Contagious Infectious Disease Research Articles

Vector-delivered artificial miRNA effectively inhibits Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus replication

BackgroundPorcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is an α-coronavirus that causes highly contagious intestinal infectious disease, involving clinically characterized by diarrhea, dehydration, vomiting, and high mortality to suckling piglets. As a strategy for antiviral therapy, artificial microRNA (amiRNA) mediated suppression of viral replication has recently become increasingly important. In this study, we evaluated the advantages of using an amiRNA vector against PEDV.MethodsIn this study, we evaluated the advantages of using an amiRNA vector against PEDV. We designed two single amiRNA sequences for different conserved sequences of the PEDV S and N genes, and tested their inhibitory effects on PEDV in Vero cells.ResultsIt was obvious from the CCK-8 results that the transient transfection of amiRNA was non-toxic to the cells. In addition, our results showed that the transient expression of two amiRNAs (amiRNA-349 and amiRNA-1447) significantly reduced the expression of viral RNA and protein in the cells. The TCID50 results showed that the release of virus particles into the culture supernatant was significantly reduced, with an effect as high as 90%. To avoid virus mutation escape, the above two single amiRNA sequences were tandem in this study (amiRNA-349 + 1447), enabling a single microRNA to be expressed simultaneously. The real-time PCR and Western blot results showed that the inhibitory effect was significantly enhanced in each of the different time periods. The TCID50 results showed that the release of virus particles in the culture supernatant was significantly reduced at the different time periods.ConclusionsIn summary, these results suggest that an RNAi based on amiRNA targeting the conserved region of the virus is an effective method to improve PEDV nucleic acid inhibitors and provide a novel treatment strategy for PEDV infection.

ORFV entry into host cells via clathrin-mediated endocytosis and macropinocytosis

Orf virus (ORFV), also known as infectious pustular virus, leads to an acute contagious zoonotic infectious disease. ORFV can directly contact and infect epithelial cells of skin and mucosa, causing damage to tissue cells. So far, the pathway of ORFV entry into cells is unclear. Therefore, finding the internalization pathway of ORFV will help to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms of ORFV infection and invasion, which in turn will provide a certain reference for the prevention and treatment of ORFV. In the present study, chemical inhibitors were used to analyze the mechanism of ORFV entry into target cells. The results showed that the inhibitor of clathrin-mediated endocytosis could inhibit ORFV entry into cells. However, the inhibitor of caveolae-mediated endocytosis cannot inhibit ORFV entry into cells. In addition, inhibition of macropinocytosis pathway also significantly reduced ORFV internalization. Furthermore, the inhibitors of acidification and dynamin also prevented ORFV entry. However, results demonstrated that inhibitors inhibited ORFV entry but did not inhibit ORFV binding. Notably, extracellular trypsin promoted ORFV entry into cells directly, even when the endocytic pathway was inhibited. In conclusion, ORFV enters into its target cells by clathrin-mediated endocytosis and macropinocytosis, while caveolae-dependent endocytosis has little effects on this process. In addition, the entry into target cells by ORFV required an acid environment and the effect of dynamin. Meanwhile, we emphasize that broad-spectrum antiviral inhibitors and extracellular enzyme inhibitors are likely to be effective strategies for the prevention and treatment of ORFV infection.

Research Progress on Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus NSP7 Protein.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a highly contagious and severe infectious disease caused by the PRRS virus (PRRSV). PRRS is characterized by reproductive disorders in sows and respiratory dysfunction in pigs. Non-structural protein 7 (NSP7) is one of the most conserved functional proteins in PRRSV, and it plays an important role in viral replication and humoral immune responses in infected hosts. This review discusses the biological characteristics of NSP7 to provide theoretical support for its application in PRRS diagnosis, novel vaccine design, and therapeutic drug development.

