RESUMO
SARS-CoV-2 infections have caused unprecedented damage worldwide by affecting humans and various animals. The first reported animal infection was observed in a pet dog in Hong Kong in March 2020. 36 countries reported 692 SARS-CoV-2 infections in 25 different animal species by 31 August 2022. Most outbreaks were caused by contact with SARS-CoV-2 infected humans. In South Korea, the first SARS-CoV-2 infection in an animal was reported in a cat in February 2021. As of 31 December 2021, 74 dogs and 42 cats have been confirmed to have SARS-CoV-2 in South Korea. Here, we identified various SARS-CoV-2 genomic lineages in SARS-CoV-2 confirmed cats and dogs. Among the 40 animal samples sequenced for lineage identification, a total of eight Pango lineages (B.1.1.7 (Alpha variant), B.1.429 (Epsilon variant), B.1.470, B.1.497, B.1.619.1, B.1.620, AY.69 (Delta variant), and AY.122.5 (Delta variant)) were identified. The dominant lineages were AY.69 (Delta variant; 37.5%), B.1.497 (35.0%), and B.1.619.1 (12.5%). This study provides the first reported cases of six lineages (B.1.470, B.1.497, B.1.620, B.1.619.1, AY.69 (Delta variant)), and AY.122.5 (Delta variant) in cats and dogs. Our results emphasize the importance of monitoring SARS-CoV-2 in pets because they are dynamic hosts of variant Pango lineages of SARS-CoV-2.
RESUMO
PURPOSE: This study was performed to investigate the effectiveness of gastric cancer (GC) screening methods in a community-based prospective cohort of the Korean Multi-center Cancer Cohort (KMCC) with over a 10-year follow-up. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total 10,909 and 4,773 subjects from the KMCC with information on gastroendoscopy (GE) and upper gastrointestinal series (UGIS) were included in this study. Cox proportional hazard model adjusted for age, sex, Helicobacter pylori infection, cigarette smoking, and alcohol drinking was used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: The GE screened subjects had almost half the risk of GC-specific death than that of unscreened subjects (HR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.94). Among the GC patients, GE screenees had a 2.24-fold higher survival rate than that of the non-screenees (95% CI, 1.61 to 3.11). In particular, GE screenees who underwent two or more screening episodes had a higher survival rate than that of the non-screenees (HR, 13.11; 95% CI, 7.38 to 23.30). The effectiveness of GE screening on reduced GC mortality and increased survival rate of GC patients was better in elderly subjects (≥ 65 years old) (HR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.24 to 0.95 and HR, 8.84; 95% CI, 3.63 to 21.57, respectively) than that in younger subjects (< 65 years old) (HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.34 to 1.29 and HR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.24 to 2.68, respectively). In contrast, UGIS screening had no significant relation to GC mortality and survival. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that a decreased GC-specific mortality and improved survival rate in GC patients can be achieved through GE screening.