Journal of infection and chemotherapy : official journal of the Japan Society of Chemotherapy
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J. Infect. Chemother. · Apr 2021
No SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected in the convalescent plasma of COVID-19 patients with different disease severity.
Convalescent plasma transfusion (CPT), a potential therapy for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), requires strict quality control of the donor blood. Whether to confirm the disappearance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA (RNAemia) in convalescent donor blood or not is unclear. Reports recommending the proof of viral disappearance from the blood are controversial. Foreseeing CPT in treating COVID-19 patients in Japan, we investigated RNAemia in 100 convalescent donors with mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19. ⋯ RNAemia was not found in recovered COVID-19 patients at least 21, 27, and 57 days after the onset of mild, moderate, and severe symptoms. Our study may contribute to determining a suitable time for collecting convalescent plasma from COVID-19 patients and to future CPT use.
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J. Infect. Chemother. · Apr 2021
IL-1RA in the supernatant of QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube and QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus is useful for discriminating active tuberculosis from latent infection.
The new-generation QuantiFERON (QFT)-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) is expected to be useful because it includes a new peptide that is supposed to induce a CD8+ T cell response. There is a need for a new marker with sensitivity higher than that of the conventional IFN-γ release assays owing to false-negative results in the latter. This study aimed to compare cytokines in QFT-plus and QuantiFERON-Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) supernatants to discriminate between active tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). ⋯ IL-1RA level in the QFT-GIT supernatant can be a good marker for discriminating active TB from LTBI.
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J. Infect. Chemother. · Mar 2021
Effect of evacuation of Japanese residents from Wuhan, China, on preventing transmission of novel coronavirus infection: A modelling study.
In late January 2020, the Japanese government carried out three evacuations by aircraft from Wuhan, China, to avoid further cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among Wuhan's Japanese residents. Evacuation by aircraft may be an effective countermeasure against outbreaks of infectious diseases, but evidence of its effect is scarce. This study estimated how many COVID-19 cases were prevented among the Japanese residents of Wuhan by the evacuation countermeasure. ⋯ Evacuation by aircraft can contribute substantially to reducing the number of infected cases in the initial stage of the outbreak.
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J. Infect. Chemother. · Feb 2021
Case ReportsImmunochromatographic test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva.
We evaluated the rapid immunochromatographic test for severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigen detection using 16 saliva specimens collected from 6 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, and detected N-antigen in 4 of 7 RT-PCR positive specimens. This POCT detected SARS-CoV-2 antigen in saliva and would be useful for COVID-19 diagnosis.
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J. Infect. Chemother. · Feb 2021
Analysis of a persistent viral shedding patient infected with SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR, FilmArray Respiratory Panel v2.1, and antigen detection.
Various diagnostic tests utilizing different principles are currently under development for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, these tests can occasionally produce discrepant results, causing confusion in their interpretation. Here, we evaluated the performance and features of three diagnostic assays: quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), FilmArray Respiratory Panel (RP) v2.1, and the LUMIPULSE antigen test. ⋯ These results demonstrated FilmArray RP v2.1 could detect SARS-CoV-2 with accuracy comparable to RT-qPCR. Further, there were discrepant results using different types of diagnostic tests during the clinical course of prolonged viral shedding patient. We provided insights into how to utilize different types of kits to assess and manage SARS-CoV-2 infections.