Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

PLoS One 2021 14;16(5):e0251494. Epub 2021 May 14.

Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.

Encephalitis and meningitis (EM) are severe infections of the central nervous system associated with high morbidity and mortality. The etiology of EM in Kazakhstan is not clearly defined, so from February 1, 2017 to January 31, 2018 we conducted hospital-based syndromic surveillance for EM at the Shymkent City Hospital, in the South Kazakhstan region. All consenting inpatients meeting a standard case definition were enrolled. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 May 12;11(1):10136. Epub 2021 May 12.

Cellular and Molecular Biotechnology Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tokyo, 135-0064, Japan.

Pathogenic mosquito-borne viruses are a serious public health issue in tropical and subtropical regions and are increasingly becoming a problem in other climate zones. Drug repositioning is a rapid, pharmaco-economic approach that can be used to identify compounds that target these neglected tropical diseases. We have applied a computational drug repositioning method to five mosquito-borne viral infections: dengue virus (DENV), zika virus (ZIKV), West Nile virus (WNV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) and Chikungunya virus (CHIV). Read More

J Virol 2021 May 12. Epub 2021 May 12.

State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China

Currently, there are no approved drugs for the treatment of flavivirus infection. Accordingly, we tested the inhibitory effects of the novel θ-defensin retrocyclin-101 (RC-101) against flavivirus infection, and investigated the mechanism underlying the potential inhibitory effects. First, RC-101 robustly inhibited both Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) infections. Read More

J Virol 2021 May 12. Epub 2021 May 12.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Aomori, Japan

Many positive-stranded RNA viruses encode polyproteins and viral proteins are generated by processing the polyproteins. This system produces an equal amount of each viral protein, though their required amounts are different. In this study, we found that the extra membrane-anchored non-structural (NS) proteins of Japanese encephalitis virus and dengue virus are rapidly and selectively degraded by the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) pathway. Read More

Case Rep Psychiatry 2021 23;2021:6687735. Epub 2021 Apr 23.

Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany.

Viral encephalitis often presents with severe illness, headache, fever, behavioral changes, altered level of consciousness, and focal neurologic deficits. One of the most feared kind of virus encephalitis is herpes simplex encephalitis; however, other central virus infections are also capable of presenting with psychiatric symptoms. Here, we report the case of a 22-year-old woman with first time visual and auditory hallucinations due to an acute enterovirus encephalitis with no cerebrospinal fluid abnormalities but a positive PCR result for enterovirus (ECHO). Read More

J Infect Dis 2021 May 11. Epub 2021 May 11.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.

Background: Infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV) may involve different central nervous system (CNS) manifestations, including meningitis, encephalitis, and vasculitis. In cases where otherwise healthy individuals are affected, an inborn error of immunity may underlie increased susceptibility or severity of infection.

Methods: We collected a cohort of 17 adults who experienced VZV encephalitis and performed whole exome sequencing. Read More

Arch Virol 2021 May 11. Epub 2021 May 11.

Scientific Chair of Sheikh Mohammad Hussein Alamoudi for Viral Hemorrhagic Fever, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Objectives: This review article summarizes what has been published on Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever virus (AHFV), a novel flavivirus that was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1995.

Methods: PubMed was used to search for studies published from January 1995 to June 2019 using the key words Alkhumra virus, Alkhurma virus, novel flavivirus, and tick-borne encephalitis virus. Additionally, records of the Saudi Ministry of Health were reviewed. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2021 ;1318:343-353

Research Center for Immunodeficiencies, Children's Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Neurological manifestations of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are reported to occur in as much as 37% of the affected patients. These manifestations range from headache and dizziness to altered mental status and consciousness, anosmia, ageusia, sensory disturbances, and stroke. The mechanisms by which the neurological symptoms arise are not yet determined but may either proceed as an indirect consequence of systemic hyperinflammation or result from the direct invasion of the virus to neural and glial cells. Read More

Folia Neuropathol 2021 ;59(1):91-97

Department of Neurology, Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, Warsaw, Poland.

Encephalitis/encephalomyelitis in the course of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains a matter of debate. We present a case of a patient with encephalomyelitis associated with RA confirmed with post-mortem neuropathological examination. A 68-year-old woman with a long-standing, seropositive history of RA presented progressive disturbances of consciousness. Read More

Antiviral Res 2021 May 6:105087. Epub 2021 May 6.

National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, 20110 USA; Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA; Center for Zoonotic and Arthropod-borne Pathogens, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA. Electronic address:

Marine microorganisms have been a resource for novel therapeutic drugs for decades. In addition to anticancer drugs, the drug acyclovir, derived from a marine sponge, is FDA-approved for the treatment of human herpes simplex virus-1 infections. Most alphaviruses that are infectious to terrestrial animals and humans, such as Venezuelan and eastern equine encephalitis viruses (VEEV and EEEV), lack efficient antiviral drugs and it is imperative to develop these remedies. Read More

Liver Int 2021 May 7. Epub 2021 May 7.

Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Wilhelmstrasse 27, 72074, Tübingen, Germany.

The hepatitis E virus (HEV) is one of the main causes of acute hepatitis and the de facto global burden is underestimated. HEV-related clinical complications are often undetected and are not considered in the differential diagnosis. Convincing findings from studies suggest that HEV is clinically relevant not only in developing countries but also in industrialized countries. Read More

Epilepsia 2021 May 6. Epub 2021 May 6.

Department of Neuroimmunology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Objective: Medial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is a drug-resistant focal epilepsy that can be caused by a broad spectrum of different inciting events, including tumors, febrile seizures, and viral infections. In human epilepsy surgical resections as well as in animal models, an involvement of the adaptive immune system was observed. We here analyzed the presence of T cells in various subgroups of MTLE. Read More

Jpn J Infect Dis 2021 Apr 30. Epub 2021 Apr 30.

Laboratory of Virology, Health Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Brazil.

Etiology of viral meningoencephalitis is frequently unidentified. Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) have been known to affect the central nervous system, and should, therefore, be considered for diagnosis of meningoencephalitis since its outcome may be influenced by the etiologic agent, age and immunological condition of the patient. In this study we aimed to determine if CHIKV and ZIKV were the etiological agent of viral encephalitis in meningoencephalitis patients admitted to the main hospital of infectious disease in the city of Salvador, Brazil. Read More

Cureus 2021 Apr 1;13(4):e14236. Epub 2021 Apr 1.

Medicine/Neurological Intensive Care, Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital, Greenville, USA.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel coronavirus, has proven neurotropism and causes a multitude of neurologic manifestations. Acute hemorrhagic necrotizing encephalitis (AHNE), though rare, can be seen in patients with severe infection and is associated with devastating neurologic outcomes. The true prevalence of this syndrome is unknown due to underrecognition, difficulty in timely acquisition of neuroimaging, and high mortality in this subset of patients escaping detection. Read More

Insects 2021 Apr 29;12(5). Epub 2021 Apr 29.

Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico.

Given the significant impact of mosquito-borne flaviviruses (MBFVs) on both human and animal health, predicting their dynamics and understanding their transmission cycle is of the utmost importance. Usually, predictions about the distribution of priority pathogens, such as Dengue, Yellow fever, West Nile Virus and St. Louis encephalitis, relate abiotic elements to simple biotic components, such as a single causal agent. Read More

Pathogens 2021 Apr 30;10(5). Epub 2021 Apr 30.

Zoological Pathology Program, University of Illinois, c/o Chicago Zoological Society 3300 Golf Road, Brookfield, IL 60513, USA.

Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) is a multi-host morbillivirus that infects virtually all and a few non-human primates. Here we describe a CDV outbreak in an exotic felid rescue center that led to the death of eight felids in the genus . Similar to domestic dogs and in contrast to previously described CDV cases in , severe pneumonia was the primary lesion and no viral antigens or CDV-like lesions were detected in the central nervous system. Read More

Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2021 Apr 30. Epub 2021 Apr 30.

College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA.

A clinical and entomological investigation was performed to identify flavivirus infections in humans and mosquitoes in impoverished areas of Guerrero, a coastal state in southwestern Mexico. A total of 639 patients with acute febrile illness and 830 resting female mosquitoes in low-income communities of Guerrero in 2019 were tested for evidence of flavivirus infection. Sera were collected from all patients and screened at a dilution of 1:20 by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) using dengue virus (DENV)2. Read More

J Neuroophthalmol 2021 Apr 24. Epub 2021 Apr 24.

C.S. Kubik Laboratory for Neuropathology, Massachusetts General Hospital David G. Cogan Ophthalmic Pathology Laboratory, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Background: Patients with SARS-CoV-2 may present or eventually develop central nervous system and ophthalmic signs and symptoms. Varying reports have emerged regarding isolation of viral RNA from these tissue sites, as well as largely autopsy-based histopathologic descriptions of the brain and the eye in patients with CoVID-19.

Evidence Acquisition: A primary literature search was performed in literature databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library. Read More

Anal Biochem 2021 Apr 27;626:114219. Epub 2021 Apr 27.

