Brazilian network for HIV Drug Resistance Surveillance (HIV-BresNet): a survey of treatment-naive individuals

Introduction: In Brazil, more than 487,450 individuals are currently undergoing antiretroviral treatment. In order to monitor the transmission of drug-resistant strains and HIV subtype distribution in the country, this work aimed to estimate its prevalence and to characterize the nationwide pretreatment drug resistance in individuals recently diagnosed with HIV between 2013 and 2015. Methods: The HIV threshold survey methodology (HIV-THS, WHO) targeting antiretroviral-naive individuals with recent HIV diagnosis was utilized, and subjects were selected from 51 highly populated cities in all five Brazilian macroregions. The HIV pol genotypic test was performed by genomic sequencing. Results: We analysed samples from 1568 antiretroviral-naive individuals recently diagnosed with HIV, and the overall transmitted drug resistance (TDR) prevalence was 9.5% (150 sequences). The regional prevalence of resistance according to Brazilian geographical regions was 9.4% in the northeast, 11.2% in the southeast, 6.8% in the central region, 10.2% in the north and 8.8% in the south. The inhibitor-specific TDR prevalence was 3.6% for nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), 5.8% for non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and 1.6% for protease inhibitors (PIs)1.0% of individuals presented resistance to more than one class of inhibitors. Overall, subtype B was more prevalent in every region except for the southern, where subtype C prevails. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first TDR study conducted in Brazil with nationwide representative sampling. The TDR prevalence revealed a moderate rate in the five Brazilian geographical regions, although some cities presented higher TDR prevalence rates, reaching 14% in Sao Paulo, for example. These results further illustrate the importance of surveillance studies for designing future strategies in primary antiretroviral therapy, aiming to mitigate TDR, as well as for predicting future trends in other regions of the globe where mass antiretroviral (ARV) treatment was implemented.Brazilian Ministry of HealthUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Lab Virol Mol, Dept Genet IB, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilFdn Med Trop Amazonas, Manaus, Amazonas, BrazilLAPI Univ Fed Bahia, Hosp Univ Prof Edgar Santos, Lab Pesquisa, Salvador, BA, BrazilLab Cent Saude Publ Ceara Lacen CE, Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilLab Cent Saude Publ Dist Fed, Setor Grandes Areas Norte SGAN 601, Brasilia, DF, BrazilUniv Fed Minas Gerais UFMG, Fac Med, Lab Imunol & Biol Mol DIP, Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilLab Cent Saude Publ Mato Grosso Sul, Campo Grande, MS, BrazilLab Cent Saude Publ Pernambuco, Recife, PE, BrazilLab Municipal Curitiba, Curitiba, PR, BrazilFiocruz MS, Lab AIDS & Imunol Mol, Dept Imunol, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Hosp Univ Clementino Fraga Filho, Lab Carga Viral, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BrazilInst Biol Exercito, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilLab Cent Saude Publ Rio Grande Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilLab Hosp Nossa Senhora Conceicao, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilLab Cent Saude Publ Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, SC, BrazilUNESP, Lab Biol Mol Hemocentro Botucatu, Fac Med, Botucatu, SP, BrazilUniv Estadual Campinas, Lab Pesquisa AIDS, Hosp Clin, Campinas, SP, BrazilInst Adolfo Lutz Sao Jose do Rio Preto, Lab Biol Mol, Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Escola Paulista Med, Lab Retrovirol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilInst Adolfo Lutz Cent, Lab Retrovirus, Ctr Virol, Nucleo Doencas Sanguineas & Sexuais, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilMinist Saude, Dept Vigilancia Prevencao & Controle DST AIDS & H, Setor Adm Fed Sul SAFS 02, Secretaria Vigilancia Saude, Brasilia, DF, BrazilUniv Brasilia, Programa Pos Grad Saude Colet, Fac Med, Fac Ciencias Saude, Brasilia, DF, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Escola Paulista Med, Lab Retrovirol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilBMH: TC 298/12Web of Scienc

Vaccine effectiveness of CoronaVac against COVID-19 among children in Brazil during the Omicron period.

Although severe COVID-19 in children is rare, they may develop multisystem inflammatory syndrome, long-COVID and downstream effects of COVID-19, including social isolation and disruption of education. Data on the effectiveness of the CoronaVac vaccine is scarce during the Omicron period. In Brazil, children between 6 to 11 years are eligible to receive the CoronaVac vaccine. We conducted a test-negative design to estimate vaccine effectiveness using 197,958 tests from January 21, 2022, to April 15, 2022, during the Omicron dominant period in Brazil among children aged 6 to 11 years. The estimated vaccine effectiveness for symptomatic infection was 39.8% (95% CI 33.7-45.4) at ≥14 days post-second dose. For hospital admission vaccine effectiveness was 59.2% (95% CI 11.3-84.5) at ≥14 days. Two doses of CoronaVac in children during the Omicron period showed low levels of protection against symptomatic infection, and modest levels against severe illness

CoronaVac vaccine is effective in preventing symptomatic and severe COVID-19 in pregnant women in Brazil: a test-negative case-control study.

