D. Dickinson, Melissa Del Tufo, Emma Liu, X. Shao, S. Hsu
Objective Currently used alcohol-based hand sanitizers and surgical hand rubs are not effective against alcohol-resistant microorganisms. We reported previously that nontoxic antioxidant food additive compounds derived from green tea polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin-3-gallate-palmitate (EC16), are suitable in alcohol formulations to effectively inactivate nonenveloped viruses and bacterial spores. However, whether EC16 influences the bactericidal and fungicidal activity of alcohol is not clear. The objective of the current study was to determine the bactericidal and fungicidal activities of ProtecTeaV hand sanitizer and surface spray prototypes containing EC16. Methods The prototypes were tested according to the guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Results As expected, EC16 did not reduce the bactericidal and fungicidal activities of ethanol. The hand sanitizer gel formulation was equally effective as 70% ethanol and met the tested standard, and the surface spray prototype met the EPA performance standard. Conclusions EC16 can be combined with ethanol without reducing antibacterial or antifungal activity, and the ProtecTeaV prototypes could be further developed into novel hand hygiene and surface disinfectant products with virucidal, bactericidal, fungicidal and sporicidal activities.
{"title":"Bactericidal and fungicidal activities of novel ProtecTeaV formulations - alcohol-based hand hygiene and surface disinfectant prototypes containing epigallocatechin-3-gallate-palmitate (EC16).","authors":"D. Dickinson, Melissa Del Tufo, Emma Liu, X. Shao, S. Hsu","doi":"10.33425/2639-9458.1135","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33425/2639-9458.1135","url":null,"abstract":"Objective\u0000Currently used alcohol-based hand sanitizers and surgical hand rubs are not effective against alcohol-resistant microorganisms. We reported previously that nontoxic antioxidant food additive compounds derived from green tea polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin-3-gallate-palmitate (EC16), are suitable in alcohol formulations to effectively inactivate nonenveloped viruses and bacterial spores. However, whether EC16 influences the bactericidal and fungicidal activity of alcohol is not clear. The objective of the current study was to determine the bactericidal and fungicidal activities of ProtecTeaV hand sanitizer and surface spray prototypes containing EC16.\u0000\u0000\u0000Methods\u0000The prototypes were tested according to the guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).\u0000\u0000\u0000Results\u0000As expected, EC16 did not reduce the bactericidal and fungicidal activities of ethanol. The hand sanitizer gel formulation was equally effective as 70% ethanol and met the tested standard, and the surface spray prototype met the EPA performance standard.\u0000\u0000\u0000Conclusions\u0000EC16 can be combined with ethanol without reducing antibacterial or antifungal activity, and the ProtecTeaV prototypes could be further developed into novel hand hygiene and surface disinfectant products with virucidal, bactericidal, fungicidal and sporicidal activities.","PeriodicalId":93597,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology & infectious diseases (Wilmington, Del.)","volume":"5 5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43717865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Up to 2% of international travelers report an animal contact which raises the possibility of rabies exposure. Travelassociated rabies is rare; however, infection is essentially fatal once expressed yet death is preventable by timely postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) -- thorough wound cleansing, local injection of rabies immune globulin (RIG) and a vaccine series. To begin to provide initial guidance if contacted by a patient potentially exposed to rabies while abroad, key questions the clinician should ask in a stepwise fashion are: (1) What animal was involved? (2) What was the actual exposure and in what country did it occur? (3) How many wounds, location (including mucosal surfaces), severity and what wound care performed? (4) Is the traveler immunocompromised? (5) Was either preexposure rabies prophylaxis or PEP previously given? (6) Is rabies PEP clearly indicated and/or is expert advice and guidance needed? (7) Where is the traveler, what level of acceptable care is accessible and how long to access it? And (8) What formulation of rabies immune globulin and vaccine is available and what injection protocol is in-use? Framed here by experience with four travelers, answers to these and additional questions set the stage for the clinician’s initial guidance and action. The goal and clinical relevance of this review is straightforward – to maximize the opportunity for travelers who warrant rabies PEP to promptly receive it.
