No abstract

Purpose of Review Review building of programs to eliminate Toxoplasma infections. Recent Findings Morbidity and mortality from toxoplasmosis led to programs in USA, Panama, and Colombia to facilitate understanding, treatment, prevention, and regional resources, incorporating student work. Summary Studies foundational for building recent, regional approaches/programs are reviewed. Introduction provides an overview/review of programs in Panamá, the United States, and other countries. High prevalence/risk of exposure led to laws mandating testing in gestation, reporting, and development of broad-based teaching materials about Toxoplasma. These were tested for efficacy as learning tools for high-school students, pregnant women, medical students, physicians, scientists, public health officials and general public. Digitized, free, smart phone application effectively taught pregnant women about toxoplasmosis prevention. Perinatal infection care programs, identifying true regional risk factors, and point-of-care gestational screening facilitate prevention and care. When implemented fully across all demographics, such programs present opportunities to save lives, sight, and cognition with considerable spillover benefits for individuals and societies.

Purpose of Review Review international efforts to build a global public health initiative focused on toxoplasmosis with spillover benefits to save lives, sight, cognition and motor function benefiting maternal and child health. Recent Findings Multiple countries’ efforts to eliminate toxoplasmosis demonstrate progress and context for this review and new work. Summary Problems with potential solutions proposed include accessibility of accurate, inexpensive diagnostic testing, pre-natal screening and facilitating tools, missed and delayed neonatal diagnosis, restricted access, high costs, delays in obtaining medicines emergently, delayed insurance pre-approvals and high medicare copays taking considerable physician time and effort, harmful shortcuts being taken in methods to prepare medicines in settings where access is restricted, reluctance to perform ventriculoperitoneal shunts promptly when needed without recognition of potential benefit, access to resources for care, especially for marginalized populations, and limited use of recent advances in management of neurologic and retinal disease which can lead to good outcomes.

17As the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic evolves, the development of 18 immunoassays to help determine exposure and potentially predict immunity has 19 become a pressing priority. In this report we present the performance of the 20 EUROIMMUN enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for semi-quantitative 21 detection of IgA and IgG antibodies in serum and plasma samples using recombinant 22 S1 domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein as antigen. Specimens from patients, with 23 and without COVID-19 infection, were tested at the University of Chicago Clinical 24 Microbiology and Immunology Laboratory. Of 57 samples from COVID-19 PCR-25 negative patients, including 28 samples positive for common human coronavirus strains, 26 53 tested negative and 4 tested positive for IgA (93.0% agreement) while 56 tested 27 negative and 1 tested positive for IgG (98.2% agreement). For COVID-19 PCR-positive 28 patients, 29 of 30 (96.7%) samples collected ≥3 days after positive PCR were positive 29for IgA, and 28 of 28 samples collected ≥4 days after positive PCR were positive for 30 IgG. 31The EUROIMMUN Anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA Assay demonstrates excellent sensitivity 32 for detection of IgA and IgG antibodies from samples collected ≥3 days and ≥4 days, 33 respectively, after COVID-19 diagnosis by PCR. This assay did not demonstrate cross 34 reaction in any of the 28 samples from patients with common human coronaviruses, 35 including types HKU1, NL63, CV229E, and OC43.

Purpose of Review Review work to create and evaluate educational materials that could serve as a primary prevention strategy to help both providers and patients in Panama, Colombia, and the USA reduce disease burden of Toxoplasma infections. Recent Findings Educational programs had not been evaluated for efficacy in Panama, USA, or Colombia. Summary Educational programs for high school students, pregnant women, medical students and professionals, scientists, and lay personnel were created. In most settings, short-term effects were evaluated. In Panama, Colombia, and USA, all materials showed short-term utility in transmitting information to learners. These educational materials can serve as a component of larger public health programs to lower disease burden from congenital toxoplasmosis. Future priorities include conducting robust longitudinal studies of whether education correlates with reduced adverse disease outcomes, modifying educational materials as new information regarding region-specific risk factors is discovered, and ensuring materials are widely accessible.