ETIDIOH - NEW

  Antimicrob Agents Chemother HARFOOT R, Lawley B, Hernandez LC, Kuang J, et al Synthetic host defense peptide inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2025;69:e0170024. PubMed           Abstract available TATE M, Illingworth CJR, MacGregor G, Cunningham L, et al Clinical effectiveness, safety, and viral mutagenicity of oral favipiravir for COVID-19: results from a community-based, open-label, randomized Phase III trial. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2025;69:e0005425. PubMed           Abstract available ZHOU Y, Meng X, Li J, Zeng G, et al Safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody SA55 injection in healthy participants. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2025;69:e0056825. PubMed           Abstract available GOMI S, Price E, Burgoyne H, Faozia S, et al Omadacycline exhibits anti-inflammatory properties a...

Summary Background The Pandemic Response Repository through Microbial and Immune Surveillance and Epidemiology (PREMISE) programme was established to translate knowledge gained from global immunoepidemiological surveillance into a better understanding of population-level dynamics of emerging and re-emerging infections , as well as into the discovery and development of biomedical countermeasures against potential pandemic threats. As proof of principle for this approach, we conducted a longitudinal immunoepidemiological study in children in the USA, focusing on enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) infection dynamics but also capturing surveillance of a broad array of other endemic respiratory pathogens. Serendipitously, our sampling spanned the lifting of widespread COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in 2022–23, following a unique period during which virus exposure markedly diminished. Methods This prospective, multicentre, longitudinal, immunoepidemiological surveillance study enroll...

  BMJ WISE J RFK Jr bans thiomersal from influenza vaccines in "safety" move. BMJ. 2025;390:r1576. PubMed          Epidemiol Infect KELLY GE, Petti S, Noah N Excess respiratory, circulatory, neoplasm, and other mortality rates during the Covid-19 pandemic in the EU and their implications. Epidemiol Infect. 2025;153:e86. PubMed           Abstract available Eur J Epidemiol ORTQVIST AK, Soderling J, Magnus MC, Urhoj SK, et al COVID-19 infection increases the risk of venous thromboembolism during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Eur J Epidemiol. 2025;40:779-788. PubMed           Abstract available BAUMKOTTER R, Yilmaz S, Chalabi J, Ten Cate V, et al Risk tools for predicting long-term sequelae based on symptom profiles after known and undetected SARS-CoV-2 infections in the population. Eur J Epidemiol. 2025;40:789-801. PubMed         ...

Abstract Background .  Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5) viruses pose a pandemic threat , with a history of zoonotic spillovers into humans that are presumed immunologically naive. Whether the general population is currently immunologically naive to circulating A(H5) influenza viruses is unknown.  Methods .  To evaluate the presence of cross-reactive immune responses to emerging A(H5) clade 2.3.4.4b influenza viruses in the general population, we conducted comprehensive immune profiling on cross-sectional samples from healthcare workers (n=107). Samples were collected in August and September 2024 in the scope of an ongoing prospective follow-up study: Surveillance of rEspiratory viruses iN healThcare and anImal workers in the NethErLands (SENTINEL).  Findings .  Low-level antibody responses directed against the A(H5) hemagglutinin (HA) head were detected in a limited number of individuals , but without hemagglutination inhibition activity. Nevertheless, we...

Abstract Seasonal respiratory viruses, such as the Influenza A virus and the respiratory syncytial virus, are responsible for over a billion infections worldwide each year resulting in a substantial burden on health care systems . Surveillance of these viruses, including their prevalence in communities and their evolution , are essential for informing public health decisions and recommending vaccine formulations and schedules. Typically, these viruses are monitored using clinical samples from patients seeking medical attention. Recently, wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) has been leveraged to understand transmission dynamics and genome evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal respiratory viruses. To further the utility of WBS we developed and implemented novel tiled-amplicon sequencing assays to identify and track Influenza A virus H3N2 and respiratory syncytial virus A circulating in Southern Ontario, Canada . We also developed virus specific deconvolution tools to estimate the abundanc...

Key Points -- Question: What were the clinical characteristics, management approaches, and outcomes among children with influenza-associated acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) in the US during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 influenza seasons? -- Findings:   In this multicenter case series of 41 children from 23 US hospitals , influenza-associated ANE carried a 27% mortality rate despite multimodal therapy. Most patients (76%) had no significant medical history , despite 15 of 32 tested (47%) having genetic risk alleles potentially related to risk of ANE identified during diagnostic evaluation. The H1 2009 influenza A strain predominated (34% of cases), and only 16% had received seasonal influenza vaccination . Among survivors, 63% had moderate to severe disability at 90-day follow-up. -- Meaning:  Influenza-associated ANE represents a rare but devastating neurologic complication primarily affecting previously healthy children. The high morbidity and mortality emphasize t...

Abstract The emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 (clade 2.3.4.4b, genotype B3.13) in dairy cattle presents substantial challenges to the agricultural sector and public health. Mechanistic studies of infection and transmission in cattle have proven difficult due to animal handling restrictions as well as limited availability of established cell culture models. Primary Bovine Embryonic Fibroblasts (BeEFs) were collected from a Montana cow and are investigated here as a model to study influenza A virus (IAV) infection dynamics . We compared sialylation profiles, infectious virus production, viral replication, and plaque morphology in both BeEFs and chicken DF-1 cells following infection with the bovine HPAI H5N1 and an earlier 2.3.4.4b genotype (B1.1) isolated in 2022. The data presented here show increased viral fitness of the bovine origin HPAI H5N1 strains across multiple species and bovine susceptibility to human seasonal IAV. This study highlights the ability o...

  Biochem Biophys Res Commun KUSUMOTO T, Yotsukura M, Asakura T, Namkoong H, et al Induced lung epithelial-like cells derived by direct reprogramming rescue influenza virus-induced lung injury in mice. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2025;778:152384. PubMed           Abstract available J Infect SAITO R, Chon I, Sato I, Kawashima T, et al Impact of polymerase acidic subunit (PA) substitutions on fever and symptoms in pediatric influenza A patients treated with baloxavir: A pooled four-season analysis. J Infect. 2025;91:106555. PubMed           Abstract available J Infect Dis SIMOES EAF, Suss RJ, Raje DV Human Metapneumovirus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Influenza Associated Pneumonia Hospitalizations in Colorado Adults Aged Over 50 Years: 2016-2023. J Infect Dis. 2025 Jul 21:jiaf381. doi: 10.1093. PubMed           Abstract available J Virol MANNSVERK S, Villamil Gi...

Editor’s summary The vast majority of the human population has immunity to influenza A virus (IAV) by prior infection, vaccination, or both . However, protection is generally subtype-specific , and it is not clear whether prior infection against one subtype could confer protection against clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 IAVs , which are currently circulating in birds and dairy cows . Here, Restori et al. demonstrated that prior infection with the 2009 pandemic H1N1 IAV was protective against subsequent direct infection with H5N1 IAV in ferrets. Moreover, prior immunity reduced susceptibility to infection by transmission from an infected donor ferret. These data suggest that prior immunity to IAV, especially to the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus, may offer a degree of protection against H5N1 infection. —Courtney Malo Abstract Zoonotic infections with emerging influenza viruses occur in the context of population-wide immunity to seasonal strains . Because of the worldwide spread of highly pathogenic clade...

Abstract Seasonal influenza vaccines are most frequently delivered as intramuscular inactivated vaccines which elicit systemic responses against the immunodominant hemagglutinin (HA) head domain . An intranasally administered, live-attenuated influenza vaccine designed to stimulate mucosal immunity , FluMist, is the sole intranasal vaccine approved in the United States. However, FluMist has lower systemic immunogenicity and efficacy in adults compared to intramuscular formulations. In this study, human mucosal and systemic immunity were examined following seasonal intramuscular or intranasal vaccination. Nasopharyngeal swabs of adenoid tissue were used to longitudinally sample the upper airway. Notably, FluMist induced substantial increases in upper respiratory tract IgG+ and IgA+ HA-specific memory B cells , which displayed an activated CD27+CD21- phenotype. H1, H3, and influenza B virus HA-specific memory B cells were all detected in the upper airway after intranasal immunization and...

  Ann Intern Med CROSLEY E, Martin GS In COVID-19 acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, awake prone positioning vs. supine positioning increases survival without intubation. Ann Intern Med. 2025 Jul 1. doi: 10.7326/ANNALS-25-02004. PubMed           Abstract available JACOBS JW, Booth GS, Lewis-Newby M, Saifee NH, et al Medical, Societal, and Ethical Considerations for Directed Blood Donation in 2025. Ann Intern Med. 2025 May 13. doi: 10.7326/ANNALS-25-00815. PubMed           Abstract available Arch Virol NEMOTO M, Kawanishi N, Kambayashi Y, Bannai H, et al Growth properties of recombinant equine influenza viruses with different backbones generated by reverse genetics in embryonated chicken eggs. Arch Virol. 2025;170:181. PubMed           Abstract available BMC Pediatr SOMERS J, Hansen B, Burger J, Aronoff S, et al Newborn RSV immunization rates and reasons compared...