Displaying publications 361 - 380 of 1514 in total

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  1. [Myocarditis caused by enteroviruses in Greece--and in Germany?]
    Braun R, Hassler D, Kimmig P
    Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr., 2002 Jun 21;127(25-26):1364.
    PMID: 12136792
    Matched MeSH terms: Enterovirus Infections/virology; Myocarditis/virology
  2. Aptamers isolated against mosquito-borne pathogens
    Navien TN, Yeoh TS, Anna A, Tang TH, Citartan M
    World J Microbiol Biotechnol, 2021 Jul 09;37(8):131.
    PMID: 34240263 DOI: 10.1007/s11274-021-03097-0
    Mosquito-borne diseases are a major threat to public health. The shortcomings of diagnostic tools, especially those that are antibody-based, have been blamed in part for the rising annual morbidity and mortality caused by these diseases. Antibodies harbor a number of disadvantages that can be clearly addressed by aptamers as the more promising molecular recognition elements. Aptamers are defined as single-stranded DNA or RNA oligonucleotides generated by SELEX that exhibit high binding affinity and specificity against a wide variety of target molecules based on their unique structural conformations. A number of aptamers were developed against mosquito-borne pathogens such as Dengue virus, Zika virus, Chikungunya virus, Plasmodium parasite, Francisella tularensis, Japanese encephalitis virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, Rift Valley fever virus and Yellow fever virus. Intrigued by these achievements, we carry out a comprehensive overview of the aptamers developed against these mosquito-borne infectious agents. Characteristics of the aptamers and their roles in diagnostic, therapeutic as well as other applications are emphasized.
    Matched MeSH terms: Culicidae/virology; Virus Diseases/virology
  3. Fulltext Discovery of Known and Novel Viruses in Wild and Cultivated Blueberry in Florida through Viral Metagenomic Approaches
    Saad N, Olmstead JW, Varsani A, Polston JE, Jones JB, Folimonova SY, et al.
    Viruses, 2021 Jun 18;13(6).
    PMID: 34207047 DOI: 10.3390/v13061165
    Southern highbush blueberry (interspecific hybrids of Vaccinium corymbosum L.) is cultivated near wild V. corymbosum as well as closely related species in Florida, USA. The expansion of blueberry cultivation into new areas in Florida and deployment of new cultivars containing viruses can potentially increase the diversity of viruses in wild and cultivated V. corymbosum. In this study, viral diversity in wild and cultivated blueberries (V. corymbosum) is described using a metagenomic approach. RNA viromes from V. corymbosum plants collected from six locations (two cultivated and four wild) in North Central Florida were generated by high throughput sequencing (HTS) and analyzed using a bioinformatic analysis pipeline. De novo assembled contigs obtained from viromes of both commercial and wild sites produced sequences with similarities to plant virus species from a diverse range of families (Amalgaviridae, Caulimoviridae, Endornaviridae, Ophioviridae, Phenuiviridae, and Virgaviridae). In addition, this study has enabled the identification of blueberry latent virus (BlLV) and blueberry mosaic associated ophiovirus (BlMaV) for the first time in Florida, as well as a tentative novel tepovirus (blueberry virus T) (BlVT) in blueberry. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that compares viral diversity in wild and cultivated blueberry using a metagenomic approach.
    Matched MeSH terms: Fruit/virology; Blueberry Plant/virology*
  4. Cross-species surveillance and risk factors associated with Avian Coronavirus in North-Central and South West Regions of Nigeria
    Daodu OB, Jokotola PT, Omowon AA, Olorunshola ID, Ahmed OA, Raufu IA, et al.
    Trop Biomed, 2021 Mar 01;38(1):28-32.
