Internal medicine
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Objective This study assessed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody responses to the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine in Japanese healthcare workers. Methods In this prospective cohort study, participants received two doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine on days 0 and 21 and provided blood for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing before the first vaccine and on days 21 and 35 after vaccination. Anti-spike protein immunoglobulin G (S-IgG) was measured using Abbott and Fujirebio chemiluminescent immunoassays. ⋯ Pearson's correlation coefficient between the Abbott and Fujirebio S-IgG results in all 300 samples collected before and after vaccination and 50 positive controls from patients with coronavirus disease 2019 were 0.963 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.954-0.970, p<0.001] and 0.909 (95% CI: 0.845-0.948, p<0.001), respectively. Conclusion The BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine was effective at increasing S-IgG levels in Japanese immunocompetent healthcare workers. The Fujirebio S-IgG assay showed high diagnostic accuracy, using the Abbott S-IgG assay as the reference test.
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Case Reports
Trichuris trichiura Incidentally Detected by Colonoscopy and Identified by a Genetic Analysis: A Case Report.
Although trichuriasis, a zoonotic disease, has recently become rare in Japan due to improved environmental hygiene, we herein report a 79-year-old man in whom a worm was incidentally found in the ascending colon during colonoscopy for positive fecal occult blood and was endoscopically removed. A genetic analysis identified the worm as Trichuris trichiura possessing mixed sequences from non-human primate and human origins. Despite controversy regarding Trichuris trichiura infection originating from Japanese macaques, according to some studies, it originates primarily from humans. This report suggests the efficacy of a genetic analysis for identifying infection sources.