No abstract

No abstract

Mass vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 affected more than 90% of the population in most developed countries. The new epidemiologic wave of COVID-19 has been ongoing since the end of 2021. It is caused by a virus variant B.1.1.529, also known as “Omicron” and its descendants. The effectiveness of major vaccines against Omicron is not known. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of the Sputnik V vaccine. The main goal is to assess its protection against hospitalization in the period of Omicron dominance. We conducted our study based on a large clinical center in Moscow (Russia) where 1112 patients were included. We used the case-population method to perform the calculations. The data we obtained indicate that the Omicron variant causes at least 90% of infections in the studied cohort. The effectiveness of protection against hospitalization with COVID-19 in our study was 85.9% (95% CI 83.0–88.0%) for those who received more than one dose. It was 87.6% (95% CI 85.4–89.5%) and 97.0% (95% CI 95.9–97.8%) for those who received more than two or three doses. The effectiveness in cases of more severe forms was higher than for less severe ones. Thus, present study indicates the high protective efficacy of vaccination against hospitalization with COVID-19 in case of Omicron lineage.

We used multivirulence locus sequence typing to analyze 68 Yersinia pseudotuberculosis isolated in Russia during 1973–2014, including 41 isolates from patients with Far East scarlet-like fever. Four genotypes were found responsible, with 1 being especially prevalent. Evolutionary analysis suggests that epidemiologic advantages could cause this genotype’s dominance.

Aim: To study the effects exerted by argon microwave nonthermal plasma (NTP) on cell wall-lacking Mollicutes bacteria. Methods and Results: 10 8 CFU ml À1 agar plated Mycoplasma hominis and Acholeplasma laidlawii were treated with the nonthermal microwave argon plasma for 30-300 s. The maximal 10-and 100-fold drop was observed for A. laidlawii and Myc. hominis, respectively. Similarly treated Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus demonstrated the 10 5 and 10 3 drop, respectively. Removal of cholesterol affected resistance of A. laidlawii. 10 mmol l À1 antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene decreased mortality by a factor of 25-200. UV radiation alone caused 25-85% mortality in comparison with the whole NTP. Exogenously added hydrogen peroxide H 2 O 2 did not cause mortality. NTP treatment of Myc. hominis triggered growth of microcolonies, which were several tenfold smaller than a typical colony. Conclusions: Despite the lack of cell wall, A. laidlawii and Myc. hominis were more resistant to argon microwave NTP than other tested bacteria. Mycoplasma hominis formed microcolonies upon NTP treatment. A role of UV and active species was demonstrated. Significance and Impact of the Study: The first study of NTP effects on Mollicutes revealed importance of a membrane composition for bacterial resistance to NTP. New specific Myc. hominis morphological forms were observed. The study confirmed importance of the concerted action of reactive oxygen species (ROS) with UV and other plasma bioactive agents for NTP bactericidal action.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract