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Background Like human herpesvirus 2 (HHV-2) in humans, infection by caprine herpesvirus 1 in goats is associated with genital lesions, and this provides a unique model to study the efficacy and effects of anti-herpetic drugs. Methods The antiviral activity of cidofovir was assessed in goats infected experimentally, using various therapeutic protocols. Results Topic administration of cidofovir 1% cream prevented the onset of virus-induced genital lesions and drastically reduced virus shedding. Conclusion Cidofovir appears to be a very efficient drug for the prevention of genital lesions caused by an alphaherpesvirus.

Wild carnivores are known to play a role in the epidemiology of several canine viruses, including canine adenoviruses types 1 (CAdV-1) and 2 (CAdV-2), canine circovirus (CanineCV) and canine distemper virus (CDV). In the present study, we report an epidemiological survey for these viruses in free ranging carnivores from Italy. A total of 262 wild carnivores, including red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), wolves (Canis lupus) and Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) were sampled. Viral nucleic acid was extracted and screened by real-time PCR assays (qPCR) for the presence of CAdVs and CanineCV DNA, as well as for CDV RNA. CAdV-1 DNA was detected only in red foxes (4/232, 1.7%) whilst the wolves (0/8, 0%) and Eurasian badgers (0/22, 0%) tested negative. CanineCV DNA was detected in 4 (18%) Eurasian badgers, 4 (50%) wolves and 0 (0%) red foxes. None of the animals tested positive for CDV or CAdV-2. By sequence and phylogenetic analyses, CAdV-1 and CanineCV sequences from wild carnivores were closely related to reference sequences from domestic dogs and wild carnivores. Surprisingly, two sequences from wolf intestines were identified as cycloviruses with one sequence (145.20-5432) displaying 68.6% nucleotide identity to a cyclovirus detected in a domestic cat, while the other (145.201329) was more closely related (79.4% nucleotide identity) to a cyclovirus sequence from bats. A continuous surveillance in wild carnivores should be carried out in order to monitor the circulation in wildlife of viruses pathogenic for domestic carnivores and endangered wild species.

CRESS DNA viruses are significant pathogens of birds and pigs and have been detected repeatedly in human samples (stools, serum, and cerebrospinal fluid), both from healthy individuals and from patients with neurological disease, eliciting in 2013 a risk assessment by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Sequences of CRESS DNA viruses previously reported in humans (TN9, TN12, and TN25), and detected in different animal species (e.g., birds, dogs, and bats) were herein detected in fecal samples of synanthropic squamates (geckos and lizards).

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify clinical and complete blood count differences between pediatric hospitalized patients with sickle cell disease infected or not by SARS-CoV-2 and compare the complete blood count of patients with sickle cell disease infected by SARS-CoV-2 before hospitalization and on admission. Methods: This study was a single-center prospective cohort. Data were collected from medical records of pediatric inpatients with sickle cell disease under 18 years old infected or not with SARS-CoV-2 from the first visit to the hospital until discharge and from the last medical appointment. All patients were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: Among 57 pediatric patients with sickle cell disease hospitalized from March to November 2020 in a Brazilian academic hospital, 11 (19.3%) had a positive result for SARS-CoV-2. Patients infected by SARS-CoV-2 had a higher prevalence of comorbidities than the ones who were not infected (63.6 vs. 30.4%; p=0.046). During hospital stay, no clinical or complete blood count differences between groups were found. There was a decrease in eosinophil count on hospital admission in patients with sickle cell disease infected by SARS-CoV-2 (p=0.008). Conclusions: Pediatric hospitalized patients with sickle cell disease infected by SARS-CoV-2 had more comorbidities and had a decrease in eosinophil count between hospital admission and the last medical appointment.

Background COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) was used in the early period of the pandemic, but the effectivity of this treatment showed different results, especially because of the possible ineffectiveness of passive antibodies, when an inflammatory response is already established. Objectives: The aim of this study is to compare the outcomes of two different cohorts of COVID-19 patients that received CCP transfusion in the years 2020 and 2021. Design and setting: This is a retrospective study from a tertiary hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. Methods: We included a retrospective cohort of patients that received convalescent compassionate plasma and another group with patients from a previous clinical study. We collected clinical and laboratory data on the day of transfusion and five days later. Patients with hematological or immunological conditions were excluded. A p-value < 0·05 was considered significant.Results CCP did not show to interfere in the outcomes of severe COVID-19 patients, when comparing two different cohorts transfused with different volumes and titles of neutralizing antibodies. Despite the improvement in some laboratory parameters, there was not impact on clinical outcomes. Dialysis had a negative impact on the ICU stay, days of hospitalization and days of mechanical ventilation. Each higher point on the day 0 WHO scale reduced the probability of hospital and ICU discharge, and the risk of mechanical ventilation discontinuation. Conclusions: In conclusion, the use of dialysis and the assessed clinical severity represented by WHO scale on day 0 had influence on the outcomes, but not the CCP transfusion.

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