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J Virol 2021 Jun 23:JVI0075921. Epub 2021 Jun 23.

Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.

The hemagglutinin (HA) surface protein is the primary immune target for most influenza vaccines. The neuraminidase (NA) surface protein is often a secondary target for vaccine designs. In this study, computationally optimized broadly reactive antigen methodology was used to generate the N1-I NA vaccine antigen that was designed to cross-react with avian, swine, and human influenza viruses of N1 NA subtype. Read More

Transbound Emerg Dis 2021 Jun 15. Epub 2021 Jun 15.

College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.

Swine are considered as 'mixing vessels' of influenza A viruses and play an important role in the generation of novel influenza pandemics. In this study, we described that the H3N2 swine influenza (swH3N2) viruses currently circulating in pigs in Guangdong province carried six internal genes from 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus (pmd09), and their antigenicity was obviously different from that of current human H3N2 influenza viruses or recommended vaccine strains (A/Guangdong/1194/2019, A/Hong Kong/4801/2014). These swH3N2 viruses preferentially bonded to the human-like receptors, and efficiently replicated in human, canine and swine cells. Read More

Sens Actuators B Chem 2021 Oct 16;344:130301. Epub 2021 Jun 16.

Department of Biomedical Engineering, TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Cankaya, Ankara, 06560, Turkey.

After World Health Organization (WHO) announced COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, we all again realized the importance of developing rapid diagnostic kits. In this article, we introduced a lightweight and field-portable biosensor employing a plasmonic chip based on nanohole arrays integrated to a lensfree-imaging framework for label-free detection of viruses in field-settings. The platform utilizes a CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) camera with high quantum efficiency in the spectral window of interest to monitor diffraction field patterns of nanohole arrays under the uniform illumination of an LED (light-emitting diode) source which is spectrally tuned to the plasmonic mode supported by the nanohole arrays. Read More

Arch Virol 2021 Jun 6. Epub 2021 Jun 6.

Animal Infectious Diseases Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, 48 East Wenhui Road, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China.

Swine influenza is an economically important respiratory disease in swine, but it also constantly poses a threat to human health. Therefore, developing rapid, sensitive, and efficient detection methods for swine influenza virus (SIV) is important. By aligning the haemagglutinin (HA) gene sequences of SIVs circulating in China over a 10-year period, an H1 primer-probe set targeting both Eurasian avian-like H1N1 (EA H1N1) and pandemic 2009 H1N1 ((H1N1)pdm09) lineages plus a H3 primer-probe set targeting the prevalent human-like H3N2 (HL H3N2) subtype were designed. Read More

Nat Nanotechnol 2021 Jun 3. Epub 2021 Jun 3.

Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Minimizing the spread of viruses in the environment is the first defence line when fighting outbreaks and pandemics, but the current COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates how difficult this is on a global scale, particularly in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Here we introduce and develop a sustainable and biodegradable antiviral filtration membrane composed of amyloid nanofibrils made from food-grade milk proteins and iron oxyhydroxide nanoparticles synthesized in situ from iron salts by simple pH tuning. Thus, all the membrane components are made of environmentally friendly, non-toxic and widely available materials. Read More

Viruses 2021 05 13;13(5). Epub 2021 May 13.

School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.

Influenza A viruses (IAV) modulate host antiviral responses to promote growth and pathogenicity. Here, we examined the multifunctional IAV nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) of influenza A virus to better understand factors that contribute to viral replication efficiency or pathogenicity. In 2009, a pandemic H1N1 IAV (A/California/07/2009 pH1N1) emerged in the human population from swine. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 May 28;11(1):11276. Epub 2021 May 28.

Laboratory of Virology, Department of Virology, Parasitology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820, Merelbeke, Belgium.

Surveillance of swine influenza A viruses (swIAV) allows timely detection and identification of new variants with potential zoonotic risks. In this study, we aimed to identify swIAV subtypes that circulated in pigs in Belgium and the Netherlands between 2014 and 2019, and characterize their genetic and antigenic evolution. We subtyped all isolates and analyzed hemagglutinin sequences and hemagglutination inhibition assay data for H1 swIAV, which were the dominant HA subtype. Read More

J Family Med Prim Care 2021 Mar 8;10(3):1258-1262. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Department of Community Medicine, Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, M.D. Community Medicine, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India.

Introduction: The swine (H1N1) virus responsible for worldwide pandemics since 2009 is now causing seasonal epidemics. Since then alarming spikes of swine flu cases have been reported from Uttarakhand every year. There are limited studies conducted in this Himalayan belt to evaluate the clinical and epidemiological profile of the patients admitted in tertiary care hospitals. Read More

Curr Microbiol 2021 Jul 26;78(7):2753-2761. Epub 2021 May 26.

ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Anand Nagar, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Swine influenza virus (SIV) belongs to family Orthomyxoviridae and can cause acute respiratory infection in pigs. Several pandemic H1N1 human fatal influenza cases were reported in India. Though pigs are predisposed to both avian and human influenza virus infections with the potential to generate novel reassortants, there are only a few reports of SIV in Indian pigs. Read More

Zoonoses Public Health 2021 May 13. Epub 2021 May 13.

Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleissheim, Germany.

Swine influenza A viruses (S-IAV) circulate in wild boar populations worldwide. Subtypes primarily reflect those actually present within the respective pig industry. Accordingly, infections with swine H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2 have been reported for several regions of Germany. Read More

J Insur Med 2021 Jan;49(1):46-50

As I write this review, we are in the midst of the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic. The extent and impact of this pandemic is still unknown. Although daily reports on confirmed cases and deaths provide a constant stream of detailed information, it is not possible to predict with any degree of precision the impact the outbreak will have in society in general or on the life insurance industry in particular. Read More

Front Microbiol 2021 15;12:662028. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

WHO-Recognized National Influenza Centre (NIC), Smorodintsev Research Institute of Influenza, Ministry of Health, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Pigs have long been recognized as "mixing vessels" in which new viruses are formed by reassortment involving various influenza virus lineages (avian, animal, human). However, surveillance of swine influenza viruses only gained real significance after the 2009 pandemic. A fundamentally important point is the fact that there is still no regular surveillance of swine flu in Russia, and the role of swine viruses is underestimated since, as a rule, they do not cause serious disease in animals. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 04 26;18(9). Epub 2021 Apr 26.

School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.

Face masks are considered an effective intervention in controlling the spread of airborne viruses, as evidenced by the 2009's H1N1 swine flu and 2003's severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreaks. However, research aiming to examine public willingness to wear (WTW) face masks in Pakistan are scarce. The current research aims to overcome this research void and contributes by expanding the theoretical mechanism of theory of planned behavior (TPB) to include three novel dimensions (risk perceptions of the pandemic, perceived benefits of face masks, and unavailability of face masks) to comprehensively analyze the factors that motivate people to, or inhibit people from, wearing face masks. Read More

Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis 2021 Jun 15;76:101649. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Laboratorio de Inmunomicrobiología, Departamento de Microbiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas (ENCB), Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), Ciudad de México 11340, Mexico. Electronic address:

The Embp protein of Staphylococcus epidermidis inhibits the hemagglutination of the H1N1 influenza virus and protects birds from a viral respiratory infection. Several species of Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) are present in the respiratory cavity, particularly in nostrils. We hypothesize that non-epidermidis CoNS found in animals can have the same function as observed in S. Read More

Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Institute of Veterinary Medicine, National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Influenza A viruses (IAV) are zoonotic pathogens that can cause significant illness in wild and domestic animals, and humans. IAV can infect a broad range of avian and mammalian species, depending on subtype, and avian IAV can be moved over relatively long distances by migratory birds. Although spillover infections from wildlife or domestic animals to humans are an important part of the transmission cycle that can drive outbreaks, the relevance of companion animals, specifically dogs and cats, is not fully understood. Read More

J Virol 2021 Jun 10;95(13):e0242120. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.

Expert Rev Vaccines 2021 May 21:1-8. Epub 2021 May 21.

Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.

: As the pathogen that caused the first influenza virus pandemic in this century, the swine-origin A(H1N1) pdm09 influenza virus has caused continuous harm to human public health. The evolution of hemagglutinin protein glycosylation sites, including the increase in number and positional changes, is an important way for influenza viruses to escape host immune pressure. Based on the traditional influenza virus molecular monitoring, special attention should be paid to the influence of glycosylation evolution on the biological characteristics of virus antigenicity, transmission and pathogenicity. Read More

Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen 2021 03 24;141(5). Epub 2021 Feb 24.

Prev Vet Med 2021 May 5;190:105317. Epub 2021 Mar 5.

School of Veterinary Medicine, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia; China-Australia Joint Research and Training Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China. Electronic address:

The coinfection of swine influenza (SI) strains and avian/human-source influenza strains in piggeries can contribute to the evolution of new influenza viruses with pandemic potential. This study analyzed surveillance data on SI in south China and explored the spatial predictor variables associated with different influenza infection scenarios in counties within the study area. Blood samples were collected from 7670 pigs from 534 pig farms from 2015 to 2017 and tested for evidence of infection with influenza strains from swine, human and avian sources. Read More

Vet Microbiol 2021 Apr 12;255:109039. Epub 2021 Mar 12.

Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100094, China. Electronic address:

The H1N1 influenza virus of swine-origin was responsible for the H1N1 pandemic in 2009 (pdm/09 H1N1), where the virus was transmitted to humans and then spread between people, and its continued circulation has resulted in it becoming a seasonal human flu virus. Since 2016, the matrix (M) gene of pdm/09 H1N1 has been involved in the reassortment of swine influenza viruses (SIVs) in China and has gradually become a dominant genotype in pigs. However, whether M gene substitution will influence the fitness of emerging SIVs remains unclear. Read More

J Virol 2021 Mar 17. Epub 2021 Mar 17.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Efforts to estimate the risk posed by potentially pandemic influenza A viruses (IAV), and to understand the mechanisms governing interspecies transmission, have been hampered by a lack of animal models that yield relevant and statistically robust measures of viral fitness. To address this gap, we monitored several quantitative measures of fitness in a guinea pig model: infectivity, magnitude of replication, kinetics of replication, efficiency of transmission, and kinetics of transmission. With the goal of identifying metrics that distinguish human- and non-human-adapted IAV we compared strains derived from humans to those circulating in swine and canine populations. Read More

mSphere 2021 03 10;6(2). Epub 2021 Mar 10.

Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

Influenza vaccines have traditionally been tested in naive mice and ferrets. However, humans are first exposed to influenza viruses within the first few years of their lives. Therefore, there is a pressing need to test influenza virus vaccines in animal models that have been previously exposed to influenza viruses before being vaccinated. Read More

BMC Bioinformatics 2021 Mar 4;22(1):108. Epub 2021 Mar 4.

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University at Buffalo - SUNY, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA.

Background: Knowledge on the molecular targets of diseases and drugs is crucial for elucidating disease pathogenesis and mechanism of action of drugs, and for driving drug discovery and treatment formulation. In this regard, high-throughput gene transcriptional profiling has become a leading technology, generating whole-genome data on the transcriptional alterations caused by diseases or drug compounds. However, identifying direct gene targets, especially in the background of indirect (downstream) effects, based on differential gene expressions is difficult due to the complexity of gene regulatory network governing the gene transcriptional processes. Read More

Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi 2021 Mar;101(8):568-572

National Influenza Center, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China.

To evaluate the cross-reaction of seasonal influenza vaccine immune serum against Eurasian avian-like H1N1 swine influenza virus. Nine human infected Eurasian avian-like H1N1 swine influenza virus strains were obtained from national influenza surveillance network laboratories in Jiangsu, Hebei, Shandong, Yunnan, Hunan, Fujian and Tianjin provinces, and their genetic characteristics of hemagglutinin were analyzed by deep sequencing. 30 volunteers were recruited respectively from children (2-5 years old), adults (24-57 years old) and elderly (60-84 years old) who received 2019-2020 seasonal influenza vaccine in Anning city, Yunnan Province in October 2019, and serum samples were collected before and 1 month after vaccination. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2021 Mar;27(3):939-943

We report a zoonotic infection of a pig farmer in the Netherlands with a Eurasian avian-like swine influenza A(H1N1) virus that was also detected in the farmed pigs. Both viruses were antigenically and genetically characterized. Continued surveillance of swine influenza A viruses is needed for risk assessment in humans and swine. Read More

J Gen Virol 2021 Mar 22;102(3). Epub 2021 Feb 22.

United Graduate School of Veterinary Science, Yamaguchi University, Japan.

Since the influenza pandemic in 2009, the causative agent 'A(H1N1)pdm09 virus', has been circulating in both human and swine populations. Although phylogenetic analyses of the haemagglutinin (HA) gene segment have revealed broader genetic diversity of A(H1N1)pdm09-related swine influenza A viruses (swIAVs) compared with human A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses, it remains unclear whether the genetic diversity reflects the antigenic differences in HA. To assess the impact of the diversity of the HA gene of A(H1N1)pdm09-related swIAVs on HA antigenicity, we characterized 12 swIAVs isolated in Japan from 2013 to 2018. Read More

PLoS One 2021 20;16(1):e0244669. Epub 2021 Jan 20.

Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA-Weybridge), Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom.

The mutual dependence of human and animal health is central to the One Health initiative as an integrated strategy for infectious disease control and management. A crucial element of the One Health includes preparation and response to influenza A virus (IAV) threats at the human-animal interface. The IAVs are characterized by extensive genetic variability, they circulate among different hosts and can establish host-specific lineages. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2020 Dec 23;165(Pt B):2508-2519. Epub 2020 Oct 23.

Centre of Biomedical Research, SGPGIMS Campus, Lucknow 226014, India. Electronic address:

Nuclear-export-protein (NEP) plays multiple-functions during influenza virus replication-cycle and shows unique pattern of conserved residues, which altogether make NEP a potential target for developing novel anti-influenza drugs. However, the mechanistic structural biology of NEP has not been fully characterized so far owing to its tendency to aggregate in solution. As structural information is important to guide rational drug-discovery process; therefore, procedural optimization efforts are going on to achieve properly folded NEP in sub-millimolar concentrations for solution-NMR investigations. Read More

J Optom 2021 Jan 6. Epub 2021 Jan 6.

Department of Ophthalmology, Dr R P Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India. Electronic address:

In recent past, major pandemics and epidemics have occurred due to the emergence and resurgence of the novel strains of viruses like Influenza [HINI-A "Spanish Flu", H1N1-Novel A "Swine flu"], Corona [Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2)] and Ebola virus [Ebola virus disease]. These infectious diseases may have several ocular manifestations and rarely might be the presenting symptom of the underlying disease. The eyes can act as a portal of entry and/or route of viral transmission for these pathogens. Read More