Public Health Commons^™

Examining The Association Between Smoking Frequency And Long Covid: A Brfss Study, Bhavya Patel

Capstone Experience

Objectives: To examine the relationship between self-reported smoking frequency and the presence of Long COVID among individuals who tested positive for COVID-19.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a sample of 44,738 COVID-positive participants from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) dataset. Logistic regression was utilised to compute prevalence odds ratios (pOR) and was adjusted for potential sociodemographic confounders.

Results: Individuals who smoked daily were found to have a greater likelihood of reporting Long COVID in comparison with nonsmokers (Crude pOR=1.22; CI= [1.10-1.35]). However, in the adjusted regression model, daily smoking was no longer significant (Adjusted pOR=1.04; …

Observational Analysis For Predicting Initial Spikes In Testing Volume Of Cohorts Inside And Outside Of A Regional Covid-19 Screening Program, Adam M. Franks, Seth Bergeron, Tammy Bannister, Justin Spradling, Tamara Lowe, Paris Johnson, Rajan Lamichhane, Stephen M. Petrany

Marshall Journal of Medicine

BACKGROUND Containing the highly contagious SARs-CoV-2 pathogen requires a safe and effective screening program. The aim of this observational cohort study is to analyze a regional testing center and identify factors predicting testing rates that direct supply and staffing needs.

METHODS A drive-through SAR-CoV-2 regional testing facility was created. Number of tests and positive results were collected for eighteen months. Data for testing demand was compared to positive results, percent positive rates (PPR), known external factors, and county PPR. Dissimilarities were contrasted with dynamic time warp and a detailed agreement analysis. The Grainger’s test was utilized to assess the degree …

Opioid-Related Emergency Department Visits Before And During Covid-19: Association With Community-Level Factors, Timothy F. Page, Weiwei Chen, François Sainfort, Julie A. Jacko

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between community-level variables and emergency department (ED) visit rates before and during COVID-19. The focus was on opioid-related ED visits. Despite large declines in overall ED visits during COVID-19, opioid-related visits increased. While visits for avoidable conditions decreased, the opposite was true for opioid-related visits.

Methods

We combined data from Florida EDs with community-level variables from the 2020 American Community Survey. The outcome measures of the study were quarterly ZIP code tabulation-area-level ED visit rates for opioid-related ED visits as well as visit rates for all other causes. Associations …

Prozone Masks Elevated Sars-Cov-2 Antibody Level Measurements, Micaela N Sandoval, Samuel P Mcclellan, Stephen J Pont, Jessica A Ross, Michael D Swartz, Mark A Silberman, Eric Boerwinkle

Journal Articles

We report a prozone effect in measurement of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein antibody levels from an antibody surveillance program. Briefly, the prozone effect occurs in immunoassays when excessively high antibody concentration disrupts the immune complex formation, resulting in a spuriously low reported result. Following participant inquiries, we observed anomalously low measurement of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein antibody levels using the Roche Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S immunoassay from participants in the Texas Coronavirus Antibody Research survey (Texas CARES), an ongoing prospective, longitudinal antibody surveillance program. In July, 2022, samples were collected from ten participants with anomalously low results for serial dilution studies, and a …

Predictive Power Of Wastewater For Nowcasting Infectious Disease Transmission: A Retrospective Case Study Of Five Sewershed Areas In Louisville, Kentucky, Fayette Klaassen, Rochelle H. Holm, Ted Smith, Ted Cohen, Aruni Bhatnagar, Nicolas A. Menzies

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Epidemiological nowcasting traditionally relies on count surveillance data. The availability and quality of such count data may vary over time, limiting representation of true infections. Wastewater data correlates with traditional surveillance data and may provide additional value for nowcasting disease trends. Methods: We obtained SARS-CoV-2 case, death, wastewater, and serosurvey data for Jefferson County, Kentucky (USA), between August 2020 and March 2021, and parameterized an existing nowcasting model using combinations of these data. We assessed the predictive performance and variability at the sewershed level and compared the effects of adding or replacing wastewater data to case and death reports. …

