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Lancet Microbe 2022 May 23. Epub 2022 May 23.

Laboratory of Virology, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Viral load in patients with Ebola virus disease affects case fatality rate and is an important parameter used for diagnostic cutoffs, stratification in randomised controlled trials, and epidemiological studies. However, viral load in Ebola virus disease is currently estimated using numerous different assays and protocols that were not developed or validated for this purpose. Here, our aim was to conduct a laboratory-based re-evaluation of the viral loads of a large cohort of Liberian patients with Ebola virus disease and analyse these data in the broader context of the west Africa epidemic. Read More

J Pharm Sci 2022 May 21. Epub 2022 May 21.

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80303.

Zaire ebolavirus, Sudan ebolavirus, and Marburg marburgvirus are the filoviruses most commonly associated with human disease. Previously, we administered a three-dose regimen of trivalent vaccines comprising glycoprotein antigens from each virus in mice and non-human primates (NHPs). The vaccines, which contained a polysorbate 80-stabilized squalane-in-water emulsion adjuvant and were lyophilized from a solution containing trehalose, produced high antibody levels against all three filovirus antigens. Read More

Biosens Bioelectron 2022 May 18;211:114393. Epub 2022 May 18.

School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, PR China. Electronic address:

A fast and simple Cas13a-based assay approach for direct detecting Ebola RNA in unamplified samples is reported. The procedure (named Cas-Roller) is comprised of a 10-min Cas13a-mediated cleavage protocol, followed by a DNA roller running for 30 min. This involves Cas13a collateral cleaving a suitably designed substrate in the presence of Ebola virus RNA sequence, and the cleavage product is used for DNA roller to amplify and generate fluorescent signals. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2022 Jun;28(6):1189-1197

Rapid diagnostic tools for children with Ebola virus disease (EVD) are needed to expedite isolation and treatment. To evaluate a predictive diagnostic tool, we examined retrospective data (2014-2015) from the International Medical Corps Ebola Treatment Centers in West Africa. We incorporated statistically derived candidate predictors into a 7-point Pediatric Ebola Risk Score. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2022 Jun;28(6):1180-1188

We conducted a retrospective cohort study to assess the effect vaccination with the live-attenuated recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus-Zaire Ebola virus vaccine had on deaths among patients who had laboratory-confirmed Ebola virus disease (EVD). We included EVD-positive patients coming to an Ebola Treatment Center in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo during 2018-2020. Overall, 25% of patients vaccinated before symptom onset died compared with 63% of unvaccinated patients. Read More

Comput Math Methods Med 2022 13;2022:4150043. Epub 2022 May 13.

Mathematics and Applied Mathematics Department, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Kingsway Campus, Johannesburg, South Africa.

The role of human behaviour in the dynamics of infectious diseases cannot be underestimated. A clear understanding of how human behaviour influences the spread of infectious diseases is critical in establishing and designing control measures. To study the role that human behaviour plays in Ebola disease dynamics, in this paper, we design an Ebola virus disease model with disease transmission dynamics based on a new exponential nonlinear incidence function. Read More

Front Psychiatry 2022 6;13:767656. Epub 2022 May 6.

School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Ebola virus disease (EVD) survivors and healthcare workers (HCWs) face stress, fear, and stigma during the COVID-19 pandemic that can induce severe symptoms of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We examined the prevalence and factors related to severe PTSD and anxiety symptoms, using a representative sample of survivors of the 2018-2020 EVD epidemic in DR Congo in comparison HCWs. Five hundred sixty-three participants (55. Read More

Front Immunol 2022 3;13:807104. Epub 2022 May 3.

School of Biosciences and Medicine, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom.

Immunoglobulin gene heterogeneity reflects the diversity and focus of the humoral immune response towards different infections, enabling inference of B cell development processes. Detailed compositional and lineage analysis of long read IGH repertoire sequencing, combining examples of pandemic, epidemic and endemic viral infections with control and vaccination samples, demonstrates general responses including increased use of in both Zaire Ebolavirus (EBOV) and COVID-19 patient cohorts. We also show unique characteristics absent in Respiratory Syncytial Virus or yellow fever vaccine samples: EBOV survivors show unprecedented high levels of class switching events while COVID-19 repertoires from acute disease appear underdeveloped. Read More

BMJ Glob Health 2022 May;7(5)

Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire, Conakry, Guinea.

In 2017, the national agency for health security (L'Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire-ANSS) in Guinea implemented the District Health Information Software (DHIS2) as the Ministry of Health national surveillance system to capture and report aggregate disease data. During 2019, the ANSS started using DHIS2 Tracker to collect case-based (individual-level) data for epidemic-prone diseases. In 2020, the capability was expanded, and it was used during the COVID-19 pandemic to capture data relevant to the COVID-19 response. Read More

Lancet Infect Dis 2022 May 16. Epub 2022 May 16.

Partnership for Research on Vaccines and Infectious Diseases in Liberia (PREVAIL), Monrovia, Liberia.

