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Infectious Disease Reports
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Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases
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Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases

A special issue of Infectious Disease Reports (ISSN 2036-7449). This special issue belongs to the section "Infection Prevention and Control".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2025 | Viewed by 9778

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Marc Ouellette

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie de l’Université Laval, Axe of Infectious and Immunological Diseases, CHU de Québec Research Centre-Université Laval (CHUL Hospital), Québec City, QC G1V4G2, Canada
Interests: genomics; antimicrobial resistance; protozoan parasites
Dr. Rabeea F. Omar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie de l’Université Laval, CHU de Québec Research Centre-Université Laval (CHUL Hospital), Québec City, QC G1V4G2, Canada
Interests: sexually transmitted infections (STIs); prevention of vaginal infections; womens’ health; HIV/AIDS; HSV
Dr. Sachiko Sato

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie de l’Université Laval, Axe of Infectious and Immunological Diseases, CHU de Québec Research Centre-Université Laval (CHUL Hospital), Québec City, QC G1V4G2, Canada
Interests: host-pathogen interaction; innate immunity; muscular dystrophy; glycobiology; single-cell analyses

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The “Centre de recherche en Infectiologie” de l’Universite Laval ((CRI); Infectious Diseases Research Center at Laval University) is one of the largest centers dedicated to infectious diseases research in Canada. In 2024, the CRI will be commemorating its 50th anniversary. The CRI was established in 1974 by Dr. Michel G. Bergeron (ORCID: 0000-0002-0939-4435)—a recipient of prestigious honors, such as the Order of Canada, Order of Quebec, and Manning Award for life-time Innovation—who has published approximately 500 peer-reviewed publications.

To commemorate our research center’s 50th anniversary, the researchers of the CRI are contributing their research articles to this Special Issue of Infectious Disease Reports for spring 2024. This Special Issue will feature 9–10 peer-reviewed articles, each highlighting the discoveries and innovations made by CRI researchers, including the contribution of the founder, Dr. Bergeron, who contributed to important changes in the medical practice, such as the rapid (<1 h) molecular diagnosis of bacterial infections and resistance (the first-ever FDA-approved rapid diagnostic RT–PCR tests originated from the CRI team of Dr. Bergeron and now serve patients’ diagnostics in more than 60 countries by BD Diagnostics). The work of our CRI researchers covers all forefronts from better managing infections to addressing aspects of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections.

This Special Issue of Infectious Disease Reports is designed to enable the rapid publication and dissemination of innovative research with the aim of advancing scientific and medical knowledge and highlighting future perspectives on the better management of microbes and infectious diseases to save lives and improve the quality of life of patients.

Prof. Dr. Marc Ouellette
Dr. Rabeea F. Omar
Dr. Sachiko Sato
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Infectious Disease Reports is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • managing infections (bacterial, viral and parasitic)
  • prevention
  • rapid molecular diagnosis
  • treatment
  • innovative solutions
  • multidisciplinarity
  • closing the loop and fulfilling patient’s unmet needs

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 725 KiB  
Article
Infection Rate and Risk Factors of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Retail Workers at the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Quebec, Canada
by Kim Santerre, Mathieu Thériault, Nicholas Brousseau, Marc-André Langlois, Corey Arnold, Joelle N. Pelletier, Caroline Gilbert, Jean-François Masson, Mariana Baz, Denis Boudreau and Sylvie Trottier
Infect. Dis. Rep. 2024, 16(6), 1240-1253; https://doi.org/10.3390/idr16060098 (registering DOI) - 16 Dec 2024
Viewed by 168
Abstract
Background/Objectives: During the pandemic, client-facing workers were perceived to be at greater risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study investigated the risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection among a cohort of 304 retail workers in the Quebec City metropolitan area. Methods: After providing consent, participants [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: During the pandemic, client-facing workers were perceived to be at greater risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study investigated the risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection among a cohort of 304 retail workers in the Quebec City metropolitan area. Methods: After providing consent, participants were interviewed to gather information on demographic, socioeconomic, behavioural, and occupational variables. They were subsequently followed for up to five visits, scheduled every 12 ± 4 weeks. The study covered critical periods before and during the emergence of the Omicron variants and included retrospective reporting of COVID-19 symptoms and virus detection tests to capture the pandemic’s early stages. Results: During the observation period, 173 (57%) participants experienced a first episode of COVID-19. Serological evidence of recent infection was detected in 160 participants (53%), while 117 (38%) reported a positive virus detection test. In adjusted analyses, risk factors for infection included younger age, a diagnosis of lung disease, longer weekly working hours, more frequent social gatherings, and having received fewer than three doses of vaccine. Notably, the increased risk associated with younger age and longer working hours was observed only after the relaxation of public health measures in the spring of 2022. Conclusions: These data suggest that during the early years of the pandemic when strict public health measures were in place, retail work was not a significant risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection in Quebec City metropolitan area. These findings highlight the complex dynamics of COVID-19 transmission and the effectiveness of workplace protective measures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases)
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Figure 1