    PMID: 33797520 DOI: 10.47665/tb.38.1.005
    Infectious bronchitis viral (IBV) (Avian coronavirus) diseases is among the major reproductive diseases affecting the avian production in Africa. There is scanty information on its current status and vaccination compliance among captive wild birds (CWB) and indigenous chickens (LC) in Nigeria. This study aimed to assess the exposure and the risk factors associated with IBV in CWB and LC from North-central and South west regions of Nigeria. Sera samples from 218 LC and 43 CWB were examined for IBV IgG using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Also, owners of LC and managers of CWB were interviewed using a pre-tested structured checklist. An overall IBV prevalence of 42.9% (112/261) was obtained. Captive wild birds and indigenous chickens had 11.6% (5/43) and 49.1% (107/218) prevalence respectively with a significant difference (p< 0.0001, OR= 7.3, 95% CI= 2.8-19.3). Also, geo-location indicated significant difference in IBV exposure among birds (p<=0.034). Furthermore, the study showed that there had never been laboratory screening on all acquired wild birds for exposure to infectious agents in the study location while none of these birds (LB/CWB) had history of vaccination. Since IBV is endemic in Nigeria, the use of vaccine for prophylactic measure should be advocated among LC and CWB owners in order to avoid unnecessary losses. Also, the essence of screening for infectious agents in newly acquired wild birds should be considered crucial for health sustenance and public safety.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals, Wild/virology*; Chickens/virology*
  5. Detection of dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV-2) in population of Aedes mosquitoes from Sibu and Miri divisions of Sarawak using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and semi-nested PCR
    Harvie S, Nor Aliza AR, Lela S, Razitasham S
    Trop Biomed, 2020 Jun 01;37(2):258-272.
    PMID: 33612796
    Dengue has been a public health concern for many years in Malaysia. Having knowledge on the current circulating dengue serotypes and population of vector mosquitoes is key in controlling outbreaks and future outbreak predictions. The current study reports the first study on detecting dengue virus serotypes in the Aedes mosquito population in Sibu and Miri divisions of Sarawak. Mosquito samples were collected at selected localities from September 2016 to December 2017. Localities were selected mainly focussing on urban residential areas. The mosquitoes collected comprises of the field-caught adults and immatures collected from artificial and natural water containers. Collected mosquitoes were identified to species level and screened for the presence of dengue virus using conventional reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV-2) was identified in 3 pools of field-caught female Aedes albopictus adults collected from Jalan Tong Sang, Sibu, Sibu Lake Garden, and Taman Ceria, Permyjaya, Miri, respectively. DENV-2 was also detected in one pool of adult male Ae. albopictus emerged from immatures collected from Taman Ceria, Permyjaya, Miri. The findings in this study revealed that Ae. albopictus was the main species colonizing the study areas, and the current circulating dengue virus serotype was DENV-2. This study also reports the first natural evidence of transovarial transmission of dengue in the natural population of Ae. albopictus within the study area and provides information as reference for further vector-pathogen studies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Aedes/virology*; Mosquito Vectors/virology
  6. Fulltext Animal Coronavirus Diseases: Parallels with COVID-19 in Humans
    Lin CN, Chan KR, Ooi EE, Chiou MT, Hoang M, Hsueh PR, et al.
    Viruses, 2021 07 30;13(8).
    PMID: 34452372 DOI: 10.3390/v13081507
    Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel coronavirus in humans, has expanded globally over the past year. COVID-19 remains an important subject of intensive research owing to its huge impact on economic and public health globally. Based on historical archives, the first coronavirus-related disease recorded was possibly animal-related, a case of feline infectious peritonitis described as early as 1912. Despite over a century of documented coronaviruses in animals, the global animal industry still suffers from outbreaks. Knowledge and experience handling animal coronaviruses provide a valuable tool to complement our understanding of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this review, we present an overview of coronaviruses, clinical signs, COVID-19 in animals, genome organization and recombination, immunopathogenesis, transmission, viral shedding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. By drawing parallels between COVID-19 in animals and humans, we provide perspectives on the pathophysiological mechanisms by which coronaviruses cause diseases in both animals and humans, providing a critical basis for the development of effective vaccines and therapeutics against these deadly viruses.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animal Diseases/virology*; Coronavirus Infections/virology*
  7. IL-8 as a potential in-vitro severity biomarker for dengue disease
    Soo KM, Tham CL, Khalid B, Basir R, Chee HY
    Trop Biomed, 2019 Dec 01;36(4):1027-1037.
