Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Struct Biol 2021 May 7:107742. Epub 2021 May 7.

Schaller Research Groups, Department of Infectious Diseases, Virology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany; Research Group "Membrane Biology of Viral Infection", Department of Infectious Diseases, Virology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address:

Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) is a pivotal imaging technique for studying the structure of pleomorphic enveloped viruses and their interactions with the host at native conditions. Owing to the limited tilting range of samples with a slab geometry, electron tomograms suffer from so-called missing wedge information in Fourier space. In dual-axis cryo-ET, two tomograms reconstructed from orthogonally oriented tilt series are combined into a tomogram with improved resolution as the missing wedge information is reduced to a pyramid. Read More

Health Care Manag Sci 2021 May 10. Epub 2021 May 10.

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering Center, 200 Central Ave #204, Newark, NJ, 07114, USA.

Existing compartmental models in epidemiology are limited in terms of optimizing the resource allocation to control an epidemic outbreak under disease growth uncertainty. In this study, we address this core limitation by presenting a multi-stage stochastic programming compartmental model, which integrates the uncertain disease progression and resource allocation to control an infectious disease outbreak. The proposed multi-stage stochastic program involves various disease growth scenarios and optimizes the distribution of treatment centers and resources while minimizing the total expected number of new infections and funerals. Read More

Uirusu 2020 ;70(1):91-100

Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Hakubi center, Kyoto University, Japan.

Negative-strand RNA viruses do not possess a rigid viral shell, and their structures are flexible and fragile. We have applied various electron microscopies to analyze the morphologies of influenza and Ebola virus. Our studies have revealed the native interior and exterior ultrastructures of influenza virus as well as the assembly of Ebola virus core in atomic detail. Read More

Ann Epidemiol 2021 May 6. Epub 2021 May 6.

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, United States.

Background: During the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and responding partners under the coordination of the National Ebola Response Center (NERC) and the MoHS's Emergency Operation Center (EOC) systematically recorded information from the 117 Call Center system and district alert phone lines, case investigations, laboratory sample testing, clinical management, and safe and dignified burial records. Since 2017, CDC assisted MoHS in building and managing the Sierra Leone Ebola Database (SLED) to consolidate these major data sources. The primary objectives of the project were helping families to identify the location of graves of their loved ones who died at the time of the Ebola epidemic through the SLED Family Reunification Program and creating a data source for epidemiological research. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2021 May 6;17(5):e1009562. Epub 2021 May 6.

Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, AFMB UMR 7257, Marseille, France.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a negative sense single-stranded RNA virus and one of the main causes of severe lower respiratory tract infections in infants and young children. RSV RNA replication/transcription and capping are ensured by the viral Large (L) protein. The L protein contains a polymerase domain associated with a polyribonucleotidyl transferase domain in its N-terminus, and a methyltransferase (MTase) domain followed by the C-terminal domain (CTD) enriched in basic amino acids at its C-terminus. Read More

PLoS One 2021 6;16(5):e0250086. Epub 2021 May 6.

DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA), Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Background: Applied epidemiological models are used in predicting future trends of diseases, for the basic understanding of disease and health dynamics, and to improve the measurement of health indicators. Mapping the research outputs of epidemiological modelling studies concerned with transmission dynamics of infectious diseases and public health interventions in Africa will help to identify the areas with substantial levels of research activities, areas with gaps, and research output trends.

Methods: A scoping review of applied epidemiological models of infectious disease studies that involved first or last authors affiliated to African institutions was conducted. Read More

Risk Manag Healthc Policy 2021 28;14:1731-1747. Epub 2021 Apr 28.

Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) presents a challenging context in which to respond to public health crises. Its 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak was the second largest in history. Lessons were known from the previous West African outbreak. Read More

Bull World Health Organ 2021 Apr 2;99(4):271-279. Epub 2021 Mar 2.

Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 18B, 17165 Solna, Sweden.

Objective: To quantify the potential impact of engaging religious leaders in promoting safe burial practices during the 2014-2016 Ebola virus disease outbreak in Sierra Leone.

Methods: We analysed population-based household survey data from 3540 respondents collected around the peak of the outbreak in Sierra Leone, December 2014. Respondents were asked if in the past month they had heard an imam or pastor say that people should not touch or wash a dead body. Read More

mSphere 2021 May 5;6(3). Epub 2021 May 5.

Unit of Viral Hepatitis, CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China

Ebola virus (EBOV) is a highly pathogenic negative-stranded RNA virus that has caused several deadly endemics in the past decades. EBOV reverse genetics systems are available for studying live viruses under biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) or subviral particles under BSL-2 conditions. However, these systems all require cotransfection of multiple plasmids expressing viral genome and viral proteins essential for EBOV replication, which is technically challenging and unable to naturally mimic virus propagation using the subviral particle. Read More

ILAR J 2021 May 5. Epub 2021 May 5.

