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Viruses 2022 Jun 20;14(6). Epub 2022 Jun 20.

Public Health Virology, Forensic and Scientific Services, Queensland Health, Coopers Plains, QLD 4108, Australia.

The Kunjin strain of West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-transmitted flavivirus that can infect farmed saltwater crocodiles in Australia and cause skin lesions that devalue the hides of harvested animals. We implemented a surveillance system using honey-baited nucleic acid preservation cards to monitor WNV and another endemic flavivirus pathogen, Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV), on crocodile farms in northern Australia. The traps were set between February 2018 and July 2020 on three crocodile farms in Darwin (Northern Territory) and one in Cairns (North Queensland) at fortnightly intervals with reduced trapping during the winter months. Read More

Viruses 2022 Jun 5;14(6). Epub 2022 Jun 5.

Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Naval Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.

Mosquito-borne flavivirus infections affect approximately 400 million people worldwide each year and are global threats to public health. The common diseases caused by such flaviviruses include West Nile, yellow fever, dengue, Zika infection and Japanese encephalitis, which may result in severe symptoms and disorders of multiple organs or even fatal outcomes. Till now, no specific antiviral agents are commercially available for the treatment of the diseases. Read More

Viruses 2022 Jun 2;14(6). Epub 2022 Jun 2.

Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China.

Flaviviruses cause a spectrum of potentially severe diseases. Most flaviviruses are transmitted by mosquitoes or ticks and are widely distributed all over the world. Among them, several mosquito-borne flaviviruses are co-epidemic, and the similarity of their antigenicity creates abundant cross-reactive immune responses which complicate their prevention and control. Read More

Viruses 2022 May 30;14(6). Epub 2022 May 30.

Department for Horses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.

West Nile virus (WNV) infections were first detected in Germany in 2018, but information about WNV seroprevalence in horses is limited. The study's overall goal was to gather information that would help veterinarians, horse owners, and veterinary-, and public health- authorities understand the spread of WNV in Germany and direct protective measures. For this purpose, WNV seroprevalence was determined in counties with and without previously registered WNV infections in horses, and risk factors for seropositivity were estimated. Read More

Pathogens 2022 Jun 4;11(6). Epub 2022 Jun 4.

Department of Pediatrics, Section Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.

West Nile virus (WNV) is a neurotropic flavivirus that can cause acute febrile illness leading to neuroinvasive disease. Depression is a well-described outcome following infection, but the underlying pathogenic mechanisms are unknown. Proinflammatory cytokines play important roles in WNV infection, but their role in depression post-WNV remains unstudied. Read More

Pathogens 2022 May 24;11(6). Epub 2022 May 24.

Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3370, USA.

The flavivirus nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) is secreted from infected cells and contributes to endothelial barrier dysfunction and vascular leak in a tissue-dependent manner. This phenomenon occurs in part via disruption of the endothelial glycocalyx layer (EGL) lining the endothelium. Additionally, we and others have shown that soluble DENV NS1 induces disassembly of intercellular junctions (IJCs), a group of cellular proteins critical for maintaining endothelial homeostasis and regulating vascular permeability; however, the specific mechanisms by which NS1 mediates IJC disruption remain unclear. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2022 Jul;28(7):1393-1402

In Argentina, the Pampa ecoregion has been almost completely transformed into agroecosystems. To evaluate the environmental (agricultural area, tree coverage, distance to the nearest water body and urban site) and biological (dove, cowbird, and sparrow abundance) effects on free-ranging bird exposure to St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) and West Nile virus (WNV), we used generalized linear mixed models. Read More

mSphere 2022 Jun 21:e0020822. Epub 2022 Jun 21.

National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Haryana, India.

Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV)/West Nile Virus (WNV)-induced encephalitis, although observed in selective cases, is associated with fatal consequences ranging from decline in cognitive abilities among recovered patients to coma/death. Loss of neuronal cells following viral infection-induced neuronal death imposes significant challenge to the central nervous system (CNS) homeostasis eventually resulting in loss of CNS tissue integrity and poor disease outcome in patients. In our present study, we aim to evaluate the role played by miRNA in modulating neuronal death upon neurotropic flaviviral infections. Read More

Arch Virol 2022 Jun 20. Epub 2022 Jun 20.

Laboratório de Microbiologia Médica, Laboratório de Diagnóstico Laboratorial e Microbiologia Clínica, Campus Centro Oeste Dona Lindu, Universidade Federal de São João Del-Rei (UFSJ-CCO), Rua Sebastião Gonçalves Coelho, 400, Divinópolis, Minas Gerais, 35501-293, Brazil.

Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses), such as Zika virus (ZIKV), chikungunya virus (CHIKV), dengue virus (DENV), yellow fever virus (YFV), and West Nile virus (WNV), are pathogens of global importance. Therefore, there has been an increasing need for new drugs for the treatment of these viral infections. In this context, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) obtained from animal venoms stand out as promising compounds because they exhibit strong antiviral activity against emerging arboviral pathogens. Read More

Ther Adv Infect Dis 2022 Jan-Dec;9:20499361221102664. Epub 2022 Jun 13.

Division of Critical Care and Hospitalist Neurology, Department of Neurology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (CUIMC/NYP), 177 Fort Washington Avenue, Milstein Hospital, 8GS-300, New York, NY 10032, USA.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the challenges we face as a global society in preventing and containing emerging and re-emerging pathogens. Multiple intersecting factors, including environmental changes, host immunological factors, and pathogen dynamics, are intimately connected to the emergence and re-emergence of communicable diseases. There is a large and expanding list of communicable diseases that can cause neurological damage, either through direct or indirect routes. Read More

Hum Vaccin Immunother 2022 Jun 17:2079323. Epub 2022 Jun 17.

Department of Molecular Virology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.

Flaviviruses are arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) that have been recently considered among the significant public health problems in defined geographical regions. In this line, there have been vaccines approved for some flaviviruses including dengue virus (DENV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), yellow fever virus (YFV), and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), although the efficiency of such vaccines thought to be questionable. Surprisingly, there are no effective vaccine for many other hazardous flaviviruses, including West Nile and Zika viruses. Read More

Transbound Emerg Dis 2022 Jun 15. Epub 2022 Jun 15.

Institute for Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany.

Flavivirus diagnostics are complicated by substantial cross-reactivity of antibodies between different flavivirus species. This is of particular importance in regions with multiple endemic flaviviruses in co-circulation. Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is the causative agent of tick-borne encephalitis, the most common infection of the central nervous system in endemic regions of Europe and Asia. Read More

Curr Med Chem 2022 Jun 10. Epub 2022 Jun 10.

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Perugia, via del Liceo, 1-06123 Perugia, Italy.

Sulfur and oxygen containing-compounds are a relevant class of derivatives that is constantly growing due to their wide range of pharmacological activity, including the antiviral one. As a proof of this, there are several FDA approved antiviral compounds having sulfur and oxygen in their structures. Among RNA viruses, the flavivirus genus (e. Read More

Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022 30;20:2759-2777. Epub 2022 May 30.

Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Branišovská 1760, České Budějovice 370 05, Czech Republic.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), the most medically relevant tick-transmitted flavivirus in Eurasia, targets the host central nervous system and frequently causes severe encephalitis. The severity of TBEV-induced neuropathogenesis is highly cell-type specific and the exact mechanism responsible for such differences has not been fully described yet. Thus, we performed a comprehensive analysis of alterations in host poly-(A)/miRNA/lncRNA expression upon TBEV infection in human primary neurons (high cytopathic effect) and astrocytes (low cytopathic effect). Read More

Virol J 2022 Jun 3;19(1):99. Epub 2022 Jun 3.

Division for Infection Control and Environmental Health, Department of Virology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.

Background: Mosquito-borne viruses pose a serious threat to humans worldwide. There has been an upsurge in the number of mosquito-borne viruses in Europe, mostly belonging to the families Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus (Sindbis, Chikungunya), Flaviviridae (West Nile, Usutu, Dengue), and Peribunyaviridae, genus Orthobunyavirus, California serogroup (Inkoo, Batai, Tahyna). The principal focus of this study was Inkoo (INKV) and Sindbis (SINV) virus circulating in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and some parts of Russia. Read More

Neurologia (Engl Ed) 2022 May 26. Epub 2022 May 26.

Laboratorio de Neurología Molecular, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain; Red Andaluza de Investigación Clínica y Traslacional en Neurología (Neuro-RECA), Málaga, Spain. Electronic address:

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects more than 7 million people worldwide. Its aetiology is unknown, although the hypothesis of a genetic susceptibility to environmental agents is accepted. These environmental agents include fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Read More

J Med Virol 2022 May 29. Epub 2022 May 29.

Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Naval Medicine, Navy Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.

The West Nile virus (WNV) is a member of the flavivirus and is known to cause encephalitis. There is currently no specific treatment for WNV infection. Repurposing of clinically approved drugs appeared promising for rapidly identifying effective, safe, and readily available candidates for antiviral drugs. Read More

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2022 May 27. Epub 2022 May 27.

Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, Av. Dr Arnaldo, 715, São Paulo CEP 05509-300, Brazil.

Background: West Nile virus (WNV) is a vector-borne pathogen of global relevance and is currently the most widely distributed flavivirus causing encephalitis worldwide. Climate conditions have direct and indirect impacts on vector abundance and virus dynamics within the mosquito. The significance of environmental variables as drivers in WNV epidemiology is increasing under the current climate change scenario. Read More

Ann Med Surg (Lond) 2022 May 22;77:103663. Epub 2022 Apr 22.

Lahore General Hospital, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan.

West Nile virus (WNV), a single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the family of Flaviviridae, is an arbovirus transmitted to humans predominantly by mosquito bites. It exhibits a wide range of clinical findings ranging from asymptomatic presentation to severe several neurological disorders. WNV has afflicted several countries around the globe including Pakistan. Read More

Viruses 2022 05 21;14(5). Epub 2022 May 21.

School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.

The risk of flavivirus infections among the crocodilian species was not recognised until West Nile virus (WNV) was introduced into the Americas. The first outbreaks caused death and substantial economic losses in the alligator farming industry. Several other WNV disease episodes have been reported in crocodilians in other parts of the world, including Australia and Africa. Read More

Pathogens 2022 Apr 22;11(5). Epub 2022 Apr 22.

Department of Pediatrics, Section of Pediatric Tropical Medicine, Center for Human Immunobiology, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA.

Emerging vector-borne and zoonotic pathogens can cause neuroinvasive disease in children; utilization of appropriate diagnostic testing can be low, hindering diagnosis and clinical management of these cases. We must understand factors that influence healthcare providers' decisions to order diagnostic testing. We reviewed medical charts for pediatric meningitis and encephalitis patients (90 days-18 years) between 2010 and 2017 and analyzed variables associated with testing for known neuroinvasive zoonotic pathogens in the southern United States: West Nile virus (WNV), spp. Read More

Sci Rep 2022 May 25;12(1):8863. Epub 2022 May 25.

Laboratory of Biomedical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, Komenského 73, 04181, Kosice, Slovak Republic.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus and West Nile virus can cross the blood-brain barrier via hematogenous route. The attachment of a virion to the cells of a neurovascular unit, which is mediated by domain III of glycoprotein E, initiates a series of events that may aid viral entry. Thus, we sought to uncover the post-attachment biological events elicited in brain microvascular endothelial cells by domain III. Read More

Rev Med Interne 2022 Jun 20;43(6):381-384. Epub 2022 May 20.

Service d'endocrinologie et de médecine interne, CHU de Taher Sfar, Mahdia, Tunisie.

Background: Neuro-invasive disease is the most dreaded complication of West Nile virus infection. We report the case of an immunocompetent patient who developed a meningeal syndrome associated with cerebellar ataxia, facial diplegia and hemiparesis caused by West Nile virus infection with a favourable outcome.

Observation: A 42-year-old man was admitted for a febrile meningeal syndrome and confusion associated with cerebellar ataxia. Read More

Zoonoses Public Health 2022 May 23. Epub 2022 May 23.

Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA.

California has the highest proportion of unhoused individuals in the country, and up to 25% of unhoused individuals own pets, providing substantial benefits but unique challenges including access to housing, transportation and unfounded grounds for social stigmatization. Unhoused individuals and pets may also be at risk for diseases due to impaired access to sanitation facilities. The purpose of this cross-sectional survey was to evaluate differences in perceived benefits, challenges and public perceptions among pet owners of varying housing security and the prevalence of diseases among their pets. Read More

Virus Evol 2022 18;8(1):veac027. Epub 2022 Apr 18.

UMR "Unité des Virus Emergents", Aix-Marseille Université-IRD 190-Inserm 1207-IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.

Intraspecies (homologous) phylogenetic incongruence, or 'tree conflict' between different loci within the same genome of mosquito-borne flaviviruses (MBFV), was first identified in dengue virus (DENV) and subsequently in Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), St Louis encephalitis virus, and Zika virus (ZIKV). Recently, the first evidence of phylogenetic incongruence between interspecific members of the MBFV was reported in ZIKV and its close relative, Spondweni virus. Uniquely, these hybrid proteomes were derived from four incongruent trees involving an -associated DENV node (1 tree) and three different -associated flavivirus nodes (3 trees). Read More

Infect Dis Ther 2022 May 19. Epub 2022 May 19.

Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.

Climate change is adversely affecting the burden of infectious disease throughout the world, which is a health security threat. Climate-sensitive infectious disease includes vector-borne diseases such as malaria, whose transmission potential is expected to increase because of enhanced climatic suitability for the mosquito vector in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and South America. Climatic suitability for the mosquitoes that can carry dengue, Zika, and chikungunya is also likely to increase, facilitating further increases in the geographic range and longer transmission seasons, and raising concern for expansion of these diseases into temperate zones, particularly under higher greenhouse gas emission scenarios. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2022 May 18;15(5). Epub 2022 May 18.

Radiology, Kocaeli University School of Medicine, Izmit, Turkey.

A man in his 70s was admitted to our hospital with complaints of fatigue, loss of appetite and fever. His neurological examination was normal. He had a medical history of diabetes mellitus for 25 years. Read More

Rev Bras Farmacogn 2022 7;32(3):410-420. Epub 2022 May 7.

Department of Botany, Sri Kaliswari College (Autonomous), Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu 626123 India.

Dengue fever has become one of the deadliest infectious diseases and requires the development of effective antiviral therapies. It is caused by members of the Flaviviridae family, which also cause various infections in humans, including dengue fever, tick-borne encephalitis, West Nile fever, and yellow fever. In addition, since 2019, dengue-endemic regions have been grappling with the public health and socio-economic impact of the ongoing coronavirus disease 19. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022 05 3;19(9). Epub 2022 May 3.

Center for Health Economics, Social and Health Care Management, LIUC-Università Cattaneo, Corso Matteotti 22, 21053 Castellanza, Italy.

In Italy, the West Nile Virus surveillance plan considers a multidisciplinary approach to identify the presence of the virus in the environment (entomological, ornithological, and equine surveillance) and to determine the risk of infections through potentially infected donors (blood and organ donors). The costs associated with the surveillance program for the Lombardy Region between 2014 and 2018 were estimated. The costs of the program were compared with a scenario in which the program was not implemented, requiring individual blood donation nucleic acid amplification tests (NAT) to detect the presence of WNV in human samples throughout the seasonal period of vector presence. Read More

Cureus 2022 Apr 10;14(4):e24003. Epub 2022 Apr 10.

Interventional Radiology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, USA.

West Nile (WN) disease is a relatively rare arboviral virus. Neuroinvasive cases of WN account for less than 1% of the total cases. The case described had difficult symptomatology and radical presentation, which included ascending paralysis. Read More