Introduction The recent appearance of SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan in 2019 has started a pandemic which has involved over a million people worldwide. A matter of debate is the possible viral detection in different body fluids than respiratory droplets. Thus, we evaluated the possible presence of SARS-CoV-2 in semen and urine samples of a volunteer with confirmed COVID-19. Materials and methods A 31-year-old man with fever, myalgia, anosmia, and ageusia was tested and found positive for SARS-CoV-2 through a pharyngeal swab. Eight days after he provided semen and urine samples in which viral RNA presence was measured using a Real time RT PCR system (RealStar SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR, Altona Diagnostics) targeting E and S viral genes. Results and discussion Semen and urine samples search for SARS-CoV-2 RNA was negative. Although this should be interpreted cautiously, it may be possible that either the viral clearance kinetics in these matrices matches the progressive clinical recovery of the patient or that the virus was never present in these fluids at the time of the laboratory diagnosis.

Background: High grade HPV infections and persistence are the strongest risk factors for cervical cancer. Nevertheless other genital microorganisms may be involved in the progression of HPV associated lesions. Methods: Cervical samples were collected to search for human Papillomavirus (HPV), bacteria and yeast infections in gynaecologic outpatients. HPV typing was carried out by PCR and sequencing on cervical brush specimens. Chlamydia trachomatis was identified by strand displacement amplification (SDA) and the other microorganisms were detected by conventional methods. Results: In this cross-sectional study on 857 enrolled outpatients, statistical analyses revealed a significant association of HPV with C. trachomatis and Ureaplasma urealyticum (at high density) detection, whereas no correlation was found between HPV infection and bacterial vaginosis, Streptococcus agalactiae, yeasts, Trichomonas vaginalis and U. urealyticum. Mycoplasma hominis was isolated only in a few cases both in HPV positive and negative women and no patient was infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Conclusion: Although bacterial vaginosis was not significantly associated with HPV, it was more common among the HPV positive women. A significant association between HPV and C. trachomatis was found and interestingly also with U. urealyticum but only at a high colonization rate. These data suggest that it may be important to screen for the simultaneous presence of different microorganisms which may have synergistic pathological effects.

Global dissemination of some E. coli high-risk clones has been described in the last decades. The most widespread was the ST131 clone, associated with extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase (ESBL) production. Genomics of ST131 demonstrated that one clade within the ST emerged in the early 2000s, followed by a rapid, global expansion. The E. coli ST167 clone is emerging throughout the world, being frequently reported for its association with carbapenem resistance. Our study shows that virulence features are differently represented within the ST167 population. One clade shows the K48 capsular synthesis gene cluster of K. pneumoniae , not previously described for E. coli , and is populated by NDM-5-producing strains. The combination of resistance and virulence may sustain the global expansion of this specific ST167 clade.

Objective: To assess evidence on the efficacy of adjuvant human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in patients treated for HPV-related disease across different susceptible organ sites. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to identify studies addressing the efficacy of adjuvant HPV vaccination on reducing the risk of recurrence of HPV-related preinvasive diseases. Results were reported as mean differences or pooled odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results: Sixteen studies were identified for the final analysis. Overall, 21,472 patients with cervical dysplasia were included: 4132 (19.2%) received the peri-operative HPV vaccine, while 17,340 (80.8%) underwent surgical treatment alone. The recurrences of CIN 1+ (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.73; p = 0.001), CIN 2+ (OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.52; p < 0.0001), and CIN 3 (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.59; p = 0.0009) were lower in the vaccinated than in unvaccinated group. Similarly, adjuvant vaccination reduced the risk of developing anal intraepithelial neoplasia (p = 0.005) and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (p = 0.004). No differences in anogenital warts and vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia recurrence rate were observed comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Conclusions: Adjuvant HPV vaccination is associated with a reduced risk of CIN recurrence, although there are limited data regarding its role in other HPV-related diseases. Further research is warranted to shed more light on the role of HPV vaccination as adjuvant therapy after primary treatment.

There have been reports of in-vitro interferon (IFN)-mediated antiviral activity against the hepatitis C virus (HCV) through microRNAs (miRNAs). The main aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of several miRNAs (miR-1, miR-30, miR-128, miR-196, miR-296) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy individuals after in vitro IFN-treatment and in PBMCs from patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) before and 12 hours after the first injection of pegylated IFN alpha. We demonstrated that expression of these miRNAs could be recorded in PBMCs collected from healthy individuals before and after in-vitro IFN alpha treatment. Our analysis revealed that the levels of expression of all miRNAs investigated in patients with CHC were different to those in healthy individuals. When levels of the miRNAs were measured 12 hours after the first IFN injection, increases in expression levels of IFN-induced miRNAs were observed in 25-50% of patients, depending on the type of miRNA examined. No correlations were observed between HCV viral load, alanine aminotransferase status and expression of miRNA. Together these findings suggest that: (i) IFN alpha in-vitro treatment of PBMCs leads to a transcriptional induction of all miRNAs investigated; (ii) miRNAs can be induced differentially by IFN treatment in patients with HCV. Given the importance of miRNAs in defending the host against virus infections, it is possible that IFN-induced miRNAs may represent an important determinant of the clinical outcome of IFN therapy in HCV infection.