ETIDIOH - NEW

Abstract Nationwide surveillance of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in live poultry markets across China has occurred since 2014, providing a resource for AIV prevalence and genetic diversity studies . Here we report that 3,237 of 18,425 samples from poultry were AIV positive (17.57%) between 2019 and 2023, with H9N2 being the dominant subtype . We developed an automated phylogeny-based nomenclature system to classify genetic clades of the dominant H9N2 lineage, the BJ94 lineage. Using this model, we found that ten haemagglutinin (HA) sub-subclades cocirculated in poultry and showed antigenic variation. In addition, 99.46% and 96.17% of H9N2 AIVs in 2021–2023 possessed human-receptor binding-related HA-L226 and human MxA-resistance-related NP-N52 mutations , respectively. H9N2 strains with these two mutations preferred human-type receptors and increased replication in human cells in vitro, regardless of the presence of PB2-V/K/E627. Moreover, H9N2 AIVs containing HA-L226, PB2-V/K627 and...

Abstract Frequent SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in vulnerable populations has raised concerns that this may contribute to T cell exhaustion , which could negatively affect the quality of immune protection. Herein, we examined the impact of repeated SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on T cell phenotypic and functional exhaustion in frail older adults in long-term care (n = 23), individuals on immunosuppressive drugs (n = 10), and healthy adults (n = 43), in Canada . Spike-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell levels did not decline in any cohort following repeated SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, nor did the expression of exhaustion markers on spike-specific or total T cells increase. T cell production of multiple cytokines (i.e. polyfunctionality) in response to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 did not decline in any cohort following repeated vaccination. None of the cohorts displayed elevated levels of terminally differentiated T cells following multiple SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations. Thus, repeated SARS-CoV-2 vaccination was...

Abstract Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) of H5 and H7 subtypes has emerged as one of the most important zoonotic pathogens in the 21st century with significant economic consequences. The recent outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza (AI) in dairy cattle highlighted the importance of early detection in managing and mitigating HPAIV outbreaks. A successful high-speed diagnostic response requires rapid site and specimen access, minimal time for test protocols, and prompt communication of the diagnostic results to government officials. A new diagnostic paradigm that consists of miniaturized extractor and qPCR instruments (EZextractor and EZcycler MiniQ), designed for mobile, on-site testing has been compared with a platform of benchtop instruments (QIAGEN RNeasy and QuantStudio 5) for detecting inactivated H5 avian influenza virus (AIV) spiked in raw milk samples. Two sets of experiments were performed: 1) 15 raw milk samples, obtained from 15 different farms, diluted with phosph...

Abstract Background A surge of cases of Corynebacterium diphtheriae infection was observed in reception centers for migrants in Europe beginning in the summer of 2022. Most of the cases were cutaneous , although some respiratory cases as well as one death were reported. A pan-European consortium was created to assess the clinical, epidemiologic, and microbiologic features of this outbreak. Methods We assessed cases of toxigenic C. diphtheriae infection that were reported in 10 European countries from January through November 2022. Data regarding countries of origin and transit routes were obtained from interviews with the patients. Whole-genome sequencing and antimicrobial-susceptibility testing were performed on bacterial isolates that were obtained from the patients. The phylogenetic relationships of the isolates and their antimicrobial-resistance genes were evaluated. Results A total of 363 toxigenic C. diphtheriae isolates were identified among 362 patients during the study period....