Browsing by Author "Sacomboio, Euclides"
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- Clinical features related to severity and mortality among COVID-19 patients in a pre-vaccine period in Luanda, AngolaPublication . Sebastião, Cruz S.; Cogle, Adis; Teixeira, Alice D’Alva; Cândido, Ana Micolo; Tchoni, Chissengo; Amorim, Maria João; Loureiro, N’gueza; Parimbelli, Paolo; Penha-Gonçalves, Carlos; Demengeot, Jocelyne; Sacomboio, Euclides; Mendes, Manuela; Arrais, Margarete; Morais, Joana; Vasconcelos, Jocelyne Neto de; Brito, MiguelBackground: Infection due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is associated with clinical features of diverse severity. Few studies investigated the severity and mortality predictors of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Africa. Herein, we investigated the clinical features of severity and mortality among COVID-19 patients in Luanda, Angola. Methods: This multicenter cohort study involved 101 COVID-19 patients, between December 2020 and April 2021, with clinical and laboratory data collected. Analysis was done using independent-sample t-tests and Chi-square tests. The results were deemed significant when p < 0.05. Results: The mean age of patients was 51 years (ranging from 18 to 80 years) and 60.4% were male. Fever (46%), cough (47%), gastrointestinal symptoms (26.7%), and asthenia (26.7%), were the most common symptoms. About 64.4% of the patients presented coexistent disorders, including hypertension (42%), diabetes (17%), and chronic renal diseases (6%). About 23% were non-severe, 77% were severe, and 10% died during hospitalization. Variations in the concentration of neutrophil, urea, creatinine, c-reactive protein, sodium, creatine kinase, and chloride were independently associated with severity and/or mortality (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Several factors contributed to the severity and mortality among COVID-19 patients in Angola. Further studies related to clinical features should be carried out to help clinical decision-making and follow-up of COVID-19 patients in Angola.
- Distribution of CCR5-Delta32, CCR2-64I, and SDF1-3’A host genetic factors in HIV-infected and uninfected individuals in Luanda, AngolaPublication . Sebastião, Cruz S.; Pimentel, Victor; Jandondo, Domingos; Sebastião, Joana M. K.; Sacomboio, Euclides; Pingarilho, Marta; Brito, Miguel; Cassinela, Edson kuatelela; Vasconcelos, Jocelyne Neto de; Abecasis, Ana B.; Morais, JoanaBackground: The HIV/AIDS pandemic remains a public health concern. Studies on host genetic polymorphisms that confer resistance to HIV-1 infection or delay HIV disease progression are scarce in African countries. Herein, we investigate the proportion of the mutated phenotype of the AIDS-related polymorphisms CCR5-Delta32, CCR2-64I, and SDF1-3'A in HIV-infected and uninfected individuals in Luanda, the capital of Angola, a sub-Saharan African country. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted with 284 individuals, of whom 159 were HIV-negative and 125 were HIV-positive. The CCR5-Delta32, CCR2-64I, and SDF1-3'A genotypes were detected by conventional PCR and visualised on a 2% agarose gel. A Chi-square test determined the frequency of each genetic variant and was deemed significant when p < 0.05. Results: The frequency of CCR5-Delta32, CCR2-64I, and SDF1-3 A was 0% (0/272), 60.2% (154/256), and 42.5% (114/268), respectively. CCR2-64I and SDF1-3 A polymorphisms were statistically related to HIV infection (p < 0.001). Statistically significant was observed between ABO blood groups (p = 0.006) and HIV-1 subtype (p = 0.015) with CCR2-64I. Also, the age group (p = 0.024) and RH blood group (p = 0.018) were statistically related to the distribution of SDF1-3 A polymorphism. Conclusions: We found no CCR5-Delta32 allele, while CCR2-64I and SDF1-3'A were found and presented a relationship with HIV infection, age, ABO/RH blood group, and HIV-1 subtypes. The observed associations of CCR2-64I and SDF1-3'A with HIV underscore the urgent need for further multidisciplinary research, with potential implications for targeted prevention and public health strategies. Therefore, studies investigating biological and non-biological factors related to susceptibility to HIV infection and AIDS progression or death should be conducted in Angola.
