Comparison of the Alinity M STI with the GeneXpert CT/NG for the detection of sexually transmitted microorganisms.

We assess the performances of the Alinity M STI assay (Abbott Molecular) in comparison to the Xpert CT/NG assay (Cepheid). We first retrospectively used a collection of 70 frozen samples of which 33, 31, and 6 were positives for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoea (NG), and both micro-organisms respectively. The Alinity M STI and the Xpert CT/NG results were in accordance for all. The mean difference in cycle threshold values between the Xpert CT/NG and the Alinity M STI were -1.6 and 0.0 for CT and NG respectively. Then 214 fresh samples collected from 121 patients were prospectively tested with both instruments. Anal swabs, throat swabs, vaginal swabs, and urines accounted each for about 25%. Seven (3.2%) samples of which 5 anal swabs, provided inconclusive results with the Alinity M STI. In conclusion, the Alinity M STI is an accurate device for the microbiological diagnosis of NG and CT infections.

Monkeypox Vaccine Hesitancy in French Men Having Sex with Men with PrEP or Living with HIV in France.

People with pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or living with HIV are a high-risk population for monkeypox virus (MPXV) infection. It is important to achieve high MPXV vaccination coverage rates in this group. This project used self-reporting to assess vaccine hesitancy for the smallpox vaccine and acceptance among men having sex with men with PrEP or living with HIV. In total, 52 (33.6%) participants among the 155 declared their hesitancy to be vaccinated against MPXV. Moreover, 20.7% patients with PrEP declared a hesitant attitude towards the smallpox vaccine compared to 40.2% of the HIV patients, p = 0.013. This difference remained not significant after adjustment for age (p = 0.119) and after adjustment for both age and number of different sexual partners (p = 0.406). Among PrEP people, those who expressed concerns about people getting more vaccines than needed (p = 0.012) were less likely to accept vaccination, whereas an increased number of different sexual partners during the previous month was significantly associated with acceptance of vaccination (p = 0.034). Among HIV people, those who expressed concerns about being infected by MPXV (p < 0.001), those who expressed that the smallpox vaccine should be compulsory for people at risk (p < 0.001) and those with an increased the number of different sexual partners the previous month (p = 0.018) were significantly associated with higher acceptance of MPXV vaccination. Our results suggest that vaccine strategy would be efficient in France with a communication strategy emphasizing the benefits of vaccination and the potential MPXV risk infection for health in PrEP and HIV people. Other preventive actions should be implemented, including reduction in sexual partners.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among French People Living with HIV.

People living with HIV are a high-risk population concerning the coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) infection, with a poorer prognosis. It is important to achieve high COVID-19 vaccination coverage rates in this group as soon as possible. This project used self-reporting to assess vaccine hesitancy and acceptance among people living with HIV towards the novel COVID-19 vaccine. Sixty-eight (28.7%) participants among the 237 declared their hesitancy to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Participants who expressed concerns about their health (p < 0.001), the requirement of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination (p = 0.017), and their chronic disease status (p = 0.026) were independently associated with the acceptance of vaccination. Conversely, participants presenting general vaccine refusal (p < 0.001), concerns about the serious side effects of COVID-19 vaccines (p < 0.001), and those already thinking having an immune status to COVID-19 (p = 0.008) were independently associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Our results suggest that vaccine strategy would be more successful in France with a communication strategy emphasizing the collective benefits of herd immunity in the population living with HIV and reassuring patients with chronic diseases about the safety of the proposed vaccines.

Clinical characterization of dysautonomia in long COVID-19 patients.

Increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients, continue to experience symptoms months after recovering from mild cases of COVID-19. Amongst these symptoms, several are related to neurological manifestations, including fatigue, anosmia, hypogeusia, headaches and hypoxia. However, the involvement of the autonomic nervous system, expressed by a dysautonomia, which can aggregate all these neurological symptoms has not been prominently reported. Here, we hypothesize that dysautonomia, could occur in secondary COVID-19 infection, also referred to as "long COVID" infection. 39 participants were included from December 2020 to January 2021 for assessment by the Department of physical medicine to enhance their physical capabilities: 12 participants with COVID-19 diagnosis and fatigue, 15 participants with COVID-19 diagnosis without fatigue and 12 control participants without COVID-19 diagnosis and without fatigue. Heart rate variability (HRV) during a change in position is commonly measured to diagnose autonomic dysregulation. In this cohort, to reflect HRV, parasympathetic/sympathetic balance was estimated using the NOL index, a multiparameter artificial intelligence-driven index calculated from extracted physiological signals by the PMD-200 pain monitoring system. Repeated-measures mixed-models testing group effect were performed to analyze NOL index changes over time between groups. A significant NOL index dissociation over time between long COVID-19 participants with fatigue and control participants was observed (p = 0.046). A trend towards significant NOL index dissociation over time was observed between long COVID-19 participants without fatigue and control participants (p = 0.109). No difference over time was observed between the two groups of long COVID-19 participants (p = 0.904). Long COVID-19 participants with fatigue may exhibit a dysautonomia characterized by dysregulation of the HRV, that is reflected by the NOL index measurements, compared to control participants. Dysautonomia may explain the persistent symptoms observed in long COVID-19 patients, such as fatigue and hypoxia. Trial registration: The study was approved by the Foch IRB: IRB00012437 (Approval Number: 20-12-02) on December 16, 2020.

An Immunogenicity Report for the Comparison between Heterologous and Homologous Prime-Boost Schedules with ChAdOx1-S and BNT162b2 Vaccines.

BACKGROUND: There is a small amount of immunological data on COVID-19 heterologous vaccination schedules in humans. We assessed the immunogenicity of BNT162b2 (Pfizer/BioNTech) administered as a second dose in healthcare workers primed with ChAdOx1-S (Vaxzevria, AstraZeneca). METHODS: 197 healthcare workers were included in a monocentric observational study in Foch hospital, France, between June and July 2021. The main outcome was the immunogenicity measured by serum SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies. RESULTS: 130 participants received the ChAdOx1-S/BNT vaccine and 67 received the BNT/BNT vaccine. The geometric mean of IgG antibodies was significantly higher in the BNT/BNT vaccine group compared to the ChAdOx1-S/BNT vaccine group, namely 10,734.9, 95% CI (9141.1-12,589.3) vs. 7268.6, 95% CI (6501.3-8128.3), respectively (p < 0.001). However, after adjustment for time duration between the prime and second vaccinations, no significant difference was observed (p = 0.181). A negative correlation between antibody levels and time duration between second dose and serology test was observed for the BNT/BNT vaccine (p < 0.001), which remained significant after adjustment for all covariates (p < 0.001), but not for the ChAdOx1-S/BNT vaccine (p = 0.467). CONCLUSIONS: Heterologous and homologous schedules of ChAdOx1-S and BNT vaccines present robust immune responses after the second vaccination. The results observed were equivalent after adjustment for covariates and emphasize the importance of flexibility in deploying mRNA and viral vectored vaccines. Nevertheless, applying the ChAdOx1-S schedule vaccination for the heterologous second dose of BNT was associated with decreased IgG antibody levels compared to the homologous BNT/BNT vaccination.