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Chem Commun (Camb) 2021 May;57(38):4666-4669

Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University Gold Coast Campus, Southport, Queensland, Australia.

We determine that the substitution-inert polynuclear platinum complex (PPC) TriplatinNC is an antiviral agent and protects cells from enterovirus 71 and human metapneumovirus infection. This protection occurs through the formation of adducts with cell-surface glycosaminoglycans. Our detailed mechanistic investigation demonstrates that TriplatinNC blocks viral entry by shielding cells from virus attack, opening new directions for metalloshielding antiviral drug development. Read More

Microb Pathog 2021 May 4;156:104941. Epub 2021 May 4.

Department of Microbiology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh; Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, 7408, Bangladesh. Electronic address:

The novel coronavirus infectious disease-2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has traumatized the whole world with the ongoing devastating pandemic. A plethora of microbial domains including viruses (other than SARS-CoV-2), bacteria, archaea and fungi have evolved together, and interact in complex molecular pathogenesis along with SARS-CoV-2. However, the involvement of other microbial co-pathogens and underlying molecular mechanisms leading to extortionate ailment in critically ill COVID-19 patients has yet not been extensively reviewed. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2021 May;100(18):e25799

Department of Pediatrics, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.

Abstract: To investigate the epidemiology and factors associated with the severity of viral acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) in children hospitalized in Manaus, Amazonas, in 2017 to 2018.Retrospective cohort study of children hospitalized at the Hospital and Emergency Room Delphina Rinaldi Abdel Aziz, in Manaus, from April 01, 2017 to August 31, 2018, with a clinical diagnosis of ALRI and nasopharyngeal aspirates positive for at least 1 respiratory virus.One hundred forty-six children aged 0. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2021 Apr 29. Epub 2021 Apr 29.

Division of Health Informatics and Surveillance, Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.

Background: Respiratory tract infections are common, often seasonal, and caused by multiple pathogens. We assessed whether seasonal respiratory illness patterns changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We categorized emergency department (ED) visits reported to the National Syndromic Surveillance Program according to chief complaints and diagnosis codes, excluding visits with diagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infections. Read More

J Glob Health 2021 Apr 3;11:04027. Epub 2021 Apr 3.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

Background: There are limited data on incidence, risk factors and etiology of acute lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) among older adults in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods: We established a cohort of community dwelling older adults ≥60 years and conducted weekly follow-up for acute respiratory infections (ARI) during 2015-2017. Nurses assessed ARI cases for LRTI, collecting combined nasal/throat swabs from all LRTI cases and an equal number of age- and sex-matched asymptomatic neighbourhood controls. Read More

J Med Virol 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Institut Pasteur du Laos, Vientiane, Lao PDR.

Respiratory infections are one of the most frequent reasons for medical consultations in children. In low resource settings such as in Lao People's Democratic Republic, knowledge gaps and the dearth of laboratory capacity to support differential diagnosis may contribute to antibiotic overuse. We studied the etiology, temporal trends, and genetic diversity of viral respiratory infections in children to provide evidence for prevention and treatment guidelines. Read More

J Am Chem Soc 2021 Apr 7;143(15):5958-5966. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, New York 10032, United States.

The lower respiratory tract infections affecting children worldwide are in large part caused by the parainfluenza viruses (HPIVs), particularly HPIV3, along with human metapneumovirus and respiratory syncytial virus, enveloped negative-strand RNA viruses. There are no vaccines for these important human pathogens, and existing treatments have limited or no efficacy. Infection by HPIV is initiated by viral glycoprotein-mediated fusion between viral and host cell membranes. Read More

Poult Sci 2021 May 3;100(5):101086. Epub 2021 Mar 3.

Department of Avian Disease, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland.

Avian metapneumoviruses (aMPV) are a causative agent of turkey rhinotracheitis (TRT). Despite vaccination, cases of TRT outbreaks are frequently reported. Considering that there are aMPV-free areas, a part of turkey poults possess (MDA+) or do not possess (MDA-) maternally derived antibodies (MDA) in the first weeks of life, which is the time of TRT vaccination. Read More

Viruses 2021 03 22;13(3). Epub 2021 Mar 22.

Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Millennium Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8320000, Chile.

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is one of the main pathogens responsible for acute respiratory infections in children up to 5 years of age, contributing substantially to health burden. The worldwide economic and social impact of this virus is significant and must be addressed. The structural components of hMPV (either proteins or genetic material) can be detected by several receptors expressed by host cells through the engagement of pattern recognition receptors. Read More

Viruses 2021 03 18;13(3). Epub 2021 Mar 18.

Centre for Virus Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia.

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is an important cause of upper and lower respiratory tract disease in individuals of all ages. It is estimated that most individuals will be infected by HMPV by the age of five years old. Despite this burden of disease, there remain caveats in our knowledge of global genetic diversity due to a lack of HMPV sequencing, particularly at the whole-genome scale. Read More

CMAJ 2021 Mar;193(13):E439-E446

Division of Infectious Disease (Lee, Smith, Zapernick, Taylor), Department of Medicine, and Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (Zelyas, Tipples), and Division of Nephrology (Klarenbach, So), Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta.; Sunnybrook Research Institute (Bekking, Yip, Mubareka); Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology (Mubareka), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.

Background: Data on the outcomes of noninfluenza respiratory virus (NIRV) infections among hospitalized adults are lacking. We aimed to study the burden, severity and outcomes of NIRV infections in this population.

Methods: We analyzed pooled patient data from 2 hospital-based respiratory virus surveillance cohorts in 2 regions of Canada during 3 consecutive seasons (2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18; = 2119). Read More

J Clin Virol 2021 04 16;137:104795. Epub 2021 Mar 16.

Center for Virology, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Background: Since the worldwide spread of SARS-CoV-2, different European countries reacted with temporary national lockdowns with the aim to limit the virus transmission in the population. Also Austria started a lockdown of public life in March 2020.

Objectives: In this study we investigated whether the circulation of different respiratory virus infections in Austria, as assessed by the established respiratory virus surveillance system, is affected by these measures as well and may reflect the success of the lockdown in limiting respiratory virus transmission. Read More

medRxiv 2021 Mar 11. Epub 2021 Mar 11.

Background: DNA methylation patterns of the human genome can be modified by environmental stimuli and provide dense information on gene regulatory circuitries. We studied genome-wide DNA methylation in nasal samples from infants (<6 months) applying whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) to characterize epigenome response to 10 different respiratory viral infections including SARS-CoV-2.

Results: We identified virus-specific differentially methylated regions (vDMR) with human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and SARS-CoV-2 followed by Influenza B (Flu B) causing the weakest vs. Read More

PLoS One 2021 22;16(3):e0248750. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

Department of Acute Infectious Diseases Control, Jinshan District Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China.

Background: Severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) results in a tremendous disease burden worldwide. Available research on active surveillance among hospitalized adult patients suffering from SARI in China is limited. This pilot study aimed to identify associated etiologies and describe the demographic, epidemiological and clinical profiles of hospitalized SARI patients aged over 16 years in Jinshan, Shanghai. Read More

Virusdisease 2021 Mar 8:1-6. Epub 2021 Mar 8.

Virology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, 110029 India.

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is an enveloped virus that causes serious respiratory tract infection among immunocompromised populations especially haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients. Here, we describe 3 cases of hMPV infection which led to mortality among post HSCT adults. 66 post HSCT adults enrolled between January 2017 and March 2019 at Dr. Read More

Influenza Other Respir Viruses 2021 Mar 14. Epub 2021 Mar 14.

Division of Virology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first detected in Japan in January 2020 and has spread throughout the country. Previous studies have reported that viral interference among influenza virus, rhinovirus, and other respiratory viruses can affect viral infections at the host and population level.

Methods: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 on influenza and other respiratory virus infections, we analyzed clinical specimens collected from 2244 patients in Japan with respiratory diseases between January 2018 and September 2020. Read More

Lancet Planet Health 2021 03;5(3):e154-e163

School of Population Medicine & Public Health, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.

Background: Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) caused by respiratory viruses are common and persistent infectious diseases worldwide and in China, which have pronounced seasonal patterns. Meteorological factors have important roles in the seasonality of some major viruses, especially respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza virus. Our aim was to identify the dominant meteorological factors and to model their effects on common respiratory viruses in different regions of China. Read More

Pathology 2021 Mar 5. Epub 2021 Mar 5.

Australian National Liver Transplant Unit, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Central Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Infez Med 2021 03;29(1):94-101

Microbiology Laboratory, Azienda Ospedaliera SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo, Alessandria, Italy.

Viruses are frequent causal agents of acute respiratory infections and the most common are influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human parainfluenza virus (HPIV), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), rhinovirus (RV), adenovirus (AdV) and the four endemic human coronaviruses (HCoV) -229E, -NL63, -OC43, -HKU1. Multiplex real-time PCR platforms are becoming increasingly common in laboratories mostly in relation to the increased diagnostic sensitivity and reduced turnaround time. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of respiratory viruses in a population of patients within the S. Read More

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 2021 Jun 17;100(2):115352. Epub 2021 Feb 17.

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases, Baltimore, MD, USA; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and subsequent COVID-19 pandemic highlights the morbidity and potential disease severity caused by respiratory viruses. To elucidate pathogen prevalence, etiology of coinfections and URIs from symptomatic adult Emergency department patients in a pre-SARS-CoV-2 environment, we evaluated specimens from four geographically diverse Emergency departments in the United States from 2013-2014 utilizing ePlex RP RUO cartridges (Genmark Diagnostics). The overall positivity was 30. Read More

Pan Afr Med J 2020 12;35(Suppl 2):31. Epub 2020 May 12.

