Nine-Month Trend of IgG Antibody Persistence and Associated Symptoms Post-SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Between 2 and 8.5% of patients who recover from COVID-19 do not develop antibodies, and the durability of IgG antibodies is under scrutiny. Therefore, the presence and persistence of IgM and IgG antibodies were evaluated in a group of patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 from May to August 2020. Out of 2199 suspected COVID-19 cases, 1264 were confirmed for SARS-CoV-2 by rRT-PCR; 328 consented to participate in the study, with 220 participants followed for 9 months, including 124 men (56%) and 96 women (44%). The primary symptoms were headache, dry cough, and fever. IgG antibodies developed in 95% of patients within 4 weeks post-diagnosis, and a second evaluation at 9 months showed that 72.7% still had detectable IgG antibodies. The presence of IgM in one individual (0.45%) suggested the possibility of reinfection.

Sex-Specific Association between Fasting Plasma Glucose and Serum Selenium Levels in Adults from Southern Mexico.

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element that by its antioxidant properties has been studied to elucidate its participation in the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes. We evaluated the association between cardiometabolic traits and serum Se levels in a sample of adults from southern Mexico. In 96 nondiabetic individuals, anthropometric data and clinical biochemistry measurements were analyzed. Serum total Se levels were measured with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Serum Se level in the whole sample was 10.309 ± 3.031 µg mL-1 and no difference between the women and men was observed (p = 0.09). Additionally, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) was significantly associated with serum Se level (ß = -0.07 ± 0.03, p = 0.02, analysis adjusted for age, sex and BMI). Furthermore, sex shows significant interaction with FPG on the serum Se levels (p = 0.01). A follow-up analysis revealed the particular association between FPG and Se levels in women (ß = -0.10 ± 0.04, p = 0.01). In conclusion, our data evidenced a women-specific association between FPG and serum Se levels in a sample of adults from southern Mexico.

Molecular Characterization of Associated Pathogens in Febrile Patients during Inter-Epidemic Periods of Urban Arboviral Diseases in Tapachula Southern Mexico.

Emerging and re-emerging vector-borne infections are a global public health threat. In endemic regions, fever is the main reason for medical attention, and the etiological agent of such fever is not usually identified. In this study, non-specific febrile pathogens were molecularly characterized in serum samples from 253 patients suspected of arbovirus infection. The samples were collected in the southern border region of Mexico from April to June 2015, and February to March 2016. ZIKV, CHIKV, DENV, leptospirosis, and rickettsiosis were detected by qPCR and nested PCR to identify flavivirus and alphavirus genera. The results indicated that 71.93% of the samples were positive for CHIKV, 0.79% for ZIKV, and 0.39% for DENV, with the number positive for CHIKV increasing to 76.67% and those positive for ZIKV increasing to 15.41% under the nested PCR technique. Leptospira Kmetyi was identified for the first time in Mexico, with a prevalence of 3.16%. This is the first report of ZIKV in Mexico, as well the first detection of the virus in early 2015. In conclusion, the etiological agent of fever was determined in 94% of the analyzed samples.

Genotyping of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in infected patients from Northeast Mexico.

UNLABELLED: Information about HCV genotypes in infected patients from different regions of Mexico is limited. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of HCV genotypes in a group of HCV infected patients who attended a third level Hospital in Northeast of Mexico. METHODS: Genotyping analysis was performed using the InnoLiPA-HCV genotype assay in 147 patients (65 males and 82 females, mean age 44 +/- 12 years) with positive anti-HCV antibodies and detectable HCV-RNA levels. RESULTS: Infected individuals were more likely to be female (56%). Histological data showed that 63% of the patients had chronic hepatitis, while the remainder presented cirrhosis (37%). The most frequent HCV genotype was 1 (73%). We found the following distribution: genotype 1 (2.7%), 1a (28.6%), 1b (37.4%), 1a/1b (4.1%), 2a (1.4%), 2b (8.8%), 2c (0.7%), 2a/2c (2.7%), 3 (2%), 3a (10.2%), 4 (0.7%) and 4c (0.7%). The most frequent associated risk factor was blood transfusion (72.5%). CONCLUSION: Prevalence of HCV genotypes in the Northeast of Mexico is similar to those reported previously in other Mexican regions and the most frequent risk factor continues being blood transfusion.

Clinical characterization of acute and convalescent illness of confirmed chikungunya cases from Chiapas, S. Mexico: A cross sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The emerging chikungunya virus (CHIKV), is an arbovirus causing intense outbreaks in North America. The situation in Mexico is alarming, and CHIKV threatens to spread further throughout North America. Clinical and biological features of CHIKF outbreaks in Mexico have not been well described; thus, we conducted a cross sectional study of a CHIKV outbreak in Chiapas, Southern Mexico to further characterize these features. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We collected blood samples from patients suspected of having chikungunya fever (CHIKF) who presented to Clinical Hospital ISSSTE Dr. Roberto Nettel in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico. In addition to the clinical examination, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) standardized for the Asian Chikungunya lineage and/or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for immunoglobulin M (IgM) were used to confirm CHIKV diagnosis. Of a total of 850 patients who presented with probably CHIKV at Hospital "Dr. Roberto Nettel", 112 probable CHIKF cases were enrolled in this study from November 2014- June 2015, of which 95 patients (84.8%) were CHIKV positive and 17 were negative (15.2%). Of these 95 CHIKV positive patients, 62 were positive by real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (+qRT-PCR); and 33 were seropositive to +IgM with a negative qRT-PCR. The most frequent symptoms reported were fever (100%), headache (82.3%), polyarthralgia (72.1%), and exanthem (82.3%). Biological abnormalities observed during CHIKV infection were lymphopenia (41.1%), leukopenia (51.6%), elevated transaminases (30.5%-46.3%) and high LDH (46.3%) and CRP (60.0%). CONCLUSION: Clinical and biological data obtained from this study is providing more useful information for benchmarking purposes with outbreaks from different parts of the world and would be helpful for better patient care and treatment.

Experimental models for hepatitis C virus (HCV): new opportunities for combating hepatitis C.

Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global public health issue. More than 200 million people in the world are infected with HCV. Hepatitis C is considered one of the main causes of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver transplantation. The identification of the viral genome quickly allowed delineation of genomic organization, and the structure and biochemical characterization of the proteins of HCV. However, it has been difficult to study its life cycle, as well as the development of antiviral agents due to the lack of a system of permissible culture. Numerous attempts have been reported to establish an in vitro system for the study of HCV. Recently, a system of efficient culture was established that allows replication of subgenomic molecules of HCV in a cell line of human hepatoma. In this revision, after a brief description of the molecular biology, means of transmission and clinical characteristics of hepatitis C, some of the experimental models are described that have been developed to date, focusing mainly on the subgenomic replicon system and their use in the development of new antiviral treatments.