ETIDIOH - NEW

  {Summary} Time Period: August 17, 2025 - August 23, 2025 -- H5 Detection :  2 sites ( 0.5% ) -- No Detection :  429 sites ( 99.5% ) -- No samples in last week :  31 sites (...) Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,  https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/wwd-h5.html ____

  Abstract The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 JN.1 lineage in late 2023 marked a major shift in viral evolution . By January 2024, it had displaced XBB variants to become the dominant strain worldwide. JN.1 and its descendants are antigenically distinct from earlier Omicron subvariants , with approximately 30 additional spike mutations compared to XBB-derived viruses. The combination of these features alongside growing evidence of considerable immune evasion prompted the FDA to recommend that vaccine formulations be updated to target JN.1 rather than XBB.1.5. The continued dominance of JN.1-derived variants necessitates the characterization of viral infection in established animal models to inform vaccine efficacy and elucidate host–pathogen interactions driving disease outcomes. In this study, transgenic mice expressing human ACE2 were infected with SARS-CoV-2 subvariants JN.1, KP.2, and EG.5.1 to compare the pathogenicity of JN.1-lineage and XBB-lineage SARS-CoV-2 viruses. Infection...

  Highlights     • All clades of monkeypox virus (MPXV) continue to circulate in several countries.  - When mpox outbreaks are not rapidly contained and human-to-human transmission is not interrupted, they continue to pose a risk of sustained community transmission .  - Since the last edition of this report , one country, Senegal , has reported mpox for the first time . Efforts to identify the clade are underway.  • Furthermore, Türkiye has reported cases of mpox due to clade Ib MPXV for the first time and the Democratic Republic of Congo has reported its first cases of mpox due to clade IIb MPXV.   • In July 2025, 47 countries in five (out of six) WHO regions reported a total of 3924 confirmed cases , including 30 deaths (case fatality ratio [CFR] 0.8% ).  - The South-East Asian and Western Pacific regions reported an increase in cases in July 2025, while the African Region, European Region and the Region of the Americas reported a decrease....

  {Summary} -- During surveillance week from 21 to 27 August , 79 new confirmed human cases of West Nile Virus infection have been reported.  -- Since the beginning of the epidemic season, the total number of confirmed cases have risen to  430 (they were  351 in the last bulletin); of these: -  193 were West Nile Neuroinvasive Disease cases: 8 in Piedmont, 12 Lombardy, 14 Veneto, 1 Friuli-Venezia Giulia, 1 Liguria, 13 Emilia-Romagna, 62 Latium, 2 Molise, 64 Campania, 2 Basilicata, 5 Calabria, 1 Sicily, 8 Sardinia),  - 38 were asymptomatic cases among blood donors ,  - 193 were West Nile Fever cases,  - 3 asymptomatic and  - 3 unspecified cases.  -- Among the confirmed cases, there were 27 fatalities : 1 Piedmont, 1 Lombardy, 1 Emilia-Romagna, 11 Latium, 11 Campania, 2 Calabria).  - The Case-Fatality Rate in WNND cases is so far at 13.9% (during 2018 it was 20%, in 2024 14%).  -- One confirmed human case of Usutu virus infectio...

  Significance Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) threatens wildlife, agriculture, and humans. Along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway , a major waterfowl migration corridor and HPAIV hot spot, landscape changes are altering migratory bird distributions and increasing opportunities for wild–poultry interactions . By integrating empirical data into an individual-based model, we show that landscape change between 2000 and 2015 reshaped waterfowl migration , substantially increased wild-poultry spillover , and avian influenza virus (AIV) reassortment in poultry , our proxy for potential AIV diversification and emergence of novel subtypes. Risk regions expanded across southeastern China, the Yellow River basin, and northeastern China . These findings highlight the importance of landscape changes in potentially elevating AIV diversification and emergence, and the landscape dynamics should be integrated into future studies. Abstract Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses...

  ABSTRACT Amoeboflagellates of the genus Naegleria are free-living protists ubiquitously found in soil and freshwater habitats worldwide. They include the “brain-eating amoeba” Naegleria fowleri , an opportunistic pathogen that causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis , a rare but fatal infection of humans. Beyond their direct pathogenicity, protists can also act as environmental reservoirs for intracellular bacterial pathogens , such as Legionella spp., to persist and multiply in the environment. In this study, we carried out single-cell genome sequencing of two uncultivated Naegleria species isolated from the River Leam in England . From single cells, we generated two highly complete Naegleria genomes . Phylogenetic analyses placed these species as close relatives of Naegleria fultoni and Naegleria pagei . Exploring Naegleria evolutionary genomics, we identified gene families encoding antistasin-like domains, which have been characterized as factors that inhibit coagulation in...