A new vaccination regimen using adenovirus-vectored vaccine confers effective protection against African swine fever virus in swine

ABSTRACT African swine fever (ASF) is an acute and highly contagious lethal infectious disease in swine that severely threatens the global pig industry. At present, a safe and efficacious vaccine is urgently required to prevent and control the disease. In this study, we evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of replication-incompetent type-2 adenoviruses carrying African swine fever virus (ASFV) antigens, namely CP204L (p30), E183L (p54), EP402R (CD2v), B646L (p72), and B602L (p72 chaperone). A vaccine cocktail delivered by simultaneous intramuscular (IM) and intranasal (IN) administration robustly elicited both systemic and mucosal immune responses against AFSV in mice and swine and provided highly effective protection against the circulating ASFV strain in farmed pigs. This multi-antigen cocktail vaccine was well tolerated in the vaccinated animals. No significant interference among antigens was observed. The combined IM and IN vaccination using this adenovirus-vectored antigen cocktail vaccine warrants further evaluation for providing safe and effective protection against ASFV infection and transmission.

The attenuated live vaccine strain W2512 provides protection against novel variant infectious bursal disease virus.

Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) causes an acute and highly contagious infectious disease characterized by severe immunosuppression, causing great economic losses to the poultry industry globally. Over the past 30 years, this disease has been well controlled through vaccination and strict biosafety measures. However, novel variant IBDV strains have emerged in recent years, posing a new threat to the poultry industry. Our previous epidemiological survey showed that few novel variant IBDV strains had been isolated from chickens immunized with the attenuated live vaccine W2512-, suggesting that this vaccine is efficacious against novel variant strains. Here, we report the protective effect of the W2512 vaccine against novel variant strains in SPF chickens and commercial yellow-feathered broilers. We found that W2512 causes severe atrophy of the bursa of Fabricius in SPF chickens and commercial yellow-feathered broilers, induces high levels of antibodies against IBDV, and protects chickens from infection with the novel variant strains via a placeholder effect. This study highlights the protective effect of commercial attenuated live vaccines against the novel IBDV variant and provides guidance for the prevention and control of this disease.

Coreceptor AXL Facilitates African Swine Fever Virus Entry via Apoptotic Mimicry.

African swine fever (ASF) is an acute and hemorrhagic infectious disease caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV), which is listed as an animal epidemic disease that must be reported by The World Organization for Animal Health and that causes serious economic losses to China and even the whole world. Currently, the entry mechanism of ASFV is not fully understood. Especially in the early stages of virus entry, the host factors required for ASFV entry have not yet been identified and characterized. In this study, we demonstrated that ASFV externalized phosphatidylserine (PS) on the envelope functioned as viral apoptotic mimicry, which interacts with AXL, a tyrosine kinase receptor, to mediate ASFV entry into porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs). We found that AXL was the most pronounced phosphatidylserine receptor (PSR) affecting ASFV entry in PAMs by RNA interference screening. Knockout AXL gene expression remarkably decreased ASFV internalization and replication in MA104 cells. Furthermore, the antibody against AXL extracellular domains effectively inhibited the ASFV entry. Consistent with these results, the deletion of the intracellular kinase domain of AXL and the treatment of the AXL inhibitor, R428, significantly inhibited the internalization of ASFV. Mechanistically, AXL facilitated the internalization of ASFV virions via macropinocytosis. Collectively, we provide evidence that AXL is a coreceptor for ASFV entry into PAMs, which expands our knowledge of ASFV entry and provides a theoretical basis for identifying new antiviral targets. IMPORTANCE African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the ASF virus (ASFV), with a mortality rate of up to 100%. ASFV has caused huge economic losses to pig farming worldwide. Specific cellular surface receptors are considered crucial determinants of ASFV tropism. However, the host factors required for ASFV entry have not yet been identified, and the molecular mechanism of its entry remains unclear. Here, we found that ASFV utilized phosphatidylserine (PS) on the surface of virions to masquerade as apoptotic mimicry and facilitated virus entry by interacting with host factor AXL. We found that knockout of AXL remarkably decreased ASFV internalization and replication. The antibody against AXL extracellular domains and AXL inhibitor R428 significantly inhibited the internalization of ASFV via macropinocytosis. The current work deepens our understanding of ASFV entry and provides clues for the development of antiviral drugs to control ASFV infection.