Sars-Cov-2 Infectivity, And Interaction With Ace2 In The Human Oral Cavity: A Comprehensive Study, Blake Joseph Henkel

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The oral cavity has the ability to transport infections throughout the body and be infected by bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is the virus that led to the most recent pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 has unique ways of interacting with the human body to infect individuals, which has led researchers and scientists to have limited knowledge on its long-term impact on human health. However, there are ways to identify various oral cavity infections and prevent infection now and in the future. Many studies have been conducted in an attempt to understand the body’s …

Social Determinants Of Health Predict Readmission Following Covid-19 Hospitalization: A Health Information Exchange-Based Retrospective Cohort Study, Micaela N Sandoval, Jennifer L Mikhail, Melyssa K Fink, Guillermo A Tortolero, Tru Cao, Ryan Ramphul, Junaid Husain, Eric Boerwinkle

Journal Articles

INTRODUCTION: Since February 2020, over 104 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection, or COVID-19, with over 8.5 million reported in the state of Texas. This study analyzed social determinants of health as predictors for readmission among COVID-19 patients in Southeast Texas, United States.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted investigating demographic and clinical risk factors for 30, 60, and 90-day readmission outcomes among adult patients with a COVID-19-associated inpatient hospitalization encounter within a regional health information exchange between February 1, 2020, to December 1, 2022.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In this cohort of 91,007 …

Baseline Characteristics Of Sars-Cov-2 Vaccine Non-Responders In A Large Population-Based Sample, Ashraf Yaseen, Stacia M Desantis, Rachit Sabharwal, Yashar Talebi, Michael D Swartz, Shiming Zhang, Luis Leon Novelo, Cesar L Pinzon-Gomez, Sarah E Messiah, Melissa Valerio-Shewmaker, Harold W Kohl, Jessica Ross, David Lakey, Jennifer A Shuford, Stephen J Pont, Eric Boerwinkle

Journal Articles

INTRODUCTION: Studies indicate that individuals with chronic conditions and specific baseline characteristics may not mount a robust humoral antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. In this paper, we used data from the Texas Coronavirus Antibody REsponse Survey (Texas CARES), a longitudinal state-wide seroprevalence program that has enrolled more than 90,000 participants, to evaluate the role of chronic diseases as the potential risk factors of non-response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in a large epidemiologic cohort.

METHODS: A participant needed to complete an online survey and a blood draw to test for SARS-CoV-2 circulating plasma antibodies at four-time points spaced at least three months …

Beyond Scale-Free Networks: Integrating Multilayer Social Networks With Molecular Clusters In The Local Spread Of Covid-19, Kayo Fujimoto, Jacky Kuo, Guppy Stott, Ryan Lewis, Hei Kit Chan, Leke Lyu, Gabriella Veytsel, Michelle Carr, Tristan Broussard, Kirstin Short, Pamela Brown, Roger Sealy, Armand Brown, Justin Bahl

Journal Articles

This study evaluates the scale-free network assumption commonly used in COVID-19 epidemiology, using empirical social network data from SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant molecular local clusters in Houston, Texas. We constructed genome-informed social networks from contact and co-residence data, tested them for scale-free power-law distributions that imply highly connected hubs, and compared them to alternative models (exponential, log-normal, power-law with exponential cutoff, and Weibull) that suggest more evenly distributed network connections. Although the power-law model failed the goodness of fit test, after incorporating social network ties, the power-law model was at least as good as, if not better than, the alternatives, implying …

Sars-Cov-2 Seroprevalence In Pregnant Women In Kilifi, Kenya From March 2020 To March 2022, Angela Koech, Geoffrey Omuse, Alex Mugo, Isaac Mwaniki, Joseph Mutunga, Moses Mukhanya, Onesmus Wanje, Grace Mwashigadi, Geoffrey Katana, Marleen Temmerman

Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health

Background: Seroprevalence studies are an alternative approach to estimating the extent of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the evolution of the pandemic in different geographical settings. We aimed to determine the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence from March 2020 to March 2022 in a rural and urban setting in Kilifi County, Kenya.

Methods: We obtained representative random samples of stored serum from a pregnancy cohort study for the period March 2020 to March 2022 and tested for antibodies against the spike protein using a qualitative SARS-CoV-2 ELISA kit (Wantai, total antibodies). All positive samples were retested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 anti-nucleocapsid antibodies (Euroimmun, ELISA kits, NCP, …

Developing Disinfection Strategies For Controlling Human Norovirus, Sars-Cov-2, And Clostridioides Difficile Endospores In Long-Term Care Facilities, Jinge Huang

All Dissertations

Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) provide an environment favorable for the transmission of three critical human pathogens: human norovirus (HuNoV), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and Clostridioides difficile. Given residents in LTCFs are susceptible to infections due to their advanced ages and compromised immune systems, effective environmental surface disinfection plays a crucial role in controlling the spread of human pathogens within these settings and, therefore, mitigates the risk of infections caused by these pathogens. This dissertation aimed to assess the efficacy of various types of disinfectants against two HuNoV surrogates [feline calicivirus (FCV) and Tulane virus (TuV)], two …

Wastewater Sequencing Reveals Community And Variant Dynamics Of The Collective Human Virome, Michael Tisza, Sara Javornik Cregeen, Vasanthi Avadhanula, Ping Zhang, Tulin Ayvaz, Karen Feliz, Kristi L Hoffman, Justin R Clark, Austen Terwilliger, Matthew C Ross, Juwan Cormier, Hannah Moreno, Li Wang, Katelyn Payne, David Henke, Catherine Troisi, Fuqing Wu, Janelle Rios, Jennifer Deegan, Blake Hansen, John Balliew, Anna Gitter, Kehe Zhang, Runze Li, Cici X Bauer, Kristina D Mena, Pedro A Piedra, Joseph F Petrosino, Eric Boerwinkle, Anthony W Maresso

Journal Articles

Wastewater is a discarded human by-product, but its analysis may help us understand the health of populations. Epidemiologists first analyzed wastewater to track outbreaks of poliovirus decades ago, but so-called wastewater-based epidemiology was reinvigorated to monitor SARS-CoV-2 levels while bypassing the difficulties and pit falls of individual testing. Current approaches overlook the activity of most human viruses and preclude a deeper understanding of human virome community dynamics. Here, we conduct a comprehensive sequencing-based analysis of 363 longitudinal wastewater samples from ten distinct sites in two major cities. Critical to detection is the use of a viral probe capture set targeting …

Who Left The Hospital Against Medical Advice During The Early Covid-19 Pandemic?, Bryan Werner, Se Won Lee

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

Patients leaving against medical advice (AMA) presents a challenge to hospitals as they try to manage costs and improve patient outcomes in an ever-increasing competitive market. Investigating AMA discharges that occurred during the early COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique opportunity to better understand this phenomenon and be better prepared for the future.

Methods

This retrospective analysis of 34 379 patients from a nationwide private healthcare system across 20 states analyzed patients during the early stages of the pandemic who chose to leave against medical advice (AMA) after being admitted with COVID-19 infection and identified several patient characteristics associated with …

Igg3 Subclass Antibodies Recognize Antigenically Drifted Influenza Viruses And Sars-Cov-2 Variants Through Efficient Bivalent Binding, Marcus J. Bolton, Jefferson J.S. Santos, Claudia P. Arevalo, Trevor Griesman, Megan Watson, Shuk Hang Li, Paul Bates, Holly Ramage, Patrick C. Wilson, Scott E. Hensley

