Rhinoviruses are commonly detected in symptomatic and asymptomatic children prior to HCT. Unlike pre‐HCT detection of other respiratory viruses, it is not known whether RV detection, with or without ...clinical symptoms, is associated with worse outcomes in children post‐HCT. In a retrospective study of children undergoing allogeneic HCT from January 2009 to February 2015, 91 children underwent allogeneic HCT, and 62 children had RPP testing within 30 days pre‐HCT. Fifty‐six (90%) children had either no pathogen (n = 34, 55%) or single RV detection (n = 22, 35%), which was the most common pathogen identified. Compared with virus negative children, children with pre‐HCT RV detection were not more likely to require ventilated support and did not have longer length of stay, higher mortality, or less days alive and out of the hospital within the first 100 days post‐HCT. In a secondary analysis of all 56 patients with RPP testing and no pathogen or RV alone detected, the seven children with LRTI had less days alive and out of the hospital within the first 100 days post‐HCT compared with the 49 children who were either asymptomatic or had URTI (10 vs 60 days, P = 0.002). In a bootstrapped regression model, presence of LRTI, not RV detection, was significantly associated with decreased days alive and out of the hospital within the first 100 days post‐HCT. Thus, pre‐HCT detection of RV, without associated LRTI, does not always warrant HCT delay.
•We evaluated the performance of three multi-enteric gastrointestinal platforms for the detection of five established gastroenteritis viruses.•Overall, the FilmArray had the highest detection rate ...followed by the TAC system.•GPP performed better in terms of specificity for adenovirus, norovirus and rotavirus compared to the other two platforms.•The FilmArray detected most of the samples with high Ct values for all five viruses.
Viruses are major etiological agents of childhood gastroenteritis. In recent years, several molecular platforms for the detection of viral enteric pathogens have become available.
We evaluated the performance of three multiplex platforms including Biofire’s Gastrointestinal Panel (FilmArray), Luminex xTAG® Gastrointestinal Pathogen Panel (GPP), and the TaqMan Array Card (TAC) for the detection of five gastroenteritis viruses using a coded panel of 300 archived stool samples.
The FilmArray detected a virus in 199 (96.1%) and the TAC in 172 (83.1%) of the 207 samples (187 samples positive for a single virus and 20 samples positive for more than one virus) whereas the GPP detected a virus in 100 (78.7%) of the 127 (97 positive for one virus and three positive for more than one virus) samples. Overall the clinical accuracy was highest for the FilmArray (98%) followed by TAC (97.2%) and GPP (96.9%). The sensitivity of the FilmArray, GPP and TAC platforms was highest for rotavirus (100%, 95.8%, and 89.6%, respectively) and lowest for adenovirus type 40/41 (97.4%, 57.9% and 68.4%). The specificity of the three platforms ranged from 95.6% (rotavirus) to 99.6% (norovirus/sapovirus) for the FilmArray, 99.6% (norovirus) to 100% (rotavirus/adenovirus) for GPP, and 98.9% (astrovirus) to 100% (rotavirus/sapovirus) for TAC.
The FilmArray demonstrated the best analytical performance followed by TAC. In recent years, the availability of multi-enteric molecular testing platforms has increased significantly and our data highlight the strengths and weaknesses of these platforms.
Abstract
Studies have shown egg-adaptive mutations in influenza vaccine strains that might have impaired protection against circulating A(H3N2) influenza viruses during the 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 ...seasons. We used the test-negative design and multivariable models to assess vaccine effectiveness against influenza-associated hospitalization and emergency department visits among children (<18 years old) during the 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 seasons. Effectiveness was 71% (95% confidence interval, 59%–79%), 46% (35%–55%), and 45% (33%–55%) against A(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2), and B viruses respectively, across both seasons. During high-severity seasons with concerns for vaccine mismatch, vaccination offered substantial protection against severe influenza outcomes requiring hospitalization or emergency department visits among children.
With use of the test-negative design to evaluate influenza vaccine effectiveness, vaccination in the 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 seasons halved the risk of children requiring hospitalization or emergency department visits owing to influenza-related illness.
Recent parechovirus A3 (PeV-A3) outbreaks in Australia suggest lower population immunity compared with regions that have endemic PeV-A3 circulation. A serosurvey among populations in the Netherlands, ...the United States, and Australia before and after the 2013 Australia outbreak showed high PeV-A3 neutralizing antibody prevalence across all regions and time periods, indicating widespread circulation.
•Over the counter medicines (OTC) are only licensed for treatment of common cold and flu.•OTC medicines are used to treat COVID-19 symptoms.•The innate immune response that causes symptoms is the ...same for COVID-19 colds and flu.•Review provides information that OTC medicines are safe and effective for treating COVID-19 symptoms.
Persons suffering from acute upper respiratory tract viral infections (URTI) commonly use over the counter (OTC) medicines to relieve symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, cough, runny nose, sore throat and nasal congestion. At present OTC medicines are only licensed for treatment of common cold and flu symptoms and not for treatment of the same symptoms associated with COVID-19. The innate immune response responsible for the mechanisms of the symptoms of URTI is the same for all respiratory viruses including SARS-CoV-2 and these symptoms can be relieved by treatment with the same OTC medicines as available for treatment of colds and flu. This review provides scientific information that OTC treatments for common cold and flu-like illness caused by respiratory viruses are safe and effective treatments for the same symptoms associated with COVID-19.
We evaluated enterovirus D68 seroprevalence in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, from samples obtained during 2012–2013. Neutralizing antibodies against Fermon and the dominant 2014 Missouri isolate were ...universally detected. Titers increased with age. Widespread circulation of enterovirus D68 occurred before the 2014 outbreak. Research is needed to determine a surrogate of protection.
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