Infectious Bursal Disease Virus Assembly Causes Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Lipid Droplet Accumulation.

Gumboro illness is caused by the highly contagious immunosuppressive infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), which affects the poultry industry globally. We have previously shown that IBDV hijacks the endocytic pathway to construct viral replication complexes on endosomes linked to the Golgi complex (GC). Then, analyzing crucial proteins involved in the secretory pathway, we showed the essential requirement of Rab1b, the Rab1b downstream effector Golgi-specific BFA resistance factor 1 (GBF1), and its substrate, the small GTPase ADP-ribosylation factor 1 (ARF1), for IBDV replication. In the current work, we focused on elucidating the IBDV assembly sites. We show that viral assembly occurs within single-membrane compartments closely associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes, though we failed to elucidate the exact nature of the virus-wrapping membranes. Additionally, we show that IBDV infection promotes the stress of the ER, characterized by an accumulation of the chaperone binding protein (BiP) and lipid droplets (LDs) in the host cells. Overall, our results represent further original data showing the interplay between IBDV and the secretory pathway, making a substantial contribution to the field of birnaviruses-host cell interactions.

Comparative Pathogenicity of Three Strains of Infectious Bursal Disease Virus Closely Related to Poultry Industry.

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is an acute, highly contagious, immunosuppressive, and fatal infectious disease of young chickens caused by infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). Since 2017, a new trend has been discovered in the IBDV epidemic, with very virulent IBDV (vvIBDV) and novel variant IBDV (nVarIBDV) becoming the two current dominant strains in East Asia including China. In this study, we compared the biological characteristics of the vvIBDV (HLJ0504 strain), nVarIBDV (SHG19 strain), and attenuated IBDV (attIBDV, Gt strain) using specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chicken infection model. The results showed that vvIBDV distributed in multiple tissues, replicated the fastest in lymphoid organs such as bursa of Fabricius, induced significant viremia and virus excretion, and is the most pathogenic virus with a mortality of more than 80%. The nVarIBDV had a weaker replication capability and did not kill the chickens but caused severe damage to the central immune organ bursa of Fabricius and B lymphocytes and induced significant viremia and virus excretion. The attIBDV strain was found not to be pathogenic. Further studies preliminarily suggested that the expression level of inflammatory factors triggered by HLJ0504 was the highest, followed by the SHG19 group. This study is the first to systematically compare the pathogenic characteristics of three IBDVs closely related to poultry industry from the perspectives of clinical signs, micro-pathology, virus replication, and distribution. It is of great importance to obtain an extensive knowledge of epidemiology, pathogenicity, and comprehensive prevention, and control of various IBDV strains.

