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Objectives: HIV late presentation (LP) has been increasing in recent years in Europe. Our aim was to investigate the characteristics of LP in Greece using in addition to the traditional definition for LP, the time interval between HIV infection and diagnosis. Methods: Our nationwide sample included HIV-1 sequences generated from 6166 people living with HIV (PLWH) in Greece during the period 1999–2015. Our analysis was based on the molecularly inferred HIV-1 infection dates for PLWH infected within local molecular transmission clusters of subtypes A1 and B. Results: Analysis of the determinants of LP was conducted using either CD4 counts or AIDS-defining condition at diagnosis or the time from infection to diagnosis. Older age, heterosexual transmission risk group and more recent diagnosis were associated with increased risk for LP. In contrast to previous studies, people who inject drugs (PWID) had a shorter median time to diagnosis (0.63 years) compared to men who have sex with men (MSM) (1.72 years) and heterosexuals (2.43 years). Using HIV infection dates that provide an unbiased marker for LP compared to CD4 counts at diagnosis, which are age-dependent, we estimated that the time to diagnosis increased gradually with age. Migrants infected regionally do not differ with respect to LP status compared to native Greeks. Conclusions: We demonstrate that older people and heterosexuals are among those at higher risk for LP; and given the growing number of older people among newly diagnosed cases, tailored interventions are needed in these populations. © 2022 The Authors. HIV Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British HIV Association.

The trajectory from moderate and severe COVID-19 into acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) necessitating mechanical ventilation (MV) is a field of active research. We determined serum levels within 24 h of presentation of 20 different sets of mediators (calprotectin, pro-and anti-inflammatory cytokines, interferons) of patients with COVID-19 at different stages of severity (asymptomatic, moderate, severe and ARDS/MV). The primary endpoint was to define associations with critical illness, and the secondary endpoint was to identify the pathways associated with mortality. Results were validated in serial measurements of mediators among participants of the SAVE-MORE trial. Levels of the proinflammatory interleukin (IL)-8, IL-18, matrix metalloproteinase9, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-B and calprotectin (S100A8/A9) were significantly higher in patients with ARDS and MV. Levels of the anti-inflammatory IL-1ra and IL-33r were also increased; IL-38 was increased only in asymptomatic patients but significantly decreased in the more severe cases. Multivariate ordinal regression showed that pathways of IL-6, IL-33 and calprotectin were associated with significant probability for worse outcome. Calprotectin was serially increased from baseline among patients who progressed to ARDS and MV. Further research is needed to decipher the significance of these findings compared to other acute-phase reactants, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) or ferritin, for the prognosis and development of effective treatments. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

Our aim was to estimate the date of the origin and the transmission rates of the major local clusters of subtypes A1 and B in Greece. Phylodynamic analyses were conducted in 14 subtype A1 and 31 subtype B clusters. The earliest dates of origin for subtypes A1 and B were in 1982.6 and in 1985.5, respectively. The transmission rate for the subtype A1 clusters ranged between 7.54 and 39.61 infec-tions/100 person years (IQR: 9.39, 15.88), and for subtype B clusters between 4.42 and 36.44 infections/100 person years (IQR: 7.38, 15.04). Statistical analysis revealed that the average difference in the transmission rate between the PWID and the MSM clusters was 6.73 (95% CI: 0.86 to 12.60; p = 0.026). Our study provides evidence that the date of introduction of subtype A1 in Greece was the earliest in Europe. Transmission rates were significantly higher for PWID than MSM clusters due to the conditions that gave rise to an extensive PWID HIV‐1 outbreak ten years ago in Athens, Greece. Transmission rate can be consid-ered as a valuable measure for public health since it provides a proxy of the rate of epidemic growth within a cluster and, therefore, it can be useful for targeted HIV prevention programs. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Knowledge of seroprevalence rates against 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus will assist vaccination recommendations and the preparation of the health-care system during subsequent years. This study was conducted in Greece during June-August 2010 to estimate the seroprevalence rate against pandemic H1N1 virus. Persons presenting in 29 health-care facilities across the country were studied. Seroprevalence was estimated employing a virus-free ELISA that specifically recognizes 2009 H1N1 virus antibodies in human sera. Sera collected from 2005 to April 2009 were also used to estimate pre-pandemic seroprevalence rates. A total of 954 persons were studied. The overall seroprevalence rate was 28.5% (95% confidence interval =25.6-31.3%). Age-specific rates were 34.2% in persons 0-4 years, 36.3% in persons 5-19 years, 25.0% in persons 20-39 years, 23.4% in persons 40-59 years, and 31.8% in persons ≥60 years. The highest rates were recorded in the Regions of Ionian Islands (67%) and Epirus (42.9%), while the lowest (8.4%) in the Region of Thessaly. Age-specific attack rates of infection during 2009-2010 were 28.8% in persons 0-4 years, 32.5% in persons 5-19 years, 14.3% in persons 20-39 years, 19.1% in persons 40-59 years, and 14.4% in persons ≥60 years. Multivariate analysis revealed that Region of residence and caring for children <5 years were associated with increased risk for seropositivity. Urbanity, personal and family characteristics, working in a health-care facility or in a school, history of pandemic H1N1 vaccination or history of influenza-like illness during 2009-2010 were not associated with increased risk for seropositivity. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.