Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Cambodia, January 2020 to February 2021.

The first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Cambodia was confirmed on 27 January 2020 in a traveller from Wuhan. Cambodia subsequently implemented strict travel restrictions, and although intermittent cases were reported during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, no apparent widespread community transmission was detected. Investigating the routes of severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) introduction into the country was critical for evaluating the implementation of public health interventions and assessing the effectiveness of social control measures. Genomic sequencing technologies have enabled rapid detection and monitoring of emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we detected 478 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Cambodia between 27 January 2020 and 14 February 2021, 81.3 per cent in imported cases. Among them, fifty-four SARS-CoV-2 genomes were sequenced and analysed along with representative global lineages. Despite the low number of confirmed cases, we found a high diversity of Cambodian viruses that belonged to at least seventeen distinct PANGO lineages. Phylogenetic inference of SARS-CoV-2 revealed that the genetic diversity of Cambodian viruses resulted from multiple independent introductions from diverse regions, predominantly, Eastern Asia, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Most cases were quickly isolated, limiting community spread, although there was an A.23.1 variant cluster in Phnom Penh in November 2020 that resulted in a small-scale local transmission. The overall low incidence of COVID-19 infections suggests that Cambodia's early containment strategies, including travel restrictions, aggressive testing and strict quarantine measures, were effective in preventing large community outbreaks of COVID-19.

Immunopathogenesis and diagnosis of tuberculosis and tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome during early antiretroviral therapy.

BACKGROUND: In many settings, the benefits of antiretroviral therapy (ART) are reduced by the high early incidence of tuberculosis and tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS). METHODS: We used tuberculin skin testing and the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube assay to investigate cellular immune responses to purified protein derivative (PPD) and region of difference 1 (RD1) antigens during the first 24 weeks of ART. RESULTS: TB-IRIS and ART-associated tuberculosis occurred in 15 of 75 (20%) and 11 of 231 (4.8%) participants at risk, respectively. Greater increases in interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and skin test responses to PPD were seen at week 24 and 12 in participants with TB-IRIS (P< or = .04), respectively. Raw IFN-gamma responses to RD1 antigens and PPD corrected for pre-ART CD4(+) T cell counts were higher at all time points in individuals with ART-associated tuberculosis (P<.001) and were associated with areas under receiver operator characteristic curves of 0.90 for RD1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78-1.00) and 0.92 for PPD (95% CI, 0.83-1.00) for the diagnosis of ART-associated tuberculosis. Pre-ART IFN-gamma responses enabled stratification of participants into groups with risks of subsequent tuberculosis of 0.7%, 9.3%, and 30.0%. CONCLUSIONS: Type 1 effector T cell responses are prominent in ART-associated tuberculosis, but additional immune defects may be more important in paradoxical TB-IRIS. IFN-gamma release assays may contribute to the prediction and diagnosis of tuberculosis during early ART.

Dual infection of novel influenza viruses A/H1N1 and A/H3N2 in a cluster of Cambodian patients.

During the early months of 2009, a novel influenza A/H1N1 virus (pH1N1) emerged in Mexico and quickly spread across the globe. In October 2009, a 23-year-old male residing in central Cambodia was diagnosed with pH1N1. Subsequently, a cluster of four influenza-like illness cases developed involving three children who resided in his home and the children's school teacher. Base composition analysis of internal genes using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry revealed that specimens from two of the secondary victims were coinfected with influenza A/H3N2 and pH1N1. Phylogenetic analysis of the hemagglutinin genes from these isolated viruses showed that they were closely related to existing pH1N1 and A/H3N2 viruses circulating in the region. Genetic recombination was not evident within plaque-purified viral isolates on full genome sequencing. This incident confirms dual influenza virus infections and highlights the risk of zoonotic and seasonal influenza viruses to coinfect and possibly, reassort where they cocirculate.