Clinical Science and Epidemiology
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyTongue Microbiota and Oral Health Status in Community-Dwelling Elderly AdultsAspiration of oral contents can lead to pneumonia, which is a major cause of death among elderly adults susceptible to swallowing impairments. Tongue microbiota are a dominant source of oral microbial populations that are ingested with saliva. This large-scale population-based study revealed variations in the tongue microbiota among community-dwelling elderly adults. The total bacterial density was independent of the conditions of teeth...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyEvaluation of a Validated Luminex-Based Multiplex Immunoassay for Measuring Immunoglobulin G Antibodies in Serum to Pneumococcal Capsular PolysaccharidesThe pneumococcal enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) measures IgG antibodies in human serum, and it is an important assay that supports licensure of pneumococcal vaccines. The immune correlate of protection, 0.35 µg/ml of IgG antibodies, was determined by the ELISA method. Pfizer has developed a new Luminex-based assay platform to replace the ELISA. These papers describe the important work of (i) validating the Luminex-based assay...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyProfiling of Bacterial and Fungal Microbial Communities in Cystic Fibrosis Sputum Using RNAHere we demonstrate the use of an RNA-based analysis of specific taxa of interest, including bacteria and fungi, within microbial communities. This multiplex method may be useful as a means to identify samples with specific combinations of taxa and to gain information on how specific populations vary over time and space or in response to perturbation. A rapid means to measure bacterial and fungal populations may aid in the study of host...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyDevelopment and Validation of 13-plex Luminex-Based Assay for Measuring Human Serum Antibodies to Streptococcus pneumoniae Capsular PolysaccharidesThe pneumococcal enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) measures IgG antibodies in human serum, and it is an important assay that supports licensure of pneumococcal vaccines. The immune correlate of protection, 0.35 µg/ml of IgG antibodies, was determined by the ELISA method. Pfizer has developed a new Luminex-based assay platform to replace the ELISA. These papers describe the important work of (i) validating the Luminex-based assay...
Observation | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyExhaustive TORCH Pathogen Diagnostics Corroborate Zika Virus Etiology of Congenital Malformations in Northeastern BrazilThe Latin American Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak had a major impact on reproductive health worldwide. The reasons for the massively increased reports of neonatal microcephaly in northeastern Brazil are still unclear. Beyond the technical limitations of laboratory diagnostics, unambiguous diagnosis of ZIKV as the cause of congenital malformations is hampered by similar clinical pictures elicited by other pathogens known as TORCH pathogens....
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyDiscovery of Human-Specific Immunodominant Chlamydia trachomatis B Cell EpitopesCurrent serological assays for species-specific detection of anti-Chlamydia species antibodies suffer from well-known shortcomings in specificity and ease of use. Due to the high prevalences of both anti-C. trachomatis and anti-C. pneumoniae antibodies in human populations, species-specific...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyComprehensive Molecular Serology of Human Chlamydia trachomatis Infections by Peptide Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent AssaysFor detection of anti-Chlamydia trachomatis antibodies by serological assays, use of classical whole-organism chlamydial antigens results in high cross-reactivity. These antigens bind mainly antibodies against the major outer membrane protein (OmpA) and bind antibodies against other immunodominant non-OmpA proteins to a lesser extent, resulting in poor assay...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyEscherichia coli Sequence Type 410 Is Causing New International High-Risk ClonesExtraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) is the main cause of urinary tract infections and septicemia. Significant attention has been given to the ExPEC sequence type ST131, which has been categorized as a “high-risk” clone. High-risk clones are globally distributed clones associated with various antimicrobial resistance determinants, ease of transmission,...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyAsymptomatic Shedding of Respiratory Virus among an Ambulatory Population across SeasonsRespiratory viruses are common in human populations, causing significant levels of morbidity. Understanding the distribution of these viruses is critical for designing control methods. However, most data available are from medical records and thus predominantly represent symptomatic infections. Estimates for asymptomatic prevalence are sparse and span a broad range. In this study, we aimed to measure more precisely the proportion of...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyUltrasensitive Capture of Human Herpes Simplex Virus Genomes Directly from Clinical Samples Reveals Extraordinarily Limited Evolution in Cell CultureHerpes simplex viruses affect more than 4 billion people across the globe, constituting a large burden of disease. Understanding the global diversity of herpes simplex viruses is important for diagnostics and therapeutics as well as cure research and tracking transmission among humans. To date, most HSV genomics has been performed on culture isolates and DNA swabs with high quantities of virus. We describe the development of wet-lab and...