Background. WHO recommends HBV-negative babies in high-prevalence (8%) countries receive anti-HBV vaccination. Ghana initiated mass immunization in 2002, but concerns remain about vaccine effectiveness and long-term protection. We evaluated immune characteristics and factors following hepatitis B vaccination among Ghanaian adolescents who received HBV vaccines. Methods. In this longitudinal cross-sectional study, 74 participants were enrolled from the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana. Sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics of participants were obtained using a questionnaire. Blood samples were obtained before and after booster administration for anti-HBsAg, IL-6, and IL-10 estimations using ELISA kit (Shanghai Chemical Ltd., China). Anti-HBsAg titers ≥10 mIU/ml were considered protective. Statistical analyses were done using SPSS version 26.0 and R programming language, p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. We found 100% seroconversion rate, with 25.7% seroprotection rate (anti-HBsAg >10 mIU/ml). Gender (p=0.009), age (p=0.001), and exercising (p=0.044) were significantly associated with seroprotection. Following booster administration, 59.4% were hyporesponders (10 ≤ anti-HBsAg titre ≤99 mIU/ml) whilst 40.6% were good responders (anti-HBsAg titre ≥100 mIU/ml). Exercise (p=0.034) was significantly associated with immune response after booster administration. Moreover, we reported significant positive correlation between cytokines [IL-6 (r = 0.817, p<0.001) and IL-10 (r = 0.928, p<0.001)] and anti-HBsAg titre. Conclusion. Approximately two thirds of adolescents vaccinated at birth lack protective levels of antibodies against hepatitis B virus. Booster vaccines could aid in mounting protective levels of anti-HBsAg. Physical exercise was negatively associated with immune response to hepatitis B vaccinations.

Currently, sequencing has been the only tool for the identification of circulating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants. However, it is known to be an expensive and laborious approach involving high technical expertise. Considering the reduced adherence to preventive measures postlockdown in Accra, this study presents an alternative method that leverages polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants in the Accra Metropolis postlockdown. This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted between July and December 2022. Nasopharyngeal samples were collected from 268 consenting participants. Samples were subjected to nucleic acid extraction and followed by real-time polymerase chain reaction for the detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. SARS-CoV-2 positive samples were subsequently subjected to variant identification using rapid PCR. Findings. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 within the Accra Metropolis was 30.2%. The majority of the SARS-CoV-2 infection was diagnosed in females, participants aged 41-50 years, and symptomatic participants. Participants aged ≤10 years and females recorded the highest viral load while participants aged 41-50 years recorded the highest number of infections. The SARS-CoV-2 variants detected were Alpha (64.2%), Delta (22.2%), and Omicron (13.6%). Predictors of SARS-CoV-2 infection identified were chills, cough, headache, body weakness, sore throat, and dyspnoea in order of decreasing association with SARS-CoV-2 infection. There was a strong association between symptom status, gender, age, and SARS-CoV-2 infection. There was a high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 within the Accra Metropolis postlockdown within the sampling period. The Alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2 is the predominant circulating variant, and persons presenting with symptoms are most likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19. Children aged ≤10 years serve as a reservoir for infection transmission.

Hemagglutinin (HA) is the major envelope glycoprotein and antigen on the surface of influenza virions. The glycoprotein comprises a globular head and a stalk region. While immunodominant epitopes on influenza HA head are highly variable, the stalk domain is conserved. The variability of the HA head causes the antigenic drift that made the requirement of annual update of vaccine strains. Induction of antibody against the stalk domain has been proposed as an approach for a broadly protective influenza vaccine strategy. Sequential exposure to influenza strains with highly diverse HA heads but conserved stalks have been shown to induce antibody to the low immunogenic stalk domain. Here, we tested this approach by using old influenza vaccine strains that are decades apart in evolution. Inactivated whole virion vaccine of influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/1934, A/USSR/92/1977, and A/Thailand/102/2009 (H1N1) was sequentially immunized into BALB/c mice in comparison to immunization using single strain (A/Thailand/102/2009 (H1N1)). The sequentially immunized mice developed higher levels of binding antibody to the stalk domain. These suggested that using old vaccine strains in sequential vaccination may be a possible approach to induce antibody to the conserved stalk domain.

Acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among children worldwide. The majority of acute respiratory infections in children are caused by viruses, with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) being the most frequently encountered. Other important viral pathogens include human metapneumovirus, human coronaviruses, adenovirus, and influenza. These infections can lead to complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia. So, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of influenza viruses A and B, adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in children with ARTI. The molecular diagnostic of polymerase chain reaction approach was used to detect influenza (A and B), metapneumovirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and adenovirus in respiratory samples of children with acute respiratory infection hospitalization in a teaching hospital of the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in January 2016-March 2017. Of the 340 patients examined, 208 (61.20%) were male and the median age was 3.13 ± 2.38 years. Respiratory viruses were found in 179 (52.64%) patients. The male-to-female ratio was 1.63 : 1 in patients who were viral positive. Detection rates for influenza A, adenovirus, influenza B, RSV, and HMPV were 28.23%, 24.70%, 8.52%, 3.23%, and 2.64%, respectively, and coinfections were detected in 24.02%. The most common combination of two-virus coinfections was IFVA/AdV, followed by IFVB/AdV, AdV, IFVB/IFVA, RSV/IFVA, HMPV/AdV, RSV/AdV, and HMPV/IFVA. The high prevalence of respiratory viruses in children hospitalized with ARTI suggests that viral infection may play a role in disease pathogenesis. This should be confirmed through the conduct of case-control studies and may inform the role of vaccination to prevent respiratory viral infections.

Cytokine storm syndrome (CSS) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in people suffering from hyperinflammatory status, which diverse etiological factors, including pathogens, therapeutic interventions, malignancies, and autoimmune disorders, can instigate. Since there is limited research on the antioxidant properties of fraxin and no studies have investigated its potential as an anticytokine storm agent, it is important to note that most studies have primarily focused on proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-6, and TNFα during cytokine storm. However, little research discusses the role of chemokines, particularly IL-8, during cytokine storms. Therefore, further investigation is warranted into the role of fraxin as an anticytokine storm agent and the involvement of IL-8 in cytokine storms. The present study examines the preventive efficacy of fraxin and the combination of fraxin and dexamethasone (FD) in mitigating lipopolysaccharide-induced systemic inflammation in mice caused by Escherichia coli, 055: B5. Five groups of ten mice were randomly assigned: LPS only group (5 mg/kg, intraperitoneally i.p.), control (normal saline N.S. 1 ml/kg, i.p.), concentrations were selected based on previous literature, fraxin (120 mg/kg, i.p.), dexamethasone (5 mg/kg, i.p.), fraxin + dexamethasone (FD) (60 mg/kg + 2.5 mg/kg, i.p.), administered one hour before LPS injection (5 mg/kg,i.p.), animals were euthanized next day, and interleukin-8 (IL-8) was quantified in serum using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The liver and heart tissues underwent histopathological analysis to assess morphological changes. For data analysis using ANOVA and Tukey post hoc tests, the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were employed to analyze the histological results. A significant decline in IL-8 levels was recorded in the treatment groups almost to the same degree (p < 0.001), and the percentage of inhibition of IL-8 for fraxin, dexamethasone, and FD was 93%.92.4%, and 93%, respectively, compared to the LPS-only group. Histopathological scores were significantly reduced in liver and heart tissue (P < 0.05). All interventions used in this study significantly reduced interleukin-8 (IL-8) levels and reduced LPS-induced liver and cardiac damage. The combination (FD) did not result in an evident superiority of either agent. More research is required to identify the possible usefulness of these agents in treating hyperinflammatory diseases, such as cytokine storms, in future clinical practice.

Mutation of SARS-CoV-2 has generated several variants of concern (VOC) which spread promptly worldwide. These emerging variants affected global strategies to overcome COVID-19. Variants of SARS-CoV-2 are determined by the whole genome sequencing (WGS) assay, which is time-consuming, with limited availability (only in several laboratories). Hence, a faster and more accessible examination is needed. The single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) method is one of the options for genomic variation surveillance that can help provide an answer to this challenge. This study aims to determine the validity of the SNP method with PCR to detect omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 compared with the gold standard, WGS. This is a diagnostic analysis of 140 confirmed COVID-19 nasopharyngeal samples taken from the Kemayoran COVID Emergency Hospital Laboratory and the West Java Provincial Health Laboratory from April to October 2022. Data analysis was carried out to determine conformity and validity values. Analysis using Cohen's kappa coefficient test showed high conformity between SNP and WGS (p value <0.001; kappa coefficient = 0.948). SNP showed great validity values on omicron BA.1 (90% sensitivity; 100% specificity), omicron BA.2 (100% sensitivity; 99% specificity), and omicron BA.4/5 (99.2% sensitivity; 100% specificity). The SNP method can be a more time-efficient alternative to detect omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 and distinguish their sublineages (BA.1, BA.2, and BA.4/5) by two different specific gene mutations in combination analysis (ΔH69/V70 and Q493R mutations).

The monkeypox virus was still spreading in May 2022, with the first case identified in a person with travel ties to Nigeria. Using molecular docking-based techniques, we evaluated the efficiency of different bioactive chemicals obtained from plants against the monkeypox virus. A total of 56 plant compounds were evaluated for antimonekypox capabilities, with the top four candidates having a higher binding affinity than the control. We targeted the monkeypox profilin-like protein, which plays a key role in viral replication and assembly. Among the metabolites, curcumin showed the strongest binding affinity with a value of -37.43 kcal/mol, followed by gedunin (-34.89 kcal/mol), piperine (-34.58 kcal/mol), and coumadin (-34.14 kcal/mol). Based on ADME and toxicity assessments, the top four substances had no negative impacts. Furthermore, four compounds demonstrated resistance to deformability, which was corroborated by normal mode analysis. According to the bioactivity prediction study, the top compound target class was an enzyme, membrane receptor, and oxidoreductase. Furthermore, the study discovered that wortmannin, a gedunin analogue, can behave as an orthopoxvirus. The study found that these bioactive natural drug candidates could potentially work as monkeypox virus inhibitors. We recommended further experimental validation to confirm the promising findings of the study.