  ABSTRACT Alterations in the PB2-627 domain of avian influenza virus (AIV) can potentially increase the risk of cross-host species infections in humans and mammals . Recently, there has been a rise in human cases of AIV infections without the presence of the known mammalian determinant PB2-E627K . Here, we identified a variant, PB2-627V , which has evolved in poultry and has contributed to the increase in human AIV infections . By screening global PB2 sequences , we discovered a new independent cluster of PB2-627V that emerged in the 2010s , prevalent in avian, mammalian, and human AIV isolates , including those of H9N2, H7N9, H3N8, 2.3.4.4b H5N1 , and other subtypes. We functionally assessed its host adaptation , fitness , and transmissibility across three subtypes of AIVs (H9N2, H7N9, and H3N8) in different host models . PB2-627V combines the viral properties of avian-like PB2-627E and human-like PB2-627K , facilitating AIVs to efficiently infect and replicate in chickens and mi...

  Abstract In recent years, the four main swine influenza A virus (IAV-S) subtypes circulating in swine in the EU have been H1avN1, H1huN2, H1N1pdm09, and H3N2 . The latter emerged in 1984 from a reassortment event between a human seasonal H3N2 and H1avN1, and is currently detected at low prevalence in swine in Italy . Here, we describe nine H3N2 IAV-S isolates belonging to three novel genotypes , first detected in Italy in 2021 , likely resulting from reassortment events between swine and human IAVs. The first genotype was characterized by a hemagglutinin (H3 HA) of human seasonal origin , a neuraminidase (N2 NA) derived from H1huN2 strains circulating in Italian swine, and an avian-like internal gene cassette (IGC). The second genotype differed in its IGC constellation: PB2, PB1, PA and NP segments were of pandemic origin ( pdm09 ), while NS and M segments derived from the Eurasian avian-like lineage . The third genotype combined a human-derived H3, a Gent/84-derived N2, and a pd...

  Abstract Influenza A virus (IAV) infection is associated with a wide variety of neurological complications , of which mild complications like impaired cognitive functioning are most prominent . Even though several studies have shown that many influenza viruses can enter the CNS, the neuropathogenesis of seasonal ( H3N2 and H1N1 ) and pandemic (pH1N1 2009) IAV infections is poorly understood. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the cellular tropism, replication efficiency and associated functional consequences using a human stem cell-derived neural co-culture model of neurons and astrocytes . All viruses were able to infect neurons in the co-culture model, although this infection did not result in efficient replication and release of progeny virus. In addition, infection did not result in visible cell death or apoptosis. However, functional analyses revealed that IAV inoculation resulted in a reduction of spontaneous neural activity and a partial reduction of neural excitability. T...

  Am J Respir Crit Care Med NAQVI ZA Residual Scars That Grow: The Hidden Threat of Delayed Pulmonary Fibrosis Post-COVID-19. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2025 Aug 22. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202506-1558. PubMed          BALDWIN MR, Garcia CK Reply to Naqvi: Residual Scars That Grow: The Hidden Threat of Delayed Pulmonary Fibrosis Post-COVID-19. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2025 Aug 22. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202507-1624. PubMed          Antiviral Res 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 GOLDIN K, Brackney B, Lutterman T, Williamson BN, et al Dexamethasone treatment does not alter mortality but reduces pulmonary pathology in Nipah virus-infected Syrian hamsters. Antiviral Res. 2025;242:106263....

  Antiviral Res GUAN S, Wang Q, Nie J, Yao X, et al Optimization of the monoclonal antibody 3E1 through W32I mutation enhances antiviral efficacy against influenza virus subtypes H1N1 and H3N2. Antiviral Res. 2025;242:106260. PubMed           Abstract available Biochem Biophys Res Commun GABELMANN A, Biesel A, Loretz B, Lehr CM, et al Exploring the future of mRNA delivery: Beyond lipid nanoparticles. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2025;778:152347. PubMed           Abstract available Biochemistry SUBRAMANIAM S, Saville JW, Feng F, Freiburger L, et al Therapeutic Antibodies for Infectious Diseases: Recent Past, Present, and Future. Biochemistry. 2025;64:3487-3494. PubMed           Abstract available Epidemiol Infect CHOI H, Hwang M, Coppin JD, Chatterjee P, et al Penetration of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants in the United States. Epidemiol Infect. 2025;1...

