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Background: The relationship between viral infections and host factors holds high hopes for identifying the role of Interferon Lambda 3 (IFNL3) and Interleukin 6 (IL-6) polymorphisms in the development of Chronic Liver Disease (CLD) in patients infected with hepatitis Delta virus (HDV) in the Western Brazilian Amazon., Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted with a cohort of 40 chronic HDV patients, 27 with CLD and 13 without evident liver damage. Biological samples from the participants were analyzed using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, followed by sequencing by the automated Sanger method., Results: The rs8099917 T allele, from the IFNL3 gene, showed a higher frequency in both groups; however, it was not possible to establish an association with HDV infection [OR = 1.42 (0.42 - 4.75; p = 0.556 (95% CI). For IL-6, the rs1800795 G allele was superior to rs1800795 C. Analyzing both distributions in the studied groups, any association with HDV was absent (p > 0.05)., Conclusion: The results suggest that the rs8099917 T/G (IFNL3) and rs1800795 G/C (IL-6) polymorphisms are not associated with the evolution of HDV in the studied population., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Background: The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants has become a major concern contributing to increased morbidity and mortality worldwide., Objectives: Here we describe the replacement of the Gamma variant of concern (VOC) with Delta in the western Brazilian Amazon., Methods: In this study, we analysed 540 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples determined by qualitative real-time RT-PCR selected in the state of Rondônia between June and December 2021. The positive cohort was sequenced through next-generation sequencing (NGS) and each sample was quantified using real-time RT-qPCR, the whole genome sequence was obtained, SARS-CoV-2 lineages were classified using the system Pango and the maximum likelihood (ML) method was used to conduct phylogenetic analyses., Findings: A total of 540 high-quality genomes were obtained, where the Delta VOC showed the highest prevalence making up 72%, with strain AY.43 being the most abundant, while the Gamma VOC was present in 28%, where the P.1 strain was the most frequent. In this study population, only 32.96% (178/540) had completed the vaccination schedule., Main Conclusions: This study highlighted the presence of Gamma and Delta variants of SARS-CoV-2 in RO. Furthermore, we observed the replacement of the Gamma VOC with the Delta VOC and its lineages.

Background: Currently there is a significant risk of infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) during blood transfusion in high epidemic area. This is due to the pre-seroconversion window period, immunovariant viral strains and the presence of occult HBV infection (OBI). The aim of this study was to develop an in-house real-time PCR-based method, which was both ultra-sensitive and efficient offering an alternative method for nucleic acid testing (NAT)., Methods: A precore fragment with 109 bp was cloned and serial diluted to standard curve construction. The calibration of the HBV-DNA values was performed against OptiQuant® HBV-DNA Quantification Panel, Acrometrix Europe B.V.)., Results: From our in-house plasmid we prepared serial dilutions ranging from 2 × 10³-2 × 10⁹ copies/ml. The threshold was adjusted automatically during analysis and the data collected were analyzed by linear regression (r² = 0.99). The limit of detection for the assay with pHBVRO standards was 2000/ml in a total reaction volume of 30 μl. We found a strong correlation between the two methods (r² = 0.9965 and p < 0.0001). The regression line give us the following equation: Log 10 (IU/mL) = 0.9038Log 10 (copies/mL)--1.0643, suggesting that 1 IU/mL = 15 copies/mL., Conclusions: Therefore, we can affirm that the qHBVRO PCR can detect HBV DNA in individuals with hepatitis B at any stage of the disease showing high capacity for NAT screening in hepatitis b donors. This results of sensitivity could provide an advance for automation in blood banks and increasing safety of patients who receive blood transfusions.