Molecular characterization of low pathogenic avian influenza H9N2 virus during co-circulation with newly-emerged highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N8 virus in Iran.

 Identification of molecular characteristics of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) H9N2 virus provides insights into the evolution of this subtype due to the modulation of genomic characteristics in co-circulation with another subtype. The present study aimed to analyze the molecular and phylogenetic characteristics of the current LPAI H9N2 virus in characteristics of internal proteins are crucial for the adaptations of AIVs viruses to a new host. Since H9N2 is indigenous among poultry, continuous monitoring of viral genetic changes is needed for risk assessment of potential transmissibility to human population and emergence of new reassortant virus. domestic poultry during the emergence of new highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N8 virus in Iran. To this end, deep sequencing of LPAI H9N2 virus was performed on Illumina MiSeq sequencing platform and the complete sequences of avian influenza viruses were obtained from GISAID EpiFlu database. Phylogenetic analysis of the surface and internal gene segments showed that the H9N2 2018 virus was closely related to Pakistani H9N2 isolates. HA cleavage site motif sequence of the Iranian isolate was 317KSSR GLF323. The A/chicken/Iran/1/2018 H9N2 strain carried the amino acid substitution (Q216L), which is a mutation correlated with a shift in the affinity of the HA from avian type sialic receptors to human type. Besides surface glycoproteins, molecular. Keywords: A/H9N2; molecular characterization; A/H5N8; co-circulation; A/H5N1; Illumina MiSeq.

Epidemiological and clinical evaluation of children with respiratory virus infections.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory viruses are the leading cause of respiratory tract infections among children and are responsible for causing morbidity and mortality worldwide. This study was performed to detect viruses in children with respiratory infections and describe their epidemiology and clinical characteristics. METHODS: In this descriptive cross sectional study, throat swabs and wash specimens from 202 children younger than six years of age with diagnosis of a respiratory tract infection from a total of 897 specimens were evaluated using multiplex PCR method. RESULTS: Respiratory viruses were detected in 92 children: respiratory synsytial virus, 16.8%; influenza virus, 5.4%; parainfluenza virus, 8.4%; adenovirus, 14.4% and human metapneumo virus 0.49% with male predominance and higher distribution in children younger than 1 year of age with preference in the cold months of year. The clinical presentations of all detected viruses were almost similar. CONCLUSION: In the present study, nine different respiratory viruses were detected. RSV causes the great majority of respiratory virus infections in children. There was no significant difference in epidemiologic patterns of these viruses in comparison to other studies.

Proposed Pathway Linking Respiratory Infections with Depression.

Depression is one of the most important causes of disability and loss of useful life of people around the world. Acute respiratory infection caused a large number of severe illnesses and deaths of the world and most of these due to viral infections, which is estimated more than 80% of respiratory infections. Detection of viruses by immune pathogen recognition receptors activates the intracellular signaling cascade and eventually cause produces interferons. Inflammatory process begins with secretion of interferons and the expression of interferon-stimulated genes. One of the most important of these genes is indoleamine-pyrrole 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), which plays a major role in tryptophan catabolism. IDO is an intracellular monomeric enzyme that is also responsible for breaking down and consuming tryptophan in the Kynurenine pathway. Increased inflammation has been linked to decrease tryptophan concentrations and increase kynurenine levels. We tried to explain the role of inflammation by viral respiratory infections in causing depression.

The effect of carvacrol on respiratory syncytial virus infection in mice model: caution in the use of herbal medicines.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the most common viruses associated with acute lower respiratory tract infections in infants, young children, and the elderly. Due to a lack of effective anti-viral drugs or vaccines, using an immunomodulatory strategy is probably the best option to decrease the burden of RSV disease. Here, we studied carvacrol as a known immunomodulator on RSV infection outcome in a mice model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Balb/c mice were infected by intranasal inoculation of RSV-A2, and treatment started daily 24 h after infection. Mice were sacrificed on day five after infection and experimental analyses were performed to study airway immune cell influx, CD4 and CD8 subtypes, cytokine/chemokine secretion, lung histopathology, and viral load. RESULTS: Results showed that using carvacrol enhanced immune cell influx, cytokine/chemokine production, and virus titer, and aggravated lung pathology. Our result showed that carvacrol administration increased viral titer compared to the RSVPBS group. Also, carvacrol significantly induced IFN-γ production and did not induce IL-10 production. Besides, carvacrol non-significantly increased lymphocytes and monocytes count but did not affect the neutrophil count. CONCLUSION: Carvacrol at the concentration of 80 (mg/kg) did not show immunomodulatory activity to alleviate the RSV infection outcome. Further research is needed to uncover the effects of the carvacrol intervention on virus replication and immune responses following RSV infection. Many herbal remedies in use contain carvacrol. However, the use of herbal remedies to treat viral respiratory infections such as RSV has to be performed with caution.