ANTIVIRAL DRUGS IN THE TREATMENT FOR COVID-19

Introduction. Covid-19 is an infectious contagious disease of viral etiology caused by SARS-COv-2.
 Covid-19 is a highly infectious viral disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. The management of Covid-19 presents significant challenges, and the decision regarding the level of medical care provided, whether in outpatient or hospital settings, relies primarily on the clinical assessment of the patient's condition.
 The aim of this paper is to review and analyze the pharmacological properties of antiviral drugs used in the treatment regimens for Covid-19.
 Materials and Methods: In this research, internet resources such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and CrossRef were utilized. The focus was on providing an up-to-date review of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics of antiviral drugs used in the treatment of Covid-19.
 Monlupiravir is an antiviral prodrug with activity against SARS-CoV-2. It is prescribed for patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 who are at high risk of developing severe forms of the disease or death. Ribavirin is a nucleoside analogue with broad-spectrum antiviral activity. Remdesivir is a direct-acting antiviral drug that inhibits the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, and it is indicated for seriously ill Covid-19 patients with pneumonia requiring oxygen therapy, as well as for patients with comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, immunosuppressive conditions, and renal failure.
 Favipiravin is a direct-acting synthetic antiviral drug, selective RNA polymerase inhibitor, which is indicated for the treatment of moderate and severe COVID-19, pandemic infections caused by influenza virus, and also when other drugs are ineffective.
 Lopinavir/ritonavir is a combination drug, a protease inhibitor, which is used in the treatment charts for seriously ill patients with COVID-19.
 Conclusion. The search for effective etiotropic drugs for treatment of patients with COVID-19 is still continuing. Monlupiravir, ribavirin, remdesivir, favipiravin, plitidepsin, lopinavir / ritonavir are used for treatment. Mechanism of drugs’ action, peculiarities of their pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, possible side effects, dosage forms are required for the choice of the drug.
 Favipiravir is a synthetic antiviral drug that acts as a selective RNA polymerase inhibitor. It is indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe Covid-19, as well as for pandemic influenza infections when other drugs are ineffective. Lopinavir/ritonavir is a combination drug and a protease inhibitor used in the treatment of severely ill patients with Covid-19.

Preventive effects of quercetin against foot-and-mouth disease virus in vitro and in vivo by inducing type I interferon.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an acute contagious infectious disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals. Although current emergency FMD vaccines only take effect 7 days after vaccination, antiviral agents, such as quercetin, which is a common flavonoid, could reduce the spread of FMD virus (FMDV) during outbreaks. We investigated the in vitro and in vivo antiviral effects of quercetin against FMDV. Analysis of viral copy numbers showed that quercetin had a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on FMDV at concentrations between 19.5 and 1,250 μM in porcine cells. In addition, we observed a quercetin-induced interferon (IFN)-α protein and interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) upregulation in swine cells. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of sera revealed that quercetin induces the production of IFN-α, IFN-β, IFN-γ, interleukin (IL)-12, and IL-15 in mice. Inoculation of mice with quercetin or a combination of quercetin with an inactivated FMD vaccine enhanced both the survival rate and neutralizing antibody titer. Therefore, we suggest the use of quercetin as a novel and effective antiviral agent for controlling FMDV infection; however, further investigation of its application in livestock is required.

Patent scenario of COVID‐19 vaccines: A promising analysis and review of innovation and development

AbstractCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), a highly contagious infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), has had a devastating effect on world demographics and emerged as a significant global health emergency since the influenza pandemic of 1918. It emphasized the significance of international cooperation in battling SARS‐CoV‐2 efficiently ever since the discovery and publication of the virus's genome in January 2020. The world took significant steps to combat the disease, ranging from increasing personal protective equipment production and emphasizing the importance of social distancing/masking to the Emergency Use Authorization of remdesivir/therapeutic antibodies. Despite significant advances in clinical research that have led to a better understanding of SARS‐CoV‐2 and COVID‐19 management, limiting the virus's and its variants' spread, has become a growing concern as SARS‐CoV‐2 continues to cause chaos around the world, with many countries experiencing a second or third wave of outbreaks attributed primarily due to the emergence of mutant virus variants. Considering the potential threat of this global outbreak, scientist and medics have rushed to identify possible treatment regimens and effective therapeutic drugs and vaccinations. As a matter of fact, several COVID‐19 vaccines candidate have been researched, created, tested, and reviewed at a breakneck pace. Finding patents, examining relevant patents for current research activities and assessing them plays a key part for the best possible research and development before establishing and executing a trading strategy, especially with recent technology advancements. Therefore, to support current research and development we have evaluated patents relevant to various COVID‐19 vaccine technology platforms. The aim of the present research work is to map the existing work through an analysis of patent literature in the field of Coronaviruses, particularly COVID‐19 vaccines which will subsequently help the organization launch campaigns, as well as academics and research‐driven institutions with the aid of patent literature information for a range of initiatives to combat this circulating demon.