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

The constant domains of antibodies are important for effector functions, but less is known about how they can affect binding and neutralization of viruses. Here, we evaluated a panel of human influenza virus monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) expressed as IgG1, IgG2, or IgG3. We found that many influenza virus-specific mAbs have altered binding and neutralization capacity depending on the IgG subclass encoded and that these differences result from unique bivalency capacities of the subclasses. Importantly, subclass differences in antibody binding and neutralization were greatest when the affinity for the target antigen was reduced through antigenic mismatch. We found that antibodies expressed …

Why The West Should Help China Reduce Unrecognized And Preventable Covid-19 Deaths, George A. Gellert

Journal of Health Ethics

In an era marked by a ruinous war between a democratic state and a totalitarian regime, political volatility, rightward looking isolationism and nationalism, and heightened competition and disputes between China and the West, it is perhaps difficult to discern why the West should supply China with COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, as well as epidemiological assistance in order to mitigate a potentially unrecognized COVID-19 crisis in that nation. This commentary considers three arguments against Western and international indifference to the plight of China as it transitions to COVID-19 endemicity.

Pandemic Response Officers: Integration Between Medical, Public Health, And Higher Education Systems To Expedite Prevention And Response., Anne C Jones, Genevive R Meredith, Donna Leong, Sabine Jamal, Rachel Buckwalter, John D Clarke, Marin Clarkberg, Allan Bishop, Frank Cantone, Claire Espey, Frank Kruppa, Mary George Opperman, Gary A Koretzky

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

CONTEXT: Research and policy studies alike have enumerated population and community health benefits of system integration between medical, public health, and social entities. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the necessity of a well-trained and adequately staffed public health and medical workforce in order to process SARS-CoV-2 cases and prevent subsequent transmission. Higher education systems, in particular, represented defined populations of exposure and transmission. Opportunities existed for collaboration and task sharing between institutions of higher education and local public health departments to limit spread and impacts.

PROGRAM: This article describes the Pandemic Response Officer (PRO) program at Cornell University, …

Sars-Cov-2 Covid-19 Infection During Pregnancy And Differential Dna Methylation In Human Cord Blood Cells From Term Neonates, Pedro Urday, Suhita Gayen Nee' Betal, Rochelle Sequeira Gomes, Huda B. Al-Kouatly, Kolawole Solarin, Joanna S.Y. Chan, Dongmei Li, Irfan Rahman, Sankar Addya, Rupsa C. Boelig, Zubair H. Aghai

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers

Background:

Objective:

Methods:

Physical And Stressful Psychological Impacts Of Prolonged Personal Protective Equipment Use During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study, Giuseppe Candido, Costanza Tortù, Chiara Seghieri, Riccardo Tartaglia, Chiara Baglioni, Paolo Citti, Ida Marina Raciti, Micaela La Regina, Silvia Simonini, Moira Urbani, Chiara Parretti, Paul Barach

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) caring for COVID-19 infected patients are exposed to stressful and traumatic events with potential for severe and sustained adverse mental and physical health consequences. Our aim was to assess the magnitude of physical and mental health outcomes of HCWs due to the prolonged use of personal protective equipment (PPE) treating COVID-19 patients.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study assessed the symptoms of stress, anxiety, insomnia, and psychological resilience using the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics (SAVE) scale, Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and Resilience Scale (RS), respectively, in Italy between 1st February and 31st March 2022. The physical …

Bovine Lactoferrin For The Prevention Of Covid-19 Infection In Health Care Personnel: A Double-Blinded Randomized Clinical Trial (Lf-Covid), Rafaella Navarro, Jose Luis Paredes, Lourdes Tucto, Carlos Medina, Eddie Angles-Yanqui, Juan Carlos Nario, Jorge Ruiz-Cabrejos, Juan Luis Quintana, Kevin Turpo-Espinoza, Fernando Mejia-Cordero, Meylin Aphang-Lam, Jorge Florez, Gabriel Carrasco-Escobar, Theresa Jean Ochoa