{"title":"Rabies Exposures in International Travelers: A Review","authors":"H. Murray","doi":"10.33425/2639-9458.1130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33425/2639-9458.1130","url":null,"abstract":"Up to 2% of international travelers report an animal contact which raises the possibility of rabies exposure. Travelassociated rabies is rare; however, infection is essentially fatal once expressed yet death is preventable by timely postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) -- thorough wound cleansing, local injection of rabies immune globulin (RIG) and a vaccine series. To begin to provide initial guidance if contacted by a patient potentially exposed to rabies while abroad, key questions the clinician should ask in a stepwise fashion are: (1) What animal was involved? (2) What was the actual exposure and in what country did it occur? (3) How many wounds, location (including mucosal surfaces), severity and what wound care performed? (4) Is the traveler immunocompromised? (5) Was either preexposure rabies prophylaxis or PEP previously given? (6) Is rabies PEP clearly indicated and/or is expert advice and guidance needed? (7) Where is the traveler, what level of acceptable care is accessible and how long to access it? And (8) What formulation of rabies immune globulin and vaccine is available and what injection protocol is in-use? Framed here by experience with four travelers, answers to these and additional questions set the stage for the clinician’s initial guidance and action. The goal and clinical relevance of this review is straightforward – to maximize the opportunity for travelers who warrant rabies PEP to promptly receive it.","PeriodicalId":93597,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology & infectious diseases (Wilmington, Del.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46941263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Reda Elwakil, Medhat Elsahhar, Y. Fouad, P. Ocama, Masolwa Ng’wanassai, Ashraf Bareedy, A. Saad-Hussein
Climate change is already a reality in Africa. Many countries across Africa are classified as Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) with poor socio-economic conditions and by implication are faced with particular challenges in responding to the impacts of climate change. African countries have the least efficient public health systems in the world. Infectious disease burdens, which are sensitive to climate impacts, are highest in the sub-Saharan African region. Changes in climate will affect the spread of infectious agents as well as alter people’s disposition to these infections Climate change has the capability to drive parasitic disease incidence and prevalence worldwide. There are both direct and indirect implications of climate change on the scope and distribution of parasitic organisms and their associated vectors and host species. Currently there is lack of reviews in the literature addressing comprehensively the impact of climate change on the prevalence of parasitic liver disease in Africa. The aim of the current review is to discuss the impact of climate change on parasitic liver disease in Africa, and to detect the gaps in the research done in this field. This review is discussing the impact of climate change on some common parasitic liver diseases in Africa regarding the spread of infectious agents and the liver diseases caused by them. Conclusion: Evidences showed that climate change; including rise in ambient temperature, disturbance of rainfall, water safety, and ecological changes, leads to change in the expansion of vectors or reservoirs of infection and the burden of parasitic infections in endemic areas in Africa. In addition to the effect of man-made construction of irrigation schemes are also responsible for continued transmission of some parasitic diseases in African countries.
{"title":"Impact of Climate Change on Parasitic liver Diseases in Africa","authors":"Reda Elwakil, Medhat Elsahhar, Y. Fouad, P. Ocama, Masolwa Ng’wanassai, Ashraf Bareedy, A. Saad-Hussein","doi":"10.33425/2639-9458.1131","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33425/2639-9458.1131","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change is already a reality in Africa. Many countries across Africa are classified as Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) with poor socio-economic conditions and by implication are faced with particular challenges in responding to the impacts of climate change. African countries have the least efficient public health systems in the world. Infectious disease burdens, which are sensitive to climate impacts, are highest in the sub-Saharan African region. Changes in climate will affect the spread of infectious agents as well as alter people’s disposition to these infections Climate change has the capability to drive parasitic disease incidence and prevalence worldwide. There are both direct and indirect implications of climate change on the scope and distribution of parasitic organisms and their associated vectors and host species. Currently there is lack of reviews in the literature addressing comprehensively the impact of climate change on the prevalence of parasitic liver disease in Africa. The aim of the current review is to discuss the impact of climate change on parasitic liver disease in Africa, and to detect the gaps in the research done in this field. This review is discussing the impact of climate change on some common parasitic liver diseases in Africa regarding the spread of infectious agents and the liver diseases caused by them. Conclusion: Evidences showed that climate change; including rise in ambient temperature, disturbance of rainfall, water safety, and ecological changes, leads to change in the expansion of vectors or reservoirs of infection and the burden of parasitic infections in endemic areas in Africa. In addition to the effect of man-made construction of irrigation schemes are also responsible for continued transmission of some parasitic diseases in African countries.","PeriodicalId":93597,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology & infectious diseases (Wilmington, Del.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43258385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mucormycosis is an opportunistic fungal infection that is associated with states of immunosuppression, among which uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (ketoacidosis) and the use of corticosteroids stand out. Both conditions are interwoven between the comorbidities and the treatments most used in patients with COVID-19. That is why its presence must be taken into account as a complication to be ruled out, and highlights the need to incorporate the Diabetologist into the Multidisciplinary Team for COVID management.
{"title":"Mucormicosis, COVID-19 and Diabetes Mellitus","authors":"H. Carvallo, R. Hirsch, M. Corti, M. Carrera","doi":"10.33425/2639-9458.1127","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33425/2639-9458.1127","url":null,"abstract":"Mucormycosis is an opportunistic fungal infection that is associated with states of immunosuppression, among which uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (ketoacidosis) and the use of corticosteroids stand out. Both conditions are interwoven between the comorbidities and the treatments most used in patients with COVID-19. That is why its presence must be taken into account as a complication to be ruled out, and highlights the need to incorporate the Diabetologist into the Multidisciplinary Team for COVID management.","PeriodicalId":93597,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology & infectious diseases (Wilmington, Del.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42715166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
David Baugher, Alexander W Larsen, Yuan-zhi Chen, C. Icenhour, C. A. Valencia
We assessed the diagnostic yield of metagenomics urine sample testing in patients with urological symptoms. We conducted microbiome analysis of 86 female urine samples that included 17 healthy controls and 69 patients. Natural language processing (NLP), a subfield of artificial intelligence, was used to create a pathogen identification tool, Xplore-AI, to assess the potential pathogens in all of the samples. Meanwhile, report summaries that were written by infectious disease experts were compared to the NLP results to investigate its accuracy. The results showed that the NLP system reported 97% of patient samples had at least one pathogen over three standard deviations from values found in in healthy controls. Similarly, 84% of patients had two or more classified pathogens. These diagnostic percentages were consistent with the infectious disease expert summaries. However, some pathogens like Aerococcus urinae were present in 13 patient samples, but only reported in one summary. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the high diagnostic yield in females with urological symptoms following metagenomic analysis and the ability of using an NLP-based system to identify pathogens to improve the accuracy of the reportable species.
{"title":"Female Urinary Microbiome Analysis and Artificial Intelligence Enhances the Infectious Diagnostic Yield in Precision Medicine","authors":"David Baugher, Alexander W Larsen, Yuan-zhi Chen, C. Icenhour, C. A. Valencia","doi":"10.33425/2639-9458.1126","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33425/2639-9458.1126","url":null,"abstract":"We assessed the diagnostic yield of metagenomics urine sample testing in patients with urological symptoms. We conducted microbiome analysis of 86 female urine samples that included 17 healthy controls and 69 patients. Natural language processing (NLP), a subfield of artificial intelligence, was used to create a pathogen identification tool, Xplore-AI, to assess the potential pathogens in all of the samples. Meanwhile, report summaries that were written by infectious disease experts were compared to the NLP results to investigate its accuracy. The results showed that the NLP system reported 97% of patient samples had at least one pathogen over three standard deviations from values found in in healthy controls. Similarly, 84% of patients had two or more classified pathogens. These diagnostic percentages were consistent with the infectious disease expert summaries. However, some pathogens like Aerococcus urinae were present in 13 patient samples, but only reported in one summary. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the high diagnostic yield in females with urological symptoms following metagenomic analysis and the ability of using an NLP-based system to identify pathogens to improve the accuracy of the reportable species.","PeriodicalId":93597,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology & infectious diseases (Wilmington, Del.