Objective: To assess the efficacy of various types of vaccines developed for leptospirosis.

Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted in three databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library. Two authors (YS and MN) selected the articles based on manual screening. The study eligibility criteria are all Leptospira species regardless of any cluster (pathogenic, intermediate and non-pathogenic). This study recorded articles with positive and negative results and showed a comparison among various membrane proteins as vaccine candidates. The studies on the effectiveness of outer membrane protein as vaccine candidates were also included. The articles obtained in the databases were imported into the WPS spreadsheet, and duplicate documents were removed manually.

Results: A total of 24 studies were included in the review, which evaluated various types of leptospirosis vaccines. Multiple vaccines were developed and tested; however, the heterogeneity of Leptospira species pose a challenge. As an effective approach, an epitope based vaccine shows quite a promising result. However, sufficient validation, testing and clinical trials are required.

Conclusions: Developing an effective vaccine for leptospirosis remains a global health priority. While significant progress has been made in recent years, there is a need for further research to optimize vaccine development and to ensure that vaccines are accessible and effective for high-risk populations.

Flaviviruses are a group of positive-stranded RNA viruses that cause a broad spectrum of severe illnesses in humans worldwide. Clinical manifestations of flavivirus infections range from mild febrile illness to hemorrhage, shock, and neurological manifestations. Flavivirus infections cause a substantial global health impact, with an estimated more than 400 million cases of infections annually. Hence, an understanding of flavivirus-host interaction is urgently needed for new antiviral therapeutic strategies. In recent years, many aspects concerning epigenetic therapy for viral infections have been addressed, including methylation of the genome, acetylation/deacetylation of histone complex and microRNA regulation. In this context, we surveyed and reviewed the literature and summarized the epigenetic effects of resveratrol, a natural polyphenol with potential anti-viral properties, on flavivirus infections.

Objective: To identify circulating HPV types among urban Indonesian women and their specific co-infection patterns in bid to curb HPV infection in the general population and minimize its complications.

Methods: Urban Indonesian women from general population were selected as sample framework. Sample size and distribution across regions were determined by the Indonesian Bureau of Statistics (Badan Pusat Statistik, BPS), which represented the national level. Up to 35 408 cervical swab specimens were collected from August to September 2016 in 34 Indonesian provinces, categorized into six regions based on the development criteria set by the Ministry of National Development Planning (Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Nasional, BAPPENAS). From all 1874 samples identified as HPV-positive, hybrid capture was implemented to evaluate type-specific HPV. This study analyzed descriptive data to determine the core-cluster of HPV combination. Co-occurrence HPV network was assessed using ‘qgraph’ package version 1.6.3 and computed in R version 3.6.3. Two-HPV association was analyzed in logistic regression using bias-reduction generalized linear model (brglm2) package version 0.5.1 adjusted by age and six main Indonesian regions.

Results: The logistic regression analysis demonstrated that HPV type 52 had rare relationship despite its common co-occurrence, cementing its role in single HPV infection. HPV type 16 and 18 tended to form infection cluster and were strongly associated with other types.

Conclusions: HPV type 52 was the most frequent HPV type among urban Indonesian women and accounted for most single infection cases. Concurrently, HPV 16 and HPV 18 accounted for most multiple infection cases and had strong tendency to attract other types, which may add further complications. However, due to lack of cytology and histological examination and information for other potential determinants, further in-depth studies are necessary to confirm whether these infection patterns truly connect to certain clinical outcomes.

Objective: To evaluate parasitemia by qPCR in patients undergoing etiological treatment and followed in a Brazilian reference center.

Methods: Parasite load was quantified by qPCR in 32 participants with chronic Chagas disease who were treated with benznidazole. Serological analyses were performed before and after the treatment and parasite loads were compared prior and 12/18 months post the treatment.

Results: Thirty-two participants were recruited and treated with benznidazole, and 20 were followed-up. Adverse events (AE) were observed in 22 out of 29 participants that had safety data (76%), and dermatological alterations were the most frequently observed AE. Of the 20 participants analyzed, 13 and 7 completed 12 and 18 months follow-up after the treatment, respectively. 12 Months after the final treatment, Trypanosoma cruzi was detectable in 3 patients by qPCR; 18 months after the final treatment, Trypanosoma cruzi was detectable per qPCR in 4 of the 7 participants. Thus, between 12 and 18 months, 7 participants of the 20 initial follow-up cases showed positive qPCR, indicating treatment failures.

Conclusions: qPCR can be used as an alternative method for evaluating the effectiveness of the etiological treatment of CD, and can be applied to analyze early therapeutic failures. The study showed that benznidazole therapy had limited effectiveness in treating chronic CD patients, thus emphasizing the importance of conducting continued research for developing more effective therapies and diagnosis for CD.