Influenza and RSV incidence during COVID-19 pandemic-an observational study from in-hospital point-of-care testing.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has forced the implementation of unprecedented public health measures strategies which might also have a significant impact on the spreading of other viral pathogens such as influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) . The present study compares the incidences of the most relevant respiratory viruses before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in emergency room patients. We analyzed the results of in total 14,946 polymerase chain reaction point-of-care tests (POCT-PCR) for Influenza A, Influenza B, RSV and SARS-CoV-2 in an adult and a pediatric emergency room between December 1, 2018 and March 31, 2021. Despite a fivefold increase in the number of tests performed, the positivity rate for Influenza A dropped from 19.32% (165 positives of 854 tests in 2018/19), 14.57% (149 positives of 1023 in 2019-20) to 0% (0 positives of 4915 tests) in 2020/21. In analogy, the positivity rate for Influenza B and RSV dropped from 0.35 to 1.47%, respectively, 10.65-21.08% to 0% for both in 2020/21. The positivity rate for SARS-CoV2 reached 9.74% (110 of 1129 tests performed) during the so-called second wave in December 2020. Compared to the two previous years, seasonal influenza and RSV incidence was eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Corona-related measures and human behavior patterns could lead to a significant decline or even complete suppression of other respiratory viruses such as influenza and RSV.

Containment of a Large SARS-CoV-2 Outbreak Among Healthcare Workers in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

OBJECTIVE: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are particularly exposed SARS-CoV-2 because they are critical in preventing viral transmission and treating COVID-19 patients. Within HCWs, personnel of intensive care units (ICUs) are at the forefront of treating patients with a severe course of COVID-19 infection and therefore represent an extremely vulnerable group. Thus, our objective is to contribute to establish means of infection control protecting HCWs in the frontline of the current pandemic. DESIGN: An outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 was detected and contained in a pediatric ICU (PICU). The first positive case was identified with a point-of-care diagnostic system on site. Real-time PCR-based testing systems from self-collected nasopharyngeal samples swabs were used to test for viral RNA of SARS-CoV-2 in the follow-up. SETTING: PICU within a tertiary university hospital in Germany. PARTICIPANTS: Healthcare workers of the PICU. INTERVENTIONS: Positive HCWs were sent into quarantine. Containment measures were implemented including wearing of surgical-masks, physical distancing and systematic testing. RESULTS: Among 432 HCWs, 91 (25%) were tested. Forty-five percent reported symptoms corresponding to characteristics of COVID-19. Of those, only 19,5% (8 HCWs) were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. No infection occurred outside the PICU. After the implementation of containment measures, viral transmission was stopped. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, a large outbreak within a team of healthcare workers of a PICU, affecting almost one fifth of the entire personnel is documented, along with detailed insights about how the outbreak was contained and how operability of the unit was maintained.

Viral Infections in Neonates with Suspected Late-Onset Bacterial Sepsis-A Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective The aim of our study was to evaluate the occurrence of viral infections in infants with suspected late-onset bacterial sepsis in a neonatal intensive care unit. Methods In a prospective study, infants with suspected late-onset bacterial sepsis underwent viral testing alongside routine blood culture sampling. Using a multiplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, nasopharyngeal aspirates were analyzed for adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza virus A and B, H1N1 virus, parainfluenza virus 1 to 4, metapneumovirus, coronavirus, and picornavirus. Stools were examined for adenovirus, rotavirus, norovirus, and enterovirus. Results Between August 2010 and March 2014, data of 88 infants with 137 episodes of suspected late-onset bacterial sepsis were analyzed. Six infants were diagnosed with a respiratory viral infection (2 × RSV, 4 × picornavirus). Blood culture-proven bacterial sepsis was detected in 15 infants. Neither viral-bacterial coinfections nor polymerase chain reaction positive stool samples were found. Conclusion Respiratory viruses can be detected in a considerable number of neonates with suspected late-onset bacterial sepsis. In contrast, gastrointestinal viral or enterovirus infections appear uncommon in such cases.

Detection of respiratory viral infections in neonates treated for suspicion of nosocomial bacterial sepsis: a feasibility study.

There is a lack of knowledge concerning the frequency and significance of respiratory viral infections that occur in the neonatal intensive care unit. In the present study, all neonates with suspected nosocomial bacterial sepsis were screened for a panel of respiratory viruses. Respiratory viral infections were detected in 10% of these cases. This was comparable with the frequency of a blood-culture-proven sepsis.

Herpesvirus DNA (Epstein-Barr virus, herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus) in circulating monocytes of patients with coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: The underlying mechanism of the chronic inflammatory process in atherosclerosis is still unknown. As a possible trigger, several studies in recent years have suggested that different viruses and bacteria are associated with atherosclerotic diseases. METHODS: We applied polymerase chain reaction to analyse whether Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), and cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA could be detected in CD14 + cells from 184 patients with angiographically documented coronary artery disease (CAD) (74 patients with stable angina (SAP), 51 patients with unstable angina (UAP), and 59 patients with myocardial infarction (MI)) and from 52 healthy controls. RESULTS: In two patients (one patient with SAP, one patient with UAP) with CAD and one healthy control, DNA from CMV was found (p = 0.469). HSV DNA was detected in one patient (SAP) but not in any controls (p = 0.644). EBV DNA was found in nine patients (three patients with SAP, one patient with UAP, five patients with MI), and two controls (p = 0.752). CONCLUSION: Our data do not support the hypothesis that herpesvirus-infected monocytes are related to the incidence of human coronary atherosclerosis.