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Swiss Med Wkly 2022 Jun 13;152:w30193. Epub 2022 Jun 13.

Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zürich, Switzerland.

Background: Few studies have directly examined the incidence or seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in children, parents and teachers from the same school communities. This study aimed to describe SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence within cantonal districts and school communities in children, parents and school personnel in June-September 2020 and March-April 2021 in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland.

Methods: We invited children from 55 randomly selected primary and secondary schools and 275 classes within them to participate in the Ciao Corona study in June-July 2020. Read More

J Card Surg 2022 Jun 25. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Department of Advanced Biomedical Science, Cardiac Surgery, University "Federico II", Naples, Italy.

Background: Candida Parapsilosis is an unusual agent of prosthetic endocarditis in immunocompetent individuals but Coronavirus disease 2019 is reported to be associated with a transient immunodeficency that exposes patientes to opportunistic infections.

Case Report: We describe a dreadful case of Candida Parapsilosis endocarditis in a transient immunosuppressed patient recently infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome-Coronavirus 2019.

Conclusion: Considering that the symptoms of Candida Parapsilosis infection and the symptoms of Coronavirus disease-2019 may overlap, it is important never to understimate the non-specific symptoms to improve patient outcome, especially in patient with previous Coronavirurs disease-2019 infection and with prosthetic material grafting. Read More

Virol J 2022 Jun 25;19(1):108. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Center for Coronary Heart Disease, Department of Cardiology, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases of China, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular, Beijing, 100037, China.

Myocardial injury induced by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is reportedly related to disease severity and mortality, attracting attention to exploring relevant pathogenic mechanisms. Limited by insufficient evidence, myocardial injury caused by direct viral invasion of cardiomyocytes (CMs) is not fully understood. Based on recent studies, endosomal dependence can compensate for S protein priming to mediate SARS-CoV-2 infection of CMs, damage the contractile function of CMs, trigger electrical dysfunction, and tip the balance of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system to exert a myocardial injury effect. Read More

J Thorac Oncol 2022 Jun 4. Epub 2022 Jun 4.

Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, 465 Kajiicho, Kawaramachihirokoji, Kamigyoku, Kyoto, 602-8566, Japan.

Introduction: Cancer patients have been prioritized for vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, there are limited data regarding the safety, efficacy, and risk of developing immune-related adverse events (irAEs) associated with mRNA vaccines in patients with lung cancer, especially those being actively treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

Methods: This multicenter prospective cohort study was conducted at nine hospitals in Japan. Read More

Virology 2022 Jun 10;573:118-123. Epub 2022 Jun 10.

Center for Vaccine Research, National Institute of Infectious Disease, National Institute of Health, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, CheongJu, Chungcheongbuk-do, 29160, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

Coronavirus disease 2019 caused by the novel human severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is currently a major threat to public health worldwide. To deal with the needs of vaccine, we developed four DNA vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2, based on the full-length spike (S) or truncated S protein. Following mice vaccination, we measured T-cell response and antigen-specific neutralizing antibody (NAb) titer. Read More

Transpl Infect Dis 2022 Jun 25. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Division of Surgical Transplantation, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.

Goal: In this study we aim to assess short-term allograft outcomes following deceased donor kidney transplantation from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lower respiratory tract (LRT) nucleic acid testing (NAT) positive donors.

Methods: From September to December 2021, SARS-CoV-2 NAT positive organ donors, whose solid abdominal organs were transplanted at our academic medical center were identified. Donors were stratified into having tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in an upper respiratory tract (URT) or LRT sample. Read More

Clin Exp Nephrol 2022 Jun 25. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Department of Medical Science and Cardiorenal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 236-0004, Japan.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination is shown to prevent severe illness and death in hemodialysis (HD) patients, but the immune response to vaccines is reduced in this population. This study compared SARS-CoV-2 spike protein antibody titers between HD patients and healthy controls in Japan for up to 6 months following vaccination.

