Until recently, the incidence of COVID-19 was primarily estimated using molecular diagnostic methods. However, the number of cases is vastly underreported using these methods. Seroprevalence studies estimate cumulative infection incidences and allow monitoring of transmission dynamics, and the presence of neutralizing antibodies in the population. In February 2020, the Mexican Social Security Institute began conducting anonymous unrelated sampling of residual sera from specimens across the country, excluding patients with fever within the previous two weeks and/or patients with an acute respiratory infection. Sampling was carried out weekly and began 17 days before Mexico’s first officially confirmed case. The 24,273 sera obtained were analyzed by chemiluminescent-linked immunosorbent assay (CLIA) IgG S1/S2 and, later, positive cases using this technique were also analyzed to determine the rate of neutralization using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We identified 40 CLIA IgG positive cases before the first official report of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Mexico. The national seroprevalence was 3.5% in February and 33.5% in December. Neutralizing activity among IgG positives patients during overall study period was 86.1%. The extent of the SARS-CoV-2 infection in Mexico is 21 times higher than that reported by molecular techniques. Although the general population is still far from achieving herd immunity, epidemiological indicators should be re-estimated based on serological studies of this type.

Despite great efforts worldwide to evaluate the effects of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) in fish, there is little information available about the interactions of EDCs with the disruption of the sexual endocrine axis in fish species with matrotrophic viviparity and intraluminal gestation. To understand these interactions, six sampling campaigns were performed within a period of 1 year in two lakes with different degrees of pollution. A battery of biomarkers of the oestrogenic response was assessed in the liver [vitellogenin, CYP 1A1, epoxide hydrolase activity, and metallothioneins (MT)] and MT in the head of Girardinichthys viviparus. Linear correlation analysis and canonical correspondence analysis were performed to explore the relationship between the oestrogenic response with EDCs and with metals. The biomarker responses were assessed using the water content of EDCs (oestrone, 17-β-oestradiol, oestriol, 17-α-ethinyl oestradiol, total phenols, bisphenol A, nonyl phenol, octyl phenol), as well as the PAHs indene[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene, naphthalene, pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[k]fluoranthene and benzo[a]pyrene) and metals (Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn). Greater disruption of the sexual endocrine axis occurred in fish of both sexes inhabiting the polluted lake whose effects were apparently influenced by CYP 1A1 activity and by 17-α-ethinyl oestradiol. In addition, non-estrogenic mechanisms in the hypothalamus and pituitary glands in male fish were observed, elicited by endogenous levels and the water concentration of Pb. In contrast, in females from the less polluted lake, VTG induction was related to exogenous oestrogens. The disruption of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis is a complex process influenced by both endogenous and exogenous factors and contributes to male feminisation by exposure to EDCs.

The symbiotic relationship between native microbiota and their hosts probably is a key factor in animal survival. In this study, the relationships of Pseudomonas spp. strains with specific biomarkers of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in wild fish Chirostoma jordani, as well as the capacity of these bacteria to biotransform PAHs were evaluated. The activity of the naphthalene dioxygenase system of the bacteria exposed to 0.1, 1.0 and 10 µg/L of PAHs was higher than the mean isoform 1A1 (CYP1A1) of the wild fish, particularly bacterial species related to Pseudomonas spp. However, the epoxide hydrolase activity of the strains was lower in all cases compared to the fish. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity of the bacterial strains was lower than in the liver, but higher than in viscera of C. jordani. Using redundancy analysis, two differential patterns were found: (i) CYP1A1 activity of fish was induced by naphthalene and anthracene water levels independently of sampling season and lakes monitored, and (ii) the unidentified strain of the Pseudomonas genus biotransforms the endogenous levels of benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[k]fluoranthene and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene in the fish allowing the hydroxylated metabolites to conjugate with glutathione through GST activity of the fish. Palabras clave: CYP 1A1, epóxido hidrolasa, GST, HAP, oxidasas, sistema NDO RESUMEN Las relaciones simbióticas entre la microbiota nativa y sus hospederos probablemente son un factor clave en la supervivencia animal. En el presente estudio se evaluaron las relaciones de cepas de Pseudomonas spp. con biomarcadores específicos de exposición a hidrocarburos aromáticos policíclicos (HAP) en Chirostoma jordani silvestre, así como la capacidad de estas bacterias para biotransformar HAP. La actividad del sistema de naftalen-dioxigenasa de las bacterias expuestas a 0,1, 1,0 y 10 μg/L de HAP fue superior al promedio de la isoforma 1A1 (CYP1A1) en los peces, particularmente cepas relacionadas con especies de Pseudomonas spp. Sin embargo, la actividad de la epóxido hidrolasa de las bacterias fue menor en comparación con los peces. La catálisis de la glutatión-S-transferasa (GST) de las cepas bacterianas fue menor que en

Halomethanes (HM) can be immunotoxic in mammals; however, in the fish immune system HM effects are unknown. In the current study, we evaluated the mitochondrial activity (MA) by MTT, induction of apoptosis by SubG0 technique and quantified serum ROS concentration (O2. and H2O2) and ROS production in PBMC of Cyprinus carpio carpio treated i.p. with CH2Cl2, CHCl3 and BrCHCl2 (0.004-40.0 mg/kg) for 96 h. Positive controls were recombinant heat shock protein of 60 kDa (rHSP60 kDa) of Klebsiella pneumoniae and its LPS. In addition, for in vitro PBMC cultures, two culture media and two sources of sera were tested. Both positive controls increased the MA more than 4-fold as well as the production of O2. (26-fold) and H2O2 (5-fold) compared to their controls. HM induced different effects on MA, ROS production and an induction of apoptosis, depending on the chlorination patterns and the dose; however, a systemic damage prevails. To fish treated with CH2Cl2, the apoptosis was related with serum ROS concentration and with MA. In contrast, in fish dosed with CHCl3 relationships were not found, deducing a systemic damage. However, in fish treated with BrCHCl2, serum O2. concentration and in vitro ROS generation performed by PBMC were involved in the induction of apoptosis of these cells but not with MA suggesting also immunotoxic effects. The current study demonstrated that HMs are immunomodulators increasing an acute inflammatory response and that rHSP60kDA of K. pneumoniae and its LPS are appropriate antigens to assess the immune response of C. c. carpio.