ETIDIOH - NEW

Abstract {1} The 2023–24 epidemic of Oropouche fever in the Americas and the associated ongoing outbreak in Cuba suggests a potential state shift in the epidemiology of the disease , raising questions about which vectors are driving transmission. In this study, we conduct a systematic review of vector competence experiments with Oropouche virus (OROV, Orthobunyavirus ) that were published prior to the 2023–24 epidemic season. Only seven studies were published by September 2024, highlighting the chronic neglect that Oropouche virus (like many other orthobunyaviruses) has been subjected to since its discovery in 1954. Two species of midge (Culicoides paraensis and C. sonorensis) consistently demonstrate a high competence to transmit OROV (~30%), while mosquitoes (including both Aedes and Culex spp .) exhibited an infection rate consistently below ~20%, and showed limited OROV transmission . Further research is needed to establish which vectors are involved in the ongoing outbreak in Cub...

Abstract Despite accumulating evidence that bat-derived coronaviruses often require intermediate hosts to facilitate transmission to humans1, the potential role of fur animals in zoonotic coronavirus spillovers has largely been overlooked2. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a novel mink respiratory coronavirus (MRCoV) from farmed minks with pneumonia . Notably, MRCoV uses angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a receptor and can infect mink, bat, monkey, and human cells . Cryo-electron microscopy analysis revealed that the MRCoV receptor-binding domain (RBD) binds to the same interface on ACE2 receptors as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RBD , despite exhibiting notable structural differences. We identify the key determinants on ACE2 and MRCoV RBD that confer efficient binding. HKU5-33S, a bat coronavirus closely related to MRCoV , utilizes ACE2 of bat Pipistrellus abramus and requires only two amino acid substitutions to adapt to mink...

 Two wild servals in Dhaka Region. Source: WOAH,  https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/6453 ____

Abstract The relationship among timing and severity of COVID-19 during pregnancy , placental pathology , and adverse pregnancy outcomes is not well understood. A prospective cohort study of 497 pregnant patients with COVID-19 whose placentas underwent systematic pathologic examination was conducted. The main exposure was timing of COVID-19 during pregnancy (first/second versus third trimester). The primary outcome was composite placental pathology that included high grade maternal vascular malperfusion or greater than 25 percent perivillous fibrin deposition. There were 63 patients who had the composite placental pathology outcome. In adjusted analyses that controlled for maternal age, parity, active infection at delivery, interval from time of diagnosis to delivery and COVID-19 variant, timing of COVID-19 during pregnancy was not associated with risk of the composite placental pathology outcome . Among secondary COVID-19 related exposures that were investigated, severity of disease an...

Abstract Swine Influenza A Virus (IAV-S) poses a significant burden to both the pork industry and public health . Current vaccines against IAV-S are infrequently updated and induce strain-specific immunity. Computational platforms have recently emerged as a promising strategy to develop new-age vaccines. Here, we describe the Epigraph , a computationally derived and epitope optimized set of vaccine immunogens. When compared to wildtype immunogens (WT) and a commercial comparator (FluSure XP®), pigs immunized with Epigraph demonstrate significantly improved breadth and magnitude of antibody responses . Further, pigs immunized with Epigraph show more robust and a wider breadth of cross-reactive cell-mediated immune responses than pigs immunized with WT immunogens. In an experimental infection model , Epigraph immunized pigs demonstrate a significant reduction of clinical disease, lower shedding of infectious virus, reduction of lung lesions, and lower microscopic immunopathology compared...

Abstract Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is a prominent candidate for a future human pandemic arising from a zoonotic spillover event . Its best-known strain is H5N1 , with South- or South-East Asia a likely location for an initial outbreak. Such an outbreak would be initiated through a primary event of bird-to-human infection, followed by sustained human-to-human transmission . Early interventions would require the extraction, integration and interpretation of epidemiological information from the limited and noisy case data available at outbreak onset. We studied the implications of a potential zoonotic spillover of H5N1 influenza into humans. Our simulations used BharatSim , an agent-based model framework designed primarily for the population of India , but which can be tuned easily for others. We considered a synthetic population representing farm-workers (primary contacts) in a farm with infected birds. These primary contacts transfer infections to secondary (household) co...

Abstract Surveillance of influenza A viruses in pigs (SwIAV) is critical for identification of novel genetic groups that pose a risk to pig health and might have zoonotic potential . SwIAVs circulating in pigs in England between 2014 and 2021 were characterised using whole genome sequencing (WGS). Haemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) sequencing data from 82 of 368 influenza A positive samples (71 submissions) were determined, identifying H1N1 and H1N2 subtypes from the 1A classical swine and 1B human-seasonal lineages respectively. The 1B lineage viruses were predominant, accounting for 68.29% of sequenced viruses, with 1A lineage viruses comprising 31.71%, primarily from the 1A.3.3.2 clade (2009 H1N1 pandemic origin). This study characterised previously undefined diversity within the 1B lineage which led to the designation of new HA clades 1B.1.1.1, 1B.1.1.2 and 1B.1.1.3. Complete genome data were obtained from 64/82 viruses thereby updating the definition of genetic diversity t...