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The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants in the global population is indicative of the development of selective advantages in emerging virus strains. Here, we performed a case-control investigation of the clinical and demographic characteristics, clinical history, and virological markers to predict disease progression in hospitalized adults for COVID-19 between December 2021 and January 2022 in Chennai, India. COVID-19 diagnosis was made by a commercial TaqPath COVID-19 RT-PCR, and WGS was performed with the Ion Torrent Next Generation Sequencing System. High-quality (Funding Agencies|Xiamen University Malaysia Research Funding (XMUMRF) [XMUMRF/2018-C2/ILAB/0001, XMUMRF/2020-C5/ITCM/0003, XMUMRF/2018-C1/IENG/0005]; Swedish Research Council; Swedish, Physicians against AIDS Research Foundation; Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency; SIDA SARC; VINNMER for Vinnova; Swedish Society of Medicine [AI52731]; Department of Science and Technology-Science and Engineering Research Board, Government of India [CRG/2019/006096]; CALF; Linkoeping University Hospital Research Fund

BackgroundThe magnitude of protection conferred after recovery from COVID-19 or by vaccine administration, and the duration of protective immunity developed, remains ambiguous.MethodsWe investigated the factors associated with antibody decay in 519 individuals who received treatment for COVID-19-related illness or received COVID-19 vaccination with two commercial vaccines, viz., an adenoviral vector-based (AZD1222) and a whole-virion-based inactivated (BBV152) vaccine in Chennai, India from March 2021. Blood samples collected during regular follow-up post-infection/vaccination andwere examined for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG by a commercial automated chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA).ResultsAge and underlying comorbidities were the two variables that were independently associated with the development of breakthrough infection. Individuals who were >60 years of age with underlying comorbid conditions had a ∼15 times and ∼10 times greater risk for developing a breakthrough infection and hospitalization, respectively. The time elapsed since the first booster dose was associated with attrition in anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, where each month passed was associated with an ebb in the neutralizing antibody levels by a coefficient of -6 units.ConclusionsOur findings advocate that the elderly with underlying comorbidities require a second booster dose with AZD1222 and BBV152.

Background: Early detection of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is critical to TB elimination in the current WHO vision of End Tuberculosis Strategy ., Methods: We investigated whether detecting plasma cytokines could aid in diagnosing LTBI across household contacts (HHCs) positive for IGRA, HHCs negative for IGRA, and healthy controls. We also measured the plasma cytokines using a commercial Bio-Plex Pro Human Cytokine 17-plex assay., Results: Increased plasma CXCL8 and decreased MCP-1, TNF-α, and IFN-γ were associated with LTBI. Regression analysis showed that a combination of CXCL8 and MCP-1 increased the risk of LTBI among HHCs to 14-fold., Conclusions: We postulated that CXCL8 and MCP-1 could be the surrogate biomarkers of LTBI, especially in resource-limited settings., Competing Interests: CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The authors declare that the research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.