Cell 2017 Jul;170(2):273-283.e12

Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; The Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA. Electronic address:

The emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) and its association with congenital malformations has prompted the rapid development of vaccines. Although efficacy with multiple viral vaccine platforms has been established in animals, no study has addressed protection during pregnancy. We tested in mice two vaccine platforms, a lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated modified mRNA vaccine encoding ZIKV prM and E genes and a live-attenuated ZIKV strain encoding an NS1 protein without glycosylation, for their ability to protect against transmission to the fetus. Read More

N Engl J Med 2017 Jul;377(2):106-108

From the Viral Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta (J.R.S.); and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Galveston National Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston (D.A.B.).

N Engl J Med 2017 07;377(2):154-161

From the Arbovirus and Imported Viral Diseases Unit, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (A.N., M.P.S.-S., E.R.A., F.L.), Red de Investigación Colaborativa en Enfermedades Tropicales (A.N., M.P.S.-S., E.R.A., F.L.), High Level Isolation Unit (F.C.-P., M.M.-R., A.M.-Q., E.T., J.C.F., J. Manzanares, O.R.-F., V.M.C., J.R.A.) and Departments of Preventive Medicine (N.G.-A.) and Occupational Health (M.V.F.-D.), La Paz University Hospital, Intensive Care Unit (E.P.-H., A.M.G., L.L.P., D.D.-D., M.A.L.-G.) and Departments of Internal Medicine (B.S.-A.), Emergency (J.L.F.), and Occupational Health (P.D.-J.), Infanta Leonor University Hospital, Epidemiology Area of the Autonomous Community of Madrid (J.A.-M., M.O.G., E.R.-B., L.G.-C.), Intensive Care Unit (E.B.L., E.K.-D.) and Departments of Pathology (J. Menárguez, J. Milla) and Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (A.F.-C.), Gregorio Marañón University General Hospital, and Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Complutense University (J. Menárguez, J. Milla, A.F.-C.) - all in Madrid; and the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Arbovirus and Hemorrhagic Fever Reference and Research, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany (P.E., J.S.-C.).

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a widely distributed, viral, tickborne disease. In Europe, cases have been reported only in the southeastern part of the continent. We report two autochthonous cases in Spain. Read More

Pan Afr Med J 2017 25;26:229. Epub 2017 Apr 25.

Zone Sanitaire Djougou Copargo Ouaké, Ministère de la santé, Bénin.

Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2017 Jul 5. Epub 2017 Jul 5.

1 Department of Arbovirology and Hemorrhagic Fevers, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde/Ministério da Saúde, Ananindeua, Brazil .

Rabies is an acute, progressive zoonotic viral infection that in general produces a fatal outcome. This disease is responsible for deaths in humans and animals worldwide and, because it can affect all mammals, is considered one of the most important viral infections for public health. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of rabies in bats of different species found in municipalities of the state of Pará from 2005 to 2011. Read More

Arch Biochem Biophys 2017 Aug 27;627:56-66. Epub 2017 Jun 27.

Molecular and Cellular Biology Institute, Universitas "Miguel Hernández", E-03202 Elche-Alicante, Spain. Electronic address:

Non-structural NS2A protein of Dengue virus is essential for viral replication but poorly characterized because of its high hydrophobicity. We have previously shown experimentally that NS2A possess a segment, peptide dens25, known to insert into membranes and interact specifically with negatively-charged phospholipids. To characterize its membrane interaction we have used two types of molecular dynamics membrane model systems, a highly mobile membrane mimetic (HMMM) and an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane-like model. Read More

PLoS One 2017 26;12(6):e0179781. Epub 2017 Jun 26.

Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, Ohio, United States of America.

Tick-borne flaviviruses (TBFVs), including Powassan virus and tick-borne encephalitis virus cause encephalitis or hemorrhagic fevers in humans with case-fatality rates ranging from 1-30%. Despite severe disease in humans, TBFV infection of natural rodent hosts has little noticeable effect. Currently, the basis for resistance to disease is not known. Read More

Wkly Epidemiol Rec 2017 06 23;92(25):345-50. Epub 2017 Jun 23.

