The legal and illegal trade in wildlife for food, medicine and other products is a globally significant threat to biodiversity that is also responsible for the emergence of pathogens that threaten human and livestock health and our global economy. Trade in wildlife likely played a role in the origin of COVID-19, and viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 have been identified in bats and pangolins, both traded widely. To investigate the possible role of pangolins as a source of potential zoonoses, we collected throat and rectal swabs from 334 Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica) confiscated in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah between August 2009 and March 2019. Total nucleic acid was extracted for viral molecular screening using conventional PCR protocols used to routinely identify known and novel viruses in extensive prior sampling (> 50,000 mammals). No sample yielded a positive PCR result for any of the targeted viral families-Coronaviridae, Filoviridae, Flaviviridae, Orthomyxoviridae and Paramyxoviridae. In the light of recent reports of coronaviruses including a SARS-CoV-2-related virus in Sunda pangolins in China, the lack of any coronavirus detection in our 'upstream' market chain samples suggests that these detections in 'downstream' animals more plausibly reflect exposure to infected humans, wildlife or other animals within the wildlife trade network. While confirmatory serologic studies are needed, it is likely that Sunda pangolins are incidental hosts of coronaviruses. Our findings further support the importance of ending the trade in wildlife globally.
Bat-borne viral diseases are a major public health concern among newly emerging infectious diseases which includes severe acute respiratory syndrome, Nipah, Marburg and Ebola virus disease. During the survey for Nipah virus among bats at North-East region of India; Tioman virus (TioV), a new member of the Paramyxoviridae family was isolated from tissues of Pteropus giganteus bats for the first time in India. This isolate was identified and confirmed by RT-PCR, sequence analysis and electron microscopy. A range of vertebrate cell lines were shown to be susceptible to Tioman virus. Negative electron microscopy study revealed the "herringbone" morphology of the nucleocapsid filaments and enveloped particles with distinct envelope projections a characteristic of the Paramyxoviridae family. Sequence analysis of Nucleocapsid gene of TioV demonstrated sequence identity of 99.87% and 99.99% nucleotide and amino acid respectively with of TioV strain isolated in Malaysia, 2001. This report demonstrates the first isolation of Tioman virus from a region where Nipah virus activity has been noticed in the past and recent years. Bat-borne viruses have become serious concern world-wide. A Survey of bats for novel viruses in this region would help in recognizing emerging viruses and combating diseases caused by them.
Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus (MrNV) has been threatening the giant freshwater prawn aquaculture since 1997, causing white tail disease in the prawn species that leads to 100% lethality of the infected postlarvae. Comprehension of the viral infectivity and pathogenesis at molecular biology level has recently resolved the viral capsid protein and evidenced the significant difference in the viral structural protein compared to other nodaviruses that infect fish and insect. Cumulative researches have remarked the proposal to assert MrNV as a member of new genus, gammanodavirus to the Nodaviridae family. The significance of molecular biology in MrNV infection is being highlighted in this current review, revolving the viral life cycle from virus binding and entry into host, virus replication in host cell, to virus assembly and release. The current review also highlights the emerging aptamers technology that is also known as synthetic antibody, its application in disease diagnosis, and its prophylactic and therapeutic properties. The future perspective of synthetic virology technology in understanding viral pathogenesis, as well as its potential in viral vaccine development, is also discussed.
Ever since the first reported case series on SARS-CoV-2-induced neurological manifestation in Wuhan, China in April 2020, various studies reporting similar as well as diverse symptoms of COVID-19 infection relating to the nervous system were published. Since then, scientists started to uncover the mechanism as well as pathophysiological impacts it has on the current understanding of the disease. SARS-CoV-2 binds to the ACE2 receptor which is present in certain parts of the body which are responsible for regulating blood pressure and inflammation in a healthy system. Presence of the receptor in the nasal and oral cavity, brain, and blood allows entry of the virus into the body and cause neurological complications. The peripheral and central nervous system could also be invaded directly in the neurogenic or hematogenous pathways, or indirectly through overstimulation of the immune system by cytokines which may lead to autoimmune diseases. Other neurological implications such as hypoxia, anosmia, dysgeusia, meningitis, encephalitis, and seizures are important symptoms presented clinically in COVID-19 patients with or without the common symptoms of the disease. Further, patients with higher severity of the SARS-CoV-2 infection are also at risk of retaining some neurological complications in the long-run. Treatment of such severe hyperinflammatory conditions will also be discussed, as well as the risks they may pose to the progression of the disease. For this review, articles pertaining information on the neurological manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 infection were gathered from PubMed and Google Scholar using the search keywords "SARS-CoV-2", "COVID-19", and "neurological dysfunction". The findings of the search were filtered, and relevant information were included.
