Living a Pandemic

SARS-CoV-2 first appeared in Wuhan (China) in December 2019 and from that moment it spread throughout the rest of the world causing a pandemic such as had not been seen recently. A rapid virus diagnosis and appropriate infection prevention measures have been seen to be the fundamental tools to contain the virus. This article describes how this pandemic was experienced from a laboratory of Virology.El SARS-CoV-2 apareció por primera vez en diciembre de 2019 en Wuhan (China) y desde ese momento se expandió por el resto del mundo causando una pandemia como no se había visto recientemente. El rápido diagnóstico del virus y las medidas de prevención de la infección se ha visto que son las herramientas fundamentales para contener el virus. En este artículo se relata cómo se vivió esta pandemia desde un laboratorio de virología

Transfusion-transmission of hepatitis E virus through red blood cell transfusion but not through platelet concentrates: A case report from Spain

Hepatitis; Transfusion-transmitted diseaseHepatitis; Malaltia transmesa per transfusióHepatitis; Enfermedad transmitida por transfusiónBackground Few cases of transfusion-transmitted hepatitis E virus (HEV) have been published in Spain. Here, we describe a well-characterized lookback investigation of a transfusion-transmitted HEV case at the Community Centre for Blood and Tissues of Asturias (Spain). Case Report A female patient with chronic myeloid leukemia underwent an allogeneic bone marrow transplant in March 2019 and showed alterations in liver function shortly afterwards. This patient received blood components from 30 different donors in the 3 months before the transplant. Frozen plasma samples from these donations were investigated for the presence of HEV-RNA. One frequent donor was identified as asymptomatic HEV RNA-positive at the time of his whole blood donation. The investigation revealed that this donor's plasma unit, originally intended for the fractionation industry, had a viral RNA concentration of 1.9 × 104 copies/mL. HEV RNA was detected initially in the index patient who received the red cell concentrate from this donor 25 days after the transfusion. HEV RNA isolated from both donor and recipient were identified as subtype 3f. The recipient of platelet concentrate (PC), treated with a riboflavin-based pathogen reduction technology (PRT) was not infected, being negative for the presence of HEV IgM, IgG, and HEV RNA before and after the transfusion. Conclusion This case study shows that HEV was transmitted through red cell transfusion to a recipient, while the patient who received riboflavin/UV light treated PC did not develop signs of infection. A causal relationship between PRT treatment of the PC and the non-transmission of HEV remains to be established

Utilization of Microwaves: A Novel Approach to SARS-CoV-2 Genome Extraction

In this study, an innovative approach to the heat extraction method has been tested: the use of microwaves, which can dramatically decrease the time that is needed to do the genome extraction. The method can obtain the virus with enough quality to assure the identification by RT-qPCR and minimize procedures and contaminations

Human papillomavirus infection in a male population attending a sexually transmitted infection service.

OBJECTIVE: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection in men may produce cancer and other major disorders. Men play an important role in the transmission of the virus and act as a reservoir. The aim of this study was to determine the HPV-genotypes and their prevalence in a group of men attending a Sexually Transmitted Infection service. PATIENTS AND SAMPLES: Between July 2002 and June 2011, 1392 balanopreputial, 435 urethral, 123 anal, and 67 condyloma lesions from 1551 men with a mean age of 35.8±11.3 years old (range: 17-87) were collected for HPV-DNA testing. METHODS: A fragment of the L1-gene and a fragment of the E6/E7-genes were amplified by PCR. Positive samples were typed by hybridization. RESULTS: The HPV genome was detected in 36.9% (486/1318) balanopreputial and in 24.9% (101/405) urethral (p35. HPV was found in 59.4% (104) of 165 men with lesions (macroscopic or positive peniscopy), and in 22.8% (61/267) without clinical alterations. HPV was also detected in 71.4% (40/56) men with condylomata and in 58.7% (64/109) of men with positive peniscopy. CONCLUSIONS: HPV prevalence in men was high and decreased with age. HPV was found more frequently in balanopreputial than in urethral swabs. There was a low rate of co-infections. Low-risk HPV vaccine genotypes were the most recurrent especially in younger. Although HPV has been associated with clinical alterations, it was also found in men without any clinical presentation. Inclusion of men in the national HPV vaccination program may reduce their burden of HPV-related disease and reduce transmission of the virus to non-vaccinated women

Meaning of the Decreased HPV Normalized Viral Load Marker in Clinical Evolution of Women with HPV Infection

(1) Background: HPV infection can progress over the years to become cervical cancer. In this study, genotype and a normalized viral load were evaluated as surrogate markers of progression to cancer. (2) Methods: A total of 558 endocervical swabs were collected from 120 women (mean, 40.1 ± 11.8 years old). Seventy-eight of the women underwent clinical intervention (CI) to clear the infection during the course of the study, while forty-two did not (NCI). Normalized viral load (NVL) was calculated using a COBAS 4800 system. The INNOLIPA genotyping system was used to classify HPV which was neither type 16 or 18. (3) Results: The mean age of CI women was 41.1 ± 11.4 (22–68) years old and that of the NCI group was 37.7 ± 12.13 (23–65) (p: 0.104). HPV16 was present in 11 (25%) NCI and 30 (35.2%) CI patients, HPVα9non16 in 20 (45%) NCI and 34 (40%) CI, and HPVnonα9 in 13 (29.5%) NCI and 21 (24.7%) CI (p = 0.48). In NCI women there was an average NVL decrease of 0.95 log after two years and a further decrease of 2.35 log at the end of the third year. At the end of the study, 34 (80%) of the NCI patients were clear of HPV. However, NVL of CI women remained at around 5 log until intervention (p < 0.001). (4) Conclusions: Viral load decreased in NCI women at follow-up in the second year. In contrast, in CI women, their viral load did not fall over the follow-up period. This work thus demonstrates that a reduction in normalized viral load was associated with good evolution

Distribution of vaccinal and non-vaccinal genotypes according to age.

*<p> <b>n:220.</b></p>**<p> <b>n:108.</b></p><p><b>LR:</b> Low risk <b>HR:</b> High risk <b>lHR:</b> likely High risk <b>NT:</b> Non-typed.</p

Detected genotype distribution according to age.

<p>Detected genotype distribution according to age.</p

HPV incidence in males per years of study.

<p>HPV incidence in males per years of study.</p