    PMID: 33597472
    Dengue is a common infection, caused by dengue virus. There are four different dengue serotypes, with different capacity to cause severe dengue infections. Besides, secondary infections with heterologous serotypes, concurrent infections of multiple dengue serotypes may alter the severity of dengue infection. This study aims to compare the severity of single infection and concurrent infections of different combinations of dengue serotypes in-vitro. Human mast cells (HMC)-1.1 were infected with single and concurrent infections of multiple dengue serotypes. The infected HMC-1.1 supernatant was then added to human umbilical cord vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) and severity of dengue infections was measured by the percentage of transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER). Levels of IL10, CXCL10 and sTRAIL in HMC-1.1 and IL-8, IL-10 and CXCL10 in HUVEC culture supernatants were measured by the ELISA assays. The result showed that the percentage of TEER values were significantly lower in single infections (p< 0.05), compared to concurrent infections on day 2 and 3, indicating that single infection increase endothelial permeability greater than concurrent infections. IL-8 showed moderate correlation with endothelial permeability (r > 0.4), indicating that IL-8 may be suitable as an in-vitro severity biomarker. In conclusion, this in-vitro model presented few similarities with regards to the conditions in dengue patients, suggesting that it could serve as a severity model to test for severity and levels of severity biomarkers upon different dengue virus infections.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mast Cells/virology; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells/virology
  8. Detection and differentiation of opportunistic viral infections potentially contributing to renal graft rejection by tetraplex-nested PCR
    Ashouri Saheli Z, Shenagari M, Harzandi N, Monfared A
    Trop Biomed, 2019 Sep 01;36(3):766-775.
    PMID: 33597498
    The need for an intensive care protocol, sometimes weekly or biweekly, has led to a significant increase in laboratory costs for kidney recipients. In the present study, an inhouse tetraplex nested PCR assay was developed and validated for the specific detection of BKV, JCV, HCMV and EBV in clinical samples. We determined the Limit of Detection (LOD) and analytical specificity. To demonstrate the diagnostic performance of the assay, a total of 102 archival plasma samples were tested and compared with a commercial uniplex real-time PCR kits. The analytical sensitivity of the in-house tetraplex nested PCR assay was 173 copies/ml, when all four viruses were present in the specimens. These values were 79.2, 58.7, 87.6 and 96.1 copies/ml when only, BKV, JCV, HCMV and EBV respectively, were present. The cross-reactivity assays were shown no detectable signal in the tetraplex PCR results. The estimated diagnostic sensitivities were 92.6% for BKV, 92.3% for JCV and 100% for both HCMV and EBV as compared with commercial kits. Regarding the sensitivity and specificity, it seems that the developed Multiplex Nested PCR assay could be used as a reliable virusassociated renal rejection (VRR) panel in post renal transplant surveillance.
    Matched MeSH terms: Graft Rejection/virology*; Opportunistic Infections/virology*
  9. Knowledge, attitude and health seeking practice on bats-borne diseases among residents of Tioman Island, Malaysia
    Mohamed NA, Said MH, Mohd Rani MD, Ramli S, Isahak I
    Trop Biomed, 2019 Sep 01;36(3):709-717.
    PMID: 33597493
    Bats are slowly gaining recognition as a potential reservoir for viruses harmful to human (Smith and Wang, 2013). Bats are reservoir to viruses causing Ebola virus diseases (EBV) (Leroy et al., 2005), Nipah Encephalitis (NiV) (Chua et al., 2002), SARS(Li et al., 2005) and MERS-CoV (Yang et al., 2015) being the latest one making headlines. About 18 years ago, a major outbreak of Nipah virus encephalitis occurred in Peninsular Malaysia resulted in the deaths of 105 persons and the slaughter of approximately 1.1 million pigs. In 2006, a novel bat orthoreovirus was found to be associated with acute respiratory syndrome in Malaysia. Following that incidents, many studies have been done on bats, particularly to determine their species, behaviour, and antibody level and there were also studies in human on antibody prevalence to batsrelated viruses e.g. Nipah and Hendra and PRV. Humans may become infected with viruses from bats through intermediate host (swine, horse) or through aerosol or direct contact with bats. Communities living adjacent to bat roosts should aware of possible risk of infection transmission from bats. An earlier study in Guatemala demonstrated that risk of exposure to bats in communities near bats roosts was common, but recognition of the potential for disease transmission from bats was low (Moran et al., 2015). Surprisingly, there is no local published data on public awareness towards bats-related infection despite potential risk of getting the infection. This study aimed to determine knowledge and awareness on bat-related infections, attitudes towards bats and practices related to health-seeking behaviours following exposure to bats.
    Matched MeSH terms: Chiroptera/virology*; Disease Reservoirs/virology
  10. Fulltext Genome and Ecology of a Novel Alteromonas Podovirus, ZP6, Representing a New Viral Genus, Mareflavirus
    Wang Z, Zhang F, Liang Y, Zheng K, Gu C, Zhang W, et al.
    Microbiol Spectr, 2021 10 31;9(2):e0046321.
