ABSTRACT
Real-life data are needed regarding the appropriate time and selection of vaccination strategies, homologous or heterologous. We aimed to compare neutralizing antibody levels and side effects in different vaccination schemes. The study included 310 Health Care Workers (HCWs) vaccinated with 5 different schemes. Antispike/RBD IgG levels were measured between 28 and 60 days after the last dose. Side effects in participants were recorded, and pharmacovigilance records were reviewed from the outpatient vaccine clinic. Mean age of the participants was 38 ± 11 years of whom 226 (72.9%) were female, and 84 (27.1%) were male. After booster doses, increasing antibody levels were detected in all groups. Mean antibody levels were detected to be statistically lower in 3 doses of inactivated vaccines group. The side effects were no significant difference between groups. Booster dose administration with mRNA vaccines stands out as the most accurate strategy for those at risk of contracting severe COVID-19 and HCWs caring for this population.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions , Female , Male , Humans , Adult , Middle Aged , COVID-19 Vaccines/adverse effects , COVID-19/prevention & control , Ambulatory Care Facilities , Immunity , Antibodies, ViralABSTRACT
Background. Cladophialophora bantiana is a melanised mold with a pronounced tropism for the central nervous system, almost exclusively causing human brain abscesses. Case report. We describe a case of cerebral infection by this fungus in an otherwise healthy 28-year-old coal-miner. Environmental occurrence, route of entry, and incubation period of this fungus are unknown, but our case is informative in that the first symptoms occurred about eight weeks after known traumatic inoculation. Lesions were compatible with tuberculous granulomas, and the patient initially received antitubercular treatment. Melanised fungal cells were seen in a brain biopsy and abscess materials. Therapy was switched from empirical antitubercular treatment to amphotericin B (0.5mg/kg/d), but was changed to voriconazole 200mg/d, i.v. on the basis of antifungal susceptibility test results. The patient responded clinically, and gradually improved. The isolate was identified by sequencing of the Internal Transcribed Spacer domain of rDNA. Conclusions. Given the non-specific clinical manifestations of C. bantiana cerebral abscesses, clinicians and laboratory workers should suspect infections caused by C. bantiana, particularly in immunocompromised patients with a trauma history (AU)
Antecedentes. Cladophialophora bantiana es un hongo pigmentado con un marcado tropismo por el sistema nervioso central que produce abscesos cerebrales en el hombre prácticamente de forma exclusiva. Caso clínico. Describimos un caso de infección cerebral por dicho hongo en un paciente, por otra parte sano, de 28 años de edad y minero del carbón. El hábitat natural, así como la puerta de entrada y el período de incubación de las infecciones por este hongo, son desconocidos, pero el presente caso demuestra que los primeros síntomas se produjeron aproximadamente ocho semanas después de su inoculación traumática. Las lesiones fueron compatibles con granulomas tuberculosos, por lo que el paciente recibió inicialmente tratamiento antituberculoso. Se observaron células fúngicas melanizadas en una biopsia cerebral, por lo que el tratamiento fue sustituido por anfotericina B (0,5mg/kg/d) y fue de nuevo cambiado por voriconazol intravenoso (200mg/d) con base en los resultados de la prueba de sensibilidad antifúngica. El paciente respondió clínicamente y mejoró de forma gradual. El hongo aislado fue identificado por secuenciación de los espaciadores transcribibles internos del ADN ribosómico. Conclusiones. Teniendo en cuenta las manifestaciones clínicas no específicas de los abscesos cerebrales por C. bantiana, los clínicos y el personal de laboratorio deberían considerar la posibilidad de la existencia de infecciones por este patógeno neurotrópico especialmente en pacientes inmunocomprometidos con antecedentes de trauma (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Adult , Central Nervous System Infections/microbiology , Central Nervous System Infections/physiopathology , Meningitis, Bacterial/complications , Meningitis, Bacterial/drug therapy , Meningitis, Bacterial , Voriconazole/therapeutic use , Amphotericin B/therapeutic use , Cerebral Phaeohyphomycosis/drug therapy , Cerebral Phaeohyphomycosis/microbiology , Brain Abscess/complications , Brain Abscess/drug therapy , Brain AbscessABSTRACT
The natural history of hepatitis B virus infection is not uniform and affected from several factors including, HBV genotype. Genotype D is a widely distributed genotype. Among genotype D, several subgenotypes differentiate epidemiologically and probably clinically. D1 is predominant in Middle East and North Africa, and characterized by early HBeAg seroconversion and low viral load. D2 is seen in Albania, Turkey, Brazil, western India, Lebanon, and Serbia. D3 was reported from Serbia, western India, and Indonesia. It is a predominant subgenotype in injection drug use-related acute HBV infections in Europe and Canada. D4 is relatively rare and reported from Haiti, Russia and Baltic region, Brazil, Kenya, Morocco and Rwanda. Subgenotype D5 seems to be common in Eastern India. D6 has been reported as a rare subgenotype from Indonesia, Kenya, Russia and Baltic region. D7 is the main genotype in Morocco and Tunisia. D8 and D9 are recently described subgenotypes and reported from Niger and India, respectively. Subgenotypes of genotype D may have clinical and/or viral differences. More subgenotype studies are required to conclude on subgenotype and its clinical/viral characteristics.
