ABSTRACT
Emerging evidence suggests that T-cells play a significant role in COVID-19 immunity both in the context of natural infection and vaccination. Easy to use IGRA assays including QFN SARS are considered attractive alternatives to more "traditional" but laborious methods for detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses. In our Letter we are proposing explanations to an apparently lower than expected T-cell responses (44 % reactive individuals) reported by Krüttgen et al in a small cohort of healthy double vaccinated individuals. These results could have been affected by reporting raw optical density values instead of calculated Interferon-É£ concentrations which is supported by unexpectedly low mitogen responses in healthy individuals. This study highlights an importance of adhering to good laboratory practice principles as well as overall importance of accurate T-cell immunity assessment using IGRA assays.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Interferon-gamma Release Tests , COVID-19/diagnosis , Humans , Interferon-gamma/immunology , SARS-CoV-2 , T-Lymphocytes/immunologyABSTRACT
A laboratory validation study was conducted to assess the equivalence of Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra testing on the GeneXpert System and the GeneXpert Omni System ('Omni') for tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance. High concordance of the two devices was demonstrated for well-characterized clinical samples as well as control materials, with controls tested on Omni at normal and challenging environmental conditions (i.e. 35°C, 90% relative humidity). Equivalence of the Cts for all probes was also shown. Equivalence was demonstrated for the Omni and GeneXpert devices for tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance detection for a diverse range of clinical specimens and environmental conditions.
Subject(s)
Antibiotics, Antitubercular/pharmacology , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/drug effects , Point-of-Care Testing , Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant/diagnosis , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/diagnosis , Bacterial Proteins/genetics , DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases/genetics , Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial/genetics , Humans , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/genetics , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/isolation & purification , Rifampin/pharmacology , Sputum/microbiology , Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant/drug therapy , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/drug therapySubject(s)
Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis , Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant , Antitubercular Agents/therapeutic use , Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis/diagnosis , Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis/drug therapy , Humans , Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant/diagnosis , Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant/drug therapy , World Health OrganizationABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed health system weaknesses of economically wealthy countries with advanced technologies. COVID-19 is now moving fast across Africa where small outbreaks have been reported so far. There is a concern that with the winter transmission will grow rapidly. Despite efforts of African Governments to promptly establish mitigating measures, rural areas, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, risk being neglected. In those settings, faith-based and other non-governmental organizations, if properly equipped and supported, can play a crucial role in slowing the spread of COVID-19. We describe our experience in two rural health facilities in eSwatini and Ethiopia highlighting the struggle towards preparedness and the urgency of international support to help prevent a major public health disaster.