Objectives As global vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 disease commence, vaccine safety needs to be closely assessed. The safety profile of mRNA-based vaccines in patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIIRD) is unknown. The objective of this report is to raise awareness to reactivation of herpes zoster (HZ) following the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination in patients with AIIRD. Methods The safety of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination was assessed in an observational study monitoring post-vaccination adverse effects in patients with AIIRD (n = 491) and controls (n = 99), conducted in two Rheumatology Departments in Israel. Results The prevalence of HZ was 1.2% (n = 6) in patients with AIIRD compared with none in controls. Six female patients aged 49 ± 11 years with stable AIIRD: rheumatoid arthritis (n = 4), Sjogren’s syndrome (n = 1), and undifferentiated connective disease (n = 1), developed the first in a lifetime event of HZ within a short time after the first vaccine dose in 5 cases and after the second vaccine dose in one case. In the majority of cases, HZ infection was mild, except a case of HZ ophthalmicus, without corneal involvement, in RA patient treated with tofacitinib. There were no cases of disseminated HZ disease or postherpetic neuralgia. All but one patient received antiviral treatment with a resolution of HZ-related symptoms up to 6 weeks. Five patients completed the second vaccine dose without other adverse effects. Conclusion Epidemiologic studies on the safety of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines in patients with AIIRD are needed to clarify the association between the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination and reactivation of zoster.

In some immunocompromised patients with chronic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, considerable adaptive evolution occurs. Some substitutions found in chronic infections are lineage-defining mutations in variants of concern (VOCs), which has led to the hypothesis that VOCs emerged from chronic infections. In this study, we searched for drivers of VOC-like emergence by consolidating sequencing results from a set of 27 chronic infections. Most substitutions in this set reflected lineage-defining VOC mutations; however, a subset of mutations associated with successful global transmission was absent from chronic infections. We further tested the ability to associate antibody evasion mutations with patient-specific and virus-specific features and found that viral rebound is strongly correlated with the emergence of antibody evasion. We found evidence for dynamic polymorphic viral populations in most patients, suggesting that a compromised immune system selects for antibody evasion in particular niches in a patient’s body. We suggest that a tradeoff exists between antibody evasion and transmissibility and that extensive monitoring of chronic infections is necessary to further understanding of VOC emergence.

words)In this cohort of 42 patients with mild COVID19 we found a unique clinical feature of acute anosmia and dysgeusia in more than third of patients. Median onset of these features was 3.3 days after onset of illness (range 0-7) with rapid recovery in most patients.

NCT02463747.

No abstract

doi: medRxiv preprint NOTE: This preprint reports new research that has not been certified by peer review and should not be used to guide clinical practice.

Candida species rank high among nosocomial causes of bloodstream infection and are associated with higher rates of acute mortality compared to leading bacterial pathogens. 1,2 Clinical trials and meta-analyses have demonstrated the superiority of echinocandins over fluconazole for the treatment of invasive candidiasis, 3,4 driving the adoption of echinocandins as front-line agents. 5,6 There is concern, however, that this shift may promote the emergence of echinocandin-resistant Candida strains, a trend already apparent in some hospitals. 7 Current Infectious Diseases Society of America directives consider fluconazole an acceptable alternative to echinocandins for patients who are not critically ill and are considered unlikely to harbour fluconazole-resistant

In some immunocompromised patients with chronic SARS-CoV-2 infection, dramatic adaptive evolution occurs, with substitutions reminiscent of those in variants of concern (VOCs). Here, we searched for drivers of VOC-like emergence by consolidating sequencing results from a set of twenty-seven chronic infections. Most substitutions in this set reflected lineage-defining VOC mutations, yet a subset of mutations associated with successful global transmission was absent from chronic infections. The emergence of these mutations might dictate when variants from chronic infections can dramatically spread onwards. Next, we tested the ability to predict antibody-evasion mutations from patient- and viral-specific features, and found that viral rebound is strongly associated with the emergence of antibody-evasion. We found evidence for dynamic polymorphic viral populations in most patients, suggesting that a compromised immune system selects for antibody-evasion in particular niches in a patient's body. We suggest that a trade-off exists between antibody-evasion and transmissibility that potentially constrains VOC emergence, and that monitoring chronic infections may be a means to predict future VOCs.