One of the challenges for control and prevention of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus... more One of the challenges for control and prevention of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection is the early diagnostic at the point of care. Several tests based on qualitative antigen detection have been developed; one of these is Elecsys SARS‐CoV‐2 Antigen immunoassay (Roche Diagnostics). In total, 523 nasopharyngeal swabs were randomly selected with the aims to evaluate sensitivity, specificity, cross‐reactivity, positive and negative predictive value (PPV, NPV), and agreement of Elecsys SARS‐CoV‐2 Antigen immunoassay using reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) STAT‐NAT® coronavirus disease‐2019 as reference test. Cross‐reactivity was estimated using samples positive by RT‐PCR to other respiratory viruses (influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, rhinovirus, coronavirus OC43, and HKU1). The overall sensitivity of Elecsys SARS‐CoV‐2 Antigen was 89.72% (288/321); specificity was 90.59% (183/202); and cross‐reactivity to other respiratory v...
To investigate the possibility of a viral agent in the central nervous system of patients with ep... more To investigate the possibility of a viral agent in the central nervous system of patients with epidemic neuropathy. Virus isolation attempts, in cell cultures and suckling mice, from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of neuropathy patients and controls undergoing lumbar puncture for unrelated reasons. Serologic studies in patients, contacts, and controls. An epidemic of optic and peripheral neuropathy affected more than 50,000 people in Cuba in 1991 through 1993. Illness was associated with dietary limitations and increased physical demands accompanying the shortages of food and fuel experienced in Cuba since 1989. Most patients responded to parenteral vitamin therapy, and the epidemic began to subside when oral vitamin supplementation was begun for the entire Cuban population. Coxsackievirus A9 (five isolates) and a similar, less cytopathic virus (100 isolates) were recovered from 105 (84%) of 125 CSF specimens from neuropathy patients. The strains with light cytopathic effect were antigen...
To ensure that developing countries have the option to produce inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IP... more To ensure that developing countries have the option to produce inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV), the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has promoted the development of an IPV using Sabin poliovirus strains (Sabin IPV). This trial assessed the reactogenicity and immunogenicity of Sabin IPV and adjuvanted Sabin IPV in healthy adults in Cuba. This is a randomized, controlled phase I trial, enrolling 60 healthy (previously vaccinated) male human volunteers, aged 19-23 years to receive one dose of either Sabin IPV (20:32:64 DU/dose), adjuvanted Sabin IPV (10:16:32 DU/dose), or conventional Salk IPV (40:8:32 DU/dose). The primary endpoint for reactogenicity relied on monitoring of adverse events. The secondary endpoint measured boosting immune responses (i.e. seroconversion or 4-fold rise) of poliovirus antibody, assessed by neutralization assays. Sixty subjects fulfilled the study requirements. No serious adverse events reported were attributed to trial interventions during the 6-month follow-up period. Twenty-eight days after vaccination, boosting immune responses against poliovirus types 1-3 were between 90% and 100% in all vaccination groups. There was a more than 6-fold increase in median antibody titers between pre- and post-vaccination titers in all vaccination groups. Both Sabin IPV and adjuvanted Sabin IPV were well tolerated and immunogenic against all poliovirus serotypes. This result suggests that the aluminum adjuvant may allow a 50% (or higher) dose reduction.
This paper reports on the necessary conditions for plaque development in mild cutopathogenic effe... more This paper reports on the necessary conditions for plaque development in mild cutopathogenic effect-producing agents which were isolated from samples of the cerebrospinal fluid of patients presenting with epidemic neuropathy.
Infections from herpes virus play a key role in post-transplantation pathology, so it is indispen... more Infections from herpes virus play a key role in post-transplantation pathology, so it is indispensable to characterize the group of would-be renal transplant recipients. IgG antibody titers were detected by indirect immunofluorescence to Herpes simplex virus, Epstein Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) in 100 patients treated with hemodialysis in the Nephrology Institute. The prevalence of antibodies to cytomegalovirus and to Herpes simplex and Epstein Barr viruses was 100% and 95% respectively. Average geometric titers (AGT) of antibodies to CMV were significantly higher. There was no correlation between AGT and sex, age, time of disease remission, number of blood transfusions and number of transplants.
Revista panamericana de salud pública (Impresa), May 1, 2004
Objective. Little is known about the prevalence and distribution of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated h... more Objective. Little is known about the prevalence and distribution of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) infection in the Caribbean. The aim of this study was to determine rates of KSHV seropositivity in various populations in Cuba. Methods. During the years 1998 to 2002 we screened serum samples from 410 subjects in Cuba. Serologic screening for KSHV antibodies was a two-step process using (1) indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) specifically reactive to the KSHV latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA) encoded by open reading frame 73 (ORF73), and (2) confirmatory immunoblot using recombinant KSHV ORF65.2, a lytically expressed, 20-kilodalton protein as the target antigen. Five different populations were studied: (1) 45 AIDS patients with Kaposi's sarcoma (AIDS-KS), (2) 154 HIV-1-infected patients without clinical evidence of KS, (3) 171 HIV-negative blood donors, (4) 27 consecutive kidney transplant recipients, who were HIVnegative, and (5) 13 contacts (sexual contacts or relatives) of the AIDS-KS-affected patients. Results. Among the 45 AIDS-KS subjects, 35 of them (77.8%) were KSHV-seropositive. Thirty-two of the 154 HIV-positive patients without KS (20.8% of them) were KSHV-seropositive, and 6 of the 13 contacts of KS-affected patients (46.2% of them) were infected with KSHV. In contrast to other researchers, we did not find in the populations that we studied in Cuba that KSHV seropositivity was associated with male homosexual or bisexual activity. We found high KSHV seropositivity rates among women reporting sexual contact with bisexual men and among men who had acquired an HIV infection in Africa. There were low rates of KSHV infection among the blood donors (1.2%) and the renal transplant recipients (0.0%). The low rates of KSHV infection that we found among the non-HIV-infected populations in Cuba are similar to patterns found in populations in Europe and in the United States. Conclusions. Together with similar results from Brazil, Jamaica, and the United States of America, our results suggest that KSHV infection is uncommon in some populations in the Western Hemisphere and that KSHV is largely confined to patients with AIDS-associated KS.
Enteroviruses have been examined for their possible role in the etiology of type 1 diabetes melli... more Enteroviruses have been examined for their possible role in the etiology of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) for nearly 40 years; however, the evidence remains inconclusive so far. This article provides new findings from Cuban studies suggesting the involvement of enteroviruses, either with the clinical T1DM onset or the pre-clinical stages of the β-cell autoimmunity in populations with low incidence of diabetes and high enteroviral circulation. Potential mechanisms of pathogenesis such as direct β-cell lysis and molecular mimicry are also discussed.
Objetivo: Determinar el impacto del uso de la prueba genotípica de resistencia en la respuesta y ... more Objetivo: Determinar el impacto del uso de la prueba genotípica de resistencia en la respuesta y supervivencia a largo plazo de los pacientes infectados con el VIH-1 que presentaron fracaso a la terapia antirretroviral.Métodos: Se realizó un estudio de cohorte, retrospectivo, se definieron dos grupos basados en la forma de selección de la terapia de rescate utilizada: en base al resultado de la prueba genotípica de resistencia (grupo A) y en base al criterio de expertos (grupo B). Los pacientes fueron evaluados antes del cambio de la terapia de rescate según variables demográficas, clínicas y de laboratorio y evaluados a los 6, 12, 18, y 24 meses del cambio de tratamiento según respuesta virológica, respuesta de células CD4+, incidencia de enfermedades oportunistas y supervivencia. La información fue obtenida de las actas de la Comisión Nacional de Terapia Antirretroviral, la base de datos del IPK y las Historias Clínicas. Se utilizaron números absolutos y porcentajes, media y media...
Today is a reality that the novel coronavirus SARS-Cov-2 has become a global pandemic. For this r... more Today is a reality that the novel coronavirus SARS-Cov-2 has become a global pandemic. For this reason, the study of real microscopic images of this coronavirus is of great importance, as it allows us to carry out a more precise research on it. However, as we pointed out in a former paper as reported by Roberto Rodríguez (SARS-CoV-2: Enhancement and Segmentation of High-Resolution Microscopy Images. Part I", Sent to Signal, Image and Video Processing Video Processing, Springer, New York, 2020), many times these microscopic images present some blurring problems, which are always susceptible to be improved. The aim of this work is to carry out a theoretical analysis of the proposed algorithms to enhancement and segmentation of these microscopic images, which is important for the design and development of future algorithms before new epidemics.
Additional file 6: Figure S6. Microphotography performed with an Electronic Scanning Microscope o... more Additional file 6: Figure S6. Microphotography performed with an Electronic Scanning Microscope of the apical surface of nasal mucosal epithelial cells from a SARS-CoV-2 positive patient 1. Bar 1 µm.
