In a study of the strength, durability and breadth of neutralizing antibody responses generated by a breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection, findings suggest that an increased number of exposures to SARS-CoV-2 antigens, either through infection and vaccination or triple vaccination, enhanced the quality of antibody responses. The highly transmissible Omicron variant shows significant immune evasion, but boosters help close the neutralizing antibody gap. Studies such as this may help guide vaccination policies and pandemic mitigation tactics.

While the Omicron variant continues to infect people around the world, researchers at the University of Missouri have identified the highly prevalent, specific mutations that are causing the Omicron variant’s high rate of infection. The findings help explain how the new variant can escape pre-existing antibodies present in the human body, either from vaccination or naturally from a recent COVID-19 infection.

Mange has decimated the population of wild vicuñas and guanacos in an Argentinian national park that was created to conserve them, according to a study published today in PLOS ONE. The findings suggest domestic llamas introduced to the site may have been the source of the outbreak. Cascading consequences for local predator and scavenger species are expected.