ABSTRACT
Congregate living poses one of the highest risk situations for the transmission of respiratory viruses including SARS-CoV-2. University dormitories exemplify such high-risk settings. We demonstrate the value of using building-level SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance as an early warning system to inform when prevalence testing of all building occupants is warranted. Coordinated daily testing of composite wastewater samples and clinical testing in dormitories was used to prompt the screening of otherwise unrecognized infected occupants. We overlay the detection patterns in the context of regular scheduled occupant testing to validate a wastewater detection model. The trend of wastewater positivity largely aligned well with the clinical positivity and epidemiology of dormitory occupants. However, the predictive ability of wastewater-surveillance to detect new positive cases is hampered by convalescent shedding in recovered/noncontagious individuals as they return to the building. Building-level pooled wastewater-surveillance and forecasting is most productive for predicting new cases in low-prevalence instances at the community level. For higher-education facilities and other congregate living settings to remain in operation during a pandemic, a thorough surveillance-based decision-making system is vital. Building-level wastewater monitoring on a daily basis paired with regular testing of individual dormitory occupants is an effective and efficient approach for mitigating outbreaks on university campuses. © 2012 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: We examined a positivity of corona virus antibody in kidney transplant recipients who received two-doses BNT162B2 (mRNA) vaccination during the beginning 6 months in 2021. Method(s): The subjects include 111 kidney transplant recipients who received two-doses BNT162B2 (mRNA) vaccination, consisting of 61 male and 50 females, 53.7+/-14.7 years old on average. Healthy 10 volunteers were also enrolled in this study as a control group. We adopted LABScreen COVID plus beads (One Lambda) as an antibody reagent to detect antibodies against corona viruses including 5 types structural proteins such as extracellular domain (ECD), Spike 1, Spike 2, receptorbinding domain (RBD) and nucleoside. Result(s): Among 111 recipients, 46 recipients showed positivity (41%), whilst all control showed positivity (100%). Among 100 recipients taking tacrolimus, 37 recipients showed positivity, although 9 recipients out of 10 taking cyclosporine showed positivity (90%). It is noteworthy that recipients receiving rituximab (CD20 antibody) significantly shows lower rate of antibody positivity. The period between vaccination and rituximab administration is closely related to the positivity of antibody positivity. In recipients without rituximab administration, lower trough level for tacrolimus and MMF is related to higher positivity of antibody production. Positivity pattern in 5 protein fragments shows individually various different in transplant recipients, while it shows stable pattern in healthy volunteers. Conclusion(s): Kidney transplant recipients showed lower positivity of corona virus antibody compared to healthy volunteers, which is deeply related to immunosuppression in the past. This assay in this study yields reproductive excellent results for corona virus antibody. The assay helps us to find the appropriate booster vaccination time and doses on the basis of these past results. (Figure Presented).
ABSTRACT
To look for factors of the COVID-19 spreading in the whole world currently, an empirical study has been tried by using a multi-regression analysis for mortality rates of 47 prefectures as an objective variable, and various indices as the explanatory variables. A support vector machine method was applied to deal with a nonlinear relationship between objective and explanatory variables, and a sensitivity analysis was applied to search the factors of the COVID-19 mortality. Welfare, urbanization, poverty rate, service industry, and sex ratio were obtained as dangerous factors which increase mortality, while single-person households, meals, and sleep were obtained as defensing factors which decrease mortality. Novel and useful knowledge for prevention measure of the COVID-19 was obtained: three factors of urbanization, service industry, and single-person household relating to the Three Cs contribute largest to the mortality, and two factors of welfare and poverty rate, reflecting the reality' of the poor people also contribute.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: The novel coronavirus 2019 infection (COVID-19) caused a pandemic, prompting Tokyo, Japan, to restrict on the free movement of people in March 2020. Kidney transplant recipients are at high risk for critical COVID-19 due to chronic immunosuppression and coexisting conditions. For the follow-up of kidney transplant recipients during this pandemic, the number of hospital visits or use remote counseling should be reduced to minimize the risk of infection. However, the management of kidney transplant recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic is uncertain. Methods: This single-center retrospective observational study included 980 patients who, more than a year previously, had undergone kidney transplantation and were taking extended-release tacrolimus once a day, with a target trough level of 4 to 6 ng/ml. We evaluated the effects of coronavirus pandemic on clinical outcomes such as tacrolimus blood level, renal function, and rejection in kidney transplant recipients, comparing pandemic data with non-pandemic data obtained between September 2019 and August 2020 in our hospital. Results: Comparing pandemic data with non-pandemic data, the mean interval between hospital visits was 5.5±2.6 vs. 7.3±4.5 weeks (P=2.68×10-14). Serum Cr levels and rejection rates after kidney transplant showed no significant differences between both groups. There were no significantly differences in the coefficient of variation (CV) in tacrolimus blood levels, the rate of changes in oral medication, and the rate of deviation from the target trough level during the pandemic. Conclusions: In kidney transplant recipients, blood levels of tacrolimus were maintained at target trough levels during the COVID-19 pandemic.