The Effectiveness of Adjuvant Attangaogam (Athanam) Yoga Asana-Pranayamam Practices With Regard to Biochemical, Inflammatory, and Hematological Markers Among COVID-19 Patients at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Southern Tamilnadu.

Background and objective Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a highly contagious infectious disease that has affected many countries globally. Attangaogam, known in Sanskrit as "Ashtanga yoga", is a practice associated with the spiritual and cultural heritage of India whose origins can be traced back to the very dawn of civilization; the practice of yoga promotes health,healing, and longevity.This study aimed to analyze the effects of Attangaogam (Athanam) yoga asana-Pranayamam practice on biochemical, inflammatory, and hematological markers in the management of COVID-19. Materials and methods A prospective observational study was conducted from August 2021 to February 2022 among hospitalized adult patients of both sexes who consented to participate and testedpositive for COVID-19 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR). Convenience sampling was employed and the study was approved by Institutional Ethics Committee (VMCIEC/74/2021). Clinical details, inflammatory markers, D-dimer, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), ferritin, procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin 6(IL-6), and complete blood count (CBC) were analyzed for all the volunteering patientson admission and before commencing yoga-pranayamam practices. Also, the parameters were recorded after practicing the scheduled protocol: on the day of discharge, and after the first and third months of discharge. Microsoft Excel 2013 was used forstatistical analysis. Results Of the 76 patients, 32 were followed up regularly; the mean age of the cohort was 50.6 ± 4.95 years, and62% were males. All the patients attained normal oxygen saturation and got discharged in 7-14 days. The comparison of clinical, hematological, inflammatory, and biochemical investigations between pre- and post-Attangaogam yoga-Pranayamam practice sessions showed statistically significant differencesand the patients attained normal levels for all variables within three months except for serum albumin. Conclusion Based on our findings, the practice ofAttangaogam yoga-Pranayamam contributed to the successful treatment of COVID-19 with the early restoration of protracted hypermetabolic and hyperinflammatory markers to normal status. Theevidence related to biomarkers revealed that the patients attained metabolic normalcy of cellhealth with the aid of personalized physical rehabilitation counteracting inflammation and promoting tissue repair thanks to holistic natural and innate immunity provided by Attangaogam yoga-pranayamam practices.

Ações de educação em saúde para a prevenção da tuberculose humana em Manaus - AM por meio da utilização de mídias sociais e digitais

Tuberculosis is an infectious contagious disease caused by bacteria of the M. tuberculosis complex and it is estimated that approximately a quarter of the world population is infected by the pathogens. Faced with this scenario, health education actions were enveloped through other social and digital media, aiming at the prevention of human tuberculosis through posters in the form of images, videos and application of questionnaires, for which 2,255 visits were obtained through the promotion of publications and sharing of the elaborated contents.

Coping Strategies for Pertussis Resurgence.

Pertussis (whooping cough) is a respiratory disease caused primarily by Bordetella pertussis, a Gram-negative bacteria. Pertussis is a relatively contagious infectious disease in people of all ages, mainly affecting newborns and infants under 2 months of age. Pertussis is undergoing a resurgence despite decades of high rates of vaccination. To better cope with the challenge of pertussis resurgence, we evaluated its possible causes and potential countermeasures in the narrative review. Expanded vaccination coverage, optimized vaccination strategies, and the development of a new pertussis vaccine may contribute to the control of pertussis.

Using an Exposure Call Center to Help Mitigate Outbreaks, Such as COVID-19, on a University Campus.

Rapid identification and management of close contacts is an important component of an effective university mitigation strategy for highly contagious infectious diseases such as measles and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Institutions of higher education must plan for an associated large influx of calls that can overwhelm standard student health and local public health operations. In fall 2020, a large state public university's Department of Student Health and Wellness created a dedicated exposure call center (ECC), in close collaboration with the local public health department, to quickly assess students who learned of a COVID-19 exposure outside of the formal contact tracing process. The ECC operated 7 days a week and fielded 3361 calls: 3187 from students and 174 from staff, faculty, and parents. The ECC provided rapid assessment and guidance for students with COVID-19 exposure, allowing for prompt quarantine and medical assessment when warranted. Call centers can increase the bandwidth of university health centers and also reduce the burden on health care providers and other public health resources during periods of crisis or high demand.