    PMID: 34643440 DOI: 10.1128/Spectrum.00463-21
    Alteromonas is a ubiquitous, abundant, copiotrophic and phytoplankton-associated marine member of the Gammaproteobacteria with a range extending from tropical waters to polar regions and including hadal zones. Here, we describe a novel Alteromonas phage, ZP6, that was isolated from surface coastal waters of Qingdao, China. ZP6 contains a linear, double-stranded, 38,080-bp DNA molecule with 50.1% G+C content and 47 putative open reading frames (ORFs). Three auxiliary metabolic genes were identified, encoding metal-dependent phosphohydrolase, diaminopurine synthetase, and nucleotide pyrophosphohydrolase. The first two ORFs facilitate the replacement of adenine (A) by diaminopurine (Z) in phage genomes and help phages to evade attack from host restriction enzymes. The nucleotide pyrophosphohydrolase enables the host cells to stop programmed cell death and improves the survival rate of the host in a nutrient-depleted environment. Phylogenetic analysis based on the amino acid sequences of whole genomes and comparative genomic analysis revealed that ZP6 is most closely related to Enhodamvirus but with low similarity (shared genes, <30%, and average nucleotide sequence identity, <65%); it is distinct from other bacteriophages. Together, these results suggest that ZP6 could represent a novel viral genus, here named Mareflavirus. Combining its ability to infect Alteromonas, its harboring of a diaminopurine genome-biosynthetic system, and its representativeness of an understudied viral group, ZP6 could be an important and novel model system for marine virus research. IMPORTANCE Alteromonas is an important symbiotic bacterium of phytoplankton, but research on its bacteriophages is still at an elementary level. Our isolation and genome characterization of a novel Alteromonas podovirus, ZP6, identified a new viral genus of podovirus, namely, Mareflavirus. The ZP6 genome, with a diaminopurine genome-biosynthetic system, is different from those of other isolated Alteromonas phages and will bring new impetus to the development of virus classification and provide important insights into novel viral sequences from metagenomic data sets.
    Matched MeSH terms: Seawater/virology; Alteromonas/virology*
  11. Fulltext Dengue fever and insecticide resistance in Aedes mosquitoes in Southeast Asia: a review
    Gan SJ, Leong YQ, Bin Barhanuddin MFH, Wong ST, Wong SF, Mak JW, et al.
    Parasit Vectors, 2021 Jun 10;14(1):315.
    PMID: 34112220 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-021-04785-4
    Dengue fever is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease in Southeast Asia. Insecticides remain the most effective vector control approach for Aedes mosquitoes. Four main classes of insecticides are widely used for mosquito control: organochlorines, organophosphates, pyrethroids and carbamates. Here, we review the distribution of dengue fever from 2000 to 2020 and its associated mortality in Southeast Asian countries, and we gather evidence on the trend of insecticide resistance and its distribution in these countries since 2000, summarising the mechanisms involved. The prevalence of resistance to these insecticides is increasing in Southeast Asia, and the mechanisms of resistance are reported to be associated with target site mutations, metabolic detoxification, reduced penetration of insecticides via the mosquito cuticle and behavioural changes of mosquitoes. Continuous monitoring of the status of resistance and searching for alternative control measures will be critical for minimising any unpredicted outbreaks and improving public health. This review also provides improved insights into the specific use of insecticides for effective control of mosquitoes in these dengue endemic countries.
    Matched MeSH terms: Larva/virology; Mosquito Vectors/virology
  12. Fulltext Lung Infection Segmentation for COVID-19 Pneumonia Based on a Cascade Convolutional Network from CT Images
    Ranjbarzadeh R, Jafarzadeh Ghoushchi S, Bendechache M, Amirabadi A, Ab Rahman MN, Baseri Saadi S, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:5544742.
