Performance of a Point of Care Test for Detecting IgM and IgG Antibodies Against SARS-CoV-2 and Seroprevalence in Blood Donors and Health Care Workers in Panama.

Novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiologic agent of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has reached 28 million cases worldwide in 1 year. The serological detection of antibodies against the virus will play a pivotal role in complementing molecular tests to improve diagnostic accuracy, contact tracing, vaccine efficacy testing, and seroprevalence surveillance. Here, we aimed first to evaluate a lateral flow assay's ability to identify specific IgM and IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and second, to report the seroprevalence estimates of these antibodies among health care workers and healthy volunteer blood donors in Panama. We recruited study participants between April 30th and July 7th, 2020. For the test validation and performance evaluation, we analyzed serum samples from participants with clinical symptoms and confirmed positive RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2, and a set of pre-pandemic serum samples. We used two by two table analysis to determine the test positive and negative percentage agreement as well as the Kappa agreement value with a 95% confidence interval. Then, we used the lateral flow assay to determine seroprevalence among serum samples from COVID-19 patients, potentially exposed health care workers, and healthy volunteer donors. Our results show this assay reached a positive percent agreement of 97.2% (95% CI 84.2-100.0%) for detecting both IgM and IgG. The assay showed a Kappa of 0.898 (95%CI 0.811-0.985) and 0.918 (95% CI 0.839-0.997) for IgM and IgG, respectively. The evaluation of serum samples from hospitalized COVID-19 patients indicates a correlation between test sensitivity and the number of days since symptom onset; the highest positive percent agreement [87% (95% CI 67.0-96.3%)] was observed at ≥15 days post-symptom onset (PSO). We found an overall antibody seroprevalence of 11.6% (95% CI 8.5-15.8%) among both health care workers and healthy blood donors. Our findings suggest this lateral flow assay could contribute significantly to implementing seroprevalence testing in locations with active community transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

Probable long-term prevalence for a predominant Mycobacterium tuberculosis clone of a Beijing genotype in Colon, Panama.

Beijing genotype Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains associate with increased virulence, resistance and/or higher transmission rates. This study describes a specific Beijing strain predominantly identified in the Panamanian province of Colon with one of the highest incidences of tuberculosis in the country. Retrospective mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit/variable number of tandem repeats analysis of 42 isolates collected between January and August 2018 allowed to identify a cluster (Beijing A) with 17 (40.5%) Beijing isolates. Subsequent prospective strain-specific PCR-based surveillance from September 2019 to March 2020 confirmed the predominance of the Beijing A strain (44.1%) in this province. Whole-genome sequencing revealed higher-than-expected diversity within the cluster, suggesting long-term prevalence of this strain and low number of cases caused by recent transmission. The Beijing A strain belongs to the Asian African 3 (Bmyc13, L2.2.5) branch of the modern Beijing sublineage, with their closest isolates corresponding to cases from Vietnam, probably introduced in Panama between 2000 and 2012.

Case Report: COVID-19 Recovery from Triple Infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, HIV, and SARS-CoV-2.

COVID-19, designated as SARS-CoV-2, has caused millions of infections worldwide, including in patients with concomitant infections. Here, we report two unusual cases of patients with triple infections of SARS-CoV-2, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and HIV. Both cases were confirmed through microbiological and immunological studies. The acute respiratory phase in both patients was treated with supplemental oxygen. Antituberculosis and antiretroviral therapies were started simultaneously. In 2 weeks, both patients demonstrated clinical improvement and recovery from COVID-19. Our findings suggest that even in cases of triple infection, clinical management together with respiratory therapy contributes to patient survival.

Sulbactam/Amplicilina: En el tratamiento de pacientes con infecciones bacterianas del tracto respiratorio superior / Sulbactam/Ampicillin: in the treatment of patient with bacterial infections of the upper respiratory tract

Se trataron 25 pacientes con diferentes infecciones bacterianas del tracto respiratorio superior, 17 del sexo femenino y 8 masculino con edades mayores de 18 hasta 60 años de edad. El 44 por ciento de los casos correspondían a faringoamigdalitis y el resto a otitis externa, sinusitis, faringitis, faringotraqueitis y laringotraqueitis. Todos los pacientes recibieron Sulbactam/Amplicilina 250 mg/500 mg por vía intramuscular cada 12 horas durante 5 días consecutivos. Se efectuaron además del control inicial, nuevas observaciones clínicas a los 3 y 5 días del tratamiento para evaluar la efectividad y tolerancia. En estas evaluaciones se encontró una franca respuesta en la mayoría de los signos y síntomas desde el 3 día, encontrando que el 5 día 23 de los 25 casos (92 por ciento) se reportaron como curados, 1 caso (4 por ciento) de faringoamigdalitis bacteriana con mejoría y solo en falla terapéutica. El medicamento fue bien tolerado, sin presencia de efectos secundarios sistémicos y sólo en 9 casos (36 por ciento) se reportó dolor o ardor local transitorio en elsitio de la inyección, pero no requirió tratamiento para el mismo, no obligó en ningún caso a suspender el medicamento. Los autores concluyen que la combinación de Sulbatam 250 más Ampicilina 500 mg en dosis IM cada 12 horas por 5 días es eficaz en el tratamiento de infecciones bacterianas del trato respiratorio superior.

Financiamiento de la educación superior en Bolivia / Financing of the superior education in Bolivia

El presente trabajo tiene por objeto describir el sistema universitario nacional y los problemas vinculados con el financiamiento de la educación superior en Bolivia. Se refiere particularmente a la estructura que la Universidad Boliviana (U.B) ha adoptado en el proceso de la reforma iniciada en 1971

Financiamiento de la educación superior en Bolivia / Financing of the superior education in Bolivia

El presente trabajo tiene por objeto describir el sistema universitario nacional y los problemas vinculados con el financiamiento de la educación superior en Bolivia. Se refiere particularmente a la estructura que la Universidad Boliviana (U.B) ha adoptado en el proceso de la reforma iniciada en 1971