Publications

Bats are highly diverse mammals and known reservoirs of numerous zoonotic viruses. Their role in the ecology of emerging infectious diseases continues to be of significant interest. This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of coronaviruses (CoVs) in Portuguese bats and predict the affinity of their spike proteins with the aminopeptidase N (APN) receptor of several host species. The study also explored the viral diversity in bat samples using ...

BACKGROUNDHospital-based communicable disease surveillance may be costly during large outbreaks and often misses mild or asymptomatic infections. It can be enhanced by environmental surveillance, which monitors circulating pathogens, even from asymptomatic carriers.AIMWe investigated if tracking viruses in indoor air could be used for their surveillance in a community setting. We also tested the value of untargeted metagenomics to identify ...

Introduction Wastewater surveillance has become an essential tool for monitoring viral outbreaks and surveillance of human viruses. While PCR-based methods are most frequently used, more advanced techniques, such as shotgun metagenomics in combination with viral capture methods, have been developed. These capture methods significantly improve the ability to detect nearly all (known) viruses at once in complex samples, including wastewater. In ...

IntroductionDespite vaccine availability, rotavirus persists as a leading cause of gastroenteritis in children younger than 5 years.AimWe aimed to evaluate temporal changes in rotavirus epidemiology in Belgium between 2009 and 2023, including the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe collected 8,024 rotavirus-positive stool samples throughout Belgium. For 6,352 samples, we determined the G and/or P genotypes through sequencing of the genes ...

An in-depth analysis of a nasopharyngeal aspirate from a sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) case identified rhinovirus A12, parechovirus 1, and the rare enterovirus C105, using a combination of Sanger sequencing and hybrid-capture based next-generation sequencing. This case report highlights the need for continued enterovirus surveillance to improve our understanding of the clinical relevance of uncommon types.

Research biobanks have become crucial collaborators in a variety of basic and clinical research projects with comprehensive biological sample collection and associated data storage. Medical students, who are the most important stakeholders of biobanks as future physicians, need to be trained in biobanking; however, there is no consensus on how to include it in formal education. This study aimed to determine and increase awareness among medical ...

PURPOSE: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns of bacterial pathogens in COVID-19 patients and to compare the results with control groups from the pre-pandemic and pandemic era. METHODS: Microbiological database records of all the COVID-19 diagnosed patients in the Ege University Hospital between March 15, 2020, and June 15, 2020, evaluated retrospectively. Patients who acquired ...