Florirda Kids with Virus!

FlOriDa MaN InFecTeD wItH RSV!

Floridian children left and right have been checking into emergency rooms for respiratory syncytial virus. The virus, which leads to infection in the lungs and respiratory tract, is tytpically not common during the same time as flu outbreaks, but this year, it's hitting hard in Florida. By mid-November, 7 percent of children under 5 discharged from Florida hospitals and urgent care centers were diagnosed with RSV symptoms, the state reported. That was up from 5 percent at the height of the season last year and 4 percent the previous year. While symptoms are normally mild, RSV that develops into pneumonia and bronchiolitis can be serious for babies. There's no vaccine for RSV, which makes it especially hard to stop the respiratorily transmitted virus in sneezing, coughing children. The best thing to do is to provide supportive care for the infected, and hope that Florida contains the outbreak and all it's other weird tendencies. 

Source: https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2019/11/29/a-respiratory-bug-affecting-children-is-spiking-in-florida-emergency-rooms/

- Caity McGinley

EEE, a New Threat to Human Health

This autumn, a large surge in Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) in humans has left officials concerned.  A total of nine states have reported 37 human cases — typically there are fewer than10 cases nationwide each year. Unfortunately the same protocol that is designed to protect civilians is also the reason that the outbreak has yet to be solved. A select pathogen, meaning that the government has recognized EEE's potential to be a bioweapon, EEE is only allowed to be handled by certified labs. That means any samples found in mosquitoes, birds, and mammals must be destroyed within seven days after the disocvery of the virus in the material. The time it takes to fill out and process the needed paperwork to become certified to handle special agents costs researchers time and money. As the numbers climb, many are concerned about the possible crisis that looms ahead--especially since EEE has many reservoirs such as mosquitoes, birds, people, horses, deer, alpaca, and even a wolf cub in a Michigan zoo.



Source: https://www.statnews.com/2019/11/27/surge-eee-cases-federal-rules-requiring-quick-sample-disposal/

Caity McGinley 

Stomach Acid and the Flu

A big data study has revealed that drugs under the proton-pump inhibator (PPI) category increase users likelihood to contract a winter flu virus by ~ 80%. Such drugs include Nexium, Prevacid, Protonix and Prilosec--all of which are drugs targeted to reduce heartburn. The link behind the PPI and the risk of infection is the science behind heartburn reduction. Nexium and its pals work to reduce stomach acid, which also plays a key role in keeping viruses at bay. By supressing the gut microbiome, you become more susceptible to infection by viruses. As with any study, there are concerns about the findings. Some experts don't support the conclusion, stating that many people take PPIs that don't have heartburn, and there are too many confounding variables. Further research is needed on the issue to fully understand the relationship between stomach acid supressors and susceptibility to flu. 


Source: https://nypost.com/2019/11/28/common-heartburn-drugs-putting-millions-at-risk-of-acute-stomach-virus/

- Caity McGinley

1,000 Possibly Infected with HIV and other Viruses After Mistake at Hospital

Scary news for Goshen Hospital in Indiana and many of the patients that were treated there. Breakings news is that more than 1,000 patients may have been exposed to HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B after an error in the sanitizing procedure for surgical equipment. Even though hospitals are supposed to follow a strict sterilization process, one step in a multistep cleaning process was missed by a technician, resulting in the possible contamination of the surgical equipment. An obvious PR nightmare for the hospital, the patients who might be infected were sent notification letters and are being offered free testing for the viruses. However, to those who have possibly been infected, a free test for the virus might not be enough. Results from the tests have yet to be released. Stay tuned for an update.

Soruces: https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/25/health/indiana-surgical-patients-exposed-virus/index.html

Caity McGinley

Watch Out: New Flu Drug Drives Resistance

News has spread across the Pacific that a new drug, chemically known as baloxavir but commercially known as Xofluza, has possibly caused a mutation of the flu virus H3N2 that leads to drug resistance. Baloxavir is part of a new class of antiviral drugs that targets the machinery flu viruses use to copy their genetic material inside their human or animal hosts. The word from Japan is that a young boy was given the antiviral drug, felt better, but after several days, presented symtoms again. It was then found that his younger sister all came down with the flu, and upon sequencing the virus among the siblings, it was discovered that the sister had become infected with a H3N2 virus that had a single mutation for baloxavir. Although it is unlikely that the mutation will lead to widespread resistance on a global scale, but it could pose a problem among family members and in hospital or nursing home settings. Especially as Xofluza is set to be licensed in many other countries this coming year, antiviral resistance can increase the prevalence on the disease in households. 

Soruces: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20191125/New-flu-drug-makes-influenza-viruses-develop-resistance.aspx

- Caity McGinley

Sterilizing Mosquitoes to prevent virus spread

For some time, sterilizing insects has been a potentially promising approach for targeting arboviruses.
WHO recently (November 18) published a report on a new sterilization technique using radiation to target male mosquitoes. The Sterile insect techique (SIT) was developed by the US department of agriculture in order to combat pests which attack crops as well as livestock.