- HIV-1 diversity and pre-treatment drug resistance in the era of integrase inhibitor among newly diagnosed ART-naïve adult patients in Luanda, AngolaPublication . Sebastião, Cruz S.; Abecasis, Ana B.; Jandondo, Domingos; Sebastião, Joana M.; Vigário, João; Comandante, Felícia; Pingarilho, Marta; Pocongo, Bárbara; Cassinela, Edson; Gonçalves, Fátima; Gomes, Perpétua; Giovanetti, Marta; Francisco, Ngiambudulu M.; Sacomboio, Euclides; Brito, Miguel; Neto de Vasconcelos, Jocelyne; Morais, Joana; Pimentel, VictorThe surveillance of drug resistance in the HIV-1 naïve population remains critical to optimizing the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART), mainly in the era of integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) regimens. Currently, there is no data regarding resistance to INSTI in Angola since Dolutegravir-DTG was included in the first-line ART regimen. Herein, we investigated the HIV-1 genetic diversity and pretreatment drug resistance (PDR) profile against nucleoside/tide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), protease inhibitors (PIs), and INSTIs, using a next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach with MinION, established to track and survey DRMs in Angola. This was a cross-sectional study comprising 48 newly HIV-diagnosed patients from Luanda, Angola, screened between March 2022 and May 2023. PR, RT, and IN fragments were sequenced for drug resistance and molecular transmission cluster analysis. A total of 45 out of the 48 plasma samples were successfully sequenced. Of these, 10/45 (22.2%) presented PDR to PIs/NRTIs/NNRTIs. Major mutations for NRTIs (2.2%), NNRTIs (20%), PIs (2.2%), and accessory mutations against INSTIs (13.3%) were detected. No major mutations against INSTIs were detected. M41L (2%) and I85V (2%) mutations were detected for NRTI and PI, respectively. K103N (7%), Y181C (7%), and K101E (7%) mutations were frequently observed in NNRTI. The L74M (9%) accessory mutation was frequently observed in the INSTI class. HIV-1 pure subtypes C (33%), F1 (17%), G (15%), A1 (10%), H (6%), and D (4%), CRF01_AG (4%) were observed, while about 10% were recombinant strains. About 31% of detected HIV-1C sequences were in clusters, suggesting small-scale local transmission chains. No major mutations against integrase inhibitors were detected, supporting the continued use of INSTI in the country. Further studies assessing the HIV-1 epidemiology in the era of INSTI-based ART regimens are needed in Angola.
- Prevalence and risk factors of SARS-CoV-2 infection among parturients and newborns from Luanda, AngolaPublication . Sebastião, Cruz S.; Parimbelli, Paolo; Mendes, Manuela; Sacomboio, Euclides; Morais, Joana; Vasconcelos, Jocelyne Neto de; Brito, MiguelSARS-CoV-2 emerged in China in December 2019, creating a massive public health concern. Although previous studies have identified SARS-CoV-2 in pregnant women, the possibility of transmission to newborns remains uncertain. Herein, we investigated SARS-CoV-2 infection and risk factors among parturients and newborns. This was a cross-sectional study carried out with 3633 parturients from Luanda, Angola, between January and April 2021, with an age ranging from 13 to 48 years. SARS-CoV-2 infection of the parturients was further confirmed with RT-PCR after COVID-19 Ag Rapid Testing. About 0.4% of parturients tested positive on the day of delivery. Surprisingly, parturients from urbanized areas (OR: 0.18, p = 0.025) had a low chance of infection. None of the newborns tested positive in the first 24 h after birth, while one (9.1%, 1/10) of the newborns tested positive with pharyngeal swabs seven days after birth. However, whether the case was due to vertical transmission from mother to child remains to be confirmed. The mother’s residence, education level, antenatal follow-up, and delivery category were related to SARS-CoV-2 transmission (p < 0.05). Our findings showed a relatively low SARS-CoV-2 infection from parturients to newborns, regardless of the severity of the maternal disease. Furthermore, these findings are an early assessment of COVID-19 cases in late pregnancy, which could indicate the need for intensive management of SARS-CoV-2 infection among parturients in Angola. Further studies are needed on the consequences of SARS-CoV-2 among pregnant women and neonates from Angola.
- The impact of the ABO/Rh blood group on susceptibility and severity among COVID-19 patients in Luanda, AngolaPublication . Sebastião, Cruz S.; Teixeira, Alice; Luísa, Ana; Arrais, Margarete; Tchonhi, Chissengo; Cogle, Adis; Sacomboio, Euclides; Cardoso, Bruno; Morais, Joana; Vasconcelos, Jocelyne Neto de; Brito, MiguelSARS-CoV-2 is a public health concern worldwide. Identification of biological factors that could influence transmission and worsen the disease has been the subject of extensive investigation. Herein, we investigate the impact of the ABO/Rh blood group on susceptibility and severity among COVID-19 patients in Luanda, Angola. This was a multicentric cohort study conducted with 101 COVID-19 patients. Chi-square and logistic regression were calculated to check factors related to the worsening of the disease and deemed significant when p<0.05. Blood type O (51.5%) and Rh-positive (93.1%) were the most frequent. Patients from blood type O had a high risk to severe disease [OR: 1.33 (95% CI: 0.42 - 4.18), p=0.630] and hospitalization [OR: 2.59 (95% CI: 0.84 - 8.00), p=0.099]. Also, Rh-positive blood type presented a high risk for severe disease (OR: 10.6, p=0.007) and hospitalization (OR: 6.04, p=0.026). We find a high susceptibility, severity, hospitalization, and mortality, respectively, among blood group O and Rh-positive patients, while blood group AB presented a low susceptibility, severity, hospitalization, and mortality, respectively. Our findings add to the body of evidence suggesting that ABO/Rh blood groups play an important role in the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection.