Coding-Complete Genome Sequences of an Omicron Subvariant (BA.5.2.20) of SARS-CoV-2.

Here, we present the complete coding sequences of two severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strains that were recovered from a nasopharyngeal swab from a female patient and the second viral passage in cell culture. After testing, both strains were identified as BA.5.2.20, a subvariant of Omicron.

Seroprevalence of COVID-19 infection in a densely populated district in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Data on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prevalence in the Democratic Republic of Congo are scarce. We conducted a cross-sectional study to determine the seroprevalence of antibodies against anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the slum of Kadutu, city of Bukavu, between June and September 2021. The survey participants were all unvaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. The crude seroprevalence rate was adjusted to the known characteristics of the assay. Participants aged 15-49 years old made up 80% of the population enrolled in the study (n = 507; 319 women and 188 men). The overall crude and adjusted seroprevalence rates of antibodies for COVID-19 were 59.7% (95% CI 55.4-63.9%) and 84.0% (95% CI 76.2-92.4%), respectively. This seroprevalence rate indicates widespread dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 in these communities. COVID-19 symptoms were either absent or mild in more than half of the participants with antibodies for COVID-19 and none of the participants with antibodies for COVID-19 required hospitalisation. These results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 spread did not appear to be associated with severe symptoms in the population of these settlements and that many cases went unreported in these densely populated locations. The relevance of vaccination in these communities should be thoroughly investigated.

Telecommunication Facilities, Key Support for Data Management and Data Sharing by a Biological Mobile Laboratory Deployed to Counter Emerging Biological Threats and Improve Public Health Crisis Preparedness.

In the case of rapid outbreaks of infectious diseases in remote locations, the lack of real-time information from the field and rapid spread of misinformation can be a major issue. To improve situational awareness and decision-making at all levels of operational deployment, there is an urgent need for accurate, reliable, and timely results from patients from the affected area. This requires a robust and fast channel of communication connecting first responders on-site, crisis managers, decision-makers, and the institutions involved in the survey of the crisis at national, regional, and international levels. This has been the rationale sustaining the development of advanced communication tools in the Biological Light Fieldable Laboratory for Emergencies (B-LiFE). The benefit of terrestrial (TETRA, LTE, 5G, and Wi-Fi-Fi) and SatCom communications is illustrated through a series of missions and exercises conducted in the previous five years. These tools were used by B-LiFE operators to provide accurate, comprehensive, timely, and relevant information and services in real time. The focus of this article is to discuss the development and benefits of the integration of multi-mission, multi-user nomadic, rapidly deployable telecommunication nodes for emergency uses (TEN) in the capacity of B-LiFE. Providing reliable communication channels through TEN enables the development and use of an ICT toolbox called MIML_LIMS (multi-institution, multi-mission, multi-laboratory LIMS), a tool which is mandatory for efficient and secure data management and data sharing by a mobile laboratory.

A simple and fast spectroscopy-based technique for Covid-19 diagnosis.

The coronavirus pandemic, which appeared in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, rapidly spread all over the world in only a few weeks. Faster testing techniques requiring less resources are key in managing the pandemic, either to enable larger scale testing or even just provide developing countries with limited resources, particularly in Africa, means to perform tests to manage the crisis. Here, we report an unprecedented, rapid, reagent-free and easy-to-use screening spectroscopic method for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 on RNA extracts. This method, validated on clinical samples collected from 280 patients with quantitative predictive scores on both positive and negative samples, is based on a multivariate analysis of FTIR spectra of RNA extracts. This technique, in agreement with RT-PCR, achieves 97.8% accuracy, 97% sensitivity and 98.3% specificity while reducing the testing time post RNA extraction from hours to minutes. Furthermore, this technique can be used in several laboratories with limited resources.

Deployment of a Mobile Laboratory for the Control and Monitoring of High-Consequence Infectious Diseases: An Illustration With the

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused societal issues, economic and political tensions worldwide. This shows, once more, that dissemination of correct information based on scientific evidence together with a quick and concerted action is the key to build a sound capability for the management of biological emergencies. Here, we summarize the lessons learnedfrom our preparedness and intervention during (i) our deployment during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa;(ii) our large-scale exercises from Horizon 2020 Security program where the focus is on handling intentional dispersion of infectious agents;and (iii) our fight against COVID-19: by the deployment of Biological Light Fieldable Laboratory for Emergencies (BLiFE mobile laboratory) in Turin and Novara, Piedmont Region, Italy. At the latter deployment, the ultimate goal was a large screening for COVID-19 prevalence in primo intervention individuals. It cannot be ignored that the COVID-19 pandemic is an ideal situation to whet our preparedness, coordination of response and risks monitoring in case of future biological threats or attacks.

Diagnostic Value of IgM and IgG Detection in COVID-19 Diagnosis by the Mobile Laboratory B-LiFE: A Massive Testing Strategy in the Piedmont Region.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute infectious disease caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) identified in 2019. The COVID-19 outbreak continues to have devastating consequences for human lives and the global economy. The B-LiFe mobile laboratory in Piedmont, Italy, was deployed for the surveillance of COVID-19 cases by large-scale testing of first responders. The objective was to assess the seroconversion among the regional civil protection (CP), police, health care professionals, and volunteers. The secondary objective was to detect asymptomatic individuals within this cohort in the light of age, sex, and residence. In this paper, we report the results of serological testing performed by the B-LiFe mobile laboratory deployed from 10 June to 23 July 2020. The tests included whole blood finger-prick and serum sampling for detection of SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain (S-RBD) antibodies. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was approximately 5% (294/6013). The results of the finger-prick tests and serum sample analyses showed moderate agreement (kappa = 0.77). Furthermore, the detection rates of serum antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (NP) and S-RBD among the seroconverted individuals were positively correlated (kappa = 0.60), at least at the IgG level. Seroprevalence studies based on serological testing for the S-RBD protein or SARS-CoV-2 NP antibodies are not sufficient for diagnosis but might help in screening the population to be vaccinated and in determining the duration of seroconversion.