Additional file 5: Figure S5. Microphotography performed with an Electronic Scanning Microscope o... more Additional file 5: Figure S5. Microphotography performed with an Electronic Scanning Microscope of the apical surface of nasal mucosal epithelial cells from a SARS-CoV-2 positive patient 8. Bar 1 µm.
Ponencia presentada en el Seminario virtual “Acelerando el acceso a las vacunas contra la COVID-1... more Ponencia presentada en el Seminario virtual “Acelerando el acceso a las vacunas contra la COVID-19 en America Latina y el Caribe organizado por CELAC y UK, miercoles 5 de agosto 2020, MINREX Se expone el plan cubano en el enfrentamiento a la COVID -19, el cual consta de cuatro pilares principales: (i) aplicacion temprana, o al menos oportuna, de medidas de mitigacion / supresion, (ii) vigilancia masiva y proactiva de las IRA para la deteccion temprana de casos clinicamente sospechosos de la enfermedad, (iii) seguimiento de los contactos conjuntamente con el aislamiento temprano de los casos confirmados y contactos, y (iv) el desarrollo de un programa racional para las pruebas de laboratorio. Cuba reitera su compromiso y disposicion con relacion a las medidas efectivas para enfrentar la COVID-19.
BackgroundThe novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the etiological agent of COVID-19. This virus has b... more BackgroundThe novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the etiological agent of COVID-19. This virus has become one of the most dangerous in recent times with a very high rate of transmission. At present, several publications show the typical crown-shape of the novel coronavirus grown in cell cultures. However, an integral ultramicroscopy study done directly from clinical specimens has not been published.MethodsNasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 12 Cuban individuals, six asymptomatic and RT-PCR negative (negative control) and six others from a COVID-19 symptomatic and RT-PCR positive for SARS CoV-2. Samples were treated with an aldehyde solution and processed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confocal microscopy (CM) and, atomic force microscopy. Improvement and segmentation of coronavirus images were performed by a novel mathematical image enhancement algorithm.ResultsThe images of the negative control sample showed the characteristic healthy microvilli morphology at the apical r...
One of the challenges for control and prevention of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus... more One of the challenges for control and prevention of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection is the early diagnostic at the point of care. Several tests based on qualitative antigen detection have been developed; one of these is Elecsys SARS‐CoV‐2 Antigen immunoassay (Roche Diagnostics). In total, 523 nasopharyngeal swabs were randomly selected with the aims to evaluate sensitivity, specificity, cross‐reactivity, positive and negative predictive value (PPV, NPV), and agreement of Elecsys SARS‐CoV‐2 Antigen immunoassay using reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) STAT‐NAT® coronavirus disease‐2019 as reference test. Cross‐reactivity was estimated using samples positive by RT‐PCR to other respiratory viruses (influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, rhinovirus, coronavirus OC43, and HKU1). The overall sensitivity of Elecsys SARS‐CoV‐2 Antigen was 89.72% (288/321); specificity was 90.59% (183/202); and cross‐reactivity to other respiratory v...
To investigate the possibility of a viral agent in the central nervous system of patients with ep... more To investigate the possibility of a viral agent in the central nervous system of patients with epidemic neuropathy. Virus isolation attempts, in cell cultures and suckling mice, from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of neuropathy patients and controls undergoing lumbar puncture for unrelated reasons. Serologic studies in patients, contacts, and controls. An epidemic of optic and peripheral neuropathy affected more than 50,000 people in Cuba in 1991 through 1993. Illness was associated with dietary limitations and increased physical demands accompanying the shortages of food and fuel experienced in Cuba since 1989. Most patients responded to parenteral vitamin therapy, and the epidemic began to subside when oral vitamin supplementation was begun for the entire Cuban population. Coxsackievirus A9 (five isolates) and a similar, less cytopathic virus (100 isolates) were recovered from 105 (84%) of 125 CSF specimens from neuropathy patients. The strains with light cytopathic effect were antigen...