Matched MeSH terms: Central Nervous System/virology; Dysgeusia/virology; Meningitis, Viral/virology; Nervous System Diseases/virology*; Seizures/virology; Peripheral Nervous System/virology; Encephalitis, Viral/virology
Dengue fever (DF) is an endemic infectious tropical disease and is rapidly becoming a global problem. Dengue fever is caused by one of the four dengue virus (DENV) serotypes and is spread by the female Aedes mosquito. Clinical manifestations of DF may range from asymptomatic to life-threatening severe illness with conditions of hemorrhagic fever and shock. Early and precise diagnosis is vital to avoid mortality from DF. A different approach is required to combat DF because of the challenges with the vaccines currently available, which are nonspecific; each is capable of causing cross-reaction and disease-enhancing antibody responses against the residual serotypes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to be implicated in DENV infection and are postulated to be involved in most of the host responses. Thus, they might be a suitable target for new strategies against the disease. The involvement of miRNAs in cellular activities and pathways during viral infections has been explored under numerous conditions. Interestingly, miRNAs have also been shown to be involved in viral replication. In this review, we summarize the role of known miRNAs, specifically the role of miRNA Let-7c (miR-Let-7c), miR-133a, miR-30e, and miR-146a, in the regulation of DENV replication and their possible effects on the initial immune reaction.
In vivo infection of mosquitoes is an important method to study and characterize arthropod-borne viruses. Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne alphavirus that is transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. In this chapter, we describe a protocol for infection of CHIKV in two species of Aedes mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, together with the isolation of CHIKV in different parts of the infected mosquito such as midgut, legs, wings, salivary gland, head, and saliva. This allows the study of viral infection, replication and dissemination within the mosquito vector.
The authors review common themes in the ecology of emerging viruses that cause neurological disease. Three issues emerge. First, 49% of emerging viruses are characterized by encephalitis or serious neurological clinical symptoms. Second, all of these viruses are driven to emerge by ecological, environmental, or human demographic changes, some of which are poorly understood. Finally, the control of these viruses would be enhanced by collaborative multidisciplinary research into these drivers of emergence. The authors highlight this review with a case study of Nipah virus, which emerged in Malaysia due largely to shifts in livestock production and alterations to reservoir host habitat. Collaboration between virologists, ecologists, disease modelers and wildlife biologists has been instrumental in retracing the factors involved in this virus's emergence.
Dengue viral antigens have been demonstrated in several types of naturally infected human tissues, but little is known of whether these same tissues have detectable viral RNA. We studied tissue specimens from patients with serologically or virologically confirmed dengue infections by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH), to localize viral antigen and RNA, respectively. IHC was performed on specimens obtained from 5 autopsies and 24 biopsies and on 20 blood-clot samples. For ISH, antisense riboprobes to the dengue E gene were applied to tissue specimens in which IHC was positive. Viral antigens were demonstrated in Kupffer and sinusoidal endothelial cells of the liver; macrophages, multinucleated cells, and reactive lymphoid cells in the spleen; macrophages and vascular endothelium in the lung; kidney tubules; and monocytes and lymphocytes in blood-clot samples. Positive-strand viral RNA was detected in the same IHC-positive cells found in the spleen and blood-clot samples. The strong, positive ISH signal in these cells indicated a high copy number of viral RNA, suggesting replication.
Dengue is of major concern around the world. Having no pathognomonic features that reliably distinguish it from other febrile illnesses, laboratory diagnosis is important for confirmation. Ideally, a dengue diagnostic test should be sensitive, specific and applicable from the onset of disease to 10 days post-infection.
Disease manifestation, pathology, and tissue tropism following infection with Tioman virus (TioPV), a newly isolated, bat-derived paramyxovirus, was investigated in subcutaneously (n = 12) and oronasally (n = 4) inoculated pigs. Pigs were either asymptomatic or developed pyrexia, but all of the animals produced neutralizing antibodies. The virus (viral antigen and/or genome) was detected in lymphocytes of the thymus, tonsils, spleen, lymph nodes and Peyer's patches (ileum), tonsillar epithelium, and thymic epithelioreticular cells. Virus was isolated from oral swabs but not from urine. Our findings suggest that the pig could act as an intermediate or amplifying host for TioPV and that oral secretion is a possible means of viral transmission.
Rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV) belongs to genus Tungrovirus within the family Caulimoviridae harbors circular double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). Rice tungro disease (RTD) caused by RTBV, responsible for severe rice yield losses in South and Southeast Asia. Here, we performed a systematic evolutionary and codon usage bias (CUB) analysis of RTBV genome sequences. We analysed different bioinformatics techniques to calculate the nucleotide compositions, the relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU), and other indices. The results indicated slightly or low codon usage bias in RTBV isolates. Mutation and natural selection pressures have equally contributed to this low codon usage bias. Additionally, multiple factors such as host, geographical distribution also affect codon usage patterns in RTBV genomes. RSCU analysis revealed that RTBV shows mutation bias and prefers A and U ended codons to code amino acids. Codon usage patterns of RTBV were also found to be influenced by its host. This indicates that RTBV have evolved codon usage patterns that are specific to its host. The findings from this study are expected to increase our understanding of factors leading to viral evolution and fitness with respect to hosts and the environment.