Background Little is known about the nature and durability of the humoral immune response to infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Methods We measured antibodies in serum samples from 30,576 persons in Iceland, using six assays (including two pan-immunoglobulin [pan-Ig] assays), and we determined that the appropriate measure of seropositivity was a positive result with both pan-Ig assays. We tested 2102 samples collected from 1237 persons up to 4 months after diagnosis by a quantitative polymerase-chain-reaction (qPCR) assay. We measured antibodies in 4222 quarantined persons who had been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and in 23,452 persons not known to have been exposed. Results Of the 1797 persons who had recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection, 1107 of the 1215 who were tested (91.1%) were seropositive; antiviral antibody titers assayed by two pan-Ig assays increased during 2 months after diagnosis by qPCR and remained on a plateau for the remainder of the study. Of quarantined persons, 2.3% were seropositive; of those with unknown exposure, 0.3% were positive. We estimate that 0.9% of Icelanders were infected with SARS-CoV-2 and that the infection was fatal in 0.3%. We also estimate that 56% of all SARS-CoV-2 infections in Iceland had been diagnosed with qPCR, 14% had occurred in quarantined persons who had not been tested with qPCR (or who had not received a positive result, if tested), and 30% had occurred in persons outside quarantine and not tested with qPCR. Conclusions Our results indicate that antiviral antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 did not decline within 4 months after diagnosis. We estimate that the risk of death from infection was 0.3% and that 44% of persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Iceland were not diagnosed by qPCR.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Atopic dermatitis (AD) primarily affects infants and young children. Although topical corticosteroids (TCSs) are often prescribed, noncorticosteroid treatments are needed because compliance with TCSs is poor due to concerns about their side effects. In this longest and largest intervention study ever conducted in infants with mild-to-moderate AD, pimecrolimus 1% cream (PIM) was compared with TCSs.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The effect of inhaled nebulised racemic adrenaline upon symptoms of acute bronchiolitis was investigated in 29 infants and toddlers aged 2-17-5

Relationship between respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis and future obstructive airway diseases. G. Wennergren, S. Kristjánsson. #ERS Journals Ltd 2001. ABSTRACT: Evidence from a large number of prospective case-control studies shows that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis in infancy is often associated with recurrent wheezing and asthma during subsequent years. However, wheezing tends to diminish and most studies show no significant increase in wheezing compared to controls by school age or adolescence. An unresolved question is whether severe RSV infection during infancy causes the respiratory sequelae or inherent abnormalities predispose an infant to develop severe respiratory infection and sequelae, i.e. RSV is associated with the development of pulmonary sequelae.Studies on long-term outcome of RSV bronchiolitis are reviewed from an evidencebased perspective.The majority of prospective placebo-controlled studies do not show any long-term beneficial effects of corticosteroid treatment, i.e. the risk of subsequent wheezing is not diminished by the treatment. The evidence for an increased risk of allergic sensitization after RSV bronchiolitis is not nearly as strong as the evidence for an increased risk of subsequent wheezing. In fact, most studies do not show any significant increase in atopy after RSV bronchiolitis. This suggests that the increased risk of wheezing after RSV is not linked to an increased risk of atopy. There are some indications that infants who develop severe RSV and subsequent wheezing may have aberrations that predate the RSV infection.To decide whether respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis causes, or is associated with the respiratory sequelae (or with subsequent allergy), it will be necessary to conduct prospective, randomized studies, where the cytokine profile prior to bronchiolitis onset is known. Such studies should preferably include some form of intervention against respiratory syncytial virus. A more complete understanding of the risk factors for severe respiratory syncytial virus infection and the role of respiratory syncytial virus infection in the initiation of asthma is needed as a basis for large-scale and cost-effective programmes to prevent respiratory syncytial virus-related morbidity. Eur Respir J 2001; 18: 1044-1058. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis is the most common, severe lower respiratory tract infection in infancy. It now seems well established that RSV bronchiolitis in infancy is associated with recurrent wheezing and asthma during the first decade of life. In some children, wheezing after early lower airway infection with RSV is transient, but in many of the children RSV-induced bronchiolitis represents the onset of asthma. In fact, there are results which indicate that severe RSV bronchiolitis in the young infant may shift the T-helper (Th)1/Th2 balance in favour of a Th2 cytokine pattern, leading to development of allergic sensitization and persistent asthma [1,2]. However, the association with risk of development of atopy...

The high prevalence of atopic diseases in children at 10-11 years is surprising, as the prevalence in adults is low in Iceland. The findings resemble those in developing countries. Iceland has had an affluent lifestyle for a considerable time, but the absence of dust mites, low pet ownership and relatively low pollen counts in the country raise doubts about the role of exposure levels in the development of sensitization and atopic diseases.