Now, the SIT approach is considered more environmentally friendly than many pesticide approaches for reducing mosquito levels. Current surveillance to measure success against arboviruses is measured by the control of mosquito populations. Specific species, such as Aedes aegypti which transmits Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika, are known to carry diseases which have the potential to affect a wide range of populations geographically depending on the epidemiological spread of the vector.

The method involves rearing the male mosquitoes in laboratory settings and then releasing them to mate with female mosquitoes. As they do not create offspring, the mosquito population declines with time. The WHO has now published a guidance document for those interested in pursuing the technique.


- Micah

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20191118/Sterilizing-mosquitoes-may-be-the-answer-to-curb-Zika-Dengue-Chikungunya-WHO-reports.aspx
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/14-11-2019-mosquito-sterilization-offers-new-opportunity-to-control-chikungunya-dengue-and-zika 

Viral ‘Smart Bombs’ Are Becoming Weapons Against Superbugs

Phages are being used to target resistant bacteria in the body. In the US, about 50 patients have been treated so far with infusions of billions of phages as directed by doctors. Phage therapy is thought by some researchers to have the potential to stand in the growing medical gap due to the increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and other superbugs. Unlike other more harmful treatments, phages can be programmed to destroy a harmful bacteria in a host while leaving the human microbiome intact. In fact, these biodegradable “smart bombs” can destroy just one strain of bacterium, while allowing the helpful strains to occur in the body. Phages have yet to make it to open market, and it still could be years; however, researchers and medics alike are finding successes as well as increasing opportunities to consider phages as treatments. 

- Micah

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-18/viral-smart-bombs-are-becoming-weapons-against-superbugs

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/05/viruses-genetically-engineered-kill-bacteria-rescue-girl-antibiotic-resistant-infection 

Two Strains of Polio are Gone, but the End of the Disease is Still Far Off

In October, health officials announced that 2 of the 3 strains of wild polio virus have officially been eliminated. The strain that the Global Certification Commission for the Eradication of Poliovirus declared eliminated recently was Type 3 wild polio virus, the last case of which was seen in Nigeria in 2012. Type 2 was declared eliminated in 2015; the last case was detected in India in 1999. Type 1, the only wild strain left, circulates only in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Although the world is closer to eradication, the effort has taken longer than anticipated, leaving two major obstacles. First, millions of families have not received the vaccine drops because of fallacies that the vaccine is a plot to sterilize Muslim girls or do other harm. Second, viruses used in the oral vaccine itself have mutated into a form that can be passed on in diapers and sewage, and can paralyze unvaccinated children. That has contributed to fear of the oral vaccine, even though full vaccination is the only protection against such mutant viruses. Just in the last two months, cases of paralysis caused by mutant vaccine viruses have been reported in the Philippines, Zambia, Togo and Chad. Stopping such outbreaks typically requires vaccinating hundreds of thousands of children with both the injectable vaccine, which contains killed virus that cannot mutate, and the oral vaccine. Although most of those outbreaks have been small and eventually were contained, more children are now paralyzed. “We don’t need to create a new problem,” Mr. Zaffran said, who is the director of polio eradication at the World Health Organization. Luckily, however, novel versions of Type 1 and Type 3 vaccines should follow in another couple of years.

- Sophia Gamboa

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/23/health/polio-strain-eradication.html?searchResultPosition=7

Ebola Response Workers are Killed in Congo

On Thursday, rebels attacked and killed several health workers responding to Ebola in eastern Congo. Health workers trying to contain the second-worst Ebola outbreak in history have been targeted in the past, but the current outbreak has been described by some observers as more complicated than any other. Several rebel groups are active in the region, and local officials have said that some of the insurgents believe that the reports of Ebola are a political trick. The three health workers were killed when Mai-Mai fighters attacked a center run by the United Nations health agency overnight in Biakato. Warnings had been posted earlier demanding that the health workers leave or face “the worst,” he said. The Ebola response was put on lockdown in Beni, dismaying health experts who say every attack hurts crucial efforts to contain the deadly virus.  The number of cases had been dropping in the yearlong outbreak, which has killed more than 2,100 people and was declared a global health emergency earlier this year. Several days this month, zero cases were reported, but cases have surged after attacks on health workers and facilities. The health agency could previously trace more than 90 percent of contacts of infected people in the city, but that figure has dropped to 17 percent, a United Nations spokesman said. Despite two promising new Ebola vaccines, health workers continue to battle misinformation and reluctance to seek treatment for the virus that is spread via close contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, including the dead.

- Sophia Gamboa

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/28/world/africa/ebola-congo.html?searchResultPosition=2

New Strawberry-Flavored HIV Drugs for Babies are Offered at $1 a Day

About 80,000 babies and toddlers die of AIDS each year, mostly in Africa, in part because their medicines come in hard pills or bitter syrups that are very difficult for children to swallow or keep down. However, on Friday, an Indian drug manufacturer Cipla announced a new, more pediatric-friendly formulation. The new drug, called Quadrimune, comes in strawberry-flavored granules the size of grains of sugar that can be mixed with milk or sprinkled on baby cereal. The formulation could save the lives of thousands of children each year. Trials in healthy adults showed that the new formulation gets the drugs into the blood; the four drugs in it, ritonavir, lopinavir, avacabir, and lamivudine were approved in the 1990s and are used in many combinations. The granules are coated first in a polymer that doesn’t melt until it reaches the stomach, and then with sweet, fruity flavoring. Better yet, the cost of the drug is extremely affordable: approximately $1 a day for children between 20 and 30 pounds; the cost for newborns would be even lower. But by any measure, Cipla’s new, gentler formulation for children is a major advance: “This is indeed great news for treating pediatric H.I.V.”

- Sophia Gamboa

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/29/health/AIDS-drugs-children.html

Building a Better Flu Vaccine––One You Don't Have to Get Every Year

Michael Sonn became one of the first people to receive an experimental flu vaccine. Sonn is currently apart of a research project that could one day radically change the shot we get every year. The goal of this shot is that it would last for multiple flu seasons, so you wouldn't have to go to the doctor every fall and––even better––it would be more effective than the current shot. This is extremely important research as the current flu shot is far from perfect, even though it protects millions of people from getting the flu every year. "Even on a good year, the effectiveness of the vaccine is about 60%. On a bad year, it's as low as 10%," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The reason for this effectiveness fluctuation is that the flu virus is constantly changing; New strains come each season. This means that each shot only protects against a few strains, meaning scientists need to make an educated guess about which strains to use for that year. With the help of Michael Sonn, however, a universal flu shot would cover every strain of the flu and protect against flu pandemics. The NIH has been working on the universal flu shot for about a decade, but it will be at least another decade until it comes to market. Better yet, the research got an extra push last September when President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at developing a better flu vaccine. Hopefully, the results from Michael Sonn will push us closer to reaching the universal vaccine goal.

- Sophia Gamboa

Link: https://www.crossroadstoday.com/health/building-a-better-flu-vaccine-one-you-dont-have-to-get-every-year/1146710783

Researcher Invents a Virus that Can Kill Cancer and Boost Immunity

A Californian-based surgeon, Dr. Yuman Fong, invented a new form of virus-based immunotherapy for gastric cancer a few days ago. His treatment includes using immunotherapy to simultaneously destroy cancer while strengthening the body's natural defenses. Dr. Fong and an Australian pharmaceutical company have started clinical trials with this injectable virus that could be safer than other treatment methods such as chemotherapy and radiation. The genetically engineered virus exclusively attacks cancer calls called CF-33. Another company, Imugene, is also collaborating with Dr. Fong. Imugene is experimenting with combining Fong's cancer-killing virus with other substances. One combination includes checkpoint inhibitors, which would stop the immune system from attacking the cancer cells. Another version has an iodine supporter, which means that researchers can trace the location and progress of CF-33 in the body. It is hoped that this virus will treat an evolved form of gastric cancer called peritoneal carcinomatosis, for which there is currently no treatment. Imugene recently announced that both of these versions should be ready to give to patients by the second quarter of 2020. In the words of Dr. Fong, “This entire field of oncology that tries to bring more cures is as bright as ever.”

- Sophia Gamboa

Link: https://www.theepochtimes.com/california-researcher-invents-a-virus-that-can-kill-cancer-cells-and-boost-immune-system_3148707.html

Possible Exposure to HIV and Other Viruses After Sanitization Error

Over a thousand surgical patients at the Indiana Goshen Hospital may have been exposed to HIV and other viruses such as Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B due to an error in sanitizing surgical equipment. The Goshen Hospital only released their statement a few days ago. The mistake in the sanitizing procedure occurred because of one technician, who had missed one step in a multistep cleaning process. So far the hospital has identified 1,182 surgical patients from April to September of 2019 who may have been impacted. These patients were sent notification letters and are being offered free viral testing at the hospital. The hospital claims that they are only being precautious, since those who may have been affected constitute a "small subset" with a an "extremely low" risk of infection. The hospitals disease experts believe that the potential of blood transmission is extremely remote, and their actions are only "out of an abundance of caution". The hospital has also set up a call center so patients can ask questions and schedule testing.

- Sophia Gamboa

Link: https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/25/health/indiana-surgical-patients-exposed-virus/index.html

Week 4- Potential Vaccine against RSV is probable

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191009075420.htm

A study published in the journal Nature Communications, reports that knocking out an epigenetic modification known as N6-methyladenosine in RSV RNA is proven effective to deregulate the virus and also helps boost immune responses in cotton rats. 

Abhinav Singh

Week 5- Increased Instances of Viruses in the Baltimore

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191016094907.htm

This study affirms that there has been an increase in the amount of mosquitos in Baltimore. The study also found a correlation between mosqutio size and disease. Larger-bodied mosquitos have been shown to be increasingly effective in transmitting diseases. There were significant block-to-block differences in Baltimore and how the concentration of moquitos can differ vastly in those areas. This is surprising yet also very concerning because as we know, mosquitos can harbor a plethora of ARBO-related diseases which can ultimately become a number of flavivirus-born diseases.

Abhinav Singh

Week 5- Immune reaction causes malaria organ damage

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191021104938.htm

Mosquitos are able to infect humans with malaria. Severe instances of the disease can result in severe organ damage as well as failure. Furthermore, if the immune system overreacts and produces an extended response, then this excessive inflammation can also damage the immune system. High concentrations of NETs in the blood causes attachment of red blood cells to the blood vessels which can also cause damage. 

MS is Related to the Common Herpes Virus

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191126075238.htm

This study shows that diseased individuals carry greater amounts of herpesvirus 6A relative to healthy people. The antibodies in the blood were analyzed and the A and B isoforms were distinguished to lead to the conclusions about patients. This theory also indirectly provides clues that HHV-6A may contribute to development of MS. I connect this to learnings from class because of how we discussed that Filatov's 6th disease was HHV6A. This makes me think that perhaps the disease was also known for producing exanthems such as viral rashes. The clinical diagnoses of these patients would be interesting.

Abhinav Singh

Insulin Increases Mosquito Immunity to West Nile Virus- Week 8

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191113101849.htm

Research has shown that insulin bolsters the ability of insects to suppress the virus and activate the antiviral immunity pathway. Insulin operates this way through interacting with the JAK/STAT pathway and has been considered to be important in the long-term goal of creating an intervention. From a clinical perspective, it is interesting to ponder what that exactly means. Insulin is known for taking up glucose within the cells. Therefore, does this finding illustrate that perhaps part of mosquito's infectivity come from being able to use glucose as some sort of energy source. From what we know about viruses, I don't really see the connection between how RNA can use glucose, perhaps it steals the nucleotides during replication?

Abhinav Singh

Chikungunya Vaccine Candidate Seems Promising

A French biotech has announced  its Valneva chikungunya vaccine VLA1553 as a promising candidate following the Phase I trial. The vaccine seems safe in all dose groups and no notable adverse events following the vaccine occurred. It has been found that one dose of the vaccine is sufficient to induce and maintain high titers of circulating antibodies, thus the vaccine likely will be a single shot immunization. The immunogenicity profile of the vaccine has been excellent with 100% seroconversion by day 14. No serious adverse events have been reported up to 13 months. In terms of the phases of trials, the Phase II trial is underway, and there are hopes of beginning the Phase III trial in March 2020. 

-Micah

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/valneva-reports-excellent-final-phase-060000293.html

https://www.precisionvaccinations.com/valneva-chikungunya-vaccine-candidate-vla1553-was-generally-safe-all-dose-groups-and-local

Depression as a Risk Factor for HIV

While depression and HIV have been associated for some time, it is recognized that it is difficult to know  few have attempted to understand which is the driver and which is the outcome. A study based out of UC Berkeley recently found, in a population of female adolescents, that the arrow was unidirectional: depression leading to HIV. The population studied were 13-21 year old females in South Africa. Data was collected for six years, and the risk difference for contracting HIV was 3.5 for those with depression compared to those without. 

Many low and middle income settings lack the mental health personnel to support those struggling with depression. This study points out that increased efforts against depression may also reduce risk of contracting HIV among young women and adolescents in Africa. 

https://academic.oup.com/aje/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/aje/kwz238/5609195?redirectedFrom=fulltext

https://news.berkeley.edu/2019/11/19/depression-puts-south-african-girls-at-higher-risk-of-contracting-hiv/

New Flu Drug Drives Drug Resistance in Influenza Viruses

A recently developed flu medication, called Baloxavir, is showing some drug resistant behavior when patients are exposed to influenza viruses. In Japan, an 11-year-old boy was diagnosed with H3N2 influenza and was prescribed Baloxavir. Despite taking the baloxavir medication, his fever returned after a few days of recovery. Two days later, his older sister became sick and was diagnosed with H3N2. Dr. Kawaoka at the University of Wisonsin-Madison, believed that this H3N2 strain was harboring a new kind of mutation that makes it resistant to Baloxavir, ultimately making people as sick as the non-mutated version, and passing from person to person. The research team sequenced the entire viral genome of the 11-year-old boy with drug sensitive influenza virus (before treatment) and the sample from the girl that is drug treatment. The researchers reported that "Out of 13,133 nucleotides, there was only one nucleotide difference between the two." It appears that patients infected with either H3N2 or H1N1 influenza who took Baloxavir developed a mutation at position 38 of the polymerase acidic protein, part of the virus's machinery that is targeted by the drug. While it's unlikely the mutation will lead to widespread resistance around the world, Kawaoka says it could become a problem among family members in close proximity, and in facilities like hospitals. And, while children seem particularly prone to viral mutation with Baloxavir treatment, it appears to occur less frequently in adults. 

- Sophia Gamboa

Link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191125173454.htm

Virus Outbreaks Closes Colorado Schools

Just last week, there was an outbreak of some unknown virus in Colorado. Within a week and a half, administrators were forced to close an entire school district that serves more than 22,000 students. The community has reported more than 5,000 students absent from class; however officials could not be sure how many of these students were sick and how many were avoiding contagion. The virus is reported to act like norovirus: Most patients have symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea, which usually lasts 12 to 24 hours. “It was pretty out of control,” said Mr. Kuhr, executive director of Mesa County Public Health. “If all the stars align, norovirus could really wreak havoc on a community. It just feels like that right now.”

- Sophia Gamboa
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/21/us/virus-colorado-schools-close.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR0a6v9F00-uSStikz2MwCrON6sojtL7wEnYTqam7emkWhKtCKR9gTJGZwU

Measles Cases Continue to Rise Around the World

The World Health Organization just released a statement about the recent increases in global measles outbreaks. Worldwide, there has been almost a 300 percent increase in the measles outbreak in the first 3 months of 2019 alone. The World Health Organization attributed these increases due to growing mistrust in vaccines, lack of vaccine coverage, and limited access to healthcare facilities. The W.H.O. is also paying close attention to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where more than 200,000 people were infected and nearly 5,000 people have died from measles this year. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of W.H.O., has conceded that measles has received “little international attention” even though it has proved deadlier than Ebola. Other regions that have been under review by the W.H.O. include Ukraine, Brazil, the Philippines and the United States. In the United States, a majority of these measles cases were hospitalized––and unvaccinated. 

- Sophia Gamboa
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/26/health/measles-outbreak-epidemic.html

Mosquitoes armed with bacteria beat back dengue virus

Since 2011, researchers have been injecting Wolbachia pipientis bacteria into the of Aedes aegypti mosquito eggs in hopes of bacteria blocking the insects’ ability to spread viruses such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. These hatched insects have the ability to spread this protection to their offspring. Now, researchers have reported that in more than 4 years of trial release of these Wolbachia infected mosquitoes in Townsville, Australia, that only four locally acquired cases of dengue were recorded. These results rely on public health surveillance data but in all the controlled trials, cases of dengue were reduced. Teams are now conducting larger trials in hopes of approving the bacteria for broader use in dengue endemic areas.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/11/mosquitoes-armed-bacteria-beat-back-dengue-virus

- Miao G.

Insulin can increase mosquitoes' immunity to West Nile virus

Researchers have discovered the potential of insulin to inhibit the spread of West Nile virus as well as Zika and dengue virus. A Washington State University-led research team demonstrated that mammalian insulin activated an antiviral immunity pathway in mosquitoes, increasing the insects’ ability to suppress the viruses. Since mosquito bites are the primary way humans are infected with West Nile, Zika, and dengue virus, stopping the virus among the insects would protect human health. While it has been known that insulin boosts immune responses in mosquitoes, this is the first time it has been connected to a particular immune response pathway, called JAK/STAT. This arm of immunity has the potential to be activated through the insulin receptor and reduce the overall viral load in the mosquito population.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191113101849.htm

- Miao G.

How a virus might protect against skin cancer

While is has long been known that human papillomaviruses (HPV) are linked to increased risk of certain cancers, new research suggests that certain strains of the virus might help defend against skin cancer. Of the more than 100 strains of HPV, a handful are considered to be oncogenic. Authors of a recent study were interested in the role that HPV plays in skin cancer. Their study was based on earlier research showing that beta-HPV is present in the majority of skin cancers among people who have received an organ transplant. Those individuals have a weakened immune system, making them more susceptible to cancer linked with viral infections. They found that the body’s immune response to beta-HPV seemed to have protection from the development of skin cancer following carcinogenic CV and chemical exposure. This is the first evidence that these commensal viruses could have beneficial health effects in both experimental models and also in humans.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326967.php#1

- Miao G.

Genes from ‘fossil’ virus in human DNA found to be active

There are two versions of human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) that can be integrated into chromosomes and inherited like any other human gene. HHV-6B causes roseola, a common childhood illness that affects about 90 percent of children early in life, while very little is known about the second version, HHV-6A. After infection both viruses can remain dormant in the body and reactive later, particular in those with suppressed immune systems. Researchers at Laval University looked at a form of the virus that is acquired as a result of inheritance. hHV-6 is unique because it is the only known human DNA herpesvirus that integrates into our human genome and can be routinely inherited. This may be because its genome has repeating DNA sequences resembling those found in human chromosomes. The researchers showed that individuals with the inherited hHV-6 genes mounted a greater immune response to HHV-6 proteins, suggesting that even though the viral genes had long been part of their genome, the immune systems of these people who carried the genes still recognized the viral proteins as foreign. More search is still needed to determine how the immune system gets educated by or against these endogenous viruses.

https://newsroom.uw.edu/news/genes-%E2%80%98fossil%E2%80%99-virus-human-dna-found-be-active

- Miao G.

HIV Drug Rilpivirine Stops Viral Replication of Zika Virus

Researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University published a study showing that rilpivirine, a drug used in HIV treatment, also suppresses Zika virus infections. They demonstrated that the drug, which is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI), targets enzymes that both Zika and HIV depend on for replication. These enzymes are also found in other flavivirus infections, such as dengue and Hepatitis C virus. Zika uses non-structural protein 5 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase to replicate. Researchers showed that rilpivirine stops viral replication by binding to the protein’s domain. The study team conducted experiments with mice and found that infected mice not treated with rilpivirine died while those treated survived. The researchers hope to further investigate if people with HIV treated with the drug are at lower risk of Zika infection.

https://www.contagionlive.com/news/hiv-drug-rilpivirine-stops-viral-replication-of-zika-virus

- Miao G.

‘Make Ebola a thing of the past’: first vaccine against deadly virus approved

On November 11, European regulators approved a vaccine that has already helped to control outbreaks of Ebola. This is the first time any Ebola vaccine has been approved. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is allowing Merck, a US pharmaceutical company, to market its vaccine meaning that now the product can be stockpiled and potentially distributed more widely. The vaccine was first patented in 2003 and administered on an emergency basis to help aid the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The vaccine, which is marketed under the name Ervebo and known to researchers as rVSV-ZEBOV-GP, protects against the Zaire species of the Ebola virus. The EMA’s approval is a big step in the right direction. More research into the Merck vaccine and development of others must continue, to offer longer-lasting immunity, target more than one species of Ebola virus, and to make vaccines easier to store.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03490-8

- Miao G.

This Newly Discovered Virus Replicates in a Completely Unknown Way

Researchers in Japan have found a thriving novel virus that seems to lack the proteins normally needed for viral replication. The new type of enterovirus (EV-G) is a single stranded virus and was formed from the swapping of genetic material between enterovirus G and torovirus. This virus lacks structural proteins, which is present in all other known viruses. Though it lacks the genes for structural proteins, it does have a couple of “unknown” genes. Researchers hypothesize that this virus borrows structural proteins from other nearby viruses, which is not unheard of. Hepatitis D virus is a satellite virus to Hepatitis B virus. The researchers hope to figure out which “helper viruses” enable this new virus to survive and exactly what the unknown genes do.

https://www.livescience.com/new-virus-discovered-lacking-important-proteins.html

- Miao G

First case of sexually-transmitted dengue confirmed

Doctors in Spain have recorded the first ever case of sexually transmitted dengue. According to health officials from the Madrid Public Health Department, a 41-year old man from Madrid contracted the virus after having sex with his partner who was exposed to the virus on a trip to Cuba. Doctors had initially ruled out that he contracted the infection from traveling to an area known to be a hotspot. It was later narrowed down that he may have contracted it through sexual contact. His partner had presented the same symptoms as him earlier as he had previously visited Cuba and the Dominican Republic. An analysis of both their sperm was carried out and revealed not only the dengue virus but that it was the same strain which circulates Cuba.

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/first-case-sexually-transmitted-dengue-confirmed-112054 

- Miao G.

More than 1,000 patients may have been exposed to HIV and other viruses after error in sanitizing procedure

An error in the sanitizing procedure for surgical equipment may have exposed over a thousand surgical patients at Goshen Hospital in Indiana. A technician missed a step in a multi-step cleaning process, leading to the possible contamination of the surgical equipment. Among the bloodborne pathogens that patients may have been exposed to include HIV, Hepatitis C virus, and Hepatitis B virus. The hospital identified 1,182 surgical patients who may have been impacted and were sent notification letters offering free testing for the viruses. The hospital maintains that the risk of exposure is “extremely low.”

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/25/health/indiana-surgical-patients-exposed-virus/index.html

- Miao G.

Discovery reveals mechanism that turns herpes virus on and off

New research from the Baker Institute provides a more in depth look at how the herpes virus alternates between dormant and active stages of infection. The virus, which infects almost all individuals, can cause symptoms both mild, like cold sores, to severe, like encephalitis and corneal blindness in newborns.  Dr. Luis M. Schang and his group found that the virus switches from its latent to lytic stage depending on how tightly its DNA is packaged into chromatin. When the herpes virus enters a host cell, the cell tries to protect itself by wrapping the viral DNA tightly around histones and condensing it into chromatin, causing the virus to go dormant. However, if the cells are unsuccessful, the chromatin is only loosely bundled, leaving some of the viral DNA accessible. The virions can then turn on their genes and replicate using cellular machinery to go into their lytic phase. With this new knowledge, researchers hope to further explore the interplay between the virus and the host cells that determine whether viral DNA is expressed. These finds open up new directions for exploring vaccines and antivirals. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191114161905.htm 

- Miao G.

A New Reason to Go Keto: Fight the Flu

It seems like there are always new reasons cropping up to either join or eschew the latest fad diet. A recently published study gives some major points in favor of the Keto diet. The researchers found that mice fed a ketogenic diet demonstrated improved ability to fight off a potentially lethal dose of influenza virus over mice fed a carbohydrate-filled diet. They propose that the high fat diet promoted increased γδ T cell concentration. This often overlook T cell is responsible for producing mucus in the cell linings of the lungs, adding an extra barrier of protection between the virus and the epithelial cells it infects. The researchers further proved this hypothesis by generating a mouse model deficient in γδ T cells, and in these mice, the ketogenic diet provided no protection. Before we all start going Keto, as usual, researchers need to find more information such as the mechanism by which ketone bodies promote γδ T cell proliferation and potential negative side effects on the immune system of depriving our bodies of other key nutrients, especially carbohydrates. Nevertheless, it is exciting and interesting to think that we can impact how our immune system functions simply by changing the composition of what we eat!

~ Avi Kaye

Article: Goldberg, E., Molony, R., Kudo, E. et al. Ketogenic diet activates protective γδ T cell responses against influenza virus infection. Science Immunology, 2019; 4(47). 

https://immunology.sciencemag.org/content/4/41/eaav2026

A New Way to Control Virus Vectors: Stimulating the Arthropod Immune System

Viral diseases spread by an arthropod vector are exceedingly difficult to control and counter. In a recently published study, researchers at Washington State University discovered a new way to control viral proliferation within arthropod vectors - by stimulating the immune system. Using genetic screening, they discovered an insulin-like receptor that is part of the arbovirus immune system. When stimulated, the receptor activates the JAK/STAT pathway - a key component of the antiviral innate immune response. With increased JAK/STAT activation, the arthropods demonstrated enhanced ability to prevent viral replication. The researchers started by looking at West Nile in fruit flies, and once that proved successful, they studied the effects of insulin on mosquitoes and found that it suppressed West Nile, Zika and dengue. This research has tremendous implications on the prevention of virulent ARBO diseases Most notably, deadly flaviviruses such as West Nile, Dengue and Zika are all spread by arthropods. Because there is no ‘cure’ for any of these diseases, prevention is the best/only way to limit casualties. Mosquito populations have proven difficult to control, necessitating alternative methods of limiting the spread of viral diseases. 

~ Avi Kaye

Article: Ahlers, L., Trammel, C., Carrell, G. et al. Insulin Potentiates JAK/STAT Signaling to Broadly Inhibit Flavivirus Replication in Insect Vectors. Cell Reports, 2019: 29(7): 1946-1960.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124719313294 

Solving Reo Transcription One Discovery at a Time

There is still much to learn about the activity of Reoviridae - our “weirdo” segmented dsRNA family. The viral family uses encapsidated RdRps to tightly regulate transitions between transcription and genome replication, both of which must be completed in the viral life cycle. A recently published article that conformation changes within enzymes and RNA “trajectories” support different transcriptional states and lead to an ‘ouroborous’ or circular model of genome replication that solves an equivalent of the ‘tip problem.’ Using cryo-EM structures, the researchers were able to visualize several distinct RdRp conformations including an ‘initiation’ state when interacting with the RNA replication fork, an elongation state that forms a transcription bubble, and an abortive state when releasing from the RNA. The shape and interactions within these conformations are consistent with a unique transcription technique within the cytoplasmic viral factories where each viral segment associates with a dedicated RdRp and minus strands are constantly recycled for both transcription and replication. It also offers mechanisms for regulating switches between transcription of viral mRNA and complete genome replication since an ‘abortive’ and ‘initiating’ RdRp can be found on the same particle. A criticism of the paper is that the authors only looked at canine parvovirus, potentially limiting generalizability, however the researchers are confident that the principles are conserved across reoviridae. 