Methods: A multi-institutional retrospective study at five clinics in Japan was conducted using 412 HD patients and 156 healthy controls who received two doses of the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) mRNA vaccine. Read More

Inflamm Res 2022 Jun 25. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Department of Health Information Management, School of Medicine and Allied Medical Sciences, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.

A global pandemic has erupted as a result of the new brand coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This pandemic has been consociated with widespread mortality worldwide. The antiviral immune response is an imperative factor in confronting the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections. Read More

J Peripher Nerv Syst 2022 Jun 25. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Department of Neurology, Seoul Hospital, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Background And Aims: Vaccinations against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 which causes COVID-19 have been administered worldwide. We aimed to investigate associations of COVID-19 vaccination with the occurrence of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).

Methods: We explored potential safety signals regarding the development of GBS using disproportionality analyses to compare COVID-19 vaccination with all adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports and influenza vaccines reported to VigiBase. Read More

Indian Pediatr 2022 Jun 11. Epub 2022 Jun 11.

Centre of Excellence for Pediatric TB and Department of Pediatrics, Grant Government Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, Byculla, Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Objective: To evaluate the outcome of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in children and adolescents with tuberculosis.

Methods: We analyzed hospital records for the period May, 2020 to September, 2021 for children who were severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive or SARS-CoV-2 antibody positive. They were divided into two group. Read More

J Pak Med Assoc 2022 Jun;72(6):1166-1174

Department of Pathology, PNS Hafeez Hospital, Islamabad.

COVID-19 infection has emerged as an unparalleled pandemic with morbidity and mortality tolls challenging diagnostic approaches and therapeutic interventions, and raising serious questions for healthcare policy-makers. From the diagnostic perspective, Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction remains the gold standard. However, issues associated with gene primer variation in different countries, low analytical sensitivity, cross-reactivity with certain human coronaviruses have raised serious concerns within the scientific community. Read More

Comput Biol Med 2022 Jul 19;146:105601. Epub 2022 May 19.

The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, China. Electronic address:

Background: The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is currently a major challenge threatening the global healthcare system. Respiratory virus infection is the most common cause of asthma attacks, and thus COVID-19 may contribute to an increase in asthma exacerbations. However, the mechanisms of COVID-19/asthma comorbidity remain unclear. Read More

J Mol Model 2022 Jun 24;28(7):202. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Physical Sciences Research Area, Tata Research Development and Design Centre, TCS Research, Tata Consultancy Services, 54B, Hadapsar Industrial Estate, Pune, 411013, India.

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has necessitated the development of a rapid, simple yet selective naked-eye detection methodology that does not require any advanced instrumental techniques. In this study, we report our computational findings on the detection of SARS-CoV-2 using peptide- functionalized gold nanoparticles (GNPs). The peptide has been screened from angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor situated on the surface of the host cell membrane which interacts with the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, resulting entry of the virus into the host cell. Read More

Sci Rep 2022 Jun 24;12(1):10534. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

ICES, Toronto, Canada.

We aimed to determine whether early public health interventions in 2020 mitigated the association of sociodemographic and clinical risk factors with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. We conducted a population-based cohort study of all adults in Ontario, Canada who underwent testing for SARS-CoV-2 through December 31, 2020. The outcome was laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing. Read More

Infect Dis Health 2022 Jun 14. Epub 2022 Jun 14.

Department of Medical Sciences, Infectious Diseases, University of Turin, Italy.

Background: Despite the large number of hospitalized patients affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, few data are available about risk factors and mortality in subjects with nosocomially acquired respiratory infection of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated in a multicentric study -during the pre-vaccination era-all patients admitted with confirmed diagnosis of nosocomial COVID-19 (NC). Patients were classified according to provenance: hospital-acquired NC or long-term care (LTC) facilities. Read More

Semin Arthritis Rheum 2022 May 28;56:152034. Epub 2022 May 28.

Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; Department of Rheumatology, Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust, Wolverhampton, UK; Division of Musculoskeletal and Dermatological Sciences, Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.; City Hospital, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, Birmingham, UK. Electronic address:

Background: Patients with rheumatic diseases (RDs) like DM are known to be vulnerable towards various types of infections due to aggressive disease activity mandating high dose immunosuppressive therapy. The severity of COVID-19 in RDs is limited in literature due to the heterogeneous nature of the condition. Therefore, specific details on mortality is essential to navigate any precautions required in the treatment. Read More

Air Med J 2022 Jul-Aug;41(4):406-410. Epub 2022 Mar 10.

BerbeeWalsh University of Wisconsin Department of Emergency Medicine, Madison, WI; University of Wisconsin MedFlight, BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine, Madison, WI.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a significant increase in the volume of critical care flight transports between outlying referral hospitals and tertiary care facilities. Because of the tropism of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, flight crews are often asked to transport mechanically ventilated patients in refractory hypoxemic respiratory failure. The authors present a case series of 5 patients with COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) who were initiated on inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) by the transport team before rotor wing transport and survived the journey in stable or improved condition upon arrival. Read More

Air Med J 2022 Jul-Aug;41(4):402-405. Epub 2022 May 21.

Aerospace and Sub-Aquatic Medical Faculty, Aja University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address:

A 43-year-old male Bell 214C helicopter pilot presented to the emergency ward with flu-like syndrome. His nasopharyngeal severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 real-time polymerase chain reaction test was positive, and a chest computed tomographic scan confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia. He was admitted, received treatment, was discharged, and returned to flying. Read More

Air Med J 2022 Jul-Aug;41(4):396-401. Epub 2022 Jan 10.

Department of Anesthesia, Chilean Air Force Hospital, Santiago, Chile.

Objective: Critical care air transport has played an important role during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The goal of this article is to analyze results and lessons learned from the evacuation of the first 100 COVID-19 patients transported between medical facilities in Chile.

Methods: We reviewed prospective data of patients who were referred for air transport between March 27, 2020, and July 9, 2020. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2022 Jun 24;15(6). Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Department of Rheumatology, Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

A previously healthy man in his 20s presented with acute respiratory distress syndrome and subconjunctival haemorrhage. Imaging was indicative of pervasive pulmonary haemorrhage. There was no evidence of renal involvement. Read More

Immunohorizons 2022 Jun 24;6(6):408-415. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Ryan White Center for Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Global Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN; and

There are conflicting data about level and duration of Abs to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in children after symptomatic or asymptomatic infection. In this human population, we enrolled adults and children in a prospective 6-mo study in the following categories: 1) symptomatic, SARS-CoV-2 PCR (SP; children, = 8; adults, = 16), 2) symptomatic, PCR, or untested (children, = 27), 3) asymptomatic exposed (children, = 13), and 4) asymptomatic, no known exposure (children, = 19). Neutralizing Abs (nAbs) and IgG Abs to SARS-CoV-2 Ags and spike protein variants were measured by multiplex serological assay. Read More

J Immunol 2022 Jun 24. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Department of Medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA;

Although severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines have demonstrated strong immunogenicity and protection against severe disease, concerns about the duration and breadth of these responses remain. In this study, we show that codelivery of plasmid-encoded adenosine deaminase-1 (pADA) with SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein DNA enhances immune memory and durability in vivo. Coimmunized mice displayed increased spike-specific IgG of higher affinity and neutralizing capacity as compared with plasmid-encoded spike-only-immunized animals. Read More

Int J Infect Dis 2022 Jun 21. Epub 2022 Jun 21.

Respiratory Section, Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, Italy. Electronic address:

Vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ameliorate infection and adverse outcomes from SARS-CoV-2. Elicitation of high affinity and durable protective antibody responses is a hallmark of a successful humoral immune response to vaccination. To assess the relevance of serum levels of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies and to further characterize the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, we report: i) the levels of spike-binding and neutralizing antibodies to SARS-COV-2 in sera of thirty healthy volunteers at 9 months after the second vaccination dose of mRNA-vaccines and 1-month after the booster dose; ii) the levels of IFN-γ (Interferon-γ) production by blood T-cells exposed to SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen (Wuhan, Alpha B. Read More

J Virol Methods 2022 Jun 21;307:114571. Epub 2022 Jun 21.