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45190382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background: The COVID 19 Pandemic, which appeared in 2019 and is caused by SARS Coronavirus 2, has had a huge impact on the health of millions of people worldwide, with some patients having no symptoms or mild to moderate symptoms and others having prolonged, complicated courses, with some succumbing to the disease. The presence of co-morbidities puts the patient at a greater risk of acquiring a more severe infection. This population are also at a greater risk for more severe influenza infection and Influenza vaccination is recommended for this group on an annual basis. Objectives: To assess whether influenza vaccination may protect against COVID 19 infection, in a Family Medicine population with co-morbidities. The study will shed light on the influence of influenza vaccination on acquiring COVID 19 infection. Design: This is an observational, retrospective study. Setting: Family Medicine Clinic in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: Charts from family medicine patients with one or more co-morbidities who received the influenza vaccine during the 2019/2020 Influenza season, were reviewed. Patients aged between 25 to 75 with comorbidities were included and had received the influenza vaccine from July 2019 to March 2020. Children under 18 and pregnant patients were excluded from the study. Sample size: 250 patients. Conclusions: There may be beneficial effects of using the Influenza vaccine in a high-risk community population, with co-morbidities, during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
{"title":"The Impact of Influenza Vaccine Uptake on COVID-19 Infection amongst a Multi-ethnic Population with Multiple Morbidities","authors":"P. mcwalter, Hussain Karim, Khitam Alodhaibi","doi":"10.33425/2639-9458.1125","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33425/2639-9458.1125","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The COVID 19 Pandemic, which appeared in 2019 and is caused by SARS Coronavirus 2, has had a huge impact on the health of millions of people worldwide, with some patients having no symptoms or mild to moderate symptoms and others having prolonged, complicated courses, with some succumbing to the disease. The presence of co-morbidities puts the patient at a greater risk of acquiring a more severe infection. This population are also at a greater risk for more severe influenza infection and Influenza vaccination is recommended for this group on an annual basis. Objectives: To assess whether influenza vaccination may protect against COVID 19 infection, in a Family Medicine population with co-morbidities. The study will shed light on the influence of influenza vaccination on acquiring COVID 19 infection. Design: This is an observational, retrospective study. Setting: Family Medicine Clinic in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: Charts from family medicine patients with one or more co-morbidities who received the influenza vaccine during the 2019/2020 Influenza season, were reviewed. Patients aged between 25 to 75 with comorbidities were included and had received the influenza vaccine from July 2019 to March 2020. Children under 18 and pregnant patients were excluded from the study. Sample size: 250 patients. Conclusions: There may be beneficial effects of using the Influenza vaccine in a high-risk community population, with co-morbidities, during the COVID-19 Pandemic.","PeriodicalId":93597,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology & infectious diseases (Wilmington, Del.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41602192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Almunther Alhasawi, Mohammad I Kamel, S. Elmasry, W. Kamel, A. Hassan
Background: Herpes zoster (HZ) is a medical condition of a significant global impact, with millions of people affected and rising incidence. Some risk factors of this disease had been reported in previous literatures worldwide; however, studies that pool evidence to provide estimates of newly emerged risk have yet to be conducted, especially in the context of the current pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the association between COVID-19 vaccination and the risk of developing HZ in Kuwait. Methods: Clinically diagnosed 186 HZ patients were enrolled, along with 186 controls (1:1) with matched age (± 5years), sex and nationality. Data from cases and controls was collected using a predesigned interview questionnaire. The data was analyzed using logistic regression. Results: Most of cases and controls were non-Kuwaiti (61.8%) and male (69.4%). About one fifth (19.4%) of HZ cases developed HZ following vaccination against COVID-19 within the study period (two months). Cases were more likely than controls to have had COVID-19 vaccination history (adjusted matched odds ratio (OR) = 4.87; 95 percent confidence interval (CI): 2.40–9.89; P<0.001). Vaccinated HZ cases experienced significantly more lateralization to the left side (χ2 = 12.146, P = 0.000). Conclusions: Vaccination with COVID-19 had significant statistical association with varicella zoster activation. Future studies may contemplate to verify the observed results.