Journal Articles

Lactoferrin (LF) has in vitro antiviral activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This study aimed to determine the effect of bovine lactoferrin (bLF) in the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection in health care personnel. A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted in two tertiary hospitals that provide care to patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection in Lima, Peru. Daily supplementation with 600 mg of enteral bLF versus placebo for 90 days was compared. Participants were weekly screened for symptoms suggestive of SARS-CoV-2 infection and molecular testing was performed on suspected episodes. A serological test was obtained from all participants …

Detection Of Sars-Cov-2 Mutations In Vermillion, Sd, Wastewater Utilizing Probe-Based Rt-Qpcr, Matthew J. Schmitz

Honors Thesis

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from the subgenus Sarbecovirus, has presented numerous public health challenges for communities across the globe. As demonstrated by the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) and the recent Omicron variants, the virus can mutate and pose new risks for communities, such as reinfection, increased transmissibility, and variable mortality. As such, accurately monitoring the spread of specific variants has become a priority for public health agencies. However, clinical testing faces various limitations, and the increased use of at-home test kits inhibits surveillance. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) can monitor infection rates of entire …

Sars-Cov-2 Serostatus And Covid-19 Illness Characteristics By Variant Time Period In Non-Hospitalized Children And Adolescents, Sarah E Messiah, Michael D Swartz, Rhiana A Abbas, Yashar Talebi, Harold W Kohl, Melissa Valerio-Shewmaker, Stacia M Desantis, Ashraf Yaseen, Steven H Kelder, Jessica A Ross, Lindsay N Padilla, Michael O Gonzalez, Leqing Wu, David Lakey, Jennifer A Shuford, Stephen J Pont, Eric Boerwinkle

Journal Articles

OBJECTIVE: to describe COVID-19 illness characteristics, risk factors, and SARS-CoV-2 serostatus by variant time period in a large community-based pediatric sample.

DESIGN: Data were collected prospectively over four timepoints between October 2020 and November 2022 from a population-based cohort ages 5 to 19 years old.

SETTING: State of Texas, USA.

PARTICIPANTS: Participants ages 5 to 19 years were recruited from large pediatric healthcare systems, Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers, urban and rural clinical practices, health insurance providers, and a social media campaign.

EXPOSURE: SARS-CoV-2 infection.

MAIN OUTCOME(S) AND MEASURE(S): SARS-CoV-2 antibody status was assessed by the Roche Elecsys

RESULTS: Over half …

Covid-19 Severity Scale For Claims Data Research, Trudy Millard Krause, Raymond Greenberg, Lopita Ghosh, Joseph S Wozny, Regina M Hansen, Caroline Schaefer

Journal Articles

OBJECTIVE: to create and validate a methodology to assign a severity level to an episode of COVID-19 for retrospective analysis in claims data.

DATA SOURCE: Secondary data obtained by license agreement from Optum provided claims records nationally for 19,761,754 persons, of which, 692,094 persons had COVID-19 in 2020.

STUDY DESIGN: The World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 Progression Scale was used as a model to identify endpoints as measures of episode severity within claims data. Endpoints used included symptoms, respiratory status, progression to levels of treatment and mortality.

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: The strategy for identification of cases relied upon the February …

Prevalence Of Sars-Cov-2 Antibodies In Liberty University Student Population, Emily Bonus

Senior Honors Theses

In 2020, the virus SARS-CoV-2 gained attention as it spread around the world. Its antibodies are poorly understood, and little research focuses on those with few COVID-19 complications yet large numbers of close contacts: university students. This longitudinal study recorded SARS-CoV-2 antibody presence in 107 undergraduate Liberty University students twice during early 2021. After extensive data cleaning and the application of various statistical tests and ANOVAs, the data seems to show that in the case of COVID-19 infections, SARS-CoV-2 IgM antibodies are immediately produced, and then IgG antibodies follow later. However, the COVID-19 vaccine causes the production of both IgM …

