A comprehensive review of Langya virus and framework for future zoonotic disease control.

First reported in August 2022, the Langya virus (LayV) has emerged as a potential global health threat in the post-COVID-19 era. Preliminary reports show that 35 patients near Shandong and Henan, China experienced a febrile acute LayV infection. We conducted this review following the PRISMA protocol to synthesise current knowledge on LayV's characteristics in terms of molecular, clinical, and public health perspectives. This virus belongs to the Paramyxoviridae family and carries a non-segmented, single-stranded negative-sense RNA genome. Shrews may be the natural reservoir of the virus. Clinical symptoms range from mild flu-like symptoms to severe manifestations involving pneumonia, haematological disorders, and organ dysfunction. Diagnostic methods include PCR and ELISA assays. Despite the absence of established treatments, antiviral drugs such as ribavirin and chloroquine may be useful in some cases. In light of prevention, a comprehensive approach that emphasises multidisciplinary collaboration is crucial for early surveillance and response. Urgent global efforts are needed for vaccine development and preparedness against this potential pandemic threat. As the viral dynamics remain uncertain, a proactive approach is vital to mitigate the impact of not only LayV but also future threats on a large scale in long term.

Association of Intestinal Helminthiasis with Disseminated Leishmaniasis, Brazil.

Disseminated leishmaniasis is an emerging clinical form of Leishmania braziliensis infection. Evidence shows that co-infection by L. braziliensis and intestinal helminths does not affect clinical manifestations or response to therapy in cutaneous leishmaniasis patients. We evaluated whether co-infection was associated with those aspects in disseminated leishmaniasis patients in Brazil.

Bluetongue Virus Serotype 3 and Schmallenberg Virus in Culicoides Biting Midges, Western Germany, 2023.

In October 2023, bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3) emerged in Germany, where Schmallenberg virus is enzootic. We detected BTV-3 in 1 pool of Culicoides biting midges collected at the time ruminant infections were reported. Schmallenberg virus was found in many vector pools. Vector trapping and analysis could elucidate viral spread.

Oreoch-1: A broad-spectrum virus and host-targeting peptide against animal infections.

In recent decades, the global rise of viral emerging infectious diseases has posed a substantial threat to both human and animal health worldwide. The rapid spread and accumulation of mutations into viruses, and the limited availability of antiviral drugs and vaccines, stress the urgent need for alternative therapeutic strategies. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) derived from natural sources present a promising avenue due to their specificity and effectiveness against a broad spectrum of pathogens. The present study focuses on investigating the antiviral potential of oreochromicin-1 (oreoch-1), a fish-derived AMP obtained from Nile tilapia, against a wide panel of animal viruses including canine distemper virus (CDV), Schmallenberg virus (SBV), caprine herpesvirus 1 (CpHV-1), and bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1). Oreoch-1 exhibited a strong antiviral effect, demonstrating an inhibition of infection at concentrations in the micromolar range. The mechanism of action involves the interference with viral entry into host cells and a direct interaction between oreoch-1 and the viral envelope. In addition, we observed that the peptide could also interact with the cell during the CDV infection. These findings not only highlight the efficacy of oreoch-1 in inhibiting viral infection but also emphasize the potential of fish-derived peptides, specifically oreoch-1, as effective antiviral agents against viral infections affecting animals, whose potential to spill into humans is high. This research contributes valuable insights to the ongoing quest for novel antiviral drugs with the potential to mitigate the impact of infectious diseases on a global scale.

Mitigating Emerging and Reemerging Diseases of Fruit and Vegetable Crops in a Changing Climate.

Fruit and vegetable crops are important sources of nutrition and income globally. Producing these high-value crops requires significant investment of often scarce resources, and, therefore, the risks associated with climate change and accompanying disease pressures are especially important. Climate change influences the occurrence and pressure of plant diseases, enabling new pathogens to emerge and old enemies to reemerge. Specific environmental changes attributed to climate change, particularly temperature fluctuations and intense rainfall events, greatly alter fruit and vegetable disease incidence and severity. In turn, fruit and vegetable microbiomes, and subsequently overall plant health, are also affected by climate change. Changing disease pressures cause growers and researchers to reassess disease management and climate change adaptation strategies. Approaches such as climate smart integrated pest management, smart sprayer technology, protected culture cultivation, advanced diagnostics, and new soilborne disease management strategies are providing new tools for specialty crops growers. Researchers and educators need to work closely with growers to establish fruit and vegetable production systems that are resilient and responsive to changing climates. This review explores the effects of climate change on specialty food crops, pathogens, insect vectors, and pathosystems, as well as adaptations needed to ensure optimal plant health and environmental and economic sustainability.

Climate Changes and COVID-19.

Climatic change, which influences population growth and land usage, has been theorized to be linked to the emergence and spread of new viruses like the currently unfolding COVID-19 pandemic. In this chapter, we explain how climate change may have altered the beginning, transmission, and maybe even the sickness consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Where possible, we also provide mechanistic explanations for how this may have occurred. We have presented evidence that suggests climate change may have had a role in the establishment and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and most possibly even in some of its clinical effects. Human activities bringing people into closer contact with bats and animals like pangolins that potentially represent the intermediate hosts, and evidence that climate-induced changes in vegetation are the main reservoir source of coronaviruses for human infection, are among the explanations. Although there are still unsubstantiated indications that the first viral pathogen may have escaped from a laboratory, it is possible that this encounter took place in the field or in marketplaces in the instance of COVID-19. We also present the argument that climate change is working to enhance transmission between diseased and uninfected humans, and this is true regardless of the source of the original development of the disease. Changes in temperature and humidity make it easier for viruses to survive, and the impacts of industrial pollution induce people to cough and sneeze, which releases highly infectious aerosols into the air. These three factors combine to make this a more likely scenario than it would otherwise be. We suggest that changes in climate are contributing to create conditions that are favorable for the development of more severe symptoms of illness. It is more difficult to build the argument for this circumstance, and much of it is indirect. However, climate change has caused some communities to adjust their nutritional habits, both in terms of the quantity of food they eat and the quality of the foods they consume. The effects frequently become apparent as a result of alterations that are imposed on the microbiome of the gut, which, in turn, influence the types of immune responses that are produced. The incidence of comorbidities like diabetes and animal vectors like bats that transmit other illnesses that modify vulnerability to SARS-CoV-2 are also two examples of the factors that have been affected by climate change. In order to curb the development of infectious illnesses caused by new viruses, it is necessary to understand the connection between environmental dynamics and the emergence of new coronaviruses. This knowledge should lead to initiatives aimed at reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.

Pandemic Preparedness and Response: Lessons From COVID-19.

The global experience with COVID-19 holds important lessons for preparing for, and responding to, future emergences of pathogens with pandemic potential.

Japanese Encephalitis Emergence in Australia: The Potential Population at Risk.

In Australia, Japanese encephalitis virus circulated in tropical north Queensland between 1995 and 2005. In 2022, a dramatic range expansion across the southern states has resulted in 30 confirmed human cases and 6 deaths. We discuss the outbreak drivers and estimate the potential size of the human population at risk.

Pathologic and Immunohistochemical Evidence of Possible Francisellaceae among Aborted Ovine Fetuses, Uruguay.

The only genus of the Francisellaceae family known to contain species pathogenic to mammals is Francisella, for which reported cases in the Southern Hemisphere have been limited to Australia. We describe severe necrotizing and inflammatory lesions and intralesional immunohistochemical identification of Francisella sp. lipopolysaccharide among aborted ovine fetuses in Uruguay.

Field-Reassortment of Bluetongue Virus Illustrates Plasticity of Virus Associated Phenotypic Traits in the Arthropod Vector and Mammalian Host In Vivo.

Segmented RNA viruses are a taxonomically diverse group that can infect plant, wildlife, livestock and human hosts. A shared feature of these viruses is the ability to exchange genome segments during coinfection of a host by a process termed "reassortment." Reassortment enables rapid evolutionary change, but where transmission involves a biological arthropod vector, this change is constrained by the selection pressures imposed by the requirement for replication in two evolutionarily distant hosts. In this study, we use an in vivo, host-arbovirus-vector model to investigate the impact of reassortment on two phenotypic traits, virus infection rate in the vector and virulence in the host. Bluetongue virus (BTV) (Reoviridae) is the causative agent of bluetongue (BT), an economically important disease of domestic and wild ruminants and deer. The genome of BTV comprises 10 linear segments of dsRNA, and the virus is transmitted between ruminants by Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Five strains of BTV representing three serotypes (BTV-1, BTV-4, and BTV-8) were isolated from naturally infected ruminants in Europe and ancestral/reassortant lineage status assigned through full genome sequencing. Each strain was then assessed in parallel for the ability to replicate in vector Culicoides and to cause BT in sheep. Our results demonstrate that two reassortment strains, which themselves became established in the field, had obtained high replication ability in C. sonorensis from one of the ancestral virus strains, which allowed inferences of the genome segments conferring this phenotypic trait. IMPORTANCE Reassortment between virus strains can lead to major shifts in the transmission parameters and virulence of segmented RNA viruses, with consequences for spread, persistence, and impact. The ability of these pathogens to adapt rapidly to their environment through this mechanism presents a major challenge in defining the conditions under which emergence can occur. Utilizing a representative mammalian host-insect vector infection and transmission model, we provide direct evidence of this phenomenon in closely related ancestral and reassortant strains of BTV. Our results demonstrate that efficient infection of Culicoides observed for one of three ancestral BTV strains was also evident in two reassortant strains that had subsequently emerged in the same ecosystem.

Structure-based drug repurposing against COVID-19 and emerging infectious diseases: methods, resources and discoveries.

To attain promising pharmacotherapies, researchers have applied drug repurposing (DR) techniques to discover the candidate medicines to combat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Although many DR approaches have been introduced for treating different diseases, only structure-based DR (SBDR) methods can be employed as the first therapeutic option against the COVID-19 pandemic because they rely on the rudimentary information about the diseases such as the sequence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 genome. Hence, to try out new treatments for the disease, the first attempts have been made based on the SBDR methods which seem to be among the proper choices for discovering the potential medications against the emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Given the importance of SBDR approaches, in the present review, well-known SBDR methods are summarized, and their merits are investigated. Then, the databases and software applications, utilized for repurposing the drugs against COVID-19, are introduced. Besides, the identified drugs are categorized based on their targets. Finally, a comparison is made between the SBDR approaches and other DR methods, and some possible future directions are proposed.

Environmental spillover of emerging viruses: Is it true?

The concept of environmental "spillover" of pathogens to humans is widely used in the scientific literature about emerging diseases with the idea that it is scientifically proven. However, the exact characterization of the mechanism of spillover is simply lacking. A systematic review retrieved 688 articles using this term. The systematic analysis revealed an irreducible polysemy covering ten different definitions. It also demonstrated the absence of explicit definition in most of the articles, and even antinomies. A modeling analysis of the various processes described by these ten definitions showed that none of them corresponded to the complete trajectory leading to the emergence of a disease. There is no article demonstrating a mechanism of spillover. There are only ten articles proposing ideas on how a putative spillover could work but they merely are intellectual constructions. All other articles only reuse the term with no demonstration. It is essential to understand that since there is no scientific concept behind the "spillover", it might be dangerous to base public health and public protection against future pandemics on it.

First report of Fusarium wilt of Cavendish bananas caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 in Venezuela.

Fusarium wilt of banana (Musa spp.), caused by the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), is a major constraint to banana production worldwide (Dita et al., 2018). A strain of Foc that affects Cavendish (AAA) bananas in the tropics, called Foc tropical race 4 (TR4; VCG 01213), is of particular concern. Foc TR4 was first detected in Malaysia and Indonesia around 1990 but was restricted to Southeast Asia and northern Australia until 2012. The fungus has since been reported from Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and the Middle East (Viljoen et al., 2020). Foc TR4 was detected in Colombia in 2019 and in Perú in 2021 (Reyes-Herrera et al., 2020). The incursions into Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) triggered global concerns, as 75% of international export bananas are produced in the region. Banana production in Venezuela, however, is primarily intended for domestic consumption (Aular and Casares, 2011). In 2021 the country produced 533,190 metric tons of banana on an area of 35,896 ha, with an approximate yield of 14,853 kg/ha (FAOSTAT, 2023). In July 2022, severe leaf-yellowing, and wilting, along with internal vascular discoloration of the pseudostem, were noted in Cavendish banana plants cultivar 'Valery' in the states of Aragua (10°11'8″N; 67°34'51″W), Carabobo (10º14'24″N; 67º48'51″W), and Cojedes (9°37'44″N; 68°55'4″W). Necrotic strands from the pseudostems of diseased plants were collected for identification of the causal agent using DNA-based techniques, vegetative compatibility group (VCG) analysis and pathogenicity testing. The samples were first surface disinfected and plated onto potato dextrose agar medium. Single-spored isolates were identified as F. oxysporum based on cultural and morphological characteristics, including white colonies with purple centres, infrequent macroconidia, abundant microconidia on short monophialides, and terminal or intercalary chlamydospores (Leslie and Summerell, 2006). Foc TR4 was identified from five isolates by endpoint and quantitative-PCR using four different primer sets (Li et al. 2013; Dita et al. 2010; Aguayo et al. 2017; Matthews et al. 2020). The same isolates were identified as VCG 01213 by successfully pairing nitrate non-utilizing (nit-1) mutants of the unknown strains with Nit-M testers of Foc TR4 available at Stellenbosch University (Leslie and Summerell, 2006). For pathogenicity testing, 3-month-old Cavendish banana plants cultivar 'Williams' were inoculated with isolates from Venezuela grown on sterile millet seed (Viljoen et al., 2017). Plants developed typical Fusarium wilt symptoms 60 days after inoculation, including yellowing of leaves that progressed from the older to the younger leaves, wilting, and internal discoloration of the pseudostem. Koch's postulates were fulfilled by reisolating and identifying Foc TR4 from the plants by qPCR (Matthews et al., 2020). These results provide scientific proof of the presence of Foc TR4 in Venezuela. The Venezuelan Plant Protection Organization (INSAI) has declared Foc TR4 as a newly introduced pest (January 19, 2023), and infested banana fields were placed under quarantine. Comprehensive surveys are now conducted in all production areas in Venezuela to assess the presence and impact of Foc TR4, and information campaigns were started to make farmers aware of biosecurity protocols. Collaborative initiatives and coordinated actions among all stakeholders are needed to prevent the spread of Foc TR4 to other countries in Latin America, and to develop Foc TR4-resistant bananas (Figueiredo et al. 2023).

The re-emerging monkeypox disease.

BACKGROUND: On 7th May 2022, human monkeypox was identified in the United Kingdom, a non-endemic zone, with subsequent multi-country outbreaks. About 6 weeks later, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reported 1158 confirmed cases in non-endemic countries scattered within the European Economic Area (EEA), and a total of 1882 cases confirmed worldwide, inclusive of the EEA. These numbers are expected to increase with high alert and amplified surveillance established in non-endemic regions. In light of a looming epidemic, current understanding of the virus, and identification of gaps in the literature remain critical hence warranting a scoping review of available literature. METHODS: Literature searches were performed through PubMed, SCOPUS, ScienceDirect and Hinari to identify studies eligible for inclusion in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. RESULTS: Seventy-seven articles were included in the review. Majority of the cases were from the Central African clade (n = 29,905) versus the West African clade (n = 252). 6/16 articles that reported vaccination status stated that none of the cases were vaccinated. In the remaining articles, approximately 80%-96% cases were unvaccinated. It was noted that 4%-21% of the vaccinated individuals got infected. The secondary attack rate ranged from 0% to 10.2%, while the calculated pooled estimated case fatality rate was 8.7%. CONCLUSION: This scoping review provides an extensive look at our current understanding on monkeypox disease. Further studies are needed to better understand its risk factors, genetics and natural history, in order for public health strategists to generate prevention strategies and management decisions.

The impact of variants and vaccination on the mortality and resource utilization of hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 outcomes among hospitalized patients may have changed due to new variants, therapies and vaccine availability. We assessed outcomes of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 from March 2020-February 2022. METHODS: Data were retrieved from electronic health medical records of adult COVID-19 patients hospitalized in a large community health system. Duration was split into March 2020-June 2021 (pre-Delta period), July-November 2021 (Delta period), and December 2021-February 2022 (Omicron period). RESULTS: Of included patients (n = 9582), 75% were admitted during pre-Delta, 9% during Delta, 16% during Omicron period. The COVID-positive inpatients were oldest during Omicron period but had lowest rates of COVID pneumonia and resource utilization (p < 0.0001); 46% were vaccinated during Delta and 61% during Omicron period (p < 0.0001). After adjustment for demographics and comorbidities, vaccination was associated with lower inpatient mortality (OR = 0.47 (0.34-0.65), p < 0.0001). The Omicron period was independently associated with lower risk of inpatient mortality (OR = 0.61 (0.45-0.82), p = 0.0010). Vaccination and Omicron period admission were also independently associated with lower healthcare resource utilization (p < 0.05). Magnitudes of associations varied between age groups with strongest protective effects seen in younger patients. CONCLUSION: Outcomes of COVID-19 inpatients were evolving throughout the pandemic and were affected by changing demographics, virus variants, and vaccination. KEY POINT: In this observational study of almost 10,000 patients hospitalized from March 2020-February 2022 with COVID-19, age and having multiple comorbidities remained consistent risk factors for mortality regardless of the variant. Vaccination was high in our hospitalized patients. Vaccination conveyed less severe illness and was associated with lower inpatient mortality.

There is no "origin" to SARS-CoV-2.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused by SARS-CoV-2, the question of the origin of this virus has been a highly debated issue. Debates have been, and are still, very disputed and often violent between the two main hypotheses: a natural origin through the "spillover" model or a laboratory-leak origin. Tenants of these two options are building arguments often based on the discrepancies of the other theory. The main problem is that it is the initial question of the origin itself which is biased. Charles Darwin demonstrated in 1859 that all species are appearing through a process of evolution, adaptation and selection. There is no determined origin to any animal or plant species, simply an evolutionary and selective process in which chance and environment play a key role. The very same is true for viruses. There is no determined origin to viruses, simply also an evolutionary and selective process in which chance and environment play a key role. However, in the case of viruses the process is slightly more complex because the "environment" is another living organism. Pandemic viruses already circulate in humans prior to the emergence of a disease. They are simply not capable of triggering an epidemic yet. They must evolve in-host, i.e. in-humans, for that. The evolutionary process which gave rise to SARS-CoV-2 is still ongoing with regular emergence of novel variants more adapted than the previous ones. The real relevant question is how these viruses can emerge as pandemic viruses and what the society can do to prevent the future emergence of pandemic viruses.

Transmission dynamics and epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant infections in Guangdong, China, May to June 2021.

BackgroundThe Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 had become predominant globally by November 2021.AimWe evaluated transmission dynamics and epidemiological characteristics of the Delta variant in an outbreak in southern China.MethodsData on confirmed COVID-19 cases and their close contacts were retrospectively collected from the outbreak that occurred in Guangdong, China in May and June 2021. Key epidemiological parameters, temporal trend of viral loads and secondary attack rates were estimated. We also evaluated the association of vaccination with viral load and transmission.ResultsWe identified 167 patients infected with the Delta variant in the Guangdong outbreak. Mean estimates of latent and incubation period were 3.9 days and 5.8 days, respectively. Relatively higher viral load was observed in infections with Delta than in infections with wild-type SARS-CoV-2. Secondary attack rate among close contacts of cases with Delta was 1.4%, and 73.1% (95% credible interval (CrI): 32.9-91.4) of the transmissions occurred before onset. Index cases without vaccination (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 2.84; 95% CI: 1.19-8.45) or with an incomplete vaccination series (aOR: 6.02; 95% CI: 2.45-18.16) were more likely to transmit infection to their contacts than those who had received the complete primary vaccination series.DiscussionPatients infected with the Delta variant had more rapid symptom onset compared with the wild type. The time-varying serial interval should be accounted for in estimation of reproduction numbers. The higher viral load and higher risk of pre-symptomatic transmission indicated the challenges in control of infections with the Delta variant.

Statistical Study on Human Temperature Measurement by Infrared Thermography.

Increased temperature in humans is the symptom of many infectious diseases and it is thus an important diagnostic tool. Infrared temperature measurement methods have been developed and applied over long periods due to their advantage of non-contact and fast measurements. This study deals with a statistical evaluation of the possibilities and limitations of infrared/thermographic human temperature measurement. A short review of the use of infrared temperature measurement in medical applications is provided. Experiments and statistics-based evaluation to confirm the expected accuracy and limits of thermography-based human temperature measurement are introduced. The results presented in this study show that the standard deviation of the thermographic measurement of the eyes maximum temperature was 0.4-0.9 °C and the mean values differences from the armpit measurement were up to 0.5 °C, based on the used IR camera, even though near ideal measurement conditions and permanent blackbody correction were used. It was also shown that a certain number of outliers must be assumed in such measurements. Extended analyses including simulations of true negative/false positive, sensitivity/specificity and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves are presented. The statistical evaluation as well as the extended analyses show that maximum eyes temperature is more relevant than a forehead temperature examination.

Life-Course Approach to Vaccination in Bangladesh for Meeting the Health and Health-Related Sustainable Development Goals: A Commentary.

Bangladesh is entering from low-income to lower-middle-income status in 2020, and this will be completed in the next 5 years. With gross national income growing, vaccines will need to be procured through private market for the Expanded Program on Immunization. A cost-benefit analysis is needed to evaluate vaccine demand in different socioeconomic groups in the country, to inform this procurement. Moreover, disease burden studies and awareness of importance of specific vaccines are needed as we move forward. A life-course approach to vaccination may enable whole society to realize the full potential of vaccination and address most significant threats to its success over time.

Autochthonous Thelazia callipaeda Infection in Dog, New York, USA, 2020.

We report a case of autochthonous infection of the eye worm Thelazia callipaeda in a dog in the northeastern United States. Integrated morphologic identification and molecular diagnosis confirmed the species. Phylogenetic analysis suggested introduction from Europe. The zoonotic potential of this parasite warrants broader surveillance and increased awareness among physicians and veterinarians.