High silent prevalence of human herpesvirus 1 (HSV-1) infection affecting the indigenous reservation of the municipality of Dourados, Central-West Brazil.

BACKGROUND: The indigenous population located in the central region of Brazil, is the second largest in terms of population size in the country. The Indigenous Reserve of Dourados has risk factors that increase the vulnerability of the indigenous population to infectious diseases, especially Human alphaherpesvirus (HSV-1), a neglected disease with high prevalence in priority populations in developing countries. The virus can also cause many more severe diseases, including widespread neonatal infections, herpetic keratitis, and herpes encephalitis, which can be fatal if left untreated. We estimated the prevalence of anti-HSV-1 antibodies and correlated it with the demographic and behavioral characteristics of the Indigenous population of the Jaguapirú and Bororó villages (Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Brazil). METHODS: Our approach was cross-sectional. From March 2017 to November 2018. Using anti-HSV-1 (Gg1) IgM and anti-HSV-1 (gG1) IgG Euroimmun and the detection and quantification of HSV-1 viral load in plasma samples, through real-time PCR. The maps were constructed using QGIS and the statistical analyses using R Studio software. RESULTS: A total of 1138 individuals (> 18 years old) were enrolled. The prevalence of anti-HSV-1 IgM and IgG were 20% and 97.5%, respectively. The prevalence of anti-HSV-1 antibodies for IgG was higher in both sexes. Anti-HSV-1 IgM antibodies were present in 17.1%, 21.2%, 12.5%, and 22% of the participants with urinary problems, genital wounds, genital warts, and urethral discharge, respectively. Real-time PCR was used for confirmatory testing; HSV-1 DNA was detected in 25.6% (54/211) of anti-HSV1 IgM-positive samples. Viral loads ranged from 5.99E + 02 to 3.36E + 13. CONCLUSIONS: The seroprevalence of HSV-1 IgM and detection of HSV-1 DNA in the Indigenous population confirmed high silent prevalence. Furthermore, the seroprevalence of HSV-1 in the Indigenous population was higher than that reported in the general adult Brazilian population. Various socioeconomic factors, drug use, and health and sexual behaviors could contribute to the facilitation of HSV-1 transmission in the Indigenous population. Our results may help develop culturally appropriate intervention programs that eliminate health access barriers and improve the implementation of public health policies aimed at promoting information regarding the prevention, treatment, and control of HSV-1 infection in Brazilian Indigenous populations.

Could Herpesviridae be the cause of severe acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children?

INTRODUCTION: Severe acute hepatitis (SAH) is defined by a severe inflammation of hepatocytes in the liver parenchyma which can lead to an acute liver failure, a clinical condition with high mortality rate that can be triggered by several factors but is usually associated to hepatotropic viruses' infection. In 2022, cases of children with severe acute hepatitis of unknown origin hospitalized in Glasgow, Scotland, were reported. Possible causes of this condition include, but are not limited to, undiagnosed viral (and non-viral) infections, autoimmune hepatitis, drug and/or chemical toxicity, mitochondrial chain respiratory and metabolic disorders. AREAS COVERED: Herpesviruses can cause severe acute hepatitis, but little is known about the role and the mechanisms of herpesviruses as a causative agent of this type of hepatitis. We review the role of herpesviruses as causative agent of SAH in children and other possible mechanisms involved in this disease. EXPERT OPINION: Differential diagnosis for herpesvirus in SAH should be implemented in all settings. Alternative fluids, such as saliva and dried blood, could be used in the diagnosis to overwhelm the availability of biological specimens at sufficient volume. In the future, genetic studies could also be added to increase the knowledge about severe acute hepatitis in children.

Higher frequency of Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) viral DNA simultaneously with low frequency of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) viral DNA in a cohort of multiple sclerosis patients from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS). The etiology of MS is not well understood, but it's likely one of the genetic and environmental factors. Approximately 85% of patients have relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), while 10-15% have primary progressive MS (PPMS). Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), members of the human Herpesviridae family, are strong candidates for representing the macroenvironmental factors associated with MS) pathogenesis. Antigenic mimicry of EBV involving B-cells has been implicate in MS risk factors and concomitance of EBV and HHV-6 latent infection has been associated to inflammatory MS cascade. To verify the possible role of EBV and HHV-6 as triggering or aggravating factors in RRMS and PPMS, we compare their frequency in blood samples collected from 166 MS patients. The presence of herpes DNA was searched by real-time PCR (qPCR). The frequency of EBV and HHV-6 in MS patients were 1.8% (3/166) and 8.9% (14/166), respectively. Among the positive patients, 100% (3/3) EBV and 85.8% (12/14) HHV-6 are RRMS and 14.4% (2/14) HHV-6 are PPMS. Detection of EBV was 1.2% (2/166) and HHV-6 was 0.6% (1/166) in blood donors. About clinical phenotype of these patients, incomplete multifocal myelitis, and optic neuritis were the main CNS manifestations. These are the first data about concomitant infection of these viruses in MS patients from Brazil. Up to date, our findings confirm a higher prevalence in female with MS and a high frequency of EBV and HHV-6 in RRMS patients.

Family Herpesviridae and neuroinfections: current status and research in progress.

This article addresses the relationship between human herpesviruses (HHVs) and neuroinfections. Alphaherpesviruses, betaherpesviruses and gammaherpesviruses are neurotropic viruses that establish latency and exhibit reactivation capacity. Encephalitis and meningitis are common in cases of HHV. The condition promoted by HHV infection is a purported trigger for certain neurodegenerative diseases. Ongoing studies have identified an association between HSV-1 and the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and infections by HHV-6 and Epstein-Barr virus. In this review, we highlight the importance of research investigating the role of herpesviruses in the pathogenesis of diseases that affect the nervous system and describe other studies in progress.

Family Herpesviridae and neuroinfections: current status and research in progress

This article addresses the relationship between human herpesviruses (HHVs) and neuroinfections. Alphaherpesviruses, betaherpesviruses and gammaherpesviruses are neurotropic viruses that establish latency and exhibit reactivation capacity. Encephalitis and meningitis are common in cases of HHV. The condition promoted by HHV infection is a purported trigger for certain neurodegenerative diseases. Ongoing studies have identified an association between HSV-1 and the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and infections by HHV-6 and Epstein-Barr virus. In this review, we highlight the importance of research investigating the role of herpesviruses in the pathogenesis of diseases that affect the nervous system and describe other studies in progress.

Epidemiologia e caracterização molecular de Pegivirus humano tipo 1 (HPgV-1) em indivíduos coinfectados pelos vírus da hepatite C (HCV) e/ou vírus da imunodeficiência humana (HIV) / Epidemiology and molecular characterization of human Pegivirus type 1 (HPgV-1) in individuals co-infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and / or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

O Pegivirus humano 1 (HPgV-1) é um vírus de RNA de fita simples de polaridade positiva membro da família Flaviviridae, e que possui similaridade genômica com o vírus da hepatite C (HCV). No entanto, diferentemente do HCV, o HPgV-1 é linfotrópico e estabelece uma infecção subclínica. Vários estudos relataram que a infecção pelo HPgV-1 está associada à progressão tardia da doença pelo HIV, com indivíduos infectados demonstrando maiores contagens de células TCD4+, menor carga viral do HIV, uma progressão mais lenta para AIDS e, consequentemente, uma expectativa de vida prolongada. Em pacientes com coinfecção crônica por HCV e HIV, o RNA do HPgV-1 foi associado a níveis significativamente mais baixos de ALT e AST e a uma melhora na sobrevida livre de cirrose, sugerindo um efeito benéfico da infecção pelo HPgV-1 em ambas as infecções. Para a melhor compreensão do impacto do HPgV-1 nas co-infecções, se faz necessário conhecer as características epidemiológicas desse vírus. O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar a prevalência e distribuição genotípica do HPgV-1 em doadores de sangue e pacientes HCV e HIV positivos atendidos em um hospital no Rio de Janeiro entre os anos de 2017 a 2018.

Um ensaio de RT-PCR para amplificação específica da região 5'UTR do genoma viral foi realizado em 236 amostras de soro, sendo 56 amostras de coinfecção HCV/HIV, 60 de HCV mono-infectadas, 60 de HIV mono-infectadas e 60 de doadores de sangue. Todas as amostras positivas foram submetidas ao seqüenciamento direto do genoma viral para genotipagem e caracterização molecular. A prevalência geral de HPgV-1 foi de 15,7% (37/236). Maiores frequências de HPgV-1 foram encontradas no grupo de indivíduos com HIV 28,3% (17/60), seguido pelos grupos de indivíduos co-infectados com HCV/HIV (14,3%), doadores de sangue (11,6%) e em co-infecção com HCV (8,3%). A análise filogenética revelou a presença dos genótipos 2a (22,8%), 2b (57,1%), 3 (8,5%) e 1 (8,5%) de HPgV-1. Este é o primeiro estudo que caracteriza a infecção pelo HPgV-1 em pacientes com HCV e HCV/HIV na cidade do Rio de Janeiro e que visa contribuir com maiores informações sobre características epidemiológicas e clínicas do HPgV-1 no curso natural da infecções pelo HCV e/ou HIV. (AU)