Overview of Radiological Images of Chest X-rays of Patients with Tuberculosis at BARI General Hospital, Palembang, Indonesia

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic and contagious infectious disease that can attack almost all organs of the human body, especially the lungs, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. Chest X-ray is a fast imaging technique and one of the main tools that have high sensitivity for diagnosing pulmonary TB. This study aimed to find out more about the overview of radiological images of chest X-rays of patients with tuberculosis at BARI General Hospital, Palembang, Indonesia.
 Methods: This study is a descriptive observational study. A total of 50 research subjects participated in this study. The radiological images of the chest X-rays are presented in the form of grouping, namely the presence of infiltrates, consolidation, fibrosis, cavities, and effusions. In addition, observations were made on the location of the emergence of various abnormalities on the radiological image of the chest X-rays in a descriptive way.
 Results: This study showed that the majority of study subjects had to infiltrate radiological features, and the majority of study subjects had lesions at the apex of the superior lobe.
 Conclusion: The radiological images of the chest X-rays in TB patients show the presence of infiltrate, consolidation, fibrosis, effusion, and cavity lesions, where the lesions are in line with the progressivity of TB.

Correlation between the IgG/IgA Antibody Response against PEDV Structural Protein and Virus Neutralization.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is a highly contagious intestinal infectious disease caused by porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV). Large-scale outbreaks of PEDV have caused huge economic losses to the pig industry since 2010. Neutralizing antibodies play a pivotal role in protecting piglets from enteric infections. However, there has been no systematic report on the correlations between neutralizing antibody titers (NTs) and absorbance values of IgG or IgA to all PEDV individual structural proteins in clinical serum, fecal, and colostrum samples. In this study, the spike protein S1 domain (S1), membrane protein (M), envelope protein (E), and nucleocapsid protein (N) of the variant PEDV strain AH2012/12 were expressed and purified by using the human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293F expression system. A total of 92 clinical serum samples, 46 fecal samples, and 33 colostrum samples were collected, and the correlations between IgG or IgA absorbance values and NTs were analyzed. R2 values revealed that anti-S1 IgA absorbance values show the highest agreement with NTs in all serum, fecal, and colostrum samples, followed by the N protein. The correlations between anti-E or M IgA and NTs were very low. However, in the colostrum samples, both IgG and IgA to S1 showed high correlations with NTs. In addition, compared with E and M, the highest correlations of IgA absorbance values were with N and S1 in serum and fecal samples. Overall, this study revealed the highest correlation between NTs and IgA to PEDV S1 protein. Therefore, the diagnostic method with anti-S1 IgA can be used as a powerful tool for assessing the immune status of pigs. IMPORTANCE The humoral immune response plays an important role in virus neutralization. Against PEDV, both IgG and the mucosal immune component IgA play roles in virus neutralization. However, which plays a more prominent role and whether there are differences in different tissue samples are not clearly reported. Additionally, the relationship between IgG and IgA against individual structural proteins and viral neutralization remains unclear. In this study, we systematically determined the relationship between IgG and IgA against all PEDV structural proteins and viral neutralization in different clinical samples and found the highest correlation between neutralization activity and IgA to PEDV S1 protein. Our data have important guiding implications in the evaluation of immune protection.

Spatio-temporal six-year retrospective study on dermatophytosis in Rio de Janeiro, Southeast Brazil: A tropical tourist locality tale.

