ETIDIOH - NEW

  09/09/2025 -  Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil  In an unprecedented response to the rapid global spread of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI), stakeholders and experts from across the poultry sector, public health, science, and policy spheres have convened in Brazil in a landmark meeting .  This first-ever global multisectoral dialogue aims to forge coordinated defense against the escalating threat to animal and human health and agricultural livelihoods. Avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu , is a highly contagious viral disease that primarily infects birds. The virus belongs to the Type A influenza family, which is known for its ability to mutate and change rapidly. Since 2020, HPAI has expanded rapidly across continents , devastating poultry flocks , impacting biodiversity , trade and food security , and raising concerns over its potential to spark a human pandemic . The currently circulating avian influenza panzootic is now widespread, and represents one of t...

  Antiviral Res ICHIKAWA T, Tamura T, Nao N, Suzuki H, et al Characterization of remdesivir resistance mutations in COVID-19 patients with various immunosuppressive diseases. Antiviral Res. 2025;242:106264. PubMed           Abstract available BI W, Zhu T, Xu Y, Chen Y, et al An engineered chimeric ACE2-HR2 peptide exhibits potent and broad-spectrum activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants. Antiviral Res. 2025;242:106265. PubMed           Abstract available TERATAKE Y, Okamura T, Ishizaka Y SMAD5 phosphorylation by ALK1 is modulated by the interaction of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. Antiviral Res. 2025;242:106261. PubMed           Abstract available YAO G, Shi X, Jiang H, Duan A, et al Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel 6-aminoalkyl- and 7-heteroaryl substituted 7-deazapurine nucleoside analogs against SARS-CoV...

  Abstract Influenza continues to cause significant mortality globally and possesses substantial pandemic potential . Assessing pandemic risk requires a clear understanding of existing population immunity . Leveraging a unique large-scale cohort of human sera , we evaluated total and neutralising antibody -mediated immunity to multiple haemagglutinin (HA) proteins, including those from subtypes with high pandemic potential. Our analysis reveals that population immunity is heterogeneous , with distinct age-dependent differences in responses to H5, H7, and H9 avian influenza subtypes. These shifts align with historical circulation patterns of seasonal H1N1 and H3N2 human viruses. Notably, H7 viruses are primarily neutralised through head domain epitopes , while H5 viruses are targeted mainly via stem epitopes , although in both instances some neutralisation occurred via receptor binding site-adjacent epitopes . Furthermore, H7 responses were dominated by non-glycan-targeted IgG2 anti...

  ABSTRACT Swine influenza A virus (swIAV) is an important zoonotic pathogen with the potential to cause human influenza pandemics . Swine are considered “ mixing vessels ” for generating novel reassortant influenza A viruses . In 2009, a swine-origin reassortant virus (2009 pandemic H1N1, pdm/09 H1N1 ) spilled over to humans , causing a global influenza pandemic . This virus soon spread back into swine herds and reassorted with the circulating swIAVs. We previously reported that the genotype 4 (G4) reassortant Eurasian avian-like (EA) H1N1 virus , which bore pdm/09- and triple reassortant (TR)-derived internal genes, had been predominant in swine populations of China since 2016, posing a threat to both the swine industry and public health . Here, our ongoing surveillance confirmed that G4 EA H1N1 viruses remained the predominant swIAVs in China from 2019 to 2023 and had reassorted with the co-circulating swIAVs, such as the H3N2 virus, to generate novel reassortant EA H1N2 viruses...

  Antimicrob Agents Chemother YAMADA AY, de Souza AR, Madalosso G, de Assis DB, et al Emergence of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clonal complex 2 in multiple hospitals in Sao Paulo state, Brazil. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2025 Jul 23:e0186524. doi: 10.1128/aac.01865. PubMed           Abstract available Biochemistry XIA H, Wei D, Guo Z, Chung LW, et al Machine Learning on the Impacts of Mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike RBD on Binding Affinity to Human ACE2 Based on Deep Mutational Scanning Data. Biochemistry. 2025;64:3790-3800. PubMed           Abstract available Cell KONG W, Lu WJ, Dubey M, Suryawanshi RK, et al Neuroendocrine cells orchestrate regeneration through Desert hedgehog signaling. Cell. 2025;188:5020-5038. PubMed           Abstract available J Gen Virol POKHAREL BR, Majumdar N, Williams F, Dickerson A, et al SARS-CoV-2 infection of su...

  Abstract H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses have spread globally and pose a risk for a human pandemic . Prior studies suggest that early life exposures to group 1 influenza viruses (H1N1 and H2N2) prime antibodies that cross-react to the hemagglutinin of H5N1 , which is also a group 1 virus. Less is known about how immune history affects antibody responses against the neuraminidase (NA) of H5N1 viruses. Here, we measured NA inhibition antibodies against multiple H5N1 viruses using sera from 155 individuals born between 1927 and 2016 . We found that individuals primed in childhood with H1N1 viruses were more likely to possess higher levels of antibodies that cross-react with the NA of H5N1 viruses compared to individuals primed in childhood with H2N2 or H3N2 viruses. While young children rarely possessed cross-reactive NA antibodies, we found that childhood infections with contemporary H1N1 , but not H3N2, viruses can elicit them. These data suggest that immune history...

  Arch Virol HU Y, Hu C, Su J, Zhu B, et al Two cross-neutralizing antibodies isolated from a COVID-19 convalescent via single B cell sorting. Arch Virol. 2025;170:199. PubMed           Abstract available Biochemistry ADEWOYE A, Ezeigbo E, Vo QH, Legleiter J, et al Amyloidogenic SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein-Derived Peptides Form Oligomers and Selectively Damage Lipid Membranes. Biochemistry. 2025;64:3610-3622. PubMed           Abstract available Epidemiol Infect PARRADO R, Cuba-Grandy CX, Fuentes-Luppichini E, Torrico Villarroel NG, et al Multiplex RT-qPCR strategy for SARS-CoV-2 variants detection in developing countries without ngs: The Bolivian experience. Epidemiol Infect. 2025;153:e94. PubMed           Abstract available BUBAR K, Middleton C, Larremore D, Gostic K, et al A fundamental limit to the effectiveness of traveller screening with molecular tests. Epidemi...

  Abstract Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is a prominent candidate for a future human pandemic arising from a zoonotic spillover event . Its best-known subtype 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 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 primary contacts in an outbreak site with infected birds. These primary contacts transfer infections to secondary ( household) cont...