Oct 01, 2019
Knowledge of the molecular mechanisms behind the trans-placental Zika virus infection is one of the most challenging aspects concerning Zika virus congenital disease. Although it is well known that other flaviviruses can occasionally infect the fetus after crossing the placenta, none has the same impact as congenital Zika infection.
We are pleased to bring you the news that ZIKAction partners Fiocruz (Brazil) and University of Oxford (UK) have established a new strategic partnership which will amplify the impact of Fiocruz’s health research and capacity development initiatives by promoting research capacity building across Portuguese-speaking countries, and enabling research findings from the Zika outbreak to benefit public health worldwide.
Jul 14, 2019
By Queiroz A,Dantas Pinto IF, Lima M, et al.
Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) in the Flavivirus genus of the Flaviviridae family. Since the large outbreaks in French Polynesia in 2013-2014 and in Brazil in 2015, ZIKV has been considered a new public health threat. Similar to other related flavivirus, ZIKV is associated with mild and self-limiting symptoms such as rash, pruritus, prostration, headache, arthralgia, myalgia, conjunctivitis, lower back pain and, when present, a short-term low grade fever. In addition, ZIKV has been implicated in neurological complications such as neonatal microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults. Herein, serum lipidomic analysis was used to identify possible alterations in lipid metabolism triggered by ZIKV infection.
Published in: Front Microbiol. 2019;10:753
Jul 14, 2019
By Hayashida K, Orba Y, Sequeira PC, et al.
Detection and sequencing of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) genome was performed using a combination of a modified reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) method and a MinION sequencer. We developed the protocol for drying all the reagents for the RT-LAMP in a single reaction tube. Using this system, the CHIKV genome was effectively amplified under isothermal conditions, and used as a template for MinION sequencing with a laptop computer. Our in-house RT-LAMP method and MinION sequencing system were also validated with RNAs and serum samples from recent outbreaks of CHIKV patients in Brazil. The obtained sequence data confirmed the CHIKV outbreaks and identified the genotype. In summary, our established inexpensive on-site genome detection and sequencing system is applicable for both diagnosis of CHIKV infected patients and genotyping of the CHIKV virus in future outbreak in remote areas.
Published in: PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2019;13(6):e0007480
Jun 30, 2019
By Gray ER, Heaney J, Ferns RB, Sequeira PC, Nastouli E, Garson JA
Dengue is a vector-transmitted viral infection that is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in humans worldwide, with over 50 million apparent cases and a fatality rate of 2.5 % of 0.5 million severe cases per annum in recent years. Four serotypes are currently co-circulating. Diagnosis of infection may be by polymerase chain reaction, serology or rapid antigen test for NS1. Both pan-serotype and serotype-specific genome detection assays have been described, however, achieving adequate sensitivity with pan-serotype assays has been challenging. Indeed, as we show here, inspection of components and cycling parameters of a pan-serotype RT-qPCR assay in use in laboratories worldwide revealed insufficient probe stability to accommodate potential nucleotide mismatches, resulting in false-negatives. A minor–groove binder (MGB)-modified version of the probe was designed and its performance compared with that of the original probe in 32 samples.
Published in: J Virol Methods. 2019;268:17-23
The 16th International Course on Dengue, Zika and Other Emergent Arboviruses will take place in Havana, Cuba on August 12 – 23, 2019.
In the fifth issue of the joint ZIKA consortia newsletter you can read about the recent developments in the vertical transmission study in Jamaica, sheep as a model of ZIKV infection and the trainings for ZIKAction researchers where novel ZIKV-detecting assays were used.
May 16, 2019
By Kraemer MUG, Reiner RC Jr, Brady OJ, et al.
The global population at risk from mosquito-borne diseases—including dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya and Zika—is expanding in concert with changes in the distribution of two key vectors: Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The distribution of these species is largely driven by both human movement and the presence of suitable climate. Using statistical mapping techniques, we show that human movement patterns explain the spread of both species in Europe and the United States following their introduction. We find that the spread of Ae. aegypti is characterized by long distance importations, while Ae. albopictus has expanded more along the fringes of its distribution. We describe these processes and predict the future distributions of both species in response to accelerating urbanization, connectivity and climate change. Global surveillance and control efforts that aim to mitigate the spread of chikungunya, dengue, yellow fever and Zika viruses must consider the so far unabated spread of these mosquitos. Our maps and predictions offer an opportunity to strategically target surveillance and control programmes and thereby augment efforts to reduce arbovirus burden in human populations globally.
Published in: Nat Microbiol. 2019; 4(5):900.
May 16, 2019
By Rackow A, Ehmen C, von Possel R, et al.
The cellular surface molecule HsTOSO/ FAIM3/HsFcR has been identified as an IgM-specific Fc receptor expressed on lymphocytes. Here, we show that its extracellular immunoglobulin-like domain (HsFcRIgl) specifically binds to IgM/antigen immune complexes (ICs) and exploit this property for the development of novel detection systems for IgM antibodies directed against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) and Zika virus (ZIKV).
Published in: Clin Chem. 2019; 65(3): 451-461.
Four years after the first whistle blow of microcephaly associated with Zika virus infections and science is still scratching its metaphoric head trying to figure out how zika virus works. Though reports of outbreaks have receded since the epidemic of the Americas in 2014-2016, the threat it poses on pregnant women -being an endemic virus- remains severely high.
