Global Virome Project and Disease X

A study published in 2017 stated that the most likely place to discover emerging pathogens would be to look among human and animal interactions, or for zoonotic viruses. In this paper, it is also stated that the majority of recent viral pandemics have been caused by zoonotic viruses, so the logical thing would be to find potentially novel zoonotic viruses that could be the cause of a future pandemic, or Disease X. Such a feat of identifying these viruses can be achieved through the newly announced Global Virome Project that will launch this year, whose sole goal is to find unknown viruses. The Global Virome Project would run over the next ten years and would cost 1.2 billion dollars to implement.

An already existing US Agency for International Development already works to prevent future pandemics by identifying zoonotic viruses, as this group has already discovered around 1,000 viruses that are zoonotic in nature. The only difference between USAID and the Global Virome Project would be that the Global Virome Project would be at a much larger scale.

Very excited to see how the Global Virome Project goes, and whether or not they can pinpoint ideal candidates for Disease X!

-Daniel Gutierrez

Sources:

http://www.contagionlive.com/news/global-virome-project-will-spend-next-10-years-identifying-unknown-viruses-in-the-wild

Vivian’s Bill and CMV

CMV. A usually asymptomatic virus that infects more than 50% of the US population by age 40, and a virus that is associated with birth defects. A virus that has had mediocre attention as to its impact on society, although gradual progress has been made to improve awareness of CMV related diseases and birth defects. One particular case put CMV in its much needed spotlight. Meet Vivian. She was born with hearing loss in her left ear due to a vertically transmitted CMV infection, where physicians also subsequently diagnosed her with Cerebral Palsy as well. 

As a result of this development in Vivian, Henrikson (her mother) decided to team up with Republican Kelly Fenton and Republican Woodberry to introduce a new bill into Congress that would require education of physicians and doctors on CMV treatment and prevention in Minnesota. Overall the bill would be speculated to cost $250,000 for a time period of two years.

Such a bill, if hypothetically implemented successfully, could then cause a ripple effect and spread throughout the US, raising awareness of CMV nationwide.

-Daniel Gutierrez

Sources:

http://www.fox9.com/news/vivians-bill-hopes-to-educate-doctors-parents-on-cytomegalovirus

Multi-Specific Antibodies for HIV-1!?

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a Principal Investigator at the Institute of Bioscience and Technology Research came up with a novel treatment of HIV that involves the usage of bioengineered antibodies. More specifically speaking, these bioengineered antibodies are called broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs), and have been shown prior to help reduce HIV infection in the early phases of infection. The current treatment for HIV infection revolves around the usage of combination drugs or the usage of multiple antiretroviral drugs that target specific processes in the retrovirus such as the integrase or the CCR5 co-receptor.  

One of the negatives of these new bNAbs is the fact that they are not associated with the long-time reduction in HIV viral load levels, given some properties of retroviruses such as HIV that involve a high mutation rate. However, the new novel bi-Nab (a bi-specific antibody that is the combination of two bNAbs) has proven to be 95% effective in neutralizing existing circulating HIV-1 virus, where the antibody was tested on 208 HIV strains that are prevalent in humans.  Furthermore, a tri-Nab has been synthesized, where it has been found to inhibit 99.5% of circulating HIV! Wow!

Such a finding certainly opens new doors in terms of treating HIV and developing novel combination treatments that would probably prove to be the most effective treatment for HIV to date.

-Daniel Gutierrez

Sources:

https://www.biospectrumindia.com/features/57/10588/multi-specific-antibodies-to-target-hiv-1-virus-strains.html

Measles alert in New Jersey and Michigan!

On March 6^th, the Michigan Health and Human Services Unit issued a statement that confirmed one case of measles among a traveler in the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Almost in the same interval of time, there was another confirmed case of measles in New Jersey that involved the infection of a young child who departed from the Newark Liberty International Airport on March 12^th . Measles, being very infectious in nature through the respiratory tract, could have easily transmitted to other individuals during the plane ride or at the respective airports. Because of it’s relatively long incubation period that varies from 7 to 28 days, measles has been stated to develop symptoms as late as in April 12^th in individuals who might have been exposed on March 12^th.

Since the year 2000, measles was declared eradicated from the US except for the occasional cases that involved traveling into or out of the US. The recent development highlights some important facts that must be taken into consideration. In recent years, anti-vaccination groups have picked up steam and have convinced a significantly concrete proportion of the US and world population to not vaccinate for fear of either getting autism (completely false and has been disproven by the whole scientific community) among other complications and objections (once again not backed by any credible data). Because of this unfortunate change in behavior in the US, there has been a progressively marked increase in the incidence of measles cases and outbreaks here in the US. Individuals who are immunocompromised, the very young, and people that cannot vaccinate against measles for some reason or another cannot be protected in this environment that is lacking in herd immunity, and thus even more lives are at stake as a result.

Bottom line, please vaccinate yourself, convince others to vaccinate as well. Vaccination is not only about your perceived health, but about the health of others in society as well.

-Daniel Gutierrez

Sources:

http://people.com/home/measles-alert-passengers-arriving-michigan-new-jersey/

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/meas.pdf

New Developments in Zika Virus Vaccine for Pregnant Women

In 2016, Zika was one of the hottest news topics in the world. Now, just a little over two years later, we barely hear anything about this virus. However, scientists are still working to develop a vaccine or treatment, especially for pregnant women, to help prevent the potentially debilitating effects of the virus (i.e. microcephaly).

Researchers at the University of Liverpool and Public Health England have started a £4.7 million project to develop a "ready to use" Zika vaccine for pregnant women who suspect they have been infected. It is very difficult to give pregnant women vaccines for safety reasons for both the mother and the child so the project will be challenging. However, this group is committed to developing a safe vaccine to prevent fetal abnormalities. They plan on creating a vaccine that is derived from a smallpox vaccine no longer in use. While this vaccine may take many years to be officially in use, the promise of potentially saving many lives of babies yet to be born is exciting.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-43156952

-Alexandra

Mumps Among Cheerleaders?

Last month, over 24,000 people gathered in the Convention Center in Dallas for an international cheerleading competition. All of these people just received letters saying they may have been exposed to Mumps over the weekend due to the recent evidence that one of the competitors recently came down with the virus. The virus is spread through saliva and mucus so it is hard to say who may have been infected. The good news is, while there is not a treatment for Mumps, it is generally not a very serious viral infection and presents itself in a fever, headaches, and swollen cheeks.

Most people are vaccinated against Mumps in the MMR vaccine. However, the efficacy of the vaccine can decrease over time. The cheerleaders who have already received two doses are being advised to get another booster vaccine within the next few days just for cautionary measures. For, while Chris Van Deusen of the Texas Department of State Health Services states that "For the vast majority of people, the risk is very, very low," there is still the possibility of severe infections of encephalitis. Additionally, Mumps can easily spread to immunocompromised individuals causing even worse infection. Whether or not this virus will spread to other states or even countries is not yet certain, but over the next few days keep your eyes out for a story in the news suggesting more people are showing signs of infection!

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cheerleaders-warned-about-mumps-exposure-after-national-competition-n854571 

- Alexandra

Hanta Virus Epidemic in Buenos Aires

   Public health officials in Argentina are reporting 10 more cases of Hantavirus this year than they saw in all of 2017.  Their alarm came after another woman was reported dead from the virus in a subdivision of Buenos Aires, the capital city.
    The Argentinean health department is warning people about rodents and the risks associated with sweeping up rodent feces, in a public health campaign.  They recommend cleaning all surfaces with bleach and using a handkerchief when cleaning. Their worry comes from the fact that most cases of hantavirus are spread from inhalation of the virus from rodent feces.
   The main vector in Argentina are long tailed rats.  The public health department is trying to also reduce human contact with these rats by telling people to close their doors and fill in any holes in their homes. 
      Hanta virus is not just a problem in Argentina, but also occurs in other arid areas in the Americas.  In the United States there are usually between 40 and 50 cases a year, most of which are clustered around the four corners region.   of Utah, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado. 
      Recent research has focussed on how environmental change has affected hantavirus transmission. There is thought that the increase of rain during an el niño year can increase the amount of plant production and therefore the rodent population in the area.  When there are more rodents there is more chance of having human rodent contact and more Hantaan virus can be spread around.   

- Chris Leboa
     


https://infocielo.com/nota/88777/se_registraron_17_casos_de_hantavirus_en_la_provincia_y_ya_hay_una_persona_fallecida/