Background: Whether or not individuals with pauci-symptomatic or asymptomatic Ebola virus infection and unrecognised Ebola virus disease develop clinical sequelae is unknown. We assessed current symptoms and physical examination findings among individuals with pauci-symptomatic or asymptomatic infection and unrecognised Ebola virus disease compared with Ebola virus disease survivors and uninfected contacts.

Methods: Between June 17, 2015, and June 30, 2017, we studied a cohort of Ebola virus disease survivors and their contacts in Liberia. Read More

Health Secur 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

John J. Lowe, PhD, is Co-Principal Investigator, NETEC; a Professor, Department of Environmental, Agricultural, and Occupational Health, College of Public Health; and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health Security Training and Education; all at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE.

In February 2015, the US Department of Health and Human Services developed a tiered hospital network to deliver safe and effective care to patients with Ebola virus disease (EVD) and other special pathogens. The tiered network consisted of regional special pathogen treatment centers, state- or jurisdiction-designated treatment centers, assessment hospitals able to safely isolate a patient until a diagnosis of EVD was confirmed and transfer the patient, and frontline healthcare facilities able to identify and isolate patients with EVD and facilitate transport to higher-tier facilities. The National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) was established in tandem to support the development of healthcare facility special pathogen management capabilities. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2022 May 18;18(5):e1010518. Epub 2022 May 18.

Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America.

The three human pathogenic ebolaviruses: Zaire (EBOV), Bundibugyo (BDBV), and Sudan (SUDV) viruses, cause severe disease with high fatality rates. Epitopes of ebolavirus glycoprotein (GP) recognized by antibodies with binding breadth for all three ebolaviruses are of major interest for rational vaccine design. In particular, the heptad repeat 2 -membrane-proximal external region (HR2-MPER) epitope is relatively conserved between EBOV, BDBV, and SUDV GP and targeted by human broadly-neutralizing antibodies. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022 May 18;16(5):e0010465. Epub 2022 May 18.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd. Read More

Transl Psychiatry 2022 May 17;12(1):205. Epub 2022 May 17.

School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region, China.

COVID-19 has imposed a very substantial direct threat to the physical health of those infected, although the corollary impact on mental health may be even more burdensome. Here we focus on assessing the mental health impact of COVID-19 and of other epidemics in the community. We searched five electronic databases until December 9, 2020, for all peer-reviewed original studies reporting any prevalence or correlates of mental disorders in the general population following novel epidemics in English, Chinese or Portuguese. Read More

Front Microbiol 2022 28;13:884034. Epub 2022 Apr 28.

Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Science, Guangzhou, China.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), public health worldwide has been greatly threatened. The development of an effective treatment for this infection is crucial and urgent but is hampered by the incomplete understanding of the viral infection mechanisms and the lack of specific antiviral agents. We previously reported that teicoplanin, a glycopeptide antibiotic that has been commonly used in the clinic to treat bacterial infection, significantly restrained the cell entry of Ebola virus, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV by specifically inhibiting the activity of cathepsin L (CTSL). Read More

J Biol Chem 2022 May 11:102025. Epub 2022 May 11.

Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. Electronic address:

Ebola virus (EBOV) infections continue to pose a global public health threat, with high mortality rates and sporadic outbreaks in Central and Western Africa. A quantitative understanding of the key processes driving EBOV assembly and budding could provide valuable insights to inform drug development. Here we use a computational model to evaluate EBOV matrix assembly. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2022 May 7;23(9). Epub 2022 May 7.

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec Research Center/CHUL Pavilion, Quebec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important gene regulatory molecules involved in a broad range of cellular activities. Although the existence and functions of miRNAs are clearly defined and well established in eukaryotes, this is not always the case for those of viral origin. Indeed, the existence of viral miRNAs is the subject of intense controversy, especially those of RNA viruses. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2022 May 3;23(9). Epub 2022 May 3.

Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Química, Universidad Complutense, 28040 Madrid, Spain.

The synthesis of new biocompatible antiviral materials to fight against the development of multidrug resistance is being widely explored. Due to their unique globular structure and excellent properties, [60]fullerene-based antivirals are very promising bioconjugates. In this work, fullerene derivatives with different topologies and number of glycofullerene units were synthesized by using a SPAAC copper free strategy. Read More

Vaccine 2022 May 9;40(25):3470-3480. Epub 2022 May 9.

Tropical Medicine Department, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, The Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Since the largest Ebola outbreak in West Africa (2013-2016) highlighted the potential threat of the Ebola virus to the world, several vaccines have been under development by different pharmaceutical companies. To obtain vaccine licensure, vaccine trials assessing the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of new vaccines among different populations (e.g. Read More

Hum Resour Health 2022 May 12;20(1):40. Epub 2022 May 12.

RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.

Background: The 2014-2016 Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa revealed weaknesses in the health systems of the three most heavily affected countries, including a shortage of public health professionals at the local level trained in surveillance and outbreak investigation. In response, the Frontline Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) was created by CDC in 2015 as a 3-month, accelerated training program in field epidemiology that specifically targets the district level. In Guinea, the first two FETP-Frontline cohorts were held from January to May, and from June to September 2017. Read More

Sci Rep 2022 May 11;12(1):7757. Epub 2022 May 11.

Medical Plants Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.