{"title":"Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination on Varicella Zoster Virus Reactivation: A Case Control Study","authors":"Almunther Alhasawi, Mohammad I Kamel, S. Elmasry, W. Kamel, A. Hassan","doi":"10.33425/2639-9458.1124","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33425/2639-9458.1124","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Herpes zoster (HZ) is a medical condition of a significant global impact, with millions of people affected and rising incidence. Some risk factors of this disease had been reported in previous literatures worldwide; however, studies that pool evidence to provide estimates of newly emerged risk have yet to be conducted, especially in the context of the current pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the association between COVID-19 vaccination and the risk of developing HZ in Kuwait. Methods: Clinically diagnosed 186 HZ patients were enrolled, along with 186 controls (1:1) with matched age (± 5years), sex and nationality. Data from cases and controls was collected using a predesigned interview questionnaire. The data was analyzed using logistic regression. Results: Most of cases and controls were non-Kuwaiti (61.8%) and male (69.4%). About one fifth (19.4%) of HZ cases developed HZ following vaccination against COVID-19 within the study period (two months). Cases were more likely than controls to have had COVID-19 vaccination history (adjusted matched odds ratio (OR) = 4.87; 95 percent confidence interval (CI): 2.40–9.89; P<0.001). Vaccinated HZ cases experienced significantly more lateralization to the left side (χ2 = 12.146, P = 0.000). Conclusions: Vaccination with COVID-19 had significant statistical association with varicella zoster activation. Future studies may contemplate to verify the observed results.","PeriodicalId":93597,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology & infectious diseases (Wilmington, Del.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49428378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. Nakamoto, H. Hashiyada, T. Fujii, Kazuki Motoyama, Kazuya Yoshida, Sadahiro Kawamoto, Y. Kawamura
Rationale: Super acidic (pH<2.7) electrolyzed saline (ES) is a non-toxic and all-purpose disinfectant for viruses, bacteria and fungi. The effect of gargling ES was investigated in COVID-19. Patients and Methods: Three patients with/without pneumonia were admitted since June 8, 2021. Treatment strategies followed to the Japanese Guidelines for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome 2016 with modifications for remote treatment. ES gargling were used to decontaminate the primary infection site. Each patient gargled a glass of ES on the day of admission (day 1), and then gargled half a glass of ES 3 times a day for the following 3 days. Results: Gargling ES resulted in a prompt (within a week) reduction in salivary SARS-CoV-2 antigen levels, and all 3 patients recovered and were released from quarantine within 2 weeks. Conclusions: Non-specific virucidal activity of ES was reconfirmed in COVID-19. ES gargling will suppress disease progression and transmission of COVID-19.
{"title":"Naso-Oral Irrigation with Electrolyzed Saline Solution Reduced COVID-19 Antigen Levels: Case Report","authors":"K. Nakamoto, H. Hashiyada, T. Fujii, Kazuki Motoyama, Kazuya Yoshida, Sadahiro Kawamoto, Y. Kawamura","doi":"10.33425/2639-9458.1129","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33425/2639-9458.1129","url":null,"abstract":"Rationale: Super acidic (pH<2.7) electrolyzed saline (ES) is a non-toxic and all-purpose disinfectant for viruses, bacteria and fungi. The effect of gargling ES was investigated in COVID-19. Patients and Methods: Three patients with/without pneumonia were admitted since June 8, 2021. Treatment strategies followed to the Japanese Guidelines for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome 2016 with modifications for remote treatment. ES gargling were used to decontaminate the primary infection site. Each patient gargled a glass of ES on the day of admission (day 1), and then gargled half a glass of ES 3 times a day for the following 3 days. Results: Gargling ES resulted in a prompt (within a week) reduction in salivary SARS-CoV-2 antigen levels, and all 3 patients recovered and were released from quarantine within 2 weeks. Conclusions: Non-specific virucidal activity of ES was reconfirmed in COVID-19. ES gargling will suppress disease progression and transmission of COVID-19.","PeriodicalId":93597,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology & infectious diseases (Wilmington, Del.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46100562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R. Vijayan, A. Senatus, Swostik Pradhananga, C. Kamwal, Madiha Zaidi, A. Choudhry, S. A. Hassan, Marcos Sanchez Gonsalez, M. Díaz, Efrain Garcia
Background: COVID-19 a novel viral infection has taken many lives worldwide in a very short period. The first case of SARS CoV-2 was reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The number of infected cases subsequently increased, leading to a pandemic declaration by WHO in March 2020. Several clinical trials are currently underway to produce effective vaccines to fight against this virus; however, a few of them include pregnant women; leaving us to question the efficacy of the vaccine. Pregnant women are immune-compromised and considered a high-risk group for SARS-CoV-2 and therefore experience maternal and fetal consequences. It seems to be essential to incorporate them in these clinical trials. This study was led to understand the factors preventing pregnant women from participating in such trials and to assess the safety of potential COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy. Methods: This study was conducted using the available literature was done in May 31 2021 by searching databases: PubMed, WHO, clinicaltrials.gov and Google Scholar. Keywords such as COVID-19 Vaccine, COVID Vaccine Clinical Trials, COVID prevention in pregnancy, and their combinations were used. We included patients with a positive COVID-19 test and excluded systematic reviews on COVID-19 negative pregnant patients. The search was comprehensive according to the cross-checking of reference lists from the articles retrieved. Results: Our search results led to 4320 studies after removing duplicates; title and abstract screening were done for 20 studies. We also performed the manual search to look for related articles and 13 studies were included in the final analysis. Conclusion: To enable and ameliorate the participation of pregnant and lactating women for the development of vaccines against COVID-19, we are left with a question pertaining to the short as well as long term prognosis of COVID-19 in pregnant women, their fetus, and also the infants. With such approach we can establish and enable a proper guidance and framework to emphasize the inclusion of pregnant women in the development of future vaccine.