Figure 1
<p>Timeline of the study illustrating the visits (coloured dashed lines) and the first occurrences of seropositivity (blue bars, combined detection of IgG antibodies against spike and nucleocapsid proteins) and of SARS-CoV-2 positive virus detection (grey bars, PCR or rapid antigen). Adapted from [<a href="#B13-idr-16-00098" class="html-bibr">13</a>].</p> Full article ">Figure 2
<p>Documented infections and participants with symptoms. <sup>1</sup> Combined detection of IgG antibodies against spike and nucleocapsid proteins; <sup>2</sup> nasopharyngeal PCR or rapid antigen test; <sup>3</sup> at least one symptom related to COVID-19: cough, fever, shortness of breath, sore muscles, headache, sore throat, diarrhea, runny nose, or decreased sense of smell or taste.</p> Full article ">Figure 3
<p>Kaplan–Meier curves depicting the cumulative event rate of all infections, stratified by type of work (<b>A</b>), age group (<b>B</b>), sex (<b>C</b>), education level (<b>D</b>), BMI group (<b>E</b>), comorbidities (<b>F</b>), smoking habits (<b>G</b>,<b>H</b>), influenza vaccine status (<b>I</b>), work region (<b>J</b>), weekly working hours (<b>K</b>), social gatherings frequency (<b>L</b>), travel frequency (<b>M</b>), household resident number (<b>N</b>), and number of COVID-19 vaccinations received (<b>O</b>). The shaded area indicates the Omicron period. The arrow indicates the lifting of most public health measures, which occurred on 12 March 2022.</p> Full article ">

Review

Jump to: Research

18 pages, 641 KiB  
Review
The Paradigm Shift of Using Natural Molecules Extracted from Northern Canada to Combat Malaria
by Alexandra Bourgeois, Juliana Aline Souza Lemos, Stéphanie Roucheray, Audrey Sergerie and Dave Richard
Infect. Dis. Rep. 2024, 16(4), 543-560; https://doi.org/10.3390/idr16040041 - 26 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1689
Abstract
Parasitic diseases, such as malaria, are an immense burden to many low- and middle-income countries. In 2022, 249 million cases and 608,000 deaths were reported by the World Health Organization for malaria alone. Climate change, conflict, humanitarian crises, resource constraints and diverse biological [...] Read more.
Parasitic diseases, such as malaria, are an immense burden to many low- and middle-income countries. In 2022, 249 million cases and 608,000 deaths were reported by the World Health Organization for malaria alone. Climate change, conflict, humanitarian crises, resource constraints and diverse biological challenges threaten progress in the elimination of malaria. Undeniably, the lack of a commercialized vaccine and the spread of drug-resistant parasites beg the need for novel approaches to treat this infectious disease. Most approaches for the development of antimalarials to date take inspiration from tropical or sub-tropical environments; however, it is necessary to expand our search. In this review, we highlight the origin of antimalarial treatments and propose new insights in the search for developing novel antiparasitic treatments. Plants and microorganisms living in harsh and cold environments, such as those found in the largely unexploited Northern Canadian boreal forest, often demonstrate interesting properties that are not found in other environments. Most prominently, the essential oil of Rhododendron tomentosum spp. Subarcticum from Nunavik and mortiamides isolated from Mortierella species found in Nunavut have shown promising activity against Plasmodium falciparum. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases)
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<p>Life cycle of <span class="html-italic">Plasmodium falciparum</span>.</p> Full article ">
12 pages, 778 KiB  
Review
Tackling Infectious Diseases with Rapid Molecular Diagnosis and Innovative Prevention
by Rabeea F. Omar, Maurice Boissinot, Ann Huletsky and Michel G. Bergeron
Infect. Dis. Rep. 2024, 16(2), 216-227; https://doi.org/10.3390/idr16020017 - 5 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3985
Abstract
Infectious diseases (IDs) are a leading cause of death. The diversity and adaptability of microbes represent a continuing risk to health. Combining vision with passion, our transdisciplinary medical research team has been focussing its work on the better management of infectious diseases for [...] Read more.
Infectious diseases (IDs) are a leading cause of death. The diversity and adaptability of microbes represent a continuing risk to health. Combining vision with passion, our transdisciplinary medical research team has been focussing its work on the better management of infectious diseases for saving human lives over the past five decades through medical discoveries and innovations that helped change the practice of medicine. The team used a multiple-faceted and integrated approach to control infectious diseases through fundamental discoveries and by developing innovative prevention tools and rapid molecular diagnostic tests to fulfill the various unmet needs of patients and health professionals in the field of ID. In this article, as objectives, we put in context two main research areas of ID management: innovative infection prevention that is woman-controlled, and the rapid molecular diagnosis of infection and resistance. We also explain how our transdisciplinary approach encompassing specialists from diverse fields ranging from biology to engineering was instrumental in achieving success. Furthermore, we discuss our vision of the future for translational research to better tackle IDs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases)
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Figure 1