Ebola virus (EBOV) is a dangerous zoonotic infectious disease. To date, more than 25 EBOV outbreaks have been documented, the majority of which have occurred in Central Africa. The rVSVG-ZEBOV-GP vaccine (ERVEBO), a live attenuated vaccine, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to combat EBOV. Read More

Lancet Microbe 2021 Dec 3;2(12):e676-e684. Epub 2021 Sep 3.

Université de Montpellier-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Montpellier, France; Institut National de Santé Publique, Conakry, Guinea.

Background: Insufficient long-term data are available on antibody kinetics in survivors of Ebola virus disease (EVD). Likewise, few studies, with very small sample sizes, have investigated cross-reactions between Ebolavirus spp. In this study, we aimed to assess the humoral antibody response and its determinants in survivors of EVD and assess cross-reactivity of antibodies between diverse Ebolavirus spp. Read More

Lancet Microbe 2022 Feb 6;3(2):e113-e123. Epub 2021 Dec 6.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.

Background: A recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vector expressing the Zaire Ebola virus glycoprotein (rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP) vaccine has been reported as safe, immunogenic, and highly protective in a ring vaccination trial. We aimed to identify transcriptomic immune response biomarker signatures induced by vaccination and associated signatures with its immunogenicity and reactogenicity to better understand the potential mechanisms of action of the vaccine.

Methods: 354 healthy adult volunteers were vaccinated in randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in Europe (Geneva, Switzerland [November, 2014, to January, 2015]) and North America (USA [Dec 5, 2014, to June 23, 2015]), and dose-escalation trials in Africa (Lambaréné, Gabon [November, 2014, to January, 2015], and Kilifi, Kenya [December, 2014, to January, 2015]) using different doses of the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vector expressing the Zaire Ebola virus glycoprotein (rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP; 3 × 10 to 1 × 10 plaque-forming units [pfu]). Read More

Infect Disord Drug Targets 2022 May 10. Epub 2022 May 10.

Amrita VishwaVidyapeetham, AIMS Health Sciences Campus.

Infectious diseases are defined as a group of diseases caused by any infecting microorganism which are highly potent to severely affect human life. The end can be varying from critical infection to mortality. Most of the infectious diseases are reported with a rapid rate of transmission. Read More

Vet Med Sci 2022 May 10. Epub 2022 May 10.

Department of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Khulshi, Chattogram, Bangladesh.

Bats are the natural reservoir host for many pathogenic and non-pathogenic viruses, potentially spilling over to humans and domestic animals directly or via an intermediate host. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is the continuation of virus spillover events that have taken place over the last few decades, particularly in Asia and Africa. Therefore, these bat-associated epidemics provide a significant number of hints, including respiratory cellular tropism, more intense susceptibility to these cell types, and overall likely to become a pandemic for the next spillover. Read More

PLoS One 2022 10;17(5):e0268106. Epub 2022 May 10.

ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.

Introduction: Ensuring accessible and quality health care for women and children is an existing challenge, which is further exacerbated during pandemics. There is a knowledge gap about the effect of pandemics on maternal, newborn, and child well-being. This systematic review was conducted to study maternal and child health (MCH) services utilization during pandemics (Zika, Ebola, and COVID-19) and the effectiveness of various interventions undertaken for ensuring utilization of MCH services. Read More

Clin Lab 2022 May;68(5)

Background: Highly infectious viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV, and Ebola virus represent a threat to clinical laboratory workers. We aimed to investigate how virus inactivation by heating at 60°C for 1 hour affects routine clinical laboratory indicators.

Methods: Each collected serum sample was separated into two aliquots, and various indicators were measured in first aliquot after inactivation by heating at 60°C for 1 hour and in the second after room-temperature incubation for 1 hour. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2022 May 9;18(5):e1010532. Epub 2022 May 9.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America.

Ebola virus (EBOV) VP35 is a polyfunctional protein involved in viral genome packaging, viral polymerase function, and host immune antagonism. The mechanisms regulating VP35's engagement in different functions are not well-understood. We previously showed that the host E3 ubiquitin ligase TRIM6 ubiquitinates VP35 at lysine 309 (K309) to facilitate virus replication. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2022 May 9;18(5):e1010530. Epub 2022 May 9.

Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Immunology and Microbial Sciences, King's College London, United Kingdom.

Ebola virus (EBOV) causes highly pathogenic disease in primates. Through screening a library of human interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), we identified TRIM25 as a potent inhibitor of EBOV transcription-and-replication-competent virus-like particle (trVLP) propagation. TRIM25 overexpression inhibited the accumulation of viral genomic and messenger RNAs independently of the RNA sensor RIG-I or secondary proinflammatory gene expression. Read More

Biometrics 2022 May 9. Epub 2022 May 9.

Division of Biostatistics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Many different methods for evaluating diagnostic test results in the absence of a gold standard have been proposed. In this paper, we discuss how one common method, a maximum likelihood estimate for a latent class model found via the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm can be applied to longitudinal data where test sensitivity changes over time. We also propose two simplified and nonparametric methods which use data-based indicator variables for disease status and compare their accuracy to the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) results. Read More