scholarly journals High Rate of Asymptomatic Carriage Associated with Variant Strain Omicron

Author(s):  
Nigel Garret ◽  
Asa Tapley ◽  
Jessica Andriesen ◽  
Ishen Seocharan ◽  
Leigh H Fisher ◽  
...  

The early widespread dissemination of Omicron indicates the urgent need to better understand the transmission dynamics of this variant, including asymptomatic spread among immunocompetent and immunosuppressed populations. In early December 2021, the Ubuntu clinical trial, designed to evaluate efficacy of the mRNA-1273 vaccine (Moderna) among persons living with HIV (PLWH), began enrolling participants. Nasal swabs are routinely obtained at the initial vaccination visit, which requires participants to be clinically well to receive their initial jab. Of the initial 230 participants enrolled between December 2 and December 17, 2021, 71 (31%) were PCR positive for SARS-CoV-2: all of whom were subsequently confirmed by S gene dropout to be Omicron; 48% of the tested samples had cycle threshold (CT) values <25 and 18% less than 20, indicative of high titers of asymptomatic shedding. Asymptomatic carriage rates were similar in SARS-CoV-2 seropositive and seronegative persons (27% respectively). These data are in stark contrast to COVID-19 vaccine studies conducted pre-Omicron, where the SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivity rate at the first vaccination visit ranged from <1%-2.4%, including a cohort of over 1,200 PLWH largely enrolled in South Africa during the Beta outbreak. We also evaluated asymptomatic carriage in a sub study of the Sisonke vaccine trial conducted in South African health care workers, which indicated 2.6% asymptomatic carriage during the Beta and Delta outbreaks and subsequently rose to 16% in both PLWH and PHLWH during the Omicron period. These findings strongly suggest that Omicron has a much higher rate of asymptomatic carriage than other VOC and this high prevalence of asymptomatic infection is likely a major factor in the widespread, rapid dissemination of the variant globally, even among populations with high prior rates of SARS-COV-2 infection.

2011 ◽  
Vol 87 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A178-A179
Author(s):  
J. Goins ◽  
L. M. Romero ◽  
F. de Maria Hernandez ◽  
S. Delgado ◽  
B. Alvarez ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 153-158
Author(s):  
L. V. Adams ◽  
T. S. B. Maseko ◽  
E. A. Talbot ◽  
S. W. Grande ◽  
M. M. Mkhontfo ◽  
...  

Setting: Five human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care facilities in Eswatini.Objective: To identify critical factors that enabled persons living with HIV to successfully complete a 6-month course of isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) provided through a choice of facility-based or community-based delivery, coordinated with antiretroviral therapy (ART) refills.Design: This was a mixed methods, retrospective cross-sectional study.Results: Between June and October 2017, we interviewed 150 participants who had completed IPT in the previous year. Fourteen participants did not recall being offered a choice, and were excluded from the analysis. Of the remaining 136, 56.6% were female and 64.7% chose facility-based care; the median age was 42.5 years. Most participants reported that having a choice was important to their treatment completion (87.7%) and that linking IPT and ART refills facilitated undergoing IPT (98.5%). Participants were knowledgeable about the benefits of IPT and valued the education received from their providers. Participants also reported a high rate of IPT disclosure (95%) to friends and family members.Conclusion: Offering patients a choice of IPT delivery, linking IPT with ART refills, emphasizing patient education and engagement with healthcare workers, and supporting disclosure of IPT are critical factors to enabling IPT completion. These interventions should be incorporated throughout Eswatini and in similar high tuberculosis and HIV burden settings.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenevieve Opoku ◽  
Rupali K Doshi ◽  
Amanda D Castel ◽  
Ian Sorensen ◽  
Michael Horberg ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND HIV cohort studies have been used to assess health outcomes and inform the care and treatment of people living with HIV disease. However, there may be similarities and differences between cohort participants and the general population from which they are drawn. OBJECTIVE The objective of this analysis was to compare people living with HIV who have and have not been enrolled in the DC Cohort study and assess whether participants are a representative citywide sample of people living with HIV in the District of Columbia (DC). METHODS Data from the DC Health (DCDOH) HIV surveillance system and the DC Cohort study were matched to identify people living with HIV who were DC residents and had consented for the study by the end of 2016. Analysis was performed to identify differences between DC Cohort and noncohort participants by demographics and comorbid conditions. HIV disease stage, receipt of care, and viral suppression were evaluated. Adjusted logistic regression assessed correlates of health outcomes between the two groups. RESULTS There were 12,964 known people living with HIV in DC at the end of 2016, of which 40.1% were DC Cohort participants. Compared with nonparticipants, participants were less likely to be male (68.0% vs 74.9%, <i>P</i>&lt;.001) but more likely to be black (82.3% vs 69.5%, <i>P</i>&lt;.001) and have a heterosexual contact HIV transmission risk (30.3% vs 25.9%, <i>P</i>&lt;.001). DC Cohort participants were also more likely to have ever been diagnosed with stage 3 HIV disease (59.6% vs 47.0%, <i>P</i>&lt;.001), have a CD4 &lt;200 cells/µL in 2017 (6.2% vs 4.6%, <i>P</i>&lt;.001), be retained in any HIV care in 2017 (72.9% vs 59.4%, <i>P</i>&lt;.001), and be virally suppressed in 2017. After adjusting for demographics, DC Cohort participants were significantly more likely to have received care in 2017 (adjusted odds ratio 1.8, 95% CI 1.70-2.00) and to have ever been virally suppressed (adjusted odds ratio 1.3, 95% CI 1.20-1.40). CONCLUSIONS These data have important implications when assessing the representativeness of patients enrolled in clinic-based cohorts compared with the DC-area general HIV population. As participants continue to enroll in the DC Cohort study, ongoing assessment of representativeness will be required.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvetot Joseph ◽  
Zhiwen Yao ◽  
Akanksha Dua ◽  
Patrice Severe ◽  
Sean E Collins ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 221 ◽  
pp. 108567
Author(s):  
Sharleen M. Traynor ◽  
Lisa R. Metsch ◽  
Lauren Gooden ◽  
Maxine Stitzer ◽  
Tim Matheson ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Li ◽  
Yongzhong Jiang ◽  
Yi Zhang ◽  
Naizhe Li ◽  
Qiangling Yin ◽  
...  

AbstractHigh rate of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been reported among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Importantly, CVD, as one of the comorbidities, could also increase the risks of the severity of COVID-19. Here we identified phospholipase A2 group VII (PLA2G7), a well-studied CVD biomarker, as a hub gene in COVID-19 though an integrated hypothesis-free genomic analysis on nasal swabs (n = 486) from patients with COVID-19. PLA2G7 was further found to be predominantly expressed by proinflammatory macrophages in lungs emerging with progression of COVID-19. In the validation stage, RNA level of PLA2G7 was identified in nasal swabs from both COVID-19 and pneumonia patients, other than health individuals. The positive rate of PLA2G7 were correlated with not only viral loads but also severity of pneumonia in non-COVID-19 patients. Serum protein levels of PLA2G7 were found to be elevated and beyond the normal limit in COVID-19 patients, especially among those re-positive patients. We identified and validated PLA2G7, a biomarker for CVD, was abnormally enhanced in COVID-19 at both nucleotide and protein aspects. These findings provided indications into the prevalence of cardiovascular involvements seen in patients with COVID-19. PLA2G7 could be a potential prognostic and therapeutic target in COVID-19.


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