Performance Of A Sars-Cov-2 Rt-Pcr Assay With Non-Traditional Specimen Types, Subathra Marimuthu, Holly Aliesky, Heather Ness, Daniya Sheikh, Sathya Rashmit, Dawn Balcom, Leslie A. Wolf

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

During the first two years of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nasopharyngeal (NP) specimens were the gold standard for clinical diagnostic testing. As information about the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing the pandemic continued to be shared, it was clear that the virus could be detected in other specimen types during an active infection. The University of Louisville Infectious Diseases Laboratory accepted non-traditional specimen types, most without a paired, positive NP result, for research purposes only to support local epidemiology efforts. A real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay originally validated for NP specimens was used …

Presence Of Symptoms 6 Weeks After Covid-19 Among Vaccinated And Unvaccinated Us Healthcare Personnel: A Prospective Cohort Study, Nicholas M. Mohr, Ian D. Plumb, Kari K. Harland, Tamara Pilishvili, Katherine E. Fleming-Dutra, Anusha Krishnadasan, Karin F. Hoth, Sharon H. Saydah, Zachary Mankoff, John P. Haran, Melissa Briggs-Hagen, Eliezer Santos León, David A. Talan

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVES: Although COVID-19 vaccines offer protection against infection and severe disease, there is limited information on the effect of vaccination on prolonged symptoms following COVID-19. Our objective was to determine differences in prevalence of prolonged symptoms 6 weeks after onset of COVID-19 among healthcare personnel (HCP) by vaccination status, and to assess differences in timing of return to work.

DESIGN: Cohort analysis of HCP with COVID-19 enrolled in a multicentre vaccine effectiveness study. HCP with COVID-19 between December 2020 and August 2021 were followed up 6 weeks after illness onset.

SETTING: Health systems in 12 US states.

PARTICIPANTS: HCP participating …

Implementation Of Mrsa Nasal Swabs As An Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention To Decrease Anti-Mrsa Therapy In Covid-19 Infection, Alaina Dekerlegand, Emily Johnston, Britney Mellor, Melanie Rae Schrack, Catherine O’Neal

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

In the early stages of treating patients with SARS-CoV-2, limited information was available to guide antimicrobial stewardship interventions. The COVID-19 Task Force and Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee, at a 988-bed academic medical center, implemented the use of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nasal swab polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing to assist with the de-escalation of anti-MRSA therapy in patients with suspected superimposed bacterial pneumonia in COVID-19. A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the impact of MRSA nasal swab PCR testing on the rate of anti-MRSA therapy between 13 April 2020 and 26 July 2020. A total of 122 patients were included …

Autonomic Function Recovery And Physical Activity Levels In Post-Covid-19 Young Adults After Immunization: An Observational Follow-Up Case-Control Study, Ana Paula Coelho Figueira Freire, Shaan Amin, Fabio Santos Lira, Ana Elisa Von Ah Morano, Telmo Pereira, Manuel-João Coelho-E-Silva, Armando Caseiro, Diego Giulliano Destro Christofaro, Vanessa Ribeiro Dos Santos, Osmar Marchioto Júnior, Ricardo Aurino Pinho, Bruna Spolador De Alencar Silva

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has detrimental multi-system consequences. Symptoms may appear during the acute phase of infection, but the literature on long-term recovery of young adults after mild to moderate infection is lacking. Heart rate variability (HRV) allows for the observation of autonomic nervous system (ANS) modulation post-SARS-CoV-2 infection. Since physical activity (PA) can help improve ANS modulation, investigating factors that can influence HRV outcomes after COVID-19 is essential to advancements in care and intervention strategies. Clinicians may use this research to aid in the development of non-medication interventions. At baseline, 18 control (CT) and 20 post-COVID-19 (PCOV) participants were …

Investigating Stigma During The Early Stages Of A Pandemic Through The Lens Of Covid-19, Zach Thornton, Bethany Hodge, Sheridan Langford

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Background: Individuals face stigma associated with numerous health conditions. Stigma can arise rapidly during the early spread of a new disease, adding to the burden felt by those affected. COVID-19 can be used as an example to study stigma during the early phases of a pandemic. This narrative review is a descriptive analysis that tracks the ways in which COVID-19 stigma was discussed in the scholarly literature during the first year of the pandemic to understand how stigma was viewed in the context of a rapidly spreading pandemic.