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 Jun 22;11(6):e0005701. Epub 2017 Jun 22.

Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.

Dengue is a fast spreading mosquito-borne disease that affects more than half of the population worldwide. An unprecedented outbreak happened in Guangzhou, China in 2014, which contributed 52 percent of all dengue cases that occurred in mainland China between 1990 and 2015. Our previous analysis, based on a deterministic model, concluded that the early timing of the first imported case that triggered local transmission and the excessive rainfall thereafter were the most important determinants of the large final epidemic size in 2014. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 Jun 22;11(6):e0005491. Epub 2017 Jun 22.

International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Geneva, Switzerland.

Background: Safely burying Ebola infected individuals is acknowledged to be important for controlling Ebola epidemics and was a major component of the 2013-2016 West Africa Ebola response. Yet, in order to understand the impact of safe burial programs it is necessary to elucidate the role of unsafe burials in sustaining chains of Ebola transmission and how the risk posed by activities surrounding unsafe burials, including care provided at home prior to death, vary with human behavior and geography.

Methodology/principal Findings: Interviews with next of kin and community members were carried out for unsafe burials in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, in six districts where the Red Cross was responsible for safe and dignified burials (SDB). Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 Jun 22;11(6):e0005545. Epub 2017 Jun 22.

Médecins Sans Frontières, Brussels, Belgium.

During the large Ebola outbreak that affected West Africa in 2014 and 2015, studies were launched to evaluate potential treatments for the disease. A clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the antiviral drug favipiravir was conducted in Guinea. This paper describes the main challenges of the implementation of the trial in the Ebola treatment center of Guéckédou. Read More

Open Forum Infect Dis 2017 16;4(2):ofx087. Epub 2017 Jun 16.

Pole of Virology, Arbovirus and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers Unit, Pasteur Institute of Dakar, Senegal.

Background: Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an acute viral anthropozoonosis that causes epizootics and epidemics among livestock population and humans. Multiple emergences and reemergences of the virus have occurred in Mauritania over the last decade. This article describes the outbreak that occurred in 2015 in Mauritania and reports the results of serological and molecular investigations of blood samples collected from suspected RVF patients. Read More

CMAJ 2017 Jun;189(24):E819-E827

Canadian Center for Vaccinology (ElSherif, Brown, MacKinnon-Cameron, Li, McNeil, Langley, Halperin), IWK Health Centre and Nova Scotia Health Authority, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS; National Microbiology Laboratory (Racine, Alimonti), Winnipeg, Man.; Battelle Biomedical Research Center (Rudge, Sabourin), Columbus, Ohio; United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease (Silvera, Hooper, Kwilas), Fort Detrick, Md.; Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense Medical Countermeasure Systems' Joint Vaccine Acquisition Program (Kilgore, Badorrek), Fort Detrick, Md.; BioProtection Systems/NewLink Genetics Corporation (Ramsey, Heppner, Kemp, Monath), Ames, Iowa; Veristat LLC (Nowak), Southborough, Mass.

Background: The 2013-2016 Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa was the most widespread in history. In response, alive attenuated recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) vaccine expressing Zaire Ebolavirus glycoprotein (rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP) was evaluated in humans.

Methods: In a phase 1, randomized, dose-ranging, observer-blind, placebo-controlled trial, healthy adults aged 18-65 years were randomized into 4 groups of 10 to receive one of 3 vaccine doses or placebo. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 Jun 19;11(6):e0005665. Epub 2017 Jun 19.

National Institute for Communicable Diseases, National Health Laboratory Service, Sandringham, South Africa.

Background: In August 2014, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa established a modular high-biosafety field Ebola diagnostic laboratory (SA FEDL) near Freetown, Sierra Leone in response to the rapidly increasing number of Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases.

Methods And Findings: The SA FEDL operated in the Western Area of Sierra Leone, which remained a "hotspot" of the EVD epidemic for months. The FEDL was the only diagnostic capacity available to respond to the overwhelming demand for rapid EVD laboratory diagnosis for several weeks in the initial stages of the EVD crisis in the capital of Sierra Leone. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 Jun 15;11(6):e0005621. Epub 2017 Jun 15.

Department of Child Health, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Background: Indonesia reports the second highest dengue disease burden in the world; these data are from passive surveillance reports and are likely to be significant underestimates. Age-stratified seroprevalence data are relatively unbiased indicators of past exposure and allow understanding of transmission dynamics.

Methodology/principal Findings: To better understand dengue infection history and associated risk factors in Indonesia, a representative population-based cross-sectional dengue seroprevalence study was conducted in 1-18-year-old urban children. Read More

Cad Saude Publica 2017 Jun 12;33(5):e00178915. Epub 2017 Jun 12.

Superintendência de Vigilância em Saúde, Secretaria Municipal de Saúde, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil† Falecido.

The effects of dengue infection during pregnancy have not been previously studied in Rio Branco, Acre State, Brazil. The aim of this study was to determine the risks of maternal, fetal, and infant complications resulting from dengue infection during pregnancy. The study compared two cohorts of pregnant women, exposed versus unexposed to dengue virus, from 2007 to 2012. Read More

J Occup Environ Hyg 2017 Jun 13. Epub 2017 Jun 13.

c Department of Environmental , Occupational and Agricultural Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health , Omaha , Nebraska.

Purpose: A United States industry-specific gap analysis survey of the death care sector-which comprises organizations and businesses affiliated with the funeral industry and the handling of human remains- was developed, the results analyzed, and training and education needs in relation to highly infectious disease mitigation and management were explored in an effort to identify where occupational health and safety can be enhanced in this worker population.

Methods: Collaborating national death care organizations distributed the 47-question electronic survey. N = 424 surveys were initiated and results recorded. Read More

Wkly Epidemiol Rec 2017 06 2;92(22):301-20. Epub 2017 Jun 2.

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 Jun 2;11(6):e0005597. Epub 2017 Jun 2.

Ebola Response Team, Liberia Ministry of Health, Monrovia, Liberia.

Background: Contact tracing is one of the key response activities necessary for halting Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) transmission. Key elements of contact tracing include identification of persons who have been in contact with confirmed EVD cases and careful monitoring for EVD symptoms, but the details of implementation likely influence their effectiveness. In November 2015, several months after a major Ebola outbreak was controlled in Liberia, three members of a family were confirmed positive for EVD in the Duport Road area of Monrovia. Read More

Methods Mol Biol 2017 ;1628:259-270

Microbiology and National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.

This chapter describes an approach for the label-free imaging and quantification of intact Ebola virus (EBOV) and EBOV viruslike particles (VLPs) using a light microscopy technique. In this technique, individual virus particles are captured onto a silicon chip that has been printed with spots of virus-specific capture antibodies. These captured virions are then detected using an optical approach called interference reflectance imaging. Read More

J Med Virol 2017 May 31. Epub 2017 May 31.

National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia, Bulgaria.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) and hantavirus infections are the two viral hemorrhagic fevers spread in Europe. To test actual circulation of CCHF virus (CCHFV) and hantaviruses in Bulgaria, we conducted country-wide seroepidemiological studies. Serum samples were collected prospectively from 1500 residents of all 28 districts in Bulgaria. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 May 30;11(5):e0005640. Epub 2017 May 30.

Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America.

Most statistical and mechanistic models used to predict mosquito-borne disease transmission incorporate climate drivers of disease transmission by utilizing environmental data collected at geographic scales that are potentially coarser than what mosquito populations may actually experience. Temperature and relative humidity can vary greatly between indoor and outdoor environments, and can be influenced strongly by variation in landscape features. In the Aedes albopictus system, we conducted a proof-of-concept study in the vicinity of the University of Georgia to explore the effects of fine-scale microclimate variation on mosquito life history and vectorial capacity (VC). Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 May 30;11(5):e0005645. Epub 2017 May 30.

Department of Epidemiology and Pre-clinical research, National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Lazzaro Spallanzani", Rome, Italy.

Background: Human Ebola infection is characterized by a paralysis of the immune system. A signature of αβ T cells in fatal Ebola infection has been recently proposed, while the involvement of innate immune cells in the protection/pathogenesis of Ebola infection is unknown. Aim of this study was to analyze γδ T and NK cells in patients from the Ebola outbreak of 2014-2015 occurred in West Africa, and to assess their association with the clinical outcome. Read More

Wkly Epidemiol Rec 2017 05 19;92(20):286-92. Epub 2017 May 19.