Pathogen Research Laboratory, Division of Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa; Division of Virology, National Health Laboratory Service, Bloemfontein, South Africa. Electronic address:

Serological assays for detection of IgG, IgM or IgA against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) play an important role in surveillance, antibody persistence, vaccine coverage and infection rate. Serological assays, including both ELISA and rapid lateral flow assays, are available commercially but the cost limits their accessibility for low resource countries. Although serological assays based on mammalian-expressed SARS-CoV-2 spike protein have been previously described these assays need to be validated using samples from local populations within the continent, or country, in which they will be used. Read More

Immunity 2022 Jun 8. Epub 2022 Jun 8.

Infection and Immunity, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia; Department of General Medicine, Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.

As the establishment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific T cell memory in children remains largely unexplored, we recruited convalescent COVID-19 children and adults to define their circulating memory SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells prior to vaccination. We analyzed epitope-specific T cells directly ex vivo using seven HLA class I and class II tetramers presenting SARS-CoV-2 epitopes, together with Spike-specific B cells. Unvaccinated children who seroconverted had comparable Spike-specific but lower ORF1a- and N-specific memory T cell responses compared with adults. Read More

Stem Cell Reports 2022 Jun 3. Epub 2022 Jun 3.

Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. Electronic address:

Conjunctival epithelial cells, which express viral-entry receptors angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane protease serine type 2 (TMPRSS2), constitute the largest exposed epithelium of the ocular surface tissue and may represent a relevant viral-entry route. To address this question, we generated an organotypic air-liquid-interface model of conjunctival epithelium, composed of basal, suprabasal, and superficial epithelial cells, and fibroblasts, which could be maintained successfully up to day 75 of differentiation. Using single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), with complementary imaging and virological assays, we observed that while all conjunctival cell types were permissive to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genome expression, a productive infection did not ensue. Read More

Transplantation 2022 Jun 24. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Department of Surgery, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.

Background: Solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) are vulnerable to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and exhibit poor antibody responses to COVID-19 vaccines. Herein, we compared the humoral immunogenicity of a mixed vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 [ChAd]/BNT162b2 [BNT]) with that of conventional matched vaccines (mRNA, adenoviral vector [AdV-Vec]) in SOTRs.

Methods: Serum samples were collected at Severance Hospital (Seoul, Korea) between September and October 2021 (14 d-5 mo after COVID-19 vaccination; V2). Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2022 Jun 25. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London UK.

The burden of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) referred to as COVID-19 has been relatively low in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) compared to Europe and the Americas. However, SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence data suggests that case counts may be orders of magnitude higher than those reported due to low testing capacity and high prevalence of asymptomatic infections in the community, among other factors (Sagara et al., 2021). Read More

PLoS One 2022 24;17(6):e0270334. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Shiga Prefecture Administration, Otsu, Shiga, Japan.

Healthcare workers (HCWs), especially frontline workers against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), are considered to be risky because of occupational exposure to infected patients. This study evaluated the correlation between seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies among HCWs and the implementation of personal protective equipment (PPE) & infection prevention and control (IPC). We recruited 1237 HCWs from nine public COVID-19-designated hospitals in Shiga Prefecture, central Japan, between 15-26 February 2021. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2022 Jun 24;18(6):e1010547. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

John T. Milliken Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, United States of America.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has created a global pandemic infecting over 230 million people and costing millions of lives. Therapies to attenuate severe disease are desperately needed. Cenicriviroc (CVC), a C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5) and C-C chemokine receptor type 2 (CCR2) antagonist, an agent previously studied in advanced clinical trials for patients with HIV or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), may have the potential to reduce respiratory and cardiovascular organ failures related to COVID-19. Read More