Volume 226, Issue 4, 15 August 2022

NK cells from cord blood of congenitally CMV-infected newborns show increased expression of cytotoxic mediators, signs of maturation and activation, and an expansion of the CD56-negative subset, suggesting a potential role in the fetal and neonatal defense against CMV.

In phase 2 trials of maribavir therapy, viral UL97 mutations T409M, H411Y, or C480F emerged to confer maribavir resistance in patients with recurrent CMV infection while on therapy or no response to therapy.

Rhesus CMV prototypes of HCMV vaccine candidates were tested in a seronegative macaque oral challenge model. Adjuvanted pentameric complex and postfusion gB subunits with pp65-2–encoding DNA elicited strong serum neutralizing and T-cell responses but were insufficient to prevent infection.

Safety and immunogenicity of 2-dose Ad26.ZEBOV and MVA-BN-Filo vaccine regimens were evaluated in healthy US adults (phase 1 study). Regimens were well tolerated and immunogenic, with higher antibody responses afterose 2 for heterologous regimens with increased dosing intervals.

Our results suggest high exposure to EBOV among HCWs and provide additional evidence for asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic EVD. Further studies should be conducted to determine the probability of onward transmission and if seroreactivity is associated with immunity.

Challenge of nonhuman primates with the Makona variant of Ebola virus suggests that viral loads as a result of shedding determine transmission likelihood to naive animals in an intramuscular-challenge model, where transmission from challenged to direct contact animal was observed consistently in an intratracheal-challenge model.

Concurrent HPV infections and associations between HPV types were investigated among 17-year-old Norwegian girls from the first vaccine-eligible cohort and a prevaccination birth cohort. Introduction of HPV vaccine did not seem to influence clustering of HPV types.

Penile taxa are associated with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in female partners, and vaginal taxa with HSV-2 in male partners. Couples-level consideration of the genital microbiome could open new avenues for preventing sexually transmitted infection and related outcomes.

Polyclonal human antibodies were derived from transchromosomic bovines hyperimmunized with SARS-CoV-2 spike. These high-affinity antibodies, which are being evaluated in clinical trials, demonstrated broad cross-neutralization activity against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and can be used for treatment of COVID-19.

During the first year after infection the half-life of SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies increased from 3 months to 2 years. Most infected individuals had robust virus-specific memory B-cell responses 12 months after infection.

In this prospective cohort study that included 222 adults with Down syndrome, a significantly lower antibody response was found after SARS-CoV-2 mRNA or vector vaccination compared to healthy controls. After mRNA vaccination, lower antibodies were found with increasing age.

We estimated the effect of currently treated HIV on pregnancy loss, prematurity, and low birth weight. We found no differences in the risk of the 3 adverse pregnancy outcomes between pregnant HIV-uninfected women and HIV-infected women on antiretroviral treatment.

In a cohort of women with HIV initiating combination antiretrovirals for the first time during pregnancy, we observed increased preterm birth, decreased small-for-gestational age birth, and no differences in fetal death between early versus late treatment initiators.

Most pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa have low parasite densities and are asymptomatic when screened for Plasmodium falciparum at their first antenatal care visit. The first-generation usRDT provide detect 21% more low-density infections in afebrile pregnant women compared to cRDTs.

In an area of intense malaria transmission in Uganda, school-aged children (5–15 years old) and asymptomatic infections were identified as major contributors to the malaria human infectious reservoir and could be considered as important targets for malaria control interventions.

African children with cerebral malaria (CM) or severe malarial anemia (SMA) develop oxidative stress in response to severe malaria. Oxidative stress is associated with higher mortality in children with CM but not with SMA, and has no impact on readmission.

RCTs of medical therapy for SAB contain intertrial heterogeneity in clinically important cohort characteristics. Reporting of cohort characteristics and definitions of outcomes are variable. Some exclusion criteria introduce selection biases. These issues complicate the interpretation and application of results.

Genomic surveillance is improved using a novel culture-free whole genome sequencing approach that characterizes Neisseria meningitidis strains directly from clinical specimens collected from African countries. The method presents a successful alternative avenue in regions with low culture rate.

The role of HIV-specific antibodies in the brain during chronic infection is unclear. Here we found striking compartmentalization of HIV-specific antibodies, marked by a unique and highly selective enrichment of poorly functional IgG1 and IgG3 antibodies in the CSF.