  ABSTRACT Influenza A virus (IAV) in swine in the U.S. is surveilled to monitor genetic evolution to inform intervention efforts and aid pandemic preparedness . We describe data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Surveillance Plan for Influenza A Virus in Pigs from 2009 to 2022. Clinical respiratory cases were subtyped, followed by sequencing of hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA), and a subset of viruses was whole genome sequenced . Phylogenetic analysis identified geographic and temporal IAV reassortment hotspots . Regions acting as IAV genomic diversity sources or sinks were quantified, and dissemination was qualified and modeled. The dominant IAV clades were H1N2 (1B.2.1), H3N2 (1990.4.a), and H1N1 (H1-1A.3.3.3-c3). Internal genes were classified as triple-reassortant (T) or pandemic 2009 (P), and three genome constellations represented 73.5% of detections across the last 2 years. In some years, the distribution of IAV diversity was so narrow that it presen...

  Poultry farms in Plovdiv Region. Source: WOAH,  https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/6746 ____

  Abstract Background :  Flaviviruses represent a significant worldwide threat to human health and have the potential to emerge and cause outbreaks in non-endemic geographical regions. Ongoing surveillance for these viruses in the United States–Mexican border communities such as El Paso, Texas , is lacking. As a continuing effort to better understand the prevalence and to determine which arboviruses are endemic, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence rate of specific flavivirus antibody among 910 human umbilical cord blood samples obtained from mothers who delivered newborns in El Paso, Texas. Materials and Methods :  The samples were screened for West Nile virus (WNV) and dengue virus (DENV) IgG antibodies with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and confirmed by a plaque reduction neutralization test for DENV, WNV, Zika virus (ZIKV) and Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV). Results :  Among the 910 samples , 2% were positive for specific IgG antibo...

  Abstract The severity of influenza is often driven by an excessive host immune response rather than the virus itself , yet the key molecular drivers within specific immune cells remain poorly understood. While recent single-cell RNA sequencing studies have successfully identified immune populations involved, they have largely not identified the upstream drivers modulating their pro-inflammatory functions . Here we employed an integrated single-cell co-expression network to address this gap. Our analysis identified myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) as central to pro-inflammatory response during infection. Through a multi-layered key driver analysis, we pinpointed C-type lectin , CLEC4E as a top candidate modulating this pathological inflammatory response . The role of CLEC4E was confirmed in an independent single-cell dataset from influenza-infected patients and further validated in vivo. Pharmacological inhibition of CLEC4E in a murine influenza model significantly reduced disease s...

  Di Christof Hofbauer - http://www.bahnbilder.ch/picture/8345, GFDL,  https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16838742 Source: Wikipedia,  https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotrici_FS_ALe_801_e_ALe_940 ____

  Public Domain. Source: WikiArt,  https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-martin/the-great-day-of-his-wrath-1853 ____

  Abstract As intrinsic differences in humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 between children and adults remain unclear , we improved characterisation by defining the kinetics, specificity and function of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in children (n = 146, aged 9.4 ± 4.8 years with n = 257 samples) compared to adults (n = 85, aged 39.5 ± 15.2 years with n = 122 samples). We used plasma samples from an infection and vaccination-naive cohort study with RT-PCR confirmed ancestral B.1* SARS-CoV-2 virus infection with asymptomatic or mild disease, collected in Hong Kong between March to December 2020, from acute (0–14 days post infection) to convalescent (15–206 days) timepoints. Children had significantly lower primary antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 proteins overall, leading to a less isotype switched response. While children had lower OC43 Spike and SARS-CoV-2 S2 IgG and avidity than adults, they exhibited higher avidities for SARS-CoV-2 whole Spike and Nucleocapsid , and higher lev...

  By Matthew Black - originally posted to Flickr as DPP_0612, CC BY-SA 2.0,  https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7171062 Source: Wikipedia,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DB_Class_V_200 ____

  Abstract COVID-19 and long COVID are characterized by a dysregulated immune response. However, the role of macrophages during viral infection is poorly defined. Here we demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 infection results in increased macrophage numbers and extensive formation of enlarged lipid-laden macrophages or foam cells using humanized mice , rhesus macaques and post-mortem human lung tissue . Notably, infection by other coronaviruses tested, SARS-CoV-1, MERS-CoV and two bat coronaviruses (SHC014-CoV or WIV1-CoV), did not result in macrophage proliferation or foam cell formation. Foam cells in SARS-CoV-2-infected human lung tissue display a pro-fibrotic and pro-thrombotic phenotype as they are enriched for genes associated with platelet activation and aggregation , as well as extracellular matrix organization and collagen synthesis . After viral clearance, macrophage numbers remain elevated, and lung fibrosis and thrombi persist . Importantly, we show that pre-exposure prophylaxis...