Trichophyton, Microsporum, Nannizzia and Epidermophyton genera cause dermatophytosis, the most common and highly contagious infectious skin disease. Rio de Janeiro is one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere, located in the most visited state of Brazil. This retrospective study investigated epidemiological and laboratorial aspects of dermatophytosis in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, by using spatiotemporal analysis. More than half of all individuals were infected by one or more dermatophytes. A variation between 18 and 106 years-old of the studied population was verified, and women more frequently affected. Patients were more frequently infected by Trichophyton spp., most of them T. rubrum, followed by T. mentagrophytes. M. canis and N. gypsea were more frequently isolated in the age group between 40 and 60 years old, while T. rubrum predominates among younger patients. All species presented homogeneous distribution while T. tonsurans appears to be restricted to the Rio de Janeiro capital and E. floccosum to the municipality of Macaé (190 Km apart from RJ). Rio de Janeiro state presented spatial clusters of dermatophytosis with high density in Guanabara Bay (E. floccosum, M. canis, N. gypsea, T. tonsurans) and Niterói (T. rubrum, T. mentagrophytes) but low density in Macaé (E. floccosum). Significant spatiotemporal clusters on dermatophytosis cases were detected in distinct municipalities (p-value ≤ 0.05). The Vulnerability Index (r = 0.293) and Demographic Density (r = 0.652) distributed according to neighborhoods in Niterói were direct related with dermatophytosis cases whereas Income (r = -0.306) was inversely correlated (p-value ≤ 0.05). The dermatophytosis spatiotemporal distinct distribution after two major international events in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, highlight the pressing need for specific measures of its prevention and controlling. This is particularly relevant in touristic tropical localities which must consider both socio-economical and traveler's medicine variables.

Clinical evaluation of DIAGNOVIR SARS-CoV-2 ultra-rapid antigen test performance compared to PCR-based testing

Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The development of rapid antigen tests has contributed to easing the burden on healthcare and lifting restrictions by detecting infected individuals to help prevent further transmission of the virus. We developed a state-of-art rapid antigen testing system, named DIAGNOVIR, based on immune-fluorescence analysis, which can process and give the results in a minute. In our study, we assessed the performance of the DIAGNOVIR and compared the results with those of the qRT-PCR test. Our results demonstrated that the sensitivity and specificity of the DIAGNOVIR were 94% and 99.2%, respectively, with a 100% sensitivity and 96.97% specificity, among asymptomatic patients. In addition, DIAGNOVIR can detect SARS‑CoV‑2 with 100% sensitivity up to 5 days after symptom onset. We observed that the DIAGNOVIR Rapid Antigen Test’s limit of detection (LoD) was not significantly affected by the SARS‑CoV‑2 variants including Wuhan, alpha (B1.1.7), beta (B.1.351), delta (B.1.617.2) and omicron (B.1.1.529) variants, and LoD was calculated as 8 × 102, 6.81 × 101.5, 3.2 × 101.5, 1 × 103, and 1 × 103.5 TCID50/mL, respectively. Our results indicated that DIAGNOVIR can detect all SARS-CoV-2 variants in just seconds with higher sensitivity and specificity lower testing costs and decreased turnover time.

An Efficient GNSS Coordinate Recognition Algorithm for Epidemic Management

Many highly contagious infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, monkeypox, chickenpox, influenza, etc., have seriously affected or currently are seriously affecting human health, economic activities, education, sports, and leisure. Many people will be infected or quarantined when an epidemic spreads in specific areas. These people whose activities must be restricted due to the epidemic are represented by targets in the article. Managing targets by using targeted areas is an effective option for slowing the spread. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) usually determine management strategies by tracking targets in specific areas. A global navigation satellite system (GNSS) that can provide autonomous geospatial positioning of targets by using tiny electronic receivers can assist in recognition. The recognition of targets within a targeted area is a point-in-polygon (PtInPy) problem in computational geometry. Most previous methods used the method of identifying one target at a time, which made them unable to effectively deal with many targets. An earlier method was able to simultaneously recognize several targets but had the problem of the repeated recognition of the same targets. Therefore, we propose a GNSS coordinate recognition algorithm. This algorithm can efficiently recognize a large number of targets within a targeted area, which can provide assistance in epidemic management.