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 May 24;11(5):e0005582. Epub 2017 May 24.

Institute of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.

Background: Rift Valley Fever (RVF), is a viral zoonotic disease transmitted by Aedes and Culex mosquitoes. In Kenya, its occurrence is associated with increased rains. In Baringo County, RVF was first reported in 2006-2007 resulting in 85 human cases and 5 human deaths, besides livestock losses and livelihood disruptions. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 May 22;11(5):e0005483. Epub 2017 May 22.

Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, Jl. Diponegoro No. 69, Jakarta, Indonesia.

A high number of dengue cases are reported annually in Bali. Despite the endemicity, limited data on dengue is available for Bali localities. Molecular surveillance study was conducted to explore the clinical and virological characteristics of dengue patients in urban Denpasar and rural Gianyar areas in Bali during the peak season in 2015. Read More

Cell 2017 May;169(5):891-904.e15

Integrated BioTherapeutics, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. Electronic address:

While neutralizing antibodies are highly effective against ebolavirus infections, current experimental ebolavirus vaccines primarily elicit species-specific antibody responses. Here, we describe an immunization-elicited macaque antibody (CA45) that clamps the internal fusion loop with the N terminus of the ebolavirus glycoproteins (GPs) and potently neutralizes Ebola, Sudan, Bundibugyo, and Reston viruses. CA45, alone or in combination with an antibody that blocks receptor binding, provided full protection against all pathogenic ebolaviruses in mice, guinea pigs, and ferrets. Read More

Cell 2017 May;169(5):878-890.e15

Mapp Biopharmaceutical, San Diego, CA 92121, USA. Electronic address:

Experimental monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies have shown promise for treatment of lethal Ebola virus (EBOV) infections, but their species-specific recognition of the viral glycoprotein (GP) has limited their use against other divergent ebolaviruses associated with human disease. Here, we mined the human immune response to natural EBOV infection and identified mAbs with exceptionally potent pan-ebolavirus neutralizing activity and protective efficacy against three virulent ebolaviruses. These mAbs recognize an inter-protomer epitope in the GP fusion loop, a critical and conserved element of the viral membrane fusion machinery, and neutralize viral entry by targeting a proteolytically primed, fusion-competent GP intermediate (GPCL) generated in host cell endosomes. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 May 17;11(5):e0005611. Epub 2017 May 17.

University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America.

Background: Government-administered adulticiding is frequently conducted in response to dengue transmission worldwide. Anecdotal evidence suggests that spraying may create a "false sense of security" for residents. Our objective was to determine if there was an association between residents' reporting outdoor spatial insecticide spraying as way to prevent dengue transmission and both their reported frequency of dengue prevention practices and household entomological indices in Hermosillo, Mexico. Read More

PLoS Med 2017 May 16;14(5):e1002300. Epub 2017 May 16.

Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.

Background: Healthcare and other front-line workers are at particular risk of infection with Ebola virus (EBOV). Despite the large-scale deployment of international responders, few cases of Ebola virus disease have been diagnosed in this group. Since asymptomatic or pauci-symptomatic infection has been described, it is plausible that infections have occurred in healthcare workers but have escaped being diagnosed. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2017 May 15;17(1):343. Epub 2017 May 15.

Regional Health Bureau of the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples-Ethiopia, Dakar, Senegal.

Background: Yellow Fever (YF) is a viral hemorrhagic disease transmitted by aedes mosquito species. Approximately, 200,000 cases and 30,000 deaths occur worldwide every year. In Ethiopia, the last outbreak was reported in 1966 with 2200 cases and 450 deaths. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 May 15;11(5):e0005622. Epub 2017 May 15.

Key Laboratory of Jilin Province for Zoonosis Prevention and Control, Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China.

Background: Ebola virus emerged in West Africa in December 2013. The high population mobility and poor public health infrastructure in this region led to the development of the largest Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak to date.

Methodology/principal Findings: On September 26, 2014, China dispatched a Mobile Biosafety Level-3 Laboratory (MBSL-3 Lab) and a well-trained diagnostic team to Sierra Leone to assist in EVD diagnosis using quantitative real-time PCR, which allowed the diagnosis of suspected EVD cases in less than 4 hours from the time of sample receiving. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 May 15;11(5):e0005554. Epub 2017 May 15.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.

Dengue viruses (DENVs) are mosquito-borne flaviviruses and the causative agents of dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever. As there are four serotypes of DENV (DENV1-4), people can be infected multiple times, each time with a new serotype. Primary infections stimulate antibodies that mainly neutralize the serotype of infection (type-specific), whereas secondary infections stimulate responses that cross-neutralize 2 or more serotypes. Read More

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2017 May 5;66(17):457-459. Epub 2017 May 5.

Recent manufacturing problems resulted in a shortage of the only U.S.-licensed yellow fever vaccine. Read More

Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2017 May 19;73(Pt 5):402-419. Epub 2017 Apr 19.

School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637551, Singapore.

Dengue virus (DENV), which has four serotypes (DENV-1 to DENV-4), is the causative agent of the viral infection dengue. DENV nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) comprises a serine protease domain and an RNA helicase domain which has nucleotide triphosphatase activities that are essential for RNA replication and viral assembly. Here, solution X-ray scattering was used to provide insight into the overall structure and flexibility of the entire NS3 and its recombinant helicase and protease domains for Dengue virus serotypes 2 and 4 in solution. Read More

J Virol 2017 Jul 26;91(14). Epub 2017 Jun 26.

Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Dengue is an acute febrile illness caused by dengue virus (DENV) and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The lack of an appropriate small-animal model of dengue infection has greatly hindered the study of dengue pathogenesis and the development of therapeutics. In this study, we conducted mass spectrometry-based serum metabolic profiling from a model using humanized mice (humice) with DENV serotype 2 infection at 0, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days postinfection (dpi). Read More

J Virol 2017 Jul 26;91(14). Epub 2017 Jun 26.

Centro de Virología Animal, Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología Dr. Cesar Milstein, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Mammarenaviruses are enveloped viruses with a bisegmented negative-stranded RNA genome that encodes the nucleocapsid protein (NP), the envelope glycoprotein precursor (GPC), the RNA polymerase (L), and a RING matrix protein (Z). Viral proteins are synthesized from subgenomic mRNAs bearing a capped 5' untranslated region (UTR) and lacking 3' poly(A) tail. We analyzed the translation strategy of Tacaribe virus (TCRV), a prototype of the New World mammarenaviruses. Read More

Epidemiol Infect 2017 Jul 2;145(10):1993-2002. Epub 2017 May 2.

University of Utah School of Medicine,Salt Lake City, Utah,USA.

During the recent Ebola crisis in West Africa, individual person-level details of disease onset, transmissions, and outcomes such as survival or death were reported in online news media. We set out to document disease transmission chains for Ebola, with the goal of generating a timely account that could be used for surveillance, mathematical modeling, and public health decision-making. By accessing public web pages only, such as locally produced newspapers and blogs, we created a transmission chain involving two Ebola clusters in West Africa that compared favorably with other published transmission chains, and derived parameters for a mathematical model of Ebola disease transmission that were not statistically different from those derived from published sources. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 May 1;11(5):e0005570. Epub 2017 May 1.

Centre for Biological Threats and Special Pathogens, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.

During the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa several international mobile laboratories were deployed to the mainly affected countries Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia to provide ebolavirus diagnostic capacity. Additionally, imported cases and small outbreaks in other countries required global preparedness for Ebola diagnostics. Detection of viral RNA by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction has proven effective for diagnosis of ebolavirus disease and several assays are available. Read More

J Infect Dis 2017 03;215(6):992-999

Department of Internal Medicine, Persahabatan Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Background: The role of vascular endothelial (VE) components in dengue infection with plasma leakage is unknown. Therefore, we conducted a study to determine the adjusted association of the endothelial glycocalyx layer (EGL) and tight and adherens junction markers with plasma leakage.

Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital and Persahabatan Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia. Read More

J Infect Dis 2017 03;215(6):902-906

Institute of Experimental Virology, Twincore, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany.

The World Health Organization (WHO) published 2 alcohol-based formulations to be used in healthcare settings and for outbreak-associated infections, but inactivation efficacies of these products have not been determined against (re-)emerging viruses. In this study, we evaluated the virucidal activity of these WHO products in a comparative analysis. Zika virus (ZIKV), Ebola virus (EBOV), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) as (re-)emerging viral pathogens and other enveloped viruses could be efficiently inactivated by both WHO formulations, implicating their use in healthcare systems and viral outbreak situations. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 Apr 27;11(4):e0005568. Epub 2017 Apr 27.

Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America.

Recent epidemics of Zika, dengue, and chikungunya have heightened the need to understand the seasonal and geographic range of transmission by Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. We use mechanistic transmission models to derive predictions for how the probability and magnitude of transmission for Zika, chikungunya, and dengue change with mean temperature, and we show that these predictions are well matched by human case data. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 Apr 27;11(4):e0005498. Epub 2017 Apr 27.

Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

Background: Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral infection to affect humans. Although it usually manifests as a self-limited febrile illness, complications may occur as the fever subsides. A systemic vascular leak syndrome that sometimes progresses to life-threatening hypovolaemic shock is the most serious complication seen in children, typically accompanied by haemoconcentration and thrombocytopenia. Read More

J Virol 2017 Jul 26;91(14). Epub 2017 Jun 26.

Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA

Early sensing of viral components or infection-induced tissue damage is a prerequisite for the successful control of pathogenic viruses by the host innate immune system. Recent results from our laboratory show how immune cells use the DNA-sensing machinery to detect intracellular damage generated early during infection by an RNA virus, namely, dengue virus (DENV). Conversely, we found that DENV can efficiently dismantle this sensing mechanism by targeting the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) and the stimulator of interferon (IFN) genes (STING), two crucial host factors involved in DNA detection and type I IFN production. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 Apr 24;11(4):e0005488. Epub 2017 Apr 24.

School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia.

Little is known about the natural history of dengue in Papua New Guinea (PNG). We assessed dengue virus (DENV)-specific neutralizing antibody profiles in serum samples collected from northern and southern coastal areas and the highland region of New Guinea between 1959 and 1963. Neutralizing antibodies were demonstrated in sera from the northern coast of New Guinea: from Sabron in Dutch New Guinea (now known as West Papua) and from four villages in East Sepik in what is now PNG. Read More

Virology 2017 Jul 18;507:75-81. Epub 2017 Apr 18.

Insect-Virus Interactions Group, Department of Genomes and Genetics, Institut Pasteur, 75015 Paris, France; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité de Recherche Associée 3012, 75015 Paris, France. Electronic address:

Dengue virus (DENV) is an RNA virus transmitted among humans by mosquito vectors, mainly Aedes aegypti. DENV transmission requires viral dissemination from the mosquito midgut to the salivary glands. During this process the virus undergoes several population bottlenecks, which are stochastic reductions in population size that restrict intra-host viral genetic diversity and limit the efficiency of natural selection. Read More

Wkly Epidemiol Rec 2017 04 21;92(16):193-204. Epub 2017 Apr 21.

Trop Doct 2017 Apr 1;47(2):141-145. Epub 2017 Jan 1.

5 Professor, Department of Microbiology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi, India.

Dengue is endemic in more than 100 countries, giving rise to an increased number of deaths in the last five years in the South-East Asian region. We report our findings from a retrospective study of adults admitted with confirmed dengue at our institution. We studied the clinical and laboratory parameters associated with mortality in these patients. Read More

Trop Doct 2017 Apr;47(2):92-96

3 Senior Consultant, Infectious Diseases & Director Research Center, Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Hospital, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In common with Zika, Chikungunya and Dengue, Yellow Fever (YF) is an arthropod-borne flavivirus. It is transmitted between humans and from monkeys by mosquitoes of the Aedes aegypti (its principal vector), haemogogus and albopictus varieties. Three cycles of transmission may occur: urban; sylvatic; and intermediate. Read More