Special Pathogens Program, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

The domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo) has long been a popular animal model for evaluating viral pathogenesis and transmission as well as the efficacy of candidate countermeasures. Without question, the ferret has been most widely implemented for modeling respiratory viruses, particularly influenza viruses; however, in recent years, it has gained attention as a novel animal model for characterizing filovirus infections. Although ferrets appear resistant to infection and disease caused by Marburg and Ravn viruses, they are highly susceptible to lethal disease caused by Ebola, Sudan, Bundibugyo, and Reston viruses. Read More

Curr Med Chem 2021 May 3. Epub 2021 May 3.

Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Moscow. Russian Federation.

Nowadays, computational approaches play an important role in the design of new drug-like compounds and optimization of pharmacotherapeutic treatment of diseases. The emerging growth of viral infections, including those caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Ebola virus, recently detected coronavirus, and some others, leads to many newly infected people with a high risk of death or severe complications. A huge amount of chemical, biological, clinical data is at the disposal of the researchers. Read More

BMJ Glob Health 2021 05;6(5)

General Directorate, West African Health Organisation, Bobo-Dioulasso, Hauts-Bassins, Burkina Faso.

The world continues to battle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas many countries are currently experiencing the second wave of the outbreak; Africa, despite being the last continent to be affected by the virus, has not experienced as much devastation as other continents. For example, West Africa, with a population of 367 million people, had confirmed 412 178 cases of COVID-19 with 5363 deaths as of 14 March 2021; compared with the USA which had recorded almost 30 million cases and 530 000 deaths, despite having a slightly smaller population (328 million). Read More

Trials 2021 May 4;22(1):323. Epub 2021 May 4.

McMaster Centre for Transfusion Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Background: Convalescent plasma has been used for numerous viral diseases including influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, Middle East respiratory syndrome and Ebola virus; however, evidence to support its use is weak. SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus responsible for the 2019 global pandemic of COVID-19 community acquired pneumonia. We have undertaken a randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Read More

Med Sci Monit 2021 May 4;27:e932915. Epub 2021 May 4.

Science Editor, Medical Science Monitor, International Scientific Information, Inc., Melville, NY, USA.

There have been rapid developments in safe and effective mRNA vaccines for zoonotic infections in the past year. Years of research have made these advances possible, leading to in vitro-transcribed (IVT) mRNA expressing therapeutic proteins. There are several advantages of mRNA vaccines that include their low-cost manufacturing process, large-scale and rapid production, and the ability to modify the vaccines in response to emerging infections and viral variants. Read More

J Clin Lab Anal 2021 May 3:e23786. Epub 2021 May 3.

Center for Precision Medicine, Meizhou People's Hospital (Huangtang Hospital), Meizhou Academy of Medical Sciences, Meizhou Hospital Affiliated to Sun Yat-sen University, Meizhou, China.

Background: Marburg virus (MARV) and Ebola virus (EBOV) are acute infections with high case fatality rates. It is of great significance for epidemic monitoring and prevention and control of infectious diseases by the development of a rapid, specific, and sensitive quantitative PCR method to detect two pathogens simultaneously.

Methods: Primers and TaqMan probes were designed according to highly conserved sequences of these viruses. Read More

Front Mol Biosci 2021 15;8:635337. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-Salt, Jordan.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, SARS-CoV-2, arose at the end of 2019 as a zoonotic virus, which is the causative agent of the novel coronavirus outbreak COVID-19. Without any clear indications of abatement, the disease has become a major healthcare threat across the globe, owing to prolonged incubation period, high prevalence, and absence of existing drugs or vaccines. Development of COVID-19 vaccine is being considered as the most efficient strategy to curtail the ongoing pandemic. Read More

Int Rev Educ 2021 Apr 26:1-26. Epub 2021 Apr 26.

Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen an unprecedented shutdown of society. Among the various safety measures taken, much attention has been given to school closure as a non-pharmaceutical mitigation tool to curb the spread of the disease through ensuring "social" (physical) distancing. Nearly 1. Read More

Hist Philos Life Sci 2021 Apr 29;43(2):63. Epub 2021 Apr 29.

Department of Humanities & Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Jammu, Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir, India.

This paper examines the case of Ebola, ça Suffit trial which was conducted in Guinea during Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in 2015. I demonstrate that various non-epistemic considerations may legitimately influence the criteria for evaluating the efficacy and effectiveness of a candidate vaccine. Such non-epistemic considerations, which are social, ethical, and pragmatic, can be better placed and addressed in scientific research by appealing to non-epistemic values. Read More

Molecules 2021 Apr 13;26(8). Epub 2021 Apr 13.

N.N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry SB RAS, Lavrent'ev av., 9, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia.

To date, the 'one bug-one drug' approach to antiviral drug development cannot effectively respond to the constant threat posed by an increasing diversity of viruses causing outbreaks of viral infections that turn out to be pathogenic for humans. Evidently, there is an urgent need for new strategies to develop efficient antiviral agents with broad-spectrum activities. In this paper, we identified camphene derivatives that showed broad antiviral activities in vitro against a panel of enveloped pathogenic viruses, including influenza virus A/PR/8/34 (H1N1), Ebola virus (EBOV), and the Hantaan virus. Read More

Viruses 2021 04 13;13(4). Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Center for Drug Design, College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.

