8 research outputs found
Performance Evaluation of the New Roche Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan HIV-1 Test Version 2.0 for Quantification of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 RNA
Despite FDA approval and CE marking of commercial tests, manufacturer-independent testing of the technical aspects of newly developed tests is important. To evaluate the analytical performance and explore the clinical applicability of the new Roche COBAS AmpliPrep COBAS TaqMan HIV-1 test, version 2.0 (CAP/CTM v2.0), platform comparison was performed with the Roche CAP/CTM test, version 2.0, the COBAS Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor Test, version 1.5 (CAP/CA v1.5), the COBAS AmpliPrep COBAS TaqMan HIV-1 Test (CAP/CTM v1.0), and the Abbott m2000 RealTime HIV-1 assay on panels and diagnostic samples. Specificity was tested for HIV-2 samples. Furthermore, samples from HIV-1-seropositive individuals with CAP/CA v1.5-measured viral loads below 50 HIV-1 RNA copies per ml (cp/ml) and replicates of HIV-1-seronegative plasma were tested in a checkerboard analysis. CAP/CTM v2.0 is HIV-1 specific, with broad genotype inclusivity and no serious underquantification of viral load relative to the other assays used. Low viral loads below the threshold of quantification for CAP/CA v1.5 are observed with CAP/CTM v2.0. A CAP/CTM v2.0-measured viral load of >50 copies/ml in these samples correlated with therapy failure. In conclusion, CAP/CTM v2.0 is an accurate and reliable test for HIV-1 viral load measurement relative to the other assays used with respect to specificity, sensitivity, and genotype inclusivity
Identification of a Novel Genomic Island Associated with vanD-Type Vancomycin Resistance in Six Dutch Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Isolates
Profiling of Humoral Response to Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 Infection and Vaccination Measured by a Protein Microarray in Persons with and without History of Seasonal Vaccination
Background: The influence of prior seasonal influenza vaccination on the antibody response produced by natural infection or vaccination is not well understood. Methods: We compared the profiles of antibody responses of 32 naturally infected subjects and 98 subjects vaccinated with a 2009 influenza A(H1N1) monovalent MF59-adjuvanted vaccine (Focetria (R), Novartis), with and without a history of seasonal influenza vaccination. Antibodies were measured by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay for influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and by protein microarray (PA) using the HA1 subunit for seven recent and historic H1, H2 and H3 influenza viruses, and three avian infl Results: We showed that subjects with a history of seasonal vaccination generally exhibited higher baseline titers for the various HA1 antigens than subjects without a seasonal vaccination history. Infection and pandemic influenza vaccination responses in persons with a history of seasonal vaccination were skewed towards historic antigens. Conclusions: Seasonal vaccination is of significant influence on the antibody response to subsequent infection and vaccination, and further research is needed to understand the effect of annual vaccination on protective immunity
Norovirus disease associated with excess mortality and use of statins: a retrospective cohort study of an outbreak following a pilgrimage to Lourdes
Laboratory-based surveillance in the molecular era: the TYPENED model, a joint data-sharing platform for clinical and public health laboratories
Laboratory-based surveillance, one of the pillars of monitoring infectious disease trends, relies on data produced in clinical and/or public health laboratories. Currently, diagnostic laboratories worldwide submit strains or samples to a relatively small number of reference laboratories for characterisation and typing. However, with the introduction of molecular diagnostic methods and sequencing in most of the larger diagnostic and university hospital centres in high-income countries, the distinction between diagnostic and reference/public health laboratory functions has become less clear-cut. Given these developments, new ways of networking and data sharing are needed. Assuming that clinical and public health laboratories may be able to use the same data for their own purposes when sequence-based testing and typing are used, we explored ways to develop a collaborative approach and a jointly owned database (TYPENED) in the Netherlands. The rationale was that sequence data - whether produced to support clinical care or for surveillance - can be aggregated to meet both needs. Here we describe the development of the TYPENED approach and supporting infrastructure, and the implementation of a pilot laboratory network sharing enterovirus sequences and metadata