Publications by authors named "Sandra Irala"
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic posed challenges for health systems in rapidly diagnosing diseases.
Methods: Community workshops and a self-administered questionnaire were implemented to determine the feasibility of self-testing for future epidemics and gain an understanding of community interest and the capacity to implement self-tests in two rural areas in Paraguay.
Results: Comprehension of the self-test procedures and their application was demonstrated by 99% of the participants.
Long-term outcomes of the global tuberculosis and COVID-19 co-infection cohort.
Eur Respir J
November 2023
Article Synopsis
- This global study investigates the long-term outcomes of patients with tuberculosis (TB) and COVID-19, highlighting a lack of prior longitudinal data on this combined condition.
- Data was collected from 788 patients across 31 countries from March 2020 to September 2022, showing a mortality rate of 10.8% during the study period.
- Key factors influencing mortality included older age, HIV infection, and the need for invasive ventilation, with patients suffering from both diseases experiencing significantly lower survival rates compared to those with only one of the diseases.
Background: Vaccine effectiveness (VE) estimates vary by population characteristics and circulating variants. North America and Europe have generated many COVID-19 VE estimates but relied heavily on mRNA vaccines. Fewer estimates are available for non-mRNA vaccines and from Latin America.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParaguay has been severely affected by emergent Zika and chikungunya viruses, and dengue virus is endemic. To learn more about the origins of genetic diversity and epidemiologic history of these viruses in Paraguay, we deployed portable sequencing technologies to strengthen genomic surveillance and determine the evolutionary and epidemic history of arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses). Samples stored at the Paraguay National Central Laboratory were sequenced and subjected to phylogenetic analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF