Neuroinvasive influenza virus A(H5N8) in fattening ducks, Hungary, 2015.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A virus H5N8 was detected in far east Asian countries during 2014 and emerged in late 2014 in European countries. Hungary reported a HPAI A(H5N8) outbreak during late winter of 2015 at a Pekin duck fattening facility. Epidemiologic monitoring was extended to holdings in neighboring areas and nearby habitats used by wild birds but failed to identify the source of infection. In addition to respiratory symptoms, the affected birds showed lethargy and neuronal signs, including torticollis. Consistent with this finding, influenza A virus antigen was detected in large quantity in the brain. Molecular analysis of the identified strain showed very close genetic relationship (and >99% nucleotide sequence identity) with co-circulating HPAI A(H5N8) strains. A number of unique or rarely detected amino acid changes was detected in the HA (T220I, R512G), the M2 (I39M), the NA (T211I), the NS1 (P85T), and the PB2 (I261V) proteins of the Hungarian strain. Further studies are needed to demonstrate whether any of these mutations can be linked to neuroinvasiveness and neurovirulence in ducks.

Clinical pattern characterization of cattle naturally infected by BTV-8.

Forty-one cattle from seven Belgian farms and two French farms confirmed as infected with bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) were monitored from the onset of clinical signs to describe the disease pattern and estimate the duration of blood RT-qPCR and competitiveELISA positivity under field conditions. On each visit, blood samples were taken, and a standardized clinical form was filled in for each animal. A clinical score was calculated for every week until the end of clinical signs. A classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was conducted to determine the most important clinical signs every week for the first 7 weeks. The highest scores were recorded within 2 weeks of clinical onset. The first recorded clinical signs were quite obviously visible (lethargy, conjunctivitis, lesions of nasal mucosa, nasal discharge). Skin lesions, a drop in milk production and weight loss appeared later in the course of the disease. A biphasic pattern regarding nasal lesions was noticed: the first peak concerned mainly congestive and ulcerative lesions, whereas the second peak mainly concerned crusty lesions. The median time estimated by survival analysis to obtain negative RT-qPCR results from the onset of clinical signs was 195 days (range 166-213 days) in the 23 cattle included in the analysis. Serological results remained strongly positive until the end of the study. These results should ensure more accurate detection of an emerging infectious disease and are of prime importance in improving the modelling of BTV-8 persistence in Europe.

Characteristics of children hospitalized with dengue fever in an outbreak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

During a dengue epidemic in Rio de Janeiro in 2007-2008 the Instituto de Puericultura e Pediatria Martagão Gesteira Hospital was a reference for admitted children. The World Health Organization (WHO) considered several manifestations as warning signs of severe dengue This is a retrospective cohort study of all children admitted with dengue fever. Clinical variables considered warning signs by WHO were evaluated in the multivariate analysis, to investigate if they were independently associated with severe dengue. One hundred and eighty one children were admitted, aged from 4 months to 15 years; 30 were classified as severe dengue. Abdominal pain (OR=2.63, 95% CI 1.06-6.53) and lethargy (OR=3.40, 95% CI 1.45-7.99) were independently associated with severe dengue.

Lethargy, ulcers, bronchopneumonia and death in two aged female bonnet macaques presumed to be caused by Cercopithicine herpes virus I.

Over the course of 4 weeks, two female aged bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata) group-housed females died after the dominant male was removed from the group and the newly dominant male persistently chased, caught and bred all females in the pen. The two aged affected females were observed exhibiting lethargy, dyspnea, with widespread necroulcerative lesions in and around the mouth, muzzle and bridge of their noses. Extensive ulcerative glossitis, necrotic bronchopneumonia with intra-nuclear inclusions and the absence of other evidence is highly suggestive that death was caused by an alphaherpes virus commonly known as herpes B virus. Herpes B virus is a potentially zoonotic disease periodically shed by macaques, which is structurally related to herpes simplex viruses I and II of humans. The emergence of fatal B virus to primates in this pen may have been associated with the combination of age and stress in the affected individuals.