Here we are with September’s Microbiology Time, and the top three studies we selected are:

• A study from Elisa Borghi’s team assessing the possible use of saliva to screen an Italian Prison’s inmates for SARS-CoV-2. Submitting all the new incomers to saliva test and nasopharyngeal swab at the beginning and at the end of quarantine beforehand the admission into the prison’s community, the group demonstrated that saliva-based SARS-CoV-2 molecular testing is feasible in a prison setting, being less invasive and easier to use than nasopharyngeal swabbing, reliable, and highly accepted.
• Another Italian study, by Prof. G. Zanusso. Since the detection of pathological α-synuclein in olfactory mucosa in Parkinson’s patients is not as accurate as in other α-synucleinopathies, he and his group investigated whether swabbing performed in other nasal areas might be able to detect pathological α-syn. Analyzing samples with real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC), the group saw increased sensitivity when sampling the agger nasi zone, indicating that α-syn aggregates are preferentially detected in olfactory areas with a higher concentration of olfactory neurons. Although RT-QuIC analysis of CSF showed higher diagnostic accuracy than nasal swabbing, due to the non-invasiveness, swabbing might be considered an ancillary procedure for PD diagnosis.
• A German study analyzing the extent of monkeypox virus environmental contamination of surfaces. By examining the rooms occupied by two monkeypox patients, the groups successfully isolated the virus from different surfaces. According to the researchers, these data highlight the importance of strict adherence of hospital staff to recommended protective measures.

Read the full studies below: