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Showing posts from November 29, 2025

#Influenza #mRNA #vaccine reduces #pathogenicity and transmission of #H5N1 virus in a #ferret model

  Abstract The global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses poses a serious pandemic threat . While sustained human-to-human transmission has not occurred, widespread circulation in birds , increased detection in mammals , and occasional human spillovers underscore the need for safe and effective vaccines . We evaluated an H5 mRNA vaccine candidate in ferrets using recent clade 2.3.4.4b A(H5N1) human isolates. Vaccination elicited strong neutralizing antibodies , conferred robust protection against lethal challenge , and significantly reduced viral titers . In a direct contact transmission model , mRNA vaccination decreased virus shedding in inoculated ferrets and reduced onward transmission ; it also protected vaccinated contact ferrets from infection following exposure to virus-shedding, unvaccinated ferrets. Additionally, sera from vaccinated animals cross-neutralized clade 2.3.2.1e human viruses to varying degrees, depending on the strain. These findings d...

Dominant #substitutions underlying the #antigenic #evolution of #H5 #influenza virus

  Abstract Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 viruses have recently been documented in mammals including humans , posing a major threat to global public health . To prevent a potential H5 pandemic , it is critical to elucidate the antigenic evolutionary pattern and identify key drivers underlying its evolution . In this work, we construct a comprehensive antigenic map of H5 influenza viruses spanning their evolutionary history and classified three antigenic clusters with no cross-neutralization . The first corresponds to ancestral clades, the second to 2.3.4.4* clades being predominant since 2010, and the third to 2.3.4.4 h clade. Despite the gradually increasing genetic distances from ancestral to 2.3.4.4* to 2.3.4.4 h, their antigenic evolution does not follow the same progressive pattern: the antigenic distance between 2.3.4.4 h and ancestral is smaller than that between 2.3.4.4* and ancestral . This divergence is associated with two distinct mutation patterns at six ke...

Detection and isolation of #H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b high pathogenicity avian #influenza virus from #ticks (Ornithodoros maritimus) recovered from a naturally infected slender-billed #gull (Chroicocephalus genei)

  Abstract Laridae birds, such as gulls, are known reservoirs of H13 and H16 low pathogenic avian influenza subtypes . However, during the recent outbreaks linked to the reemergence of high pathogenicity avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b of the Goose/Guangdong lineage, European populations of those birds suffered significant losses. HPAI cases were registered not only along the coastlines but also inland areas , particularly in France and Central Europe . During a diagnostic investigation of a group of Laridae birds , part of a HPAIV outbreak registered in the South of France in 2023, larval stages of Ornithodoros maritimus , a nidicolous soft tick parasitizing seabirds, were recovered from a slender-billed gull (Chroicocephalus genei). Affected birds exhibited gross and histopathological lesions consistent with systemic HPAI infection . Immunohistochemistry revealed marked neurotropism , oculotropism and multicentric epitheliotropism . Viral isolation and sequencin...

History of Mass Transportation: The Brissonneau et Lotz Diesel Locomotive D-7122 (1962)

  By CARLOS TEIXIDOR CADENAS - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,  https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54482587 At the Llolleo train station, very close to the port of San Antonio in the ValparaĂ­so Region, we see the Train of Memories, pulled by two diesel locomotives (D-7122 and D-16012). The first, D-7122, is French, from Brissonneau et Lotz, built in 1962. LLO-LLEO = Llolleo. San Antonio Conurbation. Source:  Link:  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Brissonneau_et_Lotz_locomotives ____

#Coronavirus Disease Research #References (by AMEDEO, November 29 '25)

  BMJ Analysis of peer reviewers' response to invitations by gender and geographical region: cohort study of manuscripts reviewed at 19 biomedical journals before and during covid-19 pandemic. BMJ. 2025;391:r2507. PubMed          Clin Infect Dis NGUYEN VAN JC, Pilmis B, El Helali N, Azria E, et al Implementing POCT in infectious diseases. Clin Infect Dis. 2025 Nov 27:ciaf650. doi: 10.1093. PubMed           Abstract available PANAGIOTOPOULOS AP, Anastassopoulou C, Tsakris A, Ioannidis JPA, et al Effective Antivirals in Pandemic Preparedness: Past Mistakes, Future Needs. Clin Infect Dis. 2025 Nov 25:ciaf648. doi: 10.1093. PubMed           Abstract available Int J Infect Dis HEMPEL H, Xue H, La Shu S, Jain S, et al Cancer and COVID-19: A review of Immune Insights and Partnerships to Inform Public Health Strategy. Int J Infect Dis. 2025 Nov 24:108252. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2...

#Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses Research #References (by AMEDEO, November 29 '25)

  BMC Pediatr KIM S, Talluri R, Yu A, Evans M, et al The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on racial disparities in suicide and homicide by firearm rates in Missouri. BMC Pediatr. 2025;25:953. PubMed           Abstract available Epidemiol Infect CHUA H, Tsang TKL, Lee SL, Chan ELY, et al Waning in influenza vaccine effectiveness against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09-associated hospitalization in children in 2012/13. Epidemiol Infect. 2025 Nov 24:1-25. doi: 10.1017/S0950268825100770. PubMed          J Infect Dis ZHANG X, Lam SJ, Chen LL, Fong CH, et al Avian influenza virus A(H5N1) genotype D1.1 is better adapted to human nasal and airway organoids than genotype B3.13. J Infect Dis. 2025 Nov 24:jiaf598. doi: 10.1093. PubMed           Abstract available J Virol MITCHELL JK, Mastrodomenico V, Hartnett J, Heelan WJ, et al A HiBiT-tagged pseudovirus-like particle platform for safe, ...