Wastewater surveillance can be very effective in anticipating outbreaks of COVID-19 in shelters
A CITF-funded study published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health, from Dr. Sharon Straus (University of Toronto) and her team, shows that wastewater surveillance was an effective technique for detecting an outbreak of COVID-19 in a Toronto homeless shelter before cases were otherwise identified. This process served as an early warning signal and allowed the timely preventive screening of residents.
The promise held by quantitative immunoassays to identify antibody-rich donor plasma
A new study, published in Microbiology Spectrum from the CITF-funded Canadian Blood Services (CBS) team led by Drs. Sheila O’Brien and Steven Drews, characterizes the ability of a new immunoassay to specify the concentration of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in blood plasma.
Asymptomatic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus is not so common in healthcare students
A CITF-funded study in preprint, currently under peer review, led by Dr. Anne Ellis (Queen’s University), suggests that despite a high risk of exposure because of their age and the fact that they were studying in healthcare settings, a very low number of healthcare students in Kingston, Ontario tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during the first three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, even when counting those with no symptoms.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Africa
In a systemic review published in BMJ Global Health, Dr. Rahul Arora (University of Calgary) and the CITF-funded SeroTracker team estimates that seroprevalence in Africa (due to infection or vaccination) was 65.1% in July-September 2021.
Designing serological assays with high diagnostic potential
In the hopes of creating a more accurate and highly informative diagnostic test, CITF-funded investigator Dr. Andrei Drabovich (University of Alberta) and colleagues have designed and evaluated the performance of novel serological assays to measure the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in blood and saliva. Their study is published in Analytical Chemistry.
Three doses of vaccine offer effective protection against COVID-19 for patients with chronic kidney disease
A research letter by CITF-funded Drs. Mel Krajden (BC Centre for Disease Control), Matthew Oliver (University of Toronto), and Adeera Levin (University of British Columbia), published in Kidney International, investigated the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines among non-dialysis dependent patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
New insights into immune response underlying long COVID
A study funded by the CITF and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and led by Dr. Manali Mukherjee (McMaster University) has found two things: that in most people with persistent COVID symptoms, long COVID does not last forever and a possible link between long COVID and autoimmune disease.
Infection-acquired seroprevalence increased in July: Canadian Blood Services
Due to continued transmission of the newer Omicron variants (BA.4 and BA.5) in Canada, infection-acquired seropositivity increased within the blood donor community, from 50.7% at the end of June to 54% by the end of July, with a modest week-to-week change throughout July.
A case of an Omicron reinfection despite up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination
A recent case report, now published in Frontiers in Immunology, indicates that Omicron reinfections - that is, two distinct infections with the Omicron variant at least 90 days apart - are possible, even in fully vaccinated individuals with an average immune response.