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Purpose: To investigate the association of genetic polymorphisms Gln192Arg and Leu55Met of Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) gene, and Arg213His of Sulfotransferase 1A1 (SUT1A1) gene with occurrence of breast cancer among young women living in Rio de Janeiro city. Methods: This is a hospital-based case-control study including 265 women aged 18-35 years, diagnosed with breast cancer at National Cancer Institute; and 277 controls in the same age group selected among women patients and companions of three general hospitals from Rio de Janeiro public health network. Polymorphisms genotyping was performed using the PCR-RFLP technique. Results: For PON1 gene, breast cancer women had a greater chance of being homozygote for Leu55Met polymorphism (ORadjusted = 1.42, 95% CI= 0.67-3.00, recessive model) and a lower chance of having at least one allele of Gln192Arg polymorphism (ORadjusted = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.50-1.13, dominant model), but without statistical significance. Accordingly, frequency of the haplotype Met55/Arg192 was lower among breast cancer women, but no statistically significant association was observed (ORadjusted = 0.85; 95% CI = 0.48-1.51). SULT1A1 His/His genotype was significantly associated with a protective effect for breast cancer (OR adjusted = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.28-0.91, recessive model). Conclusion: Arg213His polymorphism of SUT1A1 gene showed a protective effect against breast cancer among Brazilian young women. More studies with different designs are needed to understand the role of PON1 and SULT1A1 polymorphisms in breast cancer development in young Brazilian women.

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The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern (VOC) Gamma in Amazonas during early 2021 fueled a second large COVID-19 epidemic wave and raised concern about the potential role of reinfections. Very few cases of reinfection associated with the VOC Gamma have been reported to date, and their potential impact on clinical, immunological, and virological parameters remains largely unexplored. Here we describe 25 cases of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in Brazil. SARS-CoV-2 genomic analysis confirmed that individuals were primo-infected with distinct viral lineages between March and December 2020 (B.1.1, B.1.1.28, B.1.1.33, B.1.195, and P.2) and reinfected with the VOC Gamma between 3 to 12 months after primo-infection. We found a similar mean cycle threshold (Ct) value and limited intra-host viral diversity in both primo-infection and reinfection samples. Sera of 14 patients tested 10-75 days after reinfection displayed detectable neutralizing antibodies (NAb) titers against SARS-CoV-2 variants that circulated before (B.1.*), during (Gamma), and after (Delta and Omicron) the second epidemic wave in Brazil. All individuals had milder or no symptoms after reinfection, and none required hospitalization. These findings demonstrate that individuals reinfected with the VOC Gamma may display relatively high RNA viral loads at the upper respiratory tract after reinfection, thus contributing to onward viral transmissions. Despite this, our study points to a low overall risk of severe Gamma reinfections, supporting that the abrupt increase in hospital admissions and deaths observed in Amazonas and other Brazilian states during the Gamma wave was mostly driven by primary infections. Our findings also indicate that most individuals analyzed developed a high anti-SARS-CoV-2 NAb response after reinfection that may provide some protection against reinfection or disease by different SARS-CoV-2 variants.

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We describe a case of prolonged COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 Gamma variant in a fully vaccinated healthcare worker, 387 days after an infection caused by lineage B.1.1.33. Infections were confirmed by whole-genome sequencing and corroborated by the detection of neutralizing antibodies in convalescent serum samples. Considering the permanent exposure of this healthcare worker to SARS-CoV-2, the waning immunity after the first infection, the low efficacy of the inactivated vaccine at preventing COVID-19, the immune escape of the Gamma variant (VOC), and the burden of post-COVID syndrome, this individual would have benefited from an additional dose of a heterologous vaccine.

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Kinetoplastida trypanosomatidae microorganisms are protozoan parasites exhibiting a developmental stage in the gut of insect vectors and tissues of vertebrate hosts. During the vertebrate infective stages, these parasites alter the differential expression of virulence genes, modifying their biological and antigenic properties in order to subvert the host protective immune responses and establish a persistent infection. One of the hallmarks of kinetoplastid parasites is their evasion mechanisms from host immunity, leading to disease chronification. The diseases caused by kinetoplastid parasites are neglected by the global expenditures in research and development, affecting millions of individuals in the low and middle-income countries located mainly in the tropical and subtropical regions. However, investments made by public and private initiatives have over the past decade leveraged important lines of intervention that if well-integrated to health care programs will likely accelerate disease control initiatives. This review summarizes recent advances in public health care principles, including new drug discoveries and their rational use with chemotherapeutic vaccines, and the implementation of control efforts to spatially mapping the kinetoplastid infections through monitoring of infected individuals in epidemic areas. These approaches should bring us the means to track genetic variation of parasites and drug resistance, integrating this knowledge into effective stewardship programs to prevent vector-borne kinetoplastid infections in areas at risk of disease spreading.