Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a new tick-borne viral disease, and most SFTS virus (SFTSV) infections occur via bites from the tick Haemaphysalis longicornis; however, SFTSV transmission can also occur through close contact with an infected patient. SFTS is characterized by acute high fever, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, elevated serum hepatic enzyme levels, gastrointestinal symptoms, and multiorgan failure and has a 16.2 to 30% mortality rate. In this study, we found that age, dyspnea rates, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase, multiorgan dysfunction score (MODS), viral load, IL-6 levels, and IL-10 levels were higher in patients with fatal disease than in patients with nonfatal disease during the initial clinical course of SFTS. In addition, we found that IL-6 and IL-10 levels, rather than viral load and neutralizing antibody titers, in patients with an SFTSV infection strongly correlated with outcomes (for severe disease with an ultimate outcome of recovery or death).

BackgroundEffective vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are available worldwide; however, the longevity of vaccine effectiveness is not known.ObjectiveWe performed a prospective observational study to assess the antibody response of healthcare workers against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) after BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.MethodsSARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody (nAb) and spike (S) protein-IgG (S-IgG) antibody titers were examined in participants who received two doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in a single center between March 1, 2021, and October 11, 2021. Antibody levels were analyzed at four times: before vaccination (visit 1), 4 weeks after the first vaccination (visit 2), 3 months after the second vaccination (visit 3), and 6 months after the second vaccination (visit 4).ResultsA total of 249 healthcare workers at Jeju National University Hospital were enrolled in this study, and 982 blood samples were analyzed. The mean age was 38.1 ± 9.5 years, and 145 (58.2%) participants were females. Positive nAbs (inhibition rates ≥ 20%) were measured in 166/249 (66.7%) subjects at visit 2, 237/243 (97.5%) subjects at visit 3, and 150/237 (63.3%) subjects at visit 4. A S-IgG (≥50 AU/mL) positivity was detected in 246/249 (98.8%) subjects at visit 1, and all participants had positive S-IgG antibody levels at visits 3 and 4 after being fully vaccinated. Further analysis of S-IgG levels revealed a median quantitative antibody level of 1275.1 AU/mL (interquartile range [IQR] 755.5–2119.0) at visit 2, 2765.9 AU/mL (IQR 1809.8–4138.4) at visit 3, and 970.1 AU/mL (IQR 606.0–1495.9) at visit 4. Patient characteristics, such as age, body mass index, and comorbidity, had no relationship with nAb or S-IgG levels at any of the visits. Considering the change in antibody levels over time, both nAb and S-IgG levels at visit 4 decreased compared with the corresponding levels at visit 3. No evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was found among any of the participants throughout the study.ConclusionsThe BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine was effective in protecting healthcare personnel working in COVID-19-related departments. While the level of S-IgG antibodies was maintained for 6 months after the second vaccination, nAb levels waned over this 6-month period, indicating the need for a booster vaccination in some healthcare workers 6 months after full vaccination. Herein, we suggest that further studies are needed to evaluate the need for an interval of booster vaccination after full vaccination.

Vaccines are one of the most important strategies against pandemics or epidemics involving infectious diseases. With the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), there have been global efforts for rapid development of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine and vaccination is being performed globally on a massive scale. With rapid increase in vaccination, rare adverse events have been reported. Well-known neurological adverse events associated with COVID-19 vaccination include Guillain–Barré syndrome, myelitis, and encephalitis. However, COVID-19 vaccine-related aseptic meningitis has rarely been reported. A 32-year-old healthy man visited our hospital with a complaint of headache for 1 week. He had received the second dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine 2 weeks before the onset of headache. Since the initial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) profile suggested viral meningitis, we started treatment with an antiviral agent. However, the symptoms and follow-up CSF profile on day 7 of hospitalization showed no improvement and SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were detected in the CSF. We suspected aseptic meningitis associated with the vaccination and intravenous methylprednisolone (500 mg/day) was administered for 3 days. The symptoms improved and the patient was discharged on day 12 of hospitalization.

We compared the serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae between the pre-pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV)13 era and post-PCV13 era among homogenous inhabitants of an isolated South Korean island. A total of 325 S. pneumoniae strains were isolated. In the pre-PCV13 era, 19A/F, 15A/F, 19B, and 23A serotypes were identified. In the post-PCV13 era, 15 serotypes were identified. The 19F and 23A serotypes showed the highest prevalence in the pre- and post-PCV13 era, respectively. After PCV13 introduction, the PCV 13 serotype coverage rate was decreased (80.0% and 30.5% in the pre- and post-PCV13 eras, respectively), while the proportion of non-PCV 13 serotypes increased.

Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (SEZ) is an opportunistic and zoonotic pathogen of horses and other animal species, such as cows, pigs, sheep and domestic dogs (Byun et al., 2009;Pelkonen et al., 2013). Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus is a part of the normal bacterial flora in healthy horses which was commonly found on skin and mucus membranes of upper respiratory and lower reproductive tract, but it can cause infectious disease including pneumonia, upper respiratory infections, skin infections, epididymitis and testicular and neonatal infections (AAEP, 2021;Skive et al., 2017).Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus is seldom isolated from humans; however, zoonotic infections are occasionally reported in individuals exposed to farm animals, such as horses (Aida et al., 2020;