    PMID: 33954175 DOI: 10.1155/2021/5544742
    The COVID-19 pandemic is a global, national, and local public health concern which has caused a significant outbreak in all countries and regions for both males and females around the world. Automated detection of lung infections and their boundaries from medical images offers a great potential to augment the patient treatment healthcare strategies for tackling COVID-19 and its impacts. Detecting this disease from lung CT scan images is perhaps one of the fastest ways to diagnose patients. However, finding the presence of infected tissues and segment them from CT slices faces numerous challenges, including similar adjacent tissues, vague boundary, and erratic infections. To eliminate these obstacles, we propose a two-route convolutional neural network (CNN) by extracting global and local features for detecting and classifying COVID-19 infection from CT images. Each pixel from the image is classified into the normal and infected tissues. For improving the classification accuracy, we used two different strategies including fuzzy c-means clustering and local directional pattern (LDN) encoding methods to represent the input image differently. This allows us to find more complex pattern from the image. To overcome the overfitting problems due to small samples, an augmentation approach is utilized. The results demonstrated that the proposed framework achieved precision 96%, recall 97%, F score, average surface distance (ASD) of 2.8 ± 0.3 mm, and volume overlap error (VOE) of 5.6 ± 1.2%.
    Matched MeSH terms: Lung/virology; Pneumonia, Viral/virology
  13. Fulltext Effects of newcastle disease virus strains AF2240 and V4-UPM on cytolysis and apoptosis of leukemia cell lines
    Alabsi AM, Bakar SA, Ali R, Omar AR, Bejo MH, Ideris A, et al.
    Int J Mol Sci, 2011;12(12):8645-60.
    PMID: 22272097 DOI: 10.3390/ijms12128645
    Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is used as an antineoplastic agent in clinical tumor therapy. It has prompted much interest as an anticancer agent because it can replicate up to 10,000 times better in human cancer cells than in most normal cells. This study was carried out to determine the oncolytic potential of NDV strain AF2240 and V4-UPM on WEHI-3B leukemia cell line. Results from MTT cytotoxicity assay showed that the CD(50) values for both strains were 2 and 8 HAU for AF2240 and V4-UPM, respectively. In addition, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and trypan blue dye exclusion assays showed inhibition in cell proliferation after different periods. Increase in the cellular level of caspase-3 and detection of DNA laddering using agarose gel electrophoresis on treated cells with NDV confirmed that the mode of cell death was apoptosis. In addition, flow-cytometry analysis of cellular DNA content showed that the virus caused an increase in the sub-G1 region (apoptosis peaks). In conclusion, NDV strains AF2240 and V4-UPM caused cytolytic effects against WEHI-3B leukemic cell line.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood Cells/virology*; Fibroblasts/virology
  14. Fulltext Interdisciplinary approaches to understanding disease emergence: the past, present, and future drivers of Nipah virus emergence
    Daszak P, Zambrana-Torrelio C, Bogich TL, Fernandez M, Epstein JH, Murray KA, et al.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2013 Feb 26;110 Suppl 1:3681-8.
    PMID: 22936052 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1201243109
    Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) pose a significant threat to human health, economic stability, and biodiversity. Despite this, the mechanisms underlying disease emergence are still not fully understood, and control measures rely heavily on mitigating the impact of EIDs after they have emerged. Here, we highlight the emergence of a zoonotic Henipavirus, Nipah virus, to demonstrate the interdisciplinary and macroecological approaches necessary to understand EID emergence. Previous work suggests that Nipah virus emerged due to the interaction of the wildlife reservoir (Pteropus spp. fruit bats) with intensively managed livestock. The emergence of this and other henipaviruses involves interactions among a suite of anthropogenic environmental changes, socioeconomic factors, and changes in demography that overlay and interact with the distribution of these pathogens in their wildlife reservoirs. Here, we demonstrate how ecological niche modeling may be used to investigate the potential role of a changing climate on the future risk for Henipavirus emergence. We show that the distribution of Henipavirus reservoirs, and therefore henipaviruses, will likely change under climate change scenarios, a fundamental precondition for disease emergence in humans. We assess the variation among climate models to estimate where Henipavirus host distribution is most likely to expand, contract, or remain stable, presenting new risks for human health. We conclude that there is substantial potential to use this modeling framework to explore the distribution of wildlife hosts under a changing climate. These approaches may directly inform current and future management and surveillance strategies aiming to improve pathogen detection and, ultimately, reduce emergence risk.
    Matched MeSH terms: Chiroptera/virology; Henipavirus Infections/virology
  15. Fulltext Comparing the usefulness of the 1997 and 2009 WHO dengue case classification: a systematic literature review
    Horstick O, Jaenisch T, Martinez E, Kroeger A, See LL, Farrar J, et al.
    Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2014 Sep;91(3):621-34.
    PMID: 24957540 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.13-0676
    The 1997 and 2009 WHO dengue case classifications were compared in a systematic review with 12 eligible studies (4 prospective). Ten expert opinion articles were used for discussion. For the 2009 WHO classification studies show: when determining severe dengue sensitivity ranges between 59-98% (88%/98%: prospective studies), specificity between 41-99% (99%: prospective study) - comparing the 1997 WHO classification: sensitivity 24.8-89.9% (24.8%/74%: prospective studies), specificity: 25%/100% (100%: prospective study). The application of the 2009 WHO classification is easy, however for (non-severe) dengue there may be a risk of monitoring increased case numbers. Warning signs validation studies are needed. For epidemiological/pathogenesis research use of the 2009 WHO classification, opinion papers show that ease of application, increased sensitivity (severe dengue) and international comparability are advantageous; 3 severe dengue criteria (severe plasma leakage, severe bleeding, severe organ manifestation) are useful research endpoints. The 2009 WHO classification has clear advantages for clinical use, use in epidemiology is promising and research use may at least not be a disadvantage.
    Matched MeSH terms: Dengue/virology; Severe Dengue/virology
  16. Fulltext Subclinical infection without encephalitis in mice following intranasal exposure to Nipah virus-Malaysia and Nipah virus-Bangladesh
    Dups J, Middleton D, Long F, Arkinstall R, Marsh GA, Wang LF
    Virol J, 2014;11:102.
    PMID: 24890603 DOI: 10.1186/1743-422X-11-102
    Nipah virus and Hendra virus are closely related and following natural or experimental exposure induce similar clinical disease. In humans, encephalitis is the most serious outcome of infection and, hitherto, research into the pathogenesis of henipavirus encephalitis has been limited by the lack of a suitable model. Recently we reported a wild-type mouse model of Hendra virus (HeV) encephalitis that should facilitate detailed investigations of its neuropathogenesis, including mechanisms of disease recrudescence. In this study we investigated the possibility of developing a similar model of Nipah virus encephalitis.
    Matched MeSH terms: Lung/virology; Henipavirus Infections/virology*
  17. Fulltext Influenza seasonality and vaccination timing in tropical and subtropical areas of southern and south-eastern Asia
    Saha S, Chadha M, Al Mamun A, Rahman M, Sturm-Ramirez K, Chittaganpitch M, et al.
    Bull World Health Organ, 2014 May 01;92(5):318-30.
    PMID: 24839321 DOI: 10.2471/BLT.13.124412
    OBJECTIVE: To characterize influenza seasonality and identify the best time of the year for vaccination against influenza in tropical and subtropical countries of southern and south-eastern Asia that lie north of the equator.

    METHODS: Weekly influenza surveillance data for 2006 to 2011 were obtained from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. Weekly rates of influenza activity were based on the percentage of all nasopharyngeal samples collected during the year that tested positive for influenza virus or viral nucleic acid on any given week. Monthly positivity rates were then calculated to define annual peaks of influenza activity in each country and across countries.

    FINDINGS: Influenza activity peaked between June/July and October in seven countries, three of which showed a second peak in December to February. Countries closer to the equator had year-round circulation without discrete peaks. Viral types and subtypes varied from year to year but not across countries in a given year. The cumulative proportion of specimens that tested positive from June to November was > 60% in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. Thus, these tropical and subtropical countries exhibited earlier influenza activity peaks than temperate climate countries north of the equator.

    CONCLUSION: Most southern and south-eastern Asian countries lying north of the equator should consider vaccinating against influenza from April to June; countries near the equator without a distinct peak in influenza activity can base vaccination timing on local factors.

    Matched MeSH terms: Influenza, Human/virology*; Nasal Mucosa/virology
  18. Fulltext The clinical features and outcomes of acute liver failure associated with dengue infection in adults: a case series
    Tan SS, Bujang MA
    Braz J Infect Dis, 2013 Mar-Apr;17(2):164-9.
    PMID: 23453417 DOI: 10.1016/j.bjid.2012.09.007
    OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical manifestations and outcome of acute liver failure (ALF) associated with dengue viral infection, a rare but severe complication.
    METHODS: One hundred and fifty five consecutive patients with ALF admitted to the national liver centre from 2001 to 2009 were reviewed retrospectively. Eight cases due to dengue infection were identified and their clinical characteristics are described.