~Avi Kaye

Article: Ogden, K. Reoviridae transcription is more than an open-and-shut case. Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, 2019. . 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41594-019-0328-5

Fluzone Completes Transition from Trivalent to Quadrivalent Vaccine After Latest FDA Approval

The FDA approved the high-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine Fluzone (Sanofi) for adults 65 and older earlier today, completing Fluzone's transition from a trivalent to a quadrivalent vaccine [1]

This quadrivalent version of Fluzone contains 2 influenza A and 2 influenza B strains: H1N1, H3N2, Victoria lineage, and Yamagata lineage. All strains are inactivated. With this new approval, Fluzone is now indicated for use in individuals 6 months and older. Contraindications include patients with a history of anaphylactic reactions to any component of the vaccine. Individuals with a history of Guillain-Barre after influenza vaccines should be evaluated on a case by case basis. Immunocompromised patients may still receive Fluzone, but immune response will likely be reduced [2].

This quadrivalent vaccine will be available at the start of next (2020-2021) influenza season, while the trivalent vaccine is currently available [1].

Jacob Thoenen

Sources:
1. FDA OKs Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine for Older Adults
2. Fluzone Quadrivalent Prescribing Information

Bats can infect humans?

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191101093854.htm

Found this super interesting article which claims that there is viral spillover between bats and humans, and evidence of this has been found in India. This usually happens through what is called "bat hunting" and bats biting humans in an effort to get away from them. Seems like a pretty avoidable thing to me. What's interesting about bats is that we have learned in class that Bats can cause pretty virulent diseases such as Marburg and Ebola.

Sincerely,

Abhinav Singh

Universal Flu Vaccine?

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191025094024.htm

I found this article super interesting. The prospect of having a universal flu vaccine is relatively foreign and by looking at the pathway of flu development (and targeting flu development proteins), a vaccine may be developed that serves this purpose. Testing the antibody that was discovered in humans in the future should lead to some pretty interesting results. I think that if this were to be implemented it would be interesting to see the potential financial impact it would have on society and how much money could be spared by not having to have as many booster shots.

-Abhinav Singh

The lasting immunological implications of measles

Two recent studies published on October 24., 2019 reveal that although patients, specifically children, can recover after measles diagnosis, lasting immunological implications can occur making children susceptible to other infections such as influenza and pneumonia years after initial infection. [1] This phenomena is due to "immune amnesia" which involves the measles virus wiping out about 11% to 73% of protective antibodies within children infected with the virus and even further the measles virus has been shown to wipe out most memory cells within infected children who hadn't been vaccinated. [2] Given its widespread and long-lasting implications, this recent discovery has underscored the importance of patients, specifically children, to receive an MMR vaccine. [2]

-Heman

Sources:
1) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/31/health/measles-vaccine-immune-system.html
2) https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/oct/31/measles-wipes-out-immune-systems-memory-study-finds

CRISPR as an antibiotic?

CRISPR has often been used to solved macroscopic tasks such as genetically altering mosquitoes in order to prevent the spread of malaria, curing some patients of certain diseases such as a common blood disorder: sickle cell disease, or helping to genetically engineer certain crops such as tomatoes for commercial benefit. However, it is recently being thought of as a solution to help address common issues among viruses including antibiotic resistance. A common problem among viruses is their innately rapid ability to replicate and adapt. A recent study conducted by Dr. David Edgell was able to utilize Cas9 (a CRISPR associated enzyme) in order to target a species of Salmonella by forcing it to make lethal cuts in its genome. Although it will still take a relatively long time in order to commercialize a CRISPR, therapeutic drug, recent studies have shown promise in the ability to target specific bacteria and viruses attacking our immune system.

-Heman

Sources:

1) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/28/health/crispr-genetics-antibiotic-resistance.html

What can we learn from viral morphology math?

I admit, sometimes in the Humans & Viruses class I wonder why we learn about certain enigmatic virology principles. For instance, how is triangulation number relevant other than being another classification system for viruses? However, a new mathematical model that describes icosahedral design once again proves that my skepticism unfounded. The researchers’ model is able to predict the exact position of proteins within an icosahedron. With a working model of viral construction, scientists can learn more about their physical properties, stability and tropogens, all of which contribute to developing strategies against viral replication and/or infection. Imagine a drug that selectively targets elements of capsid assembly and leaves healthy host cells unaffected. The mathematical model is also powerful enough to predict structures of large or exceedingly complex viruses, thereby saving time and resources put into solving structures via imaging that are also susceptible to inaccuracies and variation. I will no longer lament the struggle of learning T numbers. Instead, I will thank the power of mathematics and architecture that can give us insight into drug and anti-viral innovation.

~Avi Kaye

Article: Twarock, R., Luque, A. Structural puzzles in virology solved with an overarching icosahedral design principle. Nature Communications, 2019; 10: 4414.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12367-3