HIV-1 infection in cell culture is typically characterized by certain cytopathic effects such as vacuolization of cells and development of syncytia, which further lead to cell death. In addition, the majority of drugs during HIV treatment exhibit serious adverse effects in patients, apart from their beneficial role. During the screening of cytoprotective agents to protect the cells from HIV-1-associated cell death and also drug-associated toxicity, antioxidants from a natural source are assumed to be a choice. A well-known antioxidant, ethyl gallate (EG), was selected for cytoprotection studies which have already been proven as an anti-HIV agent. The main objective of the study was to explore the cytoprotective potential of EG against HIV-1-induced cytopathic effect and antiretroviral drug toxicity. DPPH free radical scavenging assay was performed with EG to find the effective concentration for antioxidant activity. HIV-1infection-associated cytopathic effects and further rescue by EG were studied in MT-2 lymphocytes by the microscopic method and XTT cytopathic assays. The cellular toxicity of different antiretroviral drugs in different cell lines and the consequent cytoprotective effectiveness of EG were investigated using an MTT cell viability assay. Like ascorbic acid, EG exhibited promising antioxidant activity. HIV-1 infection of MT2 cells induces cell death often referred to as the cytopathic effect. In addition, the usage of antiretroviral drugs also causes severe adverse effects like cytotoxicity. In this context, EG was tested for its cytoprotective properties against HIV-1-induced cytopathic effect and drug-mediated cellular toxicity. EG reclaimed back the MT2 cells from HIV-1-induced cell death. Antiretroviral drugs, such as ritonavir, efavirinz, AZT, and nevirapine, were tested for their toxicity and induced more cell death at higher concentrations in different tissue models such as the liver (THLE-3), lung (AEpiCM), colorectal (HT-29), and brain (U87 MG). Pretreated cells with EG were rescued from the toxic doses of ART. EG was found to be exhibited cytoprotection not only from HIV-1-linked cell death but also from the chemotoxicity of antiretroviral drugs. Evidently, EG could be a cytoprotective supplement in the management of AIDS along with its enormous antioxidant benefits.

Respiratory viruses are the most involved pathogens in acute respiratory infections. During the COVID-19 pandemic, new elements have been brought to this topic, especially at the diagnostic and therapeutic level. The objective of this work is to describe the epidemiology of respiratory viruses in patients admitted to the Ibn Sina University Hospital of Rabat during a period characterized by the emergence and spread of SARS-CoV-2. We conducted a retrospective study from January 1 to December 31. We included all patients treated for acute respiratory infection and for whom a multiplex respiratory panel PCR was requested. Virus detection was performed using a FilmArray RP 2.1 plus BioFire multiplex respiratory panel. The study population was relatively adults with a mean age of 39 years. The sex ratio M/F was 1.20. The survey revealed a high prevalence of 42.3% of patients hospitalized in the adult intensive care unit whose respiratory distress was the most common reason for hospitalization (58%). The positivity rate was 48.1%. This rate was higher in the pediatric population 83.13% compared to adults 29.7%. Monoinfection was found in 36.4% of cases, and codetection in 11.7% of cases. This survey revealed that a total of 322 viruses were detected, HRV being the most incriminated virus (48.7%), followed by RSV in 13.8% of patients. Considering the five most detected viruses in our study (HRV, RSV, PIV3, ADV, and hMPV), we found that the incidence was significantly higher in the pediatric population. SARS-CoV-2 was detected only in adult's population. In our study, we found that influenza A and B viruses, PIV2, MERS, and all bacteria were not detected by this kit during the study period. Regarding the seasonal distribution, RSV and hMPV showed a significantly high incidence during autumn and summer and SARS-CoV-2 and CoV OC43 showed a high peak during winter. In this study, we found a lack of detection of influenza virus and a shift in the usual winter peak of RSV to the summer, while the detection of ADV and HRV was less affected. This difference in detection could be due on the one hand to the difference in stability between enveloped and nonenveloped viruses and on the other hand to the escape of certain viruses to the different sanitary measures introduced after the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. These same measures were effective against enveloped viruses such as RSV and influenza viruses. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has modified the epidemiology of other respiratory viruses, either directly by viral interference or indirectly by the preventive measures taken.

Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), researchers all over the world have tried to find an appropriate therapeutic approach for the disease. The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has been shown as a necessary receptor to cell fusion, which is involved in infection due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is commonly crucial for all organs and systems. When ACE2 is downregulated via the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, it results in the angiotensin II (Ang II)/angiotensin type 1 receptor axis overactivation. Ang II has harmful effects, which can be evidenced by dysfunctions in many organs experienced by COVID-19 patients. ACE2 is the SARS-CoV-2 receptor and has an extensive distribution; thus, some COVID-19 cases experience several symptoms and complications. We suggest strategy for the potential protective effect of ACE2 to the viral infection. The current review will provide data to develop new approaches for preventing and controlling the COVID-19 outbreak.