Methods: PubMed was used as a non-exhaustive sample of the literature. Searches …

Antibody Duration After Infection From Sars-Cov-2 In The Texas Coronavirus Antibody Response Survey, Michael D Swartz, Stacia M Desantis, Ashraf Yaseen, Frances A Brito, Melissa A Valerio-Shewmaker, Sarah E Messiah, Luis G Leon-Novelo, Harold W Kohl, Cesar L Pinzon-Gomez, Tianyao Hao, Shiming Zhang, Yashar Talebi, Joy Yoo, Jessica R Ross, Michael O Gonzalez, Leqing Wu, Steven H Kelder, Mark Silberman, Samantha Tuzo, Stephen J Pont, Jennifer A Shuford, David Lakey, Eric Boerwinkle

Journal Articles

Understanding the duration of antibodies to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus that causes COVID-19 is important to controlling the current pandemic. Participants from the Texas Coronavirus Antibody Response Survey (Texas CARES) with at least 1 nucleocapsid protein antibody test were selected for a longitudinal analysis of antibody duration. A linear mixed model was fit to data from participants (n = 4553) with 1 to 3 antibody tests over 11 months (1 October 2020 to 16 September 2021), and models fit showed that expected antibody response after COVID-19 infection robustly increases for 100 days postinfection, and predicts …

Ifi27 Transcription Is An Early Predictor For Covid-19 Outcomes, A Multi-Cohort Observational Study, Maryam Shojaei, Amir Shamshirian, James Monkman, Laura Grice, Minh Tran, Chin Wee Tan, Siok Min Teo, Gustavo Rodrigues Rossi, Timothy R. Mcculloch, Marek Nalos, Maedeh Raei, Alireza Razavi, Roya Ghasemian, Mobina Gheibi, Fatemeh Roozbeh, Peter D. Sly, Kirsten M. Spann, Keng Yih Chew, Yanshan Zhu, Yao Xia, Timothy J. Wells, Alexandra Cristina Senegaglia, Carmen Lúcia Kuniyoshi, Claudio Luciano Franck, Anna Flavia Ribeiro Dos Santos, Lucia De Noronha, Sepideh Motamen, Reza Valadan, Omolbanin Amjadi, Rajan Gogna, Esha Madan, Reza Alizadeh-Navaei, Liliana Lamperti, Felipe Zuñiga, Estefania Nova-Lamperti, Gonzalo Labarca, Ben Knippenberg, Velma Herwanto, Ya Wang, Amy Phu, Tracy Chew, Timothy Kwan, Karan Kim, Sally Teoh, Tiana M. Pelaia, Win Sen Kuan, Yvette Jee, Jon Iredell, Ken O’Byrne, John F. Fraser, Melissa J. Davis, Gabrielle T. Belz, Majid E. Warkiani, Carlos Salomon Gallo, Fernando Souza-Fonseca-Guimaraes, Quan Nguyen, Anthony Mclean, Arutha Kulasinghe, Kirsty R. Short, Benjamin Tang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose:

Robust biomarkers that predict disease outcomes amongst COVID-19 patients are necessary for both patient triage and resource prioritisation. Numerous candidate biomarkers have been proposed for COVID-19. However, at present, there is no consensus on the best diagnostic approach to predict outcomes in infected patients. Moreover, it is not clear whether such tools would apply to other potentially pandemic pathogens and therefore of use as stockpile for future pandemic preparedness.

Methods:

We conducted a multi-cohort observational study to investigate the biology and the prognostic role of interferon alpha-inducible protein 27 (IFI27) in COVID-19 patients.

Results:

We show that IFI27 is …