Evaluation of cabotegravir plus rilpivirine in routine clinical settings in Japan: A multicentre study of efficacy, safety and biomarker dynamics.

Objectives: Long-acting cabotegravir plus rilpivirine (CAB+RPV) offers an alternative to daily oral therapy, but real-world data in East Asia remain scarce. This study aims to evaluate the impact of CAB+RPV in people with HIV in Japan, focusing on virological outcomes, treatment continuation and inflammatory markers, providing valuable insight into the use of injectable regimens in clinical practice.

Methods: This multicentre retrospective study analysed routinely collected data from eight HIV centres in Japan on people with HIV who initiated CAB+RPV before January 2024.

Investigation of a Membrane Filter Protocol for Direct Identification of Microorganisms in Dog Ear Discharge using MALDI-TOF MS.

Otitis externa is an ear disease that is present in 10-20% of dogs. Bacterial organisms are a common cause, and infection may cause severe and chronic inflammation. Thus, there is a need for early detection and identification of bacteria in ear discharge samples.

Brucella anthropi bacteremia: Persistent bacteremia with minimal symptoms.

Brucella anthropi, an aerobic, glucose-nonfermenting gram-negative rod, is predominantly an opportunistic pathogen affecting immunosuppressed patients. This case report describes a 27-year-old woman with systemic lupus erythematosus who developed persistent B. anthropi bacteremia following a pregnancy termination.

Antibody Responses and Infection Prevention Following the Sixth Vaccination Using the BA.1 Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccine Among Healthcare Workers During the XBB Variant Dominance in Japan.

The effect of the antibodies elicited by bivalent mRNA vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (the original strain and Omicron variant BA.1) on preventing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) onset during the XBB variant dominance remains unknown. We conducted a prospective cohort study at Chiba University Hospital and examined healthcare workers who received the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (targeting the original and Omicron BA.

Altered genomic methylation promotes Staphylococcus aureus persistence in hospital environment.

Staphylococcus aureus can cause outbreaks and becomes multi-drug resistant through gene mutations and acquiring resistance genes. However, why S. aureus easily adapts to hospital environments, promoting resistance and recurrent infections, remains unknown.

Dynamic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 genetic mutations in a lung transplantation patient with persistent COVID-19.

Numerous SARS-CoV-2 variant strains with altered characteristics have emerged since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Remdesivir (RDV), a ribonucleotide analogue inhibitor of viral RNA polymerase, has become a valuable therapeutic agent. However, immunosuppressed hosts may respond inadequately to RDV and develop chronic persistent infections.

Fungemia With Wickerhamomyces anomalus: A Case Report and Literature Review.

We report the case of an 84-year-old man with a history of IgG4-related sclerosing cholangitis who was diagnosed with advanced esophageal cancer and underwent radiation and chemotherapy. An implantable central venous access port was placed for chemotherapy and total parenteral nutrition. The patient presented with a fever and received antimicrobial therapy for acute cholangitis but remained febrile, and subsequently, yeast was detected in the aerobic bottle of blood culture obtained from the central venous line.

Virological outcomes of various first-line ART regimens in patients harbouring HIV-1 E157Q integrase polymorphism: a multicentre retrospective study.

Background: Integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) are recommended as first-line ART for people living with HIV (PLWH) in most guidelines. The INSTI-resistance-associated mutation E157Q, a highly prevalent (2%-5%) polymorphism of the HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus type 1) integrase gene, has limited data on optimal first-line ART regimens. We assessed the virological outcomes of various first-line ART regimens in PLWH with E157Q in real-world settings.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in Japan.

Background: While global efforts have been made to prevent transmission of HIV, the epidemic persists. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at high risk of infection. Despite evidence of its cost-effectiveness in other jurisdictions, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for MSM is neither approved nor reimbursed in Japan.

Factors Influencing the Indeterminate Results in a T-SPOT.TB test: A Matched Case-control Study.

Objective A T-SPOT.TB can yield indeterminate results under two test observation conditions: a high response to the nil in negative control wells (high nil-control) or a low response to the mitogen in positive control wells (low mitogen-control). The most strongly influential factors for these indeterminate results, however, have yet to be identified.

Detecting time-evolving phenotypic components of adverse reactions against BNT162b2 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine via non-negative tensor factorization.

Symptoms of adverse reactions to vaccines evolve over time, but traditional studies have focused only on the frequency and intensity of symptoms. Here, we attempt to extract the dynamic changes in vaccine adverse reaction symptoms as a small number of interpretable components by using non-negative tensor factorization. We recruited healthcare workers who received two doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at Chiba University Hospital and collected information on adverse reactions using a smartphone/web-based platform.

Development of multiplex S-gene-targeted RT-PCR for rapid identification of SARS-CoV-2 variants by extended S-gene target failure.

Background: Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) by genomic sequencing is time-consuming. The rapid screening of VOCs is necessary for clinical laboratories. In this study, we developed a rapid screening method based on multiplex RT-PCR by extended S-gene target failure (eSGTF), a false negative result caused by S-gene mutations.

Antibody responses and SARS-CoV-2 infection after BNT162b2 mRNA booster vaccination among healthcare workers in Japan.

Introduction: Vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infections decreases due to waning immunity, and booster vaccination was therefore introduced. We estimated the anti-spike antibody (AS-ab) recovery by booster vaccination and analyzed the risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Methods: The subjects were health care workers (HCWs) in a Chiba University Hospital vaccination cohort.

Clinical Outcomes of Sotrovimab Treatment in 10 High-Risk Patients with Mild COVID-19: A Case Series.

BACKGROUND Although sotrovimab reduces the risk of hospitalization or death due to COVID-19, there have been few reports of its use in clinical practice. Particularly, information on the effectiveness of sotrovimab against the omicron variant of the virus is limited. We present 10 cases of COVID-19 treated with sotrovimab at our unit between December 2021 and February 2022.

Evaluation of Serotyping of Environmental and Clinical Isolates of Legionella pneumophila using MALDI-TOF MS.

Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila) is responsible for most Legionnaire's disease cases diagnosed worldwide. The species includes 16 serogroups, but most Legionnaire's disease cases (85.

COVID-19 infection control education for medical students undergoing clinical clerkship: a mixed-method approach.

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has induced an urgent need to train medical students not only in infection prevention control but also in the treatment of infectious diseases, including COVID-19. This study evaluates the impact of simulated clinical practice with peer role-plays and a lecture on clinical education for COVID-19.

Methods: The sample for the study included 82 fourth- and fifth-year medical students undergoing clinical clerkship in respiratory medicine.

Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants by entire S-gene analysis using long-range RT-PCR and Sanger sequencing.

Introduction: Genomic surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is important to assess transmissibility, disease severity, and vaccine effectiveness. The SARS-CoV-2 genome consists of approximately 30 kb single-stranded RNA that is too large to analyze the whole genome by Sanger sequencing. Thus, in this study, we performed Sanger sequencing following long-range RT-PCR of the entire SARS-CoV-2 S-gene and analyzed the mutational dynamics.

Adverse effect investigation using application software after vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 for healthcare workers.

Introduction: The usefulness of smartphone-based application software as a way to manage adverse events (AEs) after vaccination is well known. The purpose of this study is to clarify the usefulness and precautions of employing a smartphone application for collecting AEs after the administration of Comirnaty®️.

Methods: Healthcare workers (HCWs) who were vaccinated with Comirnaty®️ were asked to register for the application software and to report AEs for 14 days after vaccination.