Figure 1
<p>Revogene<sup>®</sup>—Automated molecular testing platform.</p> Full article ">Figure 2
<p>Invisible Condom<sup>®</sup> unique vaginal applicator.</p> Full article ">
18 pages, 1628 KiB  
Review
Management of Cytomegalovirus Infections in the Era of the Novel Antiviral Players, Letermovir and Maribavir
by Jocelyne Piret and Guy Boivin
Infect. Dis. Rep. 2024, 16(1), 65-82; https://doi.org/10.3390/idr16010005 - 18 Jan 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3015
Abstract
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections may increase morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. Until recently, standard antiviral drugs against CMV were limited to viral DNA polymerase inhibitors (val)ganciclovir, foscarnet and cidofovir with a risk for cross-resistance. These drugs may also cause serious side effects. This [...] Read more.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections may increase morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. Until recently, standard antiviral drugs against CMV were limited to viral DNA polymerase inhibitors (val)ganciclovir, foscarnet and cidofovir with a risk for cross-resistance. These drugs may also cause serious side effects. This narrative review provides an update on new antiviral agents that were approved for the prevention and treatment of CMV infections in transplant recipients. Letermovir was approved in 2017 for CMV prophylaxis in CMV-seropositive adults who received an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Maribavir followed four years later, with an indication in the treatment of adult and pediatric transplant patients with refractory/resistant CMV disease. The target of letermovir is the CMV terminase complex (constituted of pUL56, pUL89 and pUL51 subunits). Letermovir prevents the cleavage of viral DNA and its packaging into capsids. Maribavir is a pUL97 kinase inhibitor, which interferes with the assembly of capsids and the egress of virions from the nucleus. Both drugs have activity against most CMV strains resistant to standard drugs and exhibit favorable safety profiles. However, high-level resistance mutations may arise more rapidly in the UL56 gene under letermovir than low-grade resistance mutations. Some mutations emerging in the UL97 gene under maribavir can be cross-resistant with ganciclovir. Thus, letermovir and maribavir now extend the drug arsenal available for the management of CMV infections and their respective niches are currently defined. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases)
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Figure 1

