Surveillance of Animal Rabies in Burkina Faso: A Retrospective Laboratory Data from 2008 to 2012

Rabies causes more than 59,000 deaths each year worldwide with 95% of cases in Africa and Asia. It is endemic in most of African countries and 99% of human rabies cases are dog mediated. This study aimed to review data on animal rabies surveillance and factors associated with dogs’ rabies in Burkina Faso from 2008 to 2012. Data on submitted samples for analysis using Fluorescent Anti-body Test and confirmed cases in animals were obtained from the National Livestock Laboratory. These data were associated with the geographical regions where the samples originated, species and years. For dogs, data on age, sex, dogs’ ownership and vaccination status have also been collected. From 2008 to 2012, 1352 animal samples were analyzed for rabies confirmation with an average of 315 samples by year. Canine rabies was most suspected with 90% of positive samples. On overall, 77.3% of samples were positive and the highest positive percentage was found during 2012 (89.8%). Rabies was confirmed in donkeys (100%), dogs (78.2%), cats (77.3%), monkeys (53.8%), shrews (50%), and rodents (35.3%). Regarding dog’s rabies, positive samples were also found among vaccinated dogs and the highest positive percentage (91%) was in 2012.These findings demonstrate that rabies is widely distributed in animal species in Burkina Faso and dogs’ vaccination against rabies must be followed seriously as possible vaccine fail occurs after vaccination.

Initial SARS-CoV-2 vaccination response can predict booster response for BNT162b2 but not for AZD1222

Objectives Our objective was to determine whether SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels after the first dose can predict the final antibody response and whether this is dependent on the vaccine type. Methods 69 BNT162b2 (Pfizer/BioNTech) and 55 AZD1222 (AstraZeneca) vaccinees without previous infection or immunosuppressive medication were included. Anti-body levels were quantified 3 weeks after dose 1, in case of AZD1222 directly before boostering (11 weeks after dose 1) and 3 weeks after dose 2, with the Roche SARS-CoV-2 S total antibody assay. Results Pre-booster (BNT162b2: 80.6 [25.5-167.0] BAU/mL, AZD1222: 56.4 [36.4-104.8] BAU/mL, not significant) and post-booster levels (BNT162b2: 2,092.0 [1,216.3-4,431.8] BAU/mL, AZD1222: 957.0 [684.5-1,684.8] BAU/mL, p<0.0001) correlated well in BNT162b2 (ρ=0.53) but not in AZD1222 recipients. Moreover, antibody levels after the first dose of BNT162b2 correlated inversely with age (ρ=-0.33, P=0.013), whereas a positive correlation with age was observed after the second dose in AZD1222 recipients (ρ=0.26, P=0.030). Conclusions In conclusion, our data suggest that antibody levels quantified by the Roche Elecsys SARS-CoV-2 S assay before the booster shot could infer post-booster responses to BNT162b2, but not to AZ1222. In addition, we found a vaccine-dependent effect on antibody responses, suggesting a possible link between vaccine response and vector immunity.

Anti-body antibodies in COVID-19

A new high-throughput screening technique detected autoantibodies in COVID-19 patients specific for many different immunomodulatory extracellular and cell surface proteins, several of which were associated with disease severity and clinical outcomes.

PEMBERIAN SARI KACANG HIJAU UNTUK MEMPERLANCAR ASI DI BPM HJ.DINCE SAFRINA, S.ST PEKANBARU

Makanan yang paling sesuai untuk bayi adalah Air Susu Ibu (ASI), karena ASI memang diperuntukkan bagi bayi sebagai makanan pokok bayi yang mengandung nutrisi lengkap untuk bayi serta berbagai zat anti body sehingga akan jarang sakit. Maka diharapkan para ibu dapat memberikan ASI Eksklusif kepada bayinya tanpa terkecuali, apapun kendalanya tidak boleh dijadikan alasan seorang ibu memberikan makanan pendamping atau susu formula kepada bayinya sampai usia bayi 6 bulan (Anggraini, 2010). Kegiatan pengabdian ini dilaksanakan di BPM Hj.Dince Safrina, S.ST, M.kes Kec. Rumbai Pesisir Kota Pekanbaru. Metode pengabdian masyarakat ini dilaksanakan dalam bentuk penyuluhan, setelah selesai penyampaian materi tersebut, pemateri mendemostrasikan cara pengolahan sari kacang hijau di depan peserta dan pemateri membuka sesi tanya jawab, peserta memahami materi, dengan mengajukan pertanyaan kepada penyaji, pengabdian pada masyarakat ini berjalan dengan baik dan sesuai rencana. Hasil kegiatan ini didapatkan para peserta memahami dan mengerti tentang manfaat kacang hijau untuk memperlancar ASI dan akan rutin mengkonsumsi sari kacang hijau.

Smart Antibody-Conjugated Gold Nanoparticles for Bioengineered Polymers

Au and Ag nanoparticles (NP) were synthesized using a green method that allows control of both particle size and surface chemistry. The gold and silver nanoparticles were coated with a fluorescent goat anti-body IgG that chemically incorporated the nanoparticles and the internalization behavior was studied by phagocytosis in murine peritoneal macrophages. Despite that, in principle, the presence of a simple metal induces a greater degree of cell death following the particle uptake, our results suggest that a large part of the silver and gold nanoparticles enter cells by means other than endocytosis and phagocytosis, as truly intelligent nanoparticles. This represents a potential for immunotherapy and studies to modulate the innate immune response as truly smart nanoparticles.

COVID-19 treatment: a growing (anti)body of evidence

Our lives changed dramatically eight months ago when we went into a hard nationwide lockdown in a bid to limit the transmission of our new spiky foe, SARS-CoV-2. We endured the uncertainties of autumn, and then the winter and the cold July COVID-19 peak. At this time, Oxford University’s RECOVERY Collaborative group first reported on dexamethasone (6 mg daily for 10 days) significantly lowering the 28-day mortality in hospitalised COVID-19 patients on invasive mechanical ventilation or on oxygen alone, by as much as a third and a fifth, respectively. It was hypothesised that glucocorticoids modulate inflammation-mediated lung injury, thus reducing the likely progression to respiratory failure and death in patients with severe illness. This made us perk up because a couple of months earlier, the intravenous antiviral, remdesivir (100 mg), also administered for 10 days, had shown promise in shortening the time to recovery by a median of five days compared to placebo, but not in reducing death in hospitalised COVID-19 patients with lower respiratory tract involvement. The FDA granted remdesivir Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in May for the treatment of adults and children hospitalised with suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 based on this meagre evidence, as there were no other treatment options at the time. Meanwhile, dexamethasone, which is relatively cheap, quickly became the standard care in patients requiring oxygen.

A Case of Lung Abscess Caused by Double Immunosuppressive Therapy to Treat Ulcerative Colitis

A 25-year-old man was admitted to our institution for remission induction therapy to treat a 12-year condition of ulcerative colitis (UC). Previously, he was treated with drugs, such as mesalamine, immunomodulators, prednisolone (PSL), and anti-TNFα anti-body, but remission was not maintained. Therefore, we started remission induction therapy with 20 mg/day of tofacitinib (TOF) to inhibit the action of Janus kinase. On the 29th day after TOF administration, he developed a lung abscess with high fever. A chronic bulla was already present in his lung; therefore, the lung abscess was likely formed due to a combination of the bulla being present and the pharmacological effects of TOF. Our report is significant as it highlights the compounding association between TOF and PSL therapy and bulla presence with the rare adverse effect of developing an abscess.

Methodological Issues and Controversies in COVID-19 Coagulopathy: A Tale of Two Storms

Venous thromboembolism, occlusion of dialysis catheters, circuit thrombosis in ECMO devices, all in the face of prophylactic and sometimes even therapeutic anti-coagulation, are frequent features of COVID-19 coagulopathy. The trials available to guide clinicians are methodologically limited. There are several unresolved controversies including 1) Should all hospitalized patients with COVID-19 receive prophylactic anti-coagulation? 2) Which patients should have their dosage escalated to intermediate dose? 3) Which patients should be considered for full-dose anti-coagulation even without a measurable thromboembolic event and how should that anti-coagulation be monitored? 4) Should patients receive post-discharge anti-coagulation? 5) What thrombotic issues are related to the various medications being used to treat this coagulopathy? 6) Is anti-phospholipid anti-body part of this syndrome? 7) How do the different treatments for this disease impact the coagulation issues? The aims of this article are to explore these questions and interpret the available data based on the current evidence.