The emergence or re-emergence of viruses with epidemic and/or pandemic potential, such as Ebola, Zika, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 1 and 2 (SARS and SARS-CoV-2) viruses, or new strains of influenza represents significant human health threats due to the absence of available treatments. Vaccines represent a key answer to control these viruses. However, in the case of a public health emergency, vaccine development, safety, and partial efficacy concerns may hinder their prompt deployment. Read More

Viruses 2021 04 16;13(4). Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Rue du Bugnon 48, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.

Hemorrhagic fever viruses, among them orthohantaviruses, arenaviruses and filoviruses, are responsible for some of the most severe human diseases and represent a serious challenge for public health. The current limited therapeutic options and available vaccines make the development of novel efficacious antiviral agents an urgent need. Inhibiting viral attachment and entry is a promising strategy for the development of new treatments and to prevent all subsequent steps in virus infection. Read More

Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2021 Apr 19;14(4). Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy.

To date, the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide include viral infections, such as Ebola, influenza virus, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and recently COVID-19 disease, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Currently, we can count on a narrow range of antiviral drugs, especially older generation ones like ribavirin and interferon which are effective against viruses in vitro but can often be ineffective in patients. In addition to these, we have antiviral agents for the treatment of herpes virus, influenza virus, HIV and hepatitis virus. Read More

Microorganisms 2021 Apr 12;9(4). Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire Méditerranée-Infection, 19-21 Boulevard Jean Moulin, CEDEX 05, 13005 Marseille, France.

Background: The incidence of poliovirus has been significantly reduced by as much as 99.9% globally. Alongside this, however, vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis has emerged. Read More

Pathogens 2021 Apr 8;10(4). Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Emory Eye Center, Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.

Recent Ebola epidemics, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and emerging infectious disease threats have highlighted the importance of global infectious diseases and responses to public health emergencies. Ophthalmologists are essential health care workers who provide urgent and emergent vision care services during outbreaks and address the ocular consequences of epidemic and pandemic infectious diseases. In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) identified high priority pathogens likely to cause a future epidemic with the goal of guiding research and development to improve diagnostic tests, vaccines, and medicines. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2021 Apr 6;22(7). Epub 2021 Apr 6.

CHU de Québec Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada.

Ebola virus (EBOV) is a virulent pathogen, notorious for inducing life-threatening hemorrhagic fever, that has been responsible for several outbreaks in Africa and remains a public health threat. Yet, its pathogenesis is still not completely understood. Although there have been numerous studies on host transcriptional response to EBOV, with an emphasis on the clinical features, the impact of EBOV infection on post-transcriptional regulatory elements, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), remains largely unexplored. Read More

Antib Ther 2020 Jul 1;3(3):167-178. Epub 2020 Aug 1.

ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd., Fargo, ND 58104, USA.

Background: Development of successful neutralizing antibodies is dependent upon broad epitope coverage to increase the likelihood of achieving therapeutic function. Recent advances in synthetic biology have allowed us to conduct an epitope binning study on a large panel of antibodies identified to bind to Ebola virus glycoprotein with only published sequences.

Methods And Results: A rapid, first-pass epitope binning experiment revealed seven distinct epitope families that overlapped with known structural epitopes from the literature. Read More

J Res Pharm Pract 2020 Oct-Dec;9(4):169-174. Epub 2021 Jan 11.

Department of Internal Medicine, Al Zahra Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

Many contagious diseases, such as plague or cholera, played a role in changing the pathway of history. In this respect, although coronavirus was not as dangerous as novel diseases such as swine flu and Ebola, the spread and the power of coronavirus infiltration caused public fear across the world. Three viruses among coronaviruses have been epidemic during the recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and COVID-19 or new coronavirus. Read More

Pan Afr Med J 2021 4;38:130. Epub 2021 Feb 4.

World Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.

Introduction: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared its 10outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in 42 years on August 1 2018. The rapid rise and spread of the EVD outbreak threatened health security in neighboring countries and global health security. The United Nations developed an EVD preparedness and readiness (EVD-PR) plan to assist the nine neighboring countries to advance their critical preparedness measures. Read More

Arch Virol 2021 Apr 27. Epub 2021 Apr 27.

Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical sciences, New Delhi, 110029, India.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection is endemic in many different countries. CHIKV outbreaks are emerging in new areas and re-emerging in previously exposed geographical regions, thus making it a significant public health concern. CHIKV infections are often clinically inapparent, especially in children, which poses a challenge to testing and evaluating any vaccine. Read More

Int J Cogn Ther 2021 Apr 22:1-17. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

Barnard College of Columbia University, New York City, NY USA.

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rapidly spread, becoming a global pandemic with significant health, economic, and social impacts. COVID-19 has caused widespread anxiety, which at healthy levels leads to adaptive, protective behavioral changes. For some individuals, a pandemic outbreak can lead to excessive, maladaptive levels of anxiety, particularly among those with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and health anxiety. Read More