School of Precision Instrument and Optoelectronics Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China. Electronic address:

Examination of cerebrospinal fluid in atypical bacterial meningitis (ABM) is similar to that of viral encephalitis (VE), so ABM can easily be misdiagnosed as VE, which can delay diagnosis and treatment. We developed a simple, rapid hand-held lateral flow immunoassay detection system based on fluorescent microspheres (FMS) for procalcitonin (PCT) detection, which provides an indicator to differentiate between ABM and VE. With this novel method, the antigen-antibody reaction systems involve different species, making the test strips more stable than those utilizing one species. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2021 Apr 19;22(8). Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Department of Life Science, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien 97401, Taiwan.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play versatile roles in multiple biological processes. However, little is known about miRNA's involvement in flavivirus persistent infection. Here, we used an miRNA array analysis of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV)-infected cells to search for persistent infection-associated miRNAs in comparison to acute infection. Read More

J Vet Sci 2021 Mar 5. Epub 2021 Mar 5.

Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.

West Nile virus (WNV), a neurotropic arbovirus, has been detected in mosquitos, birds, wildlife, horses, and humans in Malaysia, but limited information is available on WNV infection in Malaysian pigs. We tested 80 archived swine serum samples for the presence of WNV antibody and West Nile (WN) viral RNA using ID Screen West Nile Competition Multi-species enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits and WNV-specific primers in reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assays, respectively. A WNV seroprevalence of 62. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2021 Apr;100(17):e25716

Divison of Pediatric Cardiology, China Medical University Children's Hospital, Taiwan.

Abstract: Although influenza is generally an acute, self-limited, and uncomplicated disease in healthy children, it can result in severe morbidity and mortality. The objectives of this study were to analyze and compare the clinical features and outcome of severe pediatric influenza with and without central nervous system (CNS) involvement.We conducted a retrospective observational study of children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of China Medical University Children's Hospital in Taiwan with a confirmed diagnosis of influenza. Read More

Neurol India 2021 Mar-Apr;69(2):490-492

Department of Neuroimaging and Interventional Neuroradiology (NIIR), National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.

Background: Acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) is a rapidly progressive encephalopathy seen commonly in children triggered by various prodromal viral infections, most common being influenza virus and Human herpes virus-6.

Objective: We report two rare cases of ANE preceded by Chikungunya infection.

Cases: A 13-year old girl presented with a three-day history of headache, fever, seizures, and altered sensorium. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021 May;118(18)

Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029;

Measles virus (MeV) is resurgent and caused >200,000 deaths in 2019. MeV infection can establish a chronic latent infection of the brain that can recrudesce months to years after recovery from the primary infection. Recrudescent MeV leads to fatal subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) or measles inclusion body encephalitis (MIBE) as the virus spreads across multiple brain regions. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 Apr 26;15(4):e0009381. Epub 2021 Apr 26.

Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention -Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Joint Research Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases and Biosafety, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.

Background: Mosquitoes host and transmit numerous arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) that cause disease in both humans and animals. Effective surveillance of virome profiles in mosquitoes is vital to the prevention and control of mosquito-borne diseases in northwestern China, where epidemics occur frequently.

Methods: Mosquitoes were collected in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region (Shaanxi Province, Gansu Province, and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region) of China from June to August 2019. Read More

Drug Discov Today Dis Models 2020 19;32(Pt A):35-52. Epub 2020 Feb 19.

The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA.

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous human herpesvirus that contributes to the etiology of diverse human cancers and auto-immune diseases. EBV establishes a relatively benign, long-term latent infection in over 90 percent of the adult population. Yet, it also increases risk for certain cancers and auto-immune disorders depending on complex viral, host, and environmental factors that are only partly understood. Read More

Front Neurol 2021 8;12:612569. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

The aim of this retrospective study was to derive and validate a reliable nomogram for predicting prognosis of autoimmune encephalitis (AE). A multi-center retrospective study was conducted in four hospitals in China, using a random split-sample method to allocate 173 patients into either a training ( = 126) or validation ( = 47) dataset. Demographic, radiographic and therapeutic presentation, combined with clinical features were collected. Read More

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2021 Apr 23. Epub 2021 Apr 23.

ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar 751023, Odisha, India.

Background: Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) is a major public health concern in India, causing febrile illness principally associated with viral infection. Bacteria-like scrub typhus and leptospirosis also cause acute febrile illness. Therefore, this study was conceived to address the possible etiological agents contributing to sporadic AES in a tertiary care center in Odisha, India. Read More

Front Aging Neurosci 2021 6;13:632673. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread around the globe causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Because it affects the respiratory system, common symptoms are cough and breathing difficulties with fever and fatigue. Also, some cases progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Read More

Rev Soc Bras Med Trop 2021 12;54:e0073. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Hospital de Santo Espírito da Ilha Terceira, Serviço de Medicina Interna, Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal.