Measures against COVID-19 affected the spread of human enteric viruses in a Swedish community, as found when monitoring wastewater

Article Environmental Sciences

SARS-CoV-2 detection in wastewater as an early warning indicator for COVID-19 pandemic. Madrid region case study

Antonio Lastra et al.

Summary: This study aims to share the methodology and implementation of SARS-CoV-2 detection in wastewater in the Madrid region, with weekly testing of 289 sampling points to provide data support for early warning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH (2022)

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Article Environmental Sciences

SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in wastewater foreshadow dynamics and clinical presentation of new COVID-19 cases

Fuqing Wu et al.

Summary: This research shows that longitudinal wastewater analysis can be used to identify trends in disease transmission in advance of clinical case reporting, and infer early viral shedding dynamics for newly infected individuals, which are difficult to capture in clinical investigations.

SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT (2022)

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Article Environmental Sciences

SARS-CoV-2 RNA in urban wastewater samples to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic in Lombardy, Italy (March-June 2020)

Sara Castiglioni et al.

Summary: This study developed a method to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA in urban wastewater and applied it to monitor the pandemic trends in Lombardy, Northern Italy. The research found that the viral concentrations in wastewater correlated with the number of active COVID-19 cases, demonstrating the effectiveness of lockdown measures in controlling the spread of the virus.

SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT (2022)

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Article Engineering, Environmental

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) RNA in Wastewater Settled Solids Reflects RSV Clinical Positivity Rates

Bridgette Hughes et al.

Summary: Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) can be used to infer infection trends by measuring the concentration of infectious substances in wastewater. This study found that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) could be detected in wastewater, and its concentration was closely associated with clinical positivity rates. Since RSV infections have similar clinical presentations to COVID-19 and can be life-threatening, WBE could serve as an important tool to enhance RSV surveillance and public health response efforts.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LETTERS (2022)

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Article Virology

The changing pattern of common respiratory and enteric viruses among outpatient children in Shanghai, China: Two years of the COVID-19 pandemic

Pengcheng Liu et al.

Summary: This study investigated the long-term impact of relaxed nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on common respiratory and enteric viruses among children in Shanghai. The results showed a decrease in the positive rates of most viruses, but an increase in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and enteric adenovirus. An unexpected out-of-season resurgence of RSV activity was also observed.

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY (2022)

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Article Microbiology

Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on the Prevalence and Incidence of Gastrointestinal Viruses in Children up to Five Years Old: a Retrospective Cohort Study

Alfredo Maldonado-Barrueco et al.

Summary: Our study analyzes the impact of measures against SARS-CoV-2 on the prevalence and incidence of gastrointestinal viruses in children. It shows that the implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions and reduced healthcare attention to infections other than COVID-19 during the pandemic has led to a decrease in the prevalence and incidence of gastrointestinal viruses.

MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM (2022)

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Article Medicine, General & Internal

A Case Series of Children with Acute Hepatitis and Human Adenovirus Infection

L. Helena Gutierrez Sanchez et al.

Summary: A majority of children admitted to a single hospital in late 2021-early 2022 with acute hepatitis of unknown cause tested positive for adenovirus. This report describes the children's illnesses and outcomes.

NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE (2022)

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Review Infectious Diseases

Impact of COVID-19 on the Changing Patterns of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections

Ishan Garg et al.

Summary: RSV is a leading cause of hospitalization and mortality among children, and preventive measures implemented for COVID-19 may have also hindered its transmission. However, with the easing of restrictions, many regions are experiencing delayed and more severe RSV outbreaks. Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic can be applied to control RSV outbreaks and prepare healthcare systems for future outbreaks by reducing transmission, developing effective vaccines, and using genomic surveillance tools and computational modeling.

INFECTIOUS DISEASE REPORTS (2022)

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Article Infectious Diseases

Surveillance in hospitalized children with infectious diseases in Japan: Pre-and post-coronavirus disease 2019

Yuya Fukuda et al.

Summary: The study found that the number of children hospitalized with infectious diseases decreased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with influenza and RSV cases dropping to almost zero. However, adenovirus (respiratory infection) patients only decreased to 60.9% of pre-COVID levels. Additionally, patients with gastroenteritis caused by rotavirus, norovirus, and adenovirus also decreased markedly post-COVID-19.

JOURNAL OF INFECTION AND CHEMOTHERAPY (2021)

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Review Physics, Multidisciplinary

Non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A review

Nicola Perra

Summary: Infectious diseases and human behavior are closely linked, with the outbreak of COVID-19 leading to significant behavioral changes. Non-pharmaceutical interventions have played a key role in combating the virus, prompting various societal processes to adapt. The availability of data describing behavioral changes induced by the pandemic has increased dramatically, providing opportunities for future research and challenges.

PHYSICS REPORTS-REVIEW SECTION OF PHYSICS LETTERS (2021)

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Article Engineering, Environmental

Surveillance of wastewater revealed peaks of SARS-CoV-2 preceding those of hospitalized patients with COVID-19

Fredy Saguti et al.

Summary: The study revealed that SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in wastewater, and its levels reflect the extent of transmission in society. Viral peaks occurred approximately every four weeks, preceding fluctuations in newly hospitalized patients by 19-21 days. Local differences in viral spread were observed, with varying amounts of virus found in wastewater from different areas of the same city, possibly reflecting the transmission patterns of infected individuals.

WATER RESEARCH (2021)

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Review Pediatrics

Global and Swedish review of rotavirus vaccines showed considerable reductions in morbidity and mortality

Lina Schollin Ask

Summary: Rotavirus infections cause severe gastroenteritis in children, and the vaccine has been recommended by the World Health Organization since 2009 and is used by 108 countries. Sweden included the vaccine in its national immunization program in 2019, and further research is needed to study the global and Swedish impacts of the vaccine.

ACTA PAEDIATRICA (2021)

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Article Medicine, General & Internal

Changes in the Occurrence of Gastrointestinal Infections after COVID-19 in Korea

So Yun Ahn et al.

Summary: This study found that the incidence of gastrointestinal virus infections significantly decreased after the COVID-19 outbreak, while the incidence of bacterial pathogens did not significantly decrease.

JOURNAL OF KOREAN MEDICAL SCIENCE (2021)

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Article Immunology

Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 Circulation and Diversity through Community Wastewater Sequencing, the Netherlands and Belgium

Ray Izquierdo-Lara et al.

Summary: This study evaluated the diversity of SARS-CoV-2 at the community level in the Netherlands and Belgium using sewage samples, identifying the presence of prevalent clades and clustering of sewage samples with clinical samples from the same region. Additionally, novel mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome were detected, illustrating the potential of wastewater surveillance in tracking virus diversity and new outbreaks.

EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES (2021)

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Article Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

MEGA11 Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis Version 11

Koichiro Tamura et al.

Summary: MEGA software, a mature tool for computational molecular evolution, has been enhanced with new additions for building timetrees of species, pathogens, and gene families using rapid relaxed-clock methods. These additions include methods for estimating divergence times, confidence intervals, and new options for tagging sequences with spatiotemporal sampling information. The enhancements aim to improve user experience, result quality, and the pace of biological discovery.

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION (2021)

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Review Pediatrics