Laboratoire de Bactériologie Virologie du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire le Dantec, Dakar, Sénégal.

Les maladies respiratoires particulièrement le COVID-19 constituent un problème majeur de santé publique dans le monde. Depuis mars 2020, le Sénégal a enregistré 299 cas de COVID-19 dont 183 guéris et seulement deux cas sévères. Aussi environ 20000 personnes en contact étroit avec les malades ont été testés négatifs. Read More

Infect Dis (Lond) 2021 Feb 20:1-10. Epub 2021 Feb 20.

Department of Pulmonology, Zuyderland Hospital, Heerlen, The Netherlands.

Background: The first outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred in March 2020 in Europe, which is normally the peak incidence period of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infections, implying cocirculation and potentially causing competition between them.

Methods: We investigated differences in clinical characteristics and outcomes of HMPV infections in hospitalized patients before (January 2016-28 February, 2020) and HMPV and COVID-19 during part of the COVID-19 pandemic (28 February, 2020-1 April, 2020).

Results: A total of 239 HMPV patients and 303 COVID-19 patients were included. Read More

Virol J 2021 02 18;18(1):40. Epub 2021 Feb 18.

NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Virology and Viral Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing, China.

Background: Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) causes high amounts of morbidity and mortality worldwide every year. Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a major pathogen of ARTIs in children. In this study, we aimed to investigate the epidemiology and genotypic diversity of HMPV in children hospitalized with ARTIs in Beijing, China. Read More

Mil Med Res 2021 02 16;8(1):13. Epub 2021 Feb 16.

Department of Neonatology, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University/Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child/Development and Disorders/National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders/Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing, 400014, China.

Background: Until January 18, 2021, coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has infected more than 93 million individuals and has caused a certain degree of panic. Viral pneumonia caused by common viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus, human metapneumovirus, human bocavirus, and parainfluenza viruses have been more common in children. However, the incidence of COVID-19 in children was significantly lower than that in adults. Read More

Front Immunol 2020 7;11:611946. Epub 2021 Jan 7.

Millenium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

Vaccines represent an important strategy to protect humans against a wide variety of pathogens and have even led to eradicating some diseases. Although every vaccine is developed to induce specific protection for a particular pathogen, some vaccine formulations can also promote trained immunity, which is a non-specific memory-like feature developed by the innate immune system. It is thought that trained immunity can protect against a wide variety of pathogens other than those contained in the vaccine formulation. Read More

Pediatr Blood Cancer 2021 Feb 13:e28936. Epub 2021 Feb 13.

Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.

Objectives: Clinical studies have shown low toxicity and a favorable safety profile for sirolimus in vascular anomalies. Here, we describe severe adverse events (SAEs) observed during "off-label use" for vascular anomalies.

Methods: We performed a retrospective, multicenter chart review for SAEs during "off-label" sirolimus therapy for vascular anomalies and analyzed these cases by a predesigned workflow. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 02 5;11(1):3209. Epub 2021 Feb 5.

John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia.

Viral co-infections occur in COVID-19 patients, potentially impacting disease progression and severity. However, there is currently no dedicated method to identify viral co-infections in patient RNA-seq data. We developed PACIFIC, a deep-learning algorithm that accurately detects SARS-CoV-2 and other common RNA respiratory viruses from RNA-seq data. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2021 Feb 3;22(4). Epub 2021 Feb 3.

CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.

phosphoproteins (P) are essential co-factors of the viral polymerase by serving as a linchpin between the catalytic subunit and the ribonucleoprotein template. They have highly diverged, but their overall architecture is conserved. They are multidomain proteins, which all possess an oligomerization domain that separates - and -terminal domains. Read More

Front Med (Lausanne) 2020 18;7:574128. Epub 2021 Jan 18.

Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The 2nd People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, China.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (hMPV), and human parainfluenza virus (hPIV) are paramyxoviruses (PMVs) that are important etiologies of community-acquired pneumonia. However, current knowledge about the clinical features and outcomes of PMV-related pneumonia (PMV-p) is limited. We aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and disease severity in immunocompetent adults hospitalized with hMPV-related pneumonia (hMPV-p), hPIV-related pneumonia (hPIV-p), or RSV-related pneumonia (RSV-p). Read More

J Med Virol 2021 Feb 2. Epub 2021 Feb 2.

Department of Microbiology, University Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain.

The clinical significance of molecular detection of respiratory viruses in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples is poorly defined. We performed an observational retrospective study including all patients who underwent a BAL procedure in our institution, regardless of the reason for bronchoscopy, from January 2015 to December 2018. Respiratory viruses were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction with a commercial multiplex panel, and a cell culture was performed to detect cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus. Read More