{"title":"Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines During Pregnancy: A Short Communication","authors":"R. Vijayan, A. Senatus, Swostik Pradhananga, C. Kamwal, Madiha Zaidi, A. Choudhry, S. A. Hassan, Marcos Sanchez Gonsalez, M. Díaz, Efrain Garcia","doi":"10.33425/2639-9458.1128","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33425/2639-9458.1128","url":null,"abstract":"Background: COVID-19 a novel viral infection has taken many lives worldwide in a very short period. The first case of SARS CoV-2 was reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The number of infected cases subsequently increased, leading to a pandemic declaration by WHO in March 2020. Several clinical trials are currently underway to produce effective vaccines to fight against this virus; however, a few of them include pregnant women; leaving us to question the efficacy of the vaccine. Pregnant women are immune-compromised and considered a high-risk group for SARS-CoV-2 and therefore experience maternal and fetal consequences. It seems to be essential to incorporate them in these clinical trials. This study was led to understand the factors preventing pregnant women from participating in such trials and to assess the safety of potential COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy. Methods: This study was conducted using the available literature was done in May 31 2021 by searching databases: PubMed, WHO, clinicaltrials.gov and Google Scholar. Keywords such as COVID-19 Vaccine, COVID Vaccine Clinical Trials, COVID prevention in pregnancy, and their combinations were used. We included patients with a positive COVID-19 test and excluded systematic reviews on COVID-19 negative pregnant patients. The search was comprehensive according to the cross-checking of reference lists from the articles retrieved. Results: Our search results led to 4320 studies after removing duplicates; title and abstract screening were done for 20 studies. We also performed the manual search to look for related articles and 13 studies were included in the final analysis. Conclusion: To enable and ameliorate the participation of pregnant and lactating women for the development of vaccines against COVID-19, we are left with a question pertaining to the short as well as long term prognosis of COVID-19 in pregnant women, their fetus, and also the infants. With such approach we can establish and enable a proper guidance and framework to emphasize the inclusion of pregnant women in the development of future vaccine.","PeriodicalId":93597,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology & infectious diseases (Wilmington, Del.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48948182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Potokoué Mpia Nsb, Sékangué Obili G, O. Br, Djendja Ingoba I, Gackosso G, B. G, I. C, Iloki Lh
Introduction: Vaginal candidiasis is a fungal disease caused by a yeast type Candida. It affects more than 75% of women during the period of genital activity. Changes in vaginal pH due to various factors lead to the onset of the infection. Objective: Determine the prevalence of vaginal candidiasis in women of childbearing age and look for associated factors or risk for its occurrence. Patients, Materials and Method: We conducted a cross-sectional analytical study from July to October 2019. It concerned all patients aged 15 to 49 years, received at the Parasitology-mycology and parasitic immunology laboratory of the University Hospital of Brazzaville for an analysis of the vaginal sample. For each vaginal sample, a direct examination and culture on Sabouraud Chloramphenicol medium with and without Actidione were performed. A questionnaire was completed specifying age, medical and surgical history, symptoms and risk factors. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 20 using Chi-square test and Student's test and multivariate logistic regression was performed. The test was significant when p Ë‚ 0.05. Results: Among 152 samples analyzed, 88 were positive on direct examination (48.7%) and 34 were positive after culture (22.4%). It concerned patients of mean age 32 years (24 years, 40 years), living with one sexual partner (79.4%), never had abortions (64.7%). We found the use of antibiotics (2.9%), corticosteroid therapy (5.9%) and diabetes (6.6%). Among the women included in the study, 32.4% were pregnant. 