To ensure that developing countries have the option to produce inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IP... more To ensure that developing countries have the option to produce inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV), the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has promoted the development of an IPV using Sabin poliovirus strains (Sabin IPV). This trial assessed the reactogenicity and immunogenicity of Sabin IPV and adjuvanted Sabin IPV in healthy adults in Cuba. This is a randomized, controlled phase I trial, enrolling 60 healthy (previously vaccinated) male human volunteers, aged 19-23 years to receive one dose of either Sabin IPV (20:32:64 DU/dose), adjuvanted Sabin IPV (10:16:32 DU/dose), or conventional Salk IPV (40:8:32 DU/dose). The primary endpoint for reactogenicity relied on monitoring of adverse events. The secondary endpoint measured boosting immune responses (i.e. seroconversion or 4-fold rise) of poliovirus antibody, assessed by neutralization assays. Sixty subjects fulfilled the study requirements. No serious adverse events reported were attributed to trial interventions during the 6-month follow-up period. Twenty-eight days after vaccination, boosting immune responses against poliovirus types 1-3 were between 90% and 100% in all vaccination groups. There was a more than 6-fold increase in median antibody titers between pre- and post-vaccination titers in all vaccination groups. Both Sabin IPV and adjuvanted Sabin IPV were well tolerated and immunogenic against all poliovirus serotypes. This result suggests that the aluminum adjuvant may allow a 50% (or higher) dose reduction.
This paper reports on the necessary conditions for plaque development in mild cutopathogenic effe... more This paper reports on the necessary conditions for plaque development in mild cutopathogenic effect-producing agents which were isolated from samples of the cerebrospinal fluid of patients presenting with epidemic neuropathy.
Infections from herpes virus play a key role in post-transplantation pathology, so it is indispen... more Infections from herpes virus play a key role in post-transplantation pathology, so it is indispensable to characterize the group of would-be renal transplant recipients. IgG antibody titers were detected by indirect immunofluorescence to Herpes simplex virus, Epstein Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) in 100 patients treated with hemodialysis in the Nephrology Institute. The prevalence of antibodies to cytomegalovirus and to Herpes simplex and Epstein Barr viruses was 100% and 95% respectively. Average geometric titers (AGT) of antibodies to CMV were significantly higher. There was no correlation between AGT and sex, age, time of disease remission, number of blood transfusions and number of transplants.
Revista panamericana de salud pública (Impresa), May 1, 2004
Objective. Little is known about the prevalence and distribution of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated h... more Objective. Little is known about the prevalence and distribution of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) infection in the Caribbean. The aim of this study was to determine rates of KSHV seropositivity in various populations in Cuba. Methods. During the years 1998 to 2002 we screened serum samples from 410 subjects in Cuba. Serologic screening for KSHV antibodies was a two-step process using (1) indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) specifically reactive to the KSHV latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA) encoded by open reading frame 73 (ORF73), and (2) confirmatory immunoblot using recombinant KSHV ORF65.2, a lytically expressed, 20-kilodalton protein as the target antigen. Five different populations were studied: (1) 45 AIDS patients with Kaposi's sarcoma (AIDS-KS), (2) 154 HIV-1-infected patients without clinical evidence of KS, (3) 171 HIV-negative blood donors, (4) 27 consecutive kidney transplant recipients, who were HIVnegative, and (5) 13 contacts (sexual contacts or relatives) of the AIDS-KS-affected patients. Results. Among the 45 AIDS-KS subjects, 35 of them (77.8%) were KSHV-seropositive. Thirty-two of the 154 HIV-positive patients without KS (20.8% of them) were KSHV-seropositive, and 6 of the 13 contacts of KS-affected patients (46.2% of them) were infected with KSHV. In contrast to other researchers, we did not find in the populations that we studied in Cuba that KSHV seropositivity was associated with male homosexual or bisexual activity. We found high KSHV seropositivity rates among women reporting sexual contact with bisexual men and among men who had acquired an HIV infection in Africa. There were low rates of KSHV infection among the blood donors (1.2%) and the renal transplant recipients (0.0%). The low rates of KSHV infection that we found among the non-HIV-infected populations in Cuba are similar to patterns found in populations in Europe and in the United States. Conclusions. Together with similar results from Brazil, Jamaica, and the United States of America, our results suggest that KSHV infection is uncommon in some populations in the Western Hemisphere and that KSHV is largely confined to patients with AIDS-associated KS.
Enteroviruses have been examined for their possible role in the etiology of type 1 diabetes melli... more Enteroviruses have been examined for their possible role in the etiology of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) for nearly 40 years; however, the evidence remains inconclusive so far. This article provides new findings from Cuban studies suggesting the involvement of enteroviruses, either with the clinical T1DM onset or the pre-clinical stages of the β-cell autoimmunity in populations with low incidence of diabetes and high enteroviral circulation. Potential mechanisms of pathogenesis such as direct β-cell lysis and molecular mimicry are also discussed.