Figure 1
<p>Chemical structures of the different DNA polymerase inhibitors, letermovir and maribavir. Concentrations of antivirals that reduce cytomegalovirus growth by 50% (EC<sub>50</sub>) are also indicated.</p> Full article ">Figure 2
<p>Strategies used for the prevention of CMV infection in solid organ transplant (SOT) and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) recipients. Universal prophylaxis is based on the administration of antivirals (blue line) to all at-risk patients for 3 or 6 months after transplantation (Tx). During pre-emptive therapy (PET), the antiviral (blue triangle) is administered when the viral load (determined in blood every week for 3 or 6 months) is higher than a defined threshold (red circle) and stopped when the viral is below the threshold (white circle). D<sup>+</sup>/R<sup>−</sup>, donor positive/recipient negative for CMV; R<sup>+</sup>, recipient positive for CMV. Adapted from Limaye et al. [<a href="#B5-idr-16-00005" class="html-bibr">5</a>].</p> Full article ">Figure 3
<p>Confirmed cytomegalovirus resistance mutations to DNA polymerase inhibitors. Panel (<b>A</b>) shows a representation of the pUL97 kinase with its conserved regions (grey boxes) and the localization of amino acid substitutions conferring resistance to ganciclovir (vertical bars). The ATP-binding site, the phosphate transfer (P-transfer) domain, the nucleoside-binding site (NBS) and some regions conserved among the protein kinase family (i.e., I, II, III, VIB, VII, VIII and IX) are indicated above the boxes. The shaded area corresponds to the codon 590–603 region where different amino acid deletions were identified (i.e., deletions 591–594; 591–607; 595; 595–603; 600 and 601–603). Panel (<b>B</b>) shows a representation of pUL54 DNA polymerase with its conserved regions (grey boxes) and the localization of amino acids associated with resistance to ganciclovir (GCV<sup>R</sup>), foscarnet (FOS<sup>R</sup>) and/or cidofovir (CDV<sup>R</sup>) (colored bars). The Roman numbers (I to VII) and δ-region C correspond to conserved regions in the polymerase domain. Exo I, Exo II and Exo III are conserved motifs in the exonuclease domain.</p> Full article ">Figure 4
<p>Novel targets for anti-cytomegalovirus inhibitors. During CMV replication, the viral DNA synthesis proceeds by a rolling circle mechanism. This process involves the viral pUL54 DNA polymerase (pol), which is the target of ganciclovir-triphosphate (GCV-TP), cidofovir-diphosphate (CDV-DP) and foscarnet (FOS). The viral terminase complex formed by the pUL56, pUL89 and pUL51 subunits is involved in the cleavage of DNA concatemers at Pac site and their packaging into capsids. Letermovir (LMV) is an inhibitor of the viral terminase complex and more specifically of the pUL56 subunit. On the other hand, pUL97 kinase is involved in the phosphorylation of several viral and host proteins. pUL97 kinase also participates in the disruption of the nuclear lamina and in the nuclear egress of virions. Maribavir (MBV) is a selective inhibitor of the pUL97 kinase activity.</p> Full article ">Figure 5
<p>Confirmed amino acid changes associated with resistance to letermovir detected in CMV laboratory strains and clinical specimens. Panel (<b>A</b>) shows amino acid substitutions in the pUL56 subunit associated with letermovir resistance (vertical bars). Grey boxes represent the conserved regions of pUL56, which are numbered I to XII. Hatched boxes represent the two variable regions, which are labeled as VRI and VRII. Panel (<b>B</b>) shows amino acid substitutions in the pUL89 subunit conferring resistance to letermovir (vertical bars). Grey boxes represent the conserved regions in pUL89, which are numbered I to XII. Panel (<b>C</b>) shows amino acid substitutions in pUL51 subunit conferring letermovir resistance (vertical bars). In all panels, vertical bars show amino acid substitutions associated with letermovir resistance identified in laboratory strains (black) and clinical specimens (red).</p> Full article ">Figure 6
<p>Confirmed amino acid changes associated with resistance to maribavir detected in CMV laboratory strains and clinical specimens. Panel (<b>A</b>) shows amino acid substitutions in the pUL97 kinase conferring CMV resistance to maribavir (vertical bars in blue) or to maribavir/ganciclovir (vertical bars in green). Grey boxes represent the ATP-binding site, the phosphate transfer (P-transfer) domain, the nucleoside-binding site (NBS) and some regions conserved among the protein kinase family (i.e., I, II, III, VIB, VII, VIII and IX). Panel (<b>B</b>) shows amino acid substitutions in the pUL27 associated with resistance to maribavir (vertical bars in black). The hatched box represents codons 301–311 deletion that confers maribavir resistance. Grey boxes represent the conserved regions in pUL27, which are numbered I to IV.</p> Full article ">
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