incorporation of HAdV WGS into clinical practice to influence infection prevention and control policies.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
H. C. A. Zondag, S. A. Nieuwenburg, M. Himschoot, A. P. van Dam, M. F. Schim van der Loeff, H. J. C. de Vries, S. M. Bruisten
Summary: The study investigated the distribution of Treponema pallidum strains in 162 men who have sex with men with syphilis, finding intrapatient TP strain homogeneity and no strain variation between anatomical location or syphilis stages.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
L. D. Gruer, G. Cezard, L. A. Wallace, S. J. Hutchinson, A. F. Douglas, D. Buchanan, S. Katikireddi, A. D. Millard, D. J. Goldberg, A. Sheikh, R. S. Bhopal
Summary: The research found ethnic differences in overall infection rates and many infection categories, suggesting multiple causative pathways. The study recommends census linkage as a powerful method for studying the disproportionate impact of COVID-19.
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Julie Ducrocq, Momar Ndao, Cedric P. Yansouni, Jean-Francois Proulx, Myrto Mondor, Denis Hamel, Benoit Levesque, Gaston De Serres, Denis Talbot
Summary: High seroprevalence against Toxoplasma gondii is observed in Nunavik, the Inuit land of Northern Quebec (Canada), possibly due to water- and food-borne transmission routes in the absence of felids. Consumption of raw country food and drinking untreated water may increase the risk of exposure to the parasite in this region.
ZOONOSES AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)