Objetivo: Determinar el impacto del uso de la prueba genotípica de resistencia en la respuesta y ... more Objetivo: Determinar el impacto del uso de la prueba genotípica de resistencia en la respuesta y supervivencia a largo plazo de los pacientes infectados con el VIH-1 que presentaron fracaso a la terapia antirretroviral.Métodos: Se realizó un estudio de cohorte, retrospectivo, se definieron dos grupos basados en la forma de selección de la terapia de rescate utilizada: en base al resultado de la prueba genotípica de resistencia (grupo A) y en base al criterio de expertos (grupo B). Los pacientes fueron evaluados antes del cambio de la terapia de rescate según variables demográficas, clínicas y de laboratorio y evaluados a los 6, 12, 18, y 24 meses del cambio de tratamiento según respuesta virológica, respuesta de células CD4+, incidencia de enfermedades oportunistas y supervivencia. La información fue obtenida de las actas de la Comisión Nacional de Terapia Antirretroviral, la base de datos del IPK y las Historias Clínicas. Se utilizaron números absolutos y porcentajes, media y media...
Today is a reality that the novel coronavirus SARS-Cov-2 has become a global pandemic. For this r... more Today is a reality that the novel coronavirus SARS-Cov-2 has become a global pandemic. For this reason, the study of real microscopic images of this coronavirus is of great importance, as it allows us to carry out a more precise research on it. However, as we pointed out in a former paper as reported by Roberto Rodríguez (SARS-CoV-2: Enhancement and Segmentation of High-Resolution Microscopy Images. Part I", Sent to Signal, Image and Video Processing Video Processing, Springer, New York, 2020), many times these microscopic images present some blurring problems, which are always susceptible to be improved. The aim of this work is to carry out a theoretical analysis of the proposed algorithms to enhancement and segmentation of these microscopic images, which is important for the design and development of future algorithms before new epidemics.
Additional file 6: Figure S6. Microphotography performed with an Electronic Scanning Microscope o... more Additional file 6: Figure S6. Microphotography performed with an Electronic Scanning Microscope of the apical surface of nasal mucosal epithelial cells from a SARS-CoV-2 positive patient 1. Bar 1 µm.
Additional file 5: Figure S5. Microphotography performed with an Electronic Scanning Microscope o... more Additional file 5: Figure S5. Microphotography performed with an Electronic Scanning Microscope of the apical surface of nasal mucosal epithelial cells from a SARS-CoV-2 positive patient 8. Bar 1 µm.
Ponencia presentada en el Seminario virtual “Acelerando el acceso a las vacunas contra la COVID-1... more Ponencia presentada en el Seminario virtual “Acelerando el acceso a las vacunas contra la COVID-19 en America Latina y el Caribe organizado por CELAC y UK, miercoles 5 de agosto 2020, MINREX Se expone el plan cubano en el enfrentamiento a la COVID -19, el cual consta de cuatro pilares principales: (i) aplicacion temprana, o al menos oportuna, de medidas de mitigacion / supresion, (ii) vigilancia masiva y proactiva de las IRA para la deteccion temprana de casos clinicamente sospechosos de la enfermedad, (iii) seguimiento de los contactos conjuntamente con el aislamiento temprano de los casos confirmados y contactos, y (iv) el desarrollo de un programa racional para las pruebas de laboratorio. Cuba reitera su compromiso y disposicion con relacion a las medidas efectivas para enfrentar la COVID-19.
BackgroundThe novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the etiological agent of COVID-19. This virus has b... more BackgroundThe novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the etiological agent of COVID-19. This virus has become one of the most dangerous in recent times with a very high rate of transmission. At present, several publications show the typical crown-shape of the novel coronavirus grown in cell cultures. However, an integral ultramicroscopy study done directly from clinical specimens has not been published.MethodsNasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 12 Cuban individuals, six asymptomatic and RT-PCR negative (negative control) and six others from a COVID-19 symptomatic and RT-PCR positive for SARS CoV-2. Samples were treated with an aldehyde solution and processed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confocal microscopy (CM) and, atomic force microscopy. Improvement and segmentation of coronavirus images were performed by a novel mathematical image enhancement algorithm.ResultsThe images of the negative control sample showed the characteristic healthy microvilli morphology at the apical r...
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