    RESULTS: All patients had severe dengue with one dengue shock syndrome. The median (minimum, maximum) age was 33.5 (17, 47) years with 50% female. The median (minimum, maximum) duration from the onset of fever to development of ALF was 7.5 (5, 13) days and the maximum hepatic encephalopathy (HE) grade were III in five patients and II in three patients. Three patients had systemic inflammatory responses (SIRS) on admission and were in grade III HE. The presence of SIRS on admission was associated with higher grade of HE and its development during the course of hospitalization was associated with worsening HE grade. The hepatitis was characterized by marked elevations in: alanine transaminase [median admission 1140.5 u/L (639, 4161); median peak 2487 u/L (998, 5181)], serum bilirubin [median admission 29 μmol/L (23, 291); median peak 127 μmol/L (72, 592)], and prothrombin time [median admission 16.8s (15.3, 26.2); median peak 22s (15.3, 40.7)]. The survival rate with standard medical therapy alone was 100%.
    CONCLUSIONS: Dengue associated ALF manifest about one week after the onset of fever with severe hepatitis and encephalopathy. In our experience, the outcome with standard medical therapy alone is excellent.
    Matched MeSH terms: Hepatitis, Viral, Human/virology*; Liver Failure, Acute/virology*
  19. Fulltext Acute flaccid paralysis surveillance: looking beyond the global poliomyelitis eradication initiative
    Saraswathy TS, Zahrin HN, Apandi MY, Kurup D, Rohani J, Zainah S, et al.
    Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health, 2008 Nov;39(6):1033-9.
    PMID: 19062691
    In 1992 surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases was introduced in Malaysia along with the establishment of a national referral laboratory at the Institute for Medical Research. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence, viral etiology and clinical picture of AFP cases below 15 years of age, reported from 2002 to 2007. Six hundred seventy-eight of 688 reported cases were confirmed as AFP by expert review. The clinical presentation of acute flaccid paralysis in these cases was diverse, the most commonly reported being Guillian-Barre syndrome (32.3%). Sixty-nine viruses were isolated in this study. They were Sabin poliovirus (25), Echovirus (22), Cocksackie B (11), EV71 (5), Cocksackie A (1), and untypable (5). Malaysia has been confirmed as free from wild polio since the surveillance was established.
    Matched MeSH terms: Paraplegia/virology*; Virus Diseases/virology*
  20. Fulltext Lessons from the Nipah virus outbreak in Malaysia
    Looi LM, Chua KB
    Malays J Pathol, 2007 Dec;29(2):63-7.
    PMID: 19108397 MyJurnal
    The Nipah virus outbreak in Malaysia (September 1998 to May 1999) resulted in 265 cases of acute encephalitis with 105 deaths, and near collapse of the billion-dollar pig-farming industry. Because it was initially attributed to Japanese encephalitis, early control measures were ineffective, and the outbreak spread to other parts of Malaysia and nearby Singapore. The isolation of the novel aetiological agent, the Nipah virus (NiV), from the cerebrospinal fluid of an outbreak victim was the turning point which led to outbreak control 2 months later. Together with the Hendra virus, NiV is now recognised as a new genus, Henipavirus (Hendra + Nipah), in the Paramyxoviridae family. Efforts of the local and international scientific community have since elucidated the epidemiology, clinico-pathophysiology and pathogenesis of this new disease. Humans contracted the infection from close contact with infected pigs, and formed the basis for pig-culling that eventually stopped the outbreak. NiV targeted medium-sized and small blood vessels resulting in endothelial multinucleated syncytia and fibrinoid necrosis. Autopsies revealed disseminated cerebral microinfarctions resulting from vasculitis-induced thrombosis and direct neuronal involvement. The discovery of NiV in the urine and saliva of Malaysian Island flying foxes (Pteropus hypomelanus and Petropus vampyrus) implicated these as natural reservoir hosts of NiV. It is probable that initial transmission of NiV from bats to pigs occurred in late 1997/early 1998 through contamination of pig swill by bat excretions, as a result of migration of these forest fruitbats to cultivated orchards and pig-farms, driven by fruiting failure of forest trees during the El Nino-related drought and anthropogenic fires in Indonesia in 1997-1998. This outbreak emphasizes the need for sharing information of any unusual illnesses in animals and humans, an open-minded approach and close collaboration and co-ordination between the medical profession, veterinarians and wildlife specialists in the investigation of such illnesses. Environmental mismanagement (such as deforestation and haze) has far-reaching effects, including encroachment of wildlife into human habitats and the introduction of zoonotic infections into domestic animals and humans.
    Matched MeSH terms: Chiroptera/virology; Swine/virology
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