38.2% of patients used intimate bath and 14.7% used community bath towels; 23.5% wore synthetic underwear; 26.5% of tight clothing and 26.4% had wrong cleaning mode after defecation (p = 0.003). Symptoms associated with vaginal candidiasis were significantly leucorrhoea (38.2%; p = 0.000), burning sensation (22.4%; p = 0.003) and vulvar pruritus (35.5%; p = 0.016). The risk factors associated with the occurrence of vaginal candidiasis were the presence of leucorrhoea and the wrong cleaning mode after defecation associating both front to back / back to front. Patients with leucorrhoea had a 4.21 folds higher risk of vaginal candidiasis, while those with wrong cleaning mode front to-back / back-to-front had a 28.97 folds higher risk. Conclusion: Vaginal candidiasis is common in women of childbearing age with poor hygienic conditions. The associated factors identified are those found in the literature, among which, leucorrhoea and cleaning mode combined from front to back / back to front.
{"title":"Vaginal Candidiasis in Women of Childbearing Age at the University Hospital of Brazzaville: Prevalence and Associated Factors","authors":"Potokoué Mpia Nsb, Sékangué Obili G, O. Br, Djendja Ingoba I, Gackosso G, B. G, I. C, Iloki Lh","doi":"10.33425/2639-9458.1119","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33425/2639-9458.1119","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Vaginal candidiasis is a fungal disease caused by a yeast type Candida. It affects more than 75% of women during the period of genital activity. Changes in vaginal pH due to various factors lead to the onset of the infection. Objective: Determine the prevalence of vaginal candidiasis in women of childbearing age and look for associated factors or risk for its occurrence. Patients, Materials and Method: We conducted a cross-sectional analytical study from July to October 2019. It concerned all patients aged 15 to 49 years, received at the Parasitology-mycology and parasitic immunology laboratory of the University Hospital of Brazzaville for an analysis of the vaginal sample. For each vaginal sample, a direct examination and culture on Sabouraud Chloramphenicol medium with and without Actidione were performed. A questionnaire was completed specifying age, medical and surgical history, symptoms and risk factors. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 20 using Chi-square test and Student's test and multivariate logistic regression was performed. The test was significant when p Ë‚ 0.05. Results: Among 152 samples analyzed, 88 were positive on direct examination (48.7%) and 34 were positive after culture (22.4%). It concerned patients of mean age 32 years (24 years, 40 years), living with one sexual partner (79.4%), never had abortions (64.7%). We found the use of antibiotics (2.9%), corticosteroid therapy (5.9%) and diabetes (6.6%). Among the women included in the study, 32.4% were pregnant. 38.2% of patients used intimate bath and 14.7% used community bath towels; 23.5% wore synthetic underwear; 26.5% of tight clothing and 26.4% had wrong cleaning mode after defecation (p = 0.003). Symptoms associated with vaginal candidiasis were significantly leucorrhoea (38.2%; p = 0.000), burning sensation (22.4%; p = 0.003) and vulvar pruritus (35.5%; p = 0.016). The risk factors associated with the occurrence of vaginal candidiasis were the presence of leucorrhoea and the wrong cleaning mode after defecation associating both front to back / back to front. Patients with leucorrhoea had a 4.21 folds higher risk of vaginal candidiasis, while those with wrong cleaning mode front to-back / back-to-front had a 28.97 folds higher risk. Conclusion: Vaginal candidiasis is common in women of childbearing age with poor hygienic conditions. The associated factors identified are those found in the literature, among which, leucorrhoea and cleaning mode combined from front to back / back to front.","PeriodicalId":93597,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology & infectious diseases (Wilmington, Del.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45412426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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