Using COVID-19 serology status to inform vaccine prioritisation
Global vaccine roll out is making progress but with most countries wanting priority status and with a limited supply, how can governments best prioritise those requiring vaccination? Vaccination strategies Overall two vaccination strategies are in place: the first concentrates on those at highest risk, the second focuses vaccinations on people most likely to transmit the virus, known as direct and indirect vaccination strategies, respectively. Regardless of vaccine type and manufacturer, there are...
Infection with the “other” human Coronaviruses could be a blessing in disguise
With the world’s attention focused on SARS-CoV-2 and the serious impact COVID-19 is having both on our health and on society as a whole, it is worth noting that humans have in fact co-existed with numerous coronaviruses (CoVs) for millions of years. It is little understood how these related viruses have such startlingly different effects on infected individuals but some researchers have found evidence that mild CoV infection offers some...
The best sample type for SARS-CoV-2 virus rapid tests will surprise you!
Two types of tests for SARS-CoV-2 currently predominate. The first are molecular tests, based on PCR technology, that detect the presence of viral nucleic acid and therefore indicate a current infection. The second are serology tests that are designed to detect anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (usually IgG) generated by the immune systems of individuals who have been infected in the past. RT-PCR to detect SARS-CoV-2 virus is relatively slow and requires specialist laboratories....
SARS-CoV-2 – Beware Antibody Tests with <100% Specificity
We are in the midst of the most significant global pandemic since the 1918-19 Influenza pandemic, over 100 years ago. The 2020 pandemic has been caused by a Coronavirus, named SARS-CoV-2, which confers a severe respiratory illness (COVID-19) on a proportion of those infected. The virus is readily transmissible from human to human with many of those infected showing no or mild symptoms, meaning it is hard to know who...
Lyme – a challenging disease to diagnose
Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by Borrelia bacteria transmitted by tick bites from ticks of the Ixodes genus. Particularly if untreated, serious and long-term symptoms can occur such as neurological problems, facial palsy, lower limb impairment, heart complications, arthritis, encephalomyelitis and psychosis. It is estimated to affect 300,000 people per year in North America and 65,000 in Europe. Transmission can occur across the placenta during pregnancy. The causative agent...
Toxoplasma IgM – not a smoking gun for acute infection
Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite present in a third of the world’s human population. People acquire this infection in three ways: i) inadequately cooked infected meat, particularly pork, ii) unwitting ingestion of oocysts passed in cat feces, which could, for example, occur whilst gardening, and iii) pregnant women passing the infection transplacentally to their unborn fetus – known as Congenital Toxoplasmosis. In most cases the infection is asymptomatic or presents...
HIV – a challenging disease to diagnose
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has a reputation for being difficult to treat, although advances in medicine have reached a level where those being treated can be expected to live almost to their full life span. However, as we shall see in this article, current HIV testing is not perfect and many challenges remain. There are multiple HIV viruses HIV is actually a small family of distinct viruses comprised of HIV1 and HIV2....