BACKGROUND: More doses of CoronaVac have been administered worldwide than any other COVID-19 vaccine. However, the effectiveness of COVID-19 inactivated vaccines in pregnant women is still unknown. We estimated the vaccine effectiveness (VE) of CoronaVac against symptomatic and severe COVID-19 in pregnant women in Brazil. METHODS: We conducted a test-negative design study in all pregnant women aged 18-49 years with COVID-19-related symptoms in Brazil from March 15, 2021, to October 03, 2021, linking records of negative and positive SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests to national vaccination records. We also linked records of test-positive cases with notifications of severe, hospitalised or fatal COVID-19. Using logistic regression, we estimated the adjusted odds ratio and VE against symptomatic COVID-19 and against severe COVID-19 by comparing vaccine status in test-negative subjects to test-positive symptomatic cases and severe cases. RESULTS: Of the 19,838 tested pregnant women, 7424 (37.4%) tested positive for COVID-19 and 588 (7.9%) had severe disease. Only 83% of pregnant women who received the first dose of CoronaVac completed the vaccination scheme. A single dose of the CoronaVac vaccine was not effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19. The effectiveness of two doses of CoronaVac was 41% (95% CI 27.1-52.2) against symptomatic COVID-19 and 85% (95% CI 59.5-94.8) against severe COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: A complete regimen of CoronaVac in pregnant women was effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and highly effective against severe illness in a setting that combined high disease burden and marked COVID-19-related maternal deaths

Ancestry of the Brazilian TP53 c.1010G>A (p.Arg337His, R337H) founder mutation : clues from haplotyping of short tandem repeats on Chromosome 17p

Rare germline mutations in TP53 (17p13.1) cause a highly penetrant predisposition to a specific spectrum of early cancers, defining the Li-Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS). A germline mutation at codon 337 (p.Arg337His, c1010G>A) is found in about 0.3% of the population of Southern Brazil. This mutation is associated with partially penetrant LFS traits and is found in the germline of patients with early cancers of the LFS spectrum unselected for familial his- tory. To characterize the extended haplotypes carrying the mutation, we have genotyped 9 short tandem repeats on chromosome 17p in 12 trios of Brazilian p.Arg337His carriers. Results confirm that all share a common ancestor haplotype of Caucasian/Portuguese-Ibe- ric origin, distant in about 72–84 generations (2000 years assuming a 25 years intergenera- tional distance) and thus pre-dating European migration to Brazil. So far, the founder p. Arg337His haplotype has not been detected outside Brazil, with the exception of two resi- dents of Portugal, one of them of Brazilian origin. On the other hand, increased meiotic recombination in p.Arg337His carriers may account for higher than expected haplotype diversity. Further studies comparing haplotypes in populations of Brazil and of other areas of Portuguese migration are needed to understand the historical context of this mutation in Brazil.This study was funded by grant # 478430/2012-4 from CNPq (RFA MCT/CNPq - No 14/2012; Universal), Brazil.We would like to thank UFRGS, UFPA, AC Camargo, HC Barretos and University of Minho for their support during this work

American oil palm from Brazil: genetic diversity, population structure, and core collection.

The American oil palm [Elaeis oleifera (Knuth) Cortés] has pronounced importance in oil palm breeding programs. Here, a germplasm bank (GB) of E. oleifera plants collected in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil was submitted to single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker identification, selection, and use, aiming to characterize genetic diversity and population structure and to design a core collection (CC). Five hundred and fifty-three plants from 206 subsamples, collected at 19 localities spread throughout six geographic regions, were submitted to genotyping-by-sequencing analysis. A set of 1,827 high-quality SNP markers was then selected and used to run the genetic diversity and population structure analysis. The genetic diversity found is of moderate degree, and probably only a small portion of the species diversity is represented in the collection. The possible reason for that is the collecting strategy used, which collected subsamples only around the most prominent watercourses in the region. The average degree of genetic differentiation among subsamples is very high, indicating the presence of high interpopulation differentiation. The collection showed a low level of endogamy. The low average gene flow found indicates that genetic isolation caused by drift is occurring, and there is a need to review the conservation strategy. A set of 245 SNPs distributed throughout all 16 chromosomes was used to design CC based on maximizing the strategy of diversity. The optimal adjustment of the validated parameters, maintained while taking fewest subsamples, led to the choice of a model containing 20% of the entire collection as the ideal to form the CC