Accurate data on susceptibility rates against measles in the general population of Greece are scarce. Many studies have estimated the vaccination coverage, but none have calculated the nationwide immunity rate, including all age groups, against the measles virus. The purpose of our study was to determine the measles immunity status, especially after the latest outbreak in 2017–2018. In total, 3972 leftover blood samples were obtained during 2020–2021. They were collected from a nationwide laboratory network using a geographically stratified sampling strategy and were tested for the presence of measles-specific IgG antibodies. The overall crude seroprevalence was calculated to be 89.6% and the adjusted was 89.8% (95% CI: 88.8–90.8%). There was no statistically significant difference in seropositivity between sexes (p = 0.783). Higher immunity rates and antibody concentrations were found in older age groups ≥41 years old (94.9%, 95% CI: 93.7–95.9%, and 730.0 mIU/mL) in comparison with younger individuals aged 1–40 years old (83.4%, 95% CI: 81.6–85.7%, and 616.5 mIU/mL). Comparing the seroprevalence among the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS 2), a statistically significant difference was estimated among them (<0.001). The two regions where higher measles incidence was observed during the 2017–2018 outbreak, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, and Western Greece, were among the four regions with lower seropositivity (84.6%, 95% CI: 79.9–89.4%, and 85.9%, 95% CI: 81.4–90.4%, respectively). Our study showed a measles immunity gap that affects the younger age groups and makes a new measles outbreak likely. The enforcement of vaccination campaigns and addressing vaccine hesitancy could bridge it and achieve the required target of herd immunity.

During the last two years, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has led to millions of deaths worldwide, with a devastating socio-economic impact on a global scale. The scientific community’s focus has recently shifted towards the association of the T cell immunological repertoire with COVID-19 progression and severity, by utilising T cell receptor sequencing (TCR-Seq) assays. The Multiplexed Identification of T cell Receptor Antigen (MIRA) dataset, which is a subset of the immunoACCESS study, provides thousands of TCRs that can specifically recognise SARS-CoV-2 epitopes. Our study proposes a novel Machine Learning (ML)-assisted approach for analysing TCR-Seq data from the antigens’ point of view, with the ability to unveil key antigens that can accurately distinguish between MIRA COVID-19-convalescent and healthy individuals based on differences in the triggered immune response. Some SARS-CoV-2 antigens were found to exhibit equal levels of recognition by MIRA TCRs in both convalescent and healthy cohorts, leading to the assumption of putative cross-reactivity between SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious agents. This hypothesis was tested by combining MIRA with other public TCR profiling repositories that host assays and sequencing data concerning a plethora of pathogens. Our study provides evidence regarding putative cross-reactivity between SARS-CoV-2 and a wide spectrum of pathogens and diseases, with M. tuberculosis and Influenza virus exhibiting the highest levels of cross-reactivity. These results can potentially shift the emphasis of immunological studies towards an increased application of TCR profiling assays that have the potential to uncover key mechanisms of cell-mediated immune response against pathogens and diseases.

The association of cases of Legionnaires’ disease and ships has been well documented. Results from potable water samples collected for microbiological analysis during SSC inspections conducted from 2010 to 2018 at Belgian ports were analyzed in order to evaluate the level of colonization on non-passenger ships. Results indicate a high degree of colonization (77.2% of the ships were found to be colonized with Legionella spp. at least once) and further analysis is recommended to examine possible factors associated with colonization. Inspections for issuance of SSC should focus on water safety and prevention of Legionnaires’ disease.

Accurate data on susceptibility rates against measles in general population of Greece are scarce. Many studies estimate the vaccination coverage but none has calculated the nationwide immunity rate, involving all age groups, against measles virus. The purpose of our study was to determine the immunity status to measles, especially after the latest outbreak in 2017-2018. In total, 3,972 leftover blood samples were collected from a nationwide laboratory network using a geograph-ically stratified sampling strategy and were tested for the presence of measles specific IgG anti-bodies. The overall crude seroprevalence was calculated 89.6% and the adjusted 89.8% (95% CI: 88.8% - 90.8%). There was no statistically significant difference in seropositivity among sexes (p=0.783). Higher immunity rates and antibody titer were found in older age groups ≥ 41 years old (94.9%, 95% CI: 93.7% - 95.9%, and 730.0 IU/l) in comparison to younger individuals 1-40 years old (83.4%, 95% CI: 81.6% - 85.7%, and 616.5 IU/l). ). Comparing the seroprevalence among Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS 2), a statistically significant difference was estimated among them (<0.001). The two regions where higher measles incidence was observed during the 2017-2018 outbreak, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace and Western Greece, were among the four regions with the lower seropositivity (84.6%, 95% CI: 79.9% -89.4% and 85.9%, 95% CI: 81.4% - 90.4%, respectively). Our study showed a measles immunity gap that affects younger age groups and makes a new measles outbreak likely. Enforcement of vaccination campaigns and ad-dressing vaccine hesitancy could bridge it and achieve the required target for herd immunity.

Background/Objectives: Antimicrobial resistance in pediatric urinary tract infections (UTIs) is a growing concern. We evaluated resistance patterns of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa urinary isolates in a tertiary care Greek hospital from 2015 through 12 September 2025. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed pediatric urinary isolates collected from 2015 through September 2025. Antibiotic analysis was restricted to EUCAST UTI-relevant organism-drug pairs. Resistance was summarized for the prespecified antibiotics, and presumptive ESBL and carbapenem resistance phenotypes were assessed. Results: Among 776 isolates (567 E. coli, 104 K. pneumoniae, 105 P. aeruginosa), E. coli showed the lowest resistance among non-carbapenem options to nitrofurantoin (0.4%), amikacin (1.2%), and gentamicin (7.8%), and the highest to trimethoprim (98.8%), ampicillin (53.5%), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (31.5%). K. pneumoniae had the lowest resistance among non-carbapenem options to amikacin (8.6%) and gentamicin (15.5%), with high cephalosporin resistance (oral cefuroxime 40.9%, intravenous cefuroxime 39.7%). Presumptive ESBL and carbapenem resistance in K. pneumoniae were 42.3% and 20.2%, respectively. Corresponding prevalences in E. coli were 12.4% and 0.7%. P. aeruginosa retained low resistance to meropenem (1.9%) and piperacillin-tazobactam (2.1%). No age or sex association with the presumptive resistance phenotypes remained significant after false-discovery-rate adjustment. Conclusions: E. coli showed very high ampicillin resistance, low resistance to gentamicin and amikacin, and moderate resistance to guideline-relevant cephalosporins. P. aeruginosa retained low resistance to key antipseudomonal agents. K. pneumoniae showed the highest burden of cephalosporin resistance and of presumptive ESBL and carbapenem resistance phenotypes. These data support guideline-based empirical coverage more strongly for E. coli than for K. pneumoniae in this setting.