Transmission Of Viral Diseases Research Articles

Past, Present and Future about Ebola Virus Diseases: An Updated Review

Ebola virus is responsible for the Ebola virus diseases. The epidemic of Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a deadly disease of animal can also be transmitted to human and non-human primates. The virulence of Ebola virus involved in several immune evasion mechanisms that include an inhibition of type I interferon responsible for innate immunity, epitope masking, etc. recently Ebola virus is sexually transmitted which was reported in Liberia has associated with new clusters in regions previously declared Ebola-free. There is no appropriate antiviral vaccine or therapy is not available to work against EBOV infection in humans. However, supportive recovery practices are performed include high-fluid intake, ventilator support and broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy. The treatment and diagnosis is very important because these kind of dangerous viruses are possibly used for bio-weapons. The present review describes briefly about virology, epidemiology, pathophysiology, transmission, diagnosis and treatment of Ebola viral disease. Key words : Ebola virus, Filovirus, RT-PCR, Drug, Vaccine Development.

The Effect of Community-Based Prevention and Care on Ebola Transmission in Sierra Leone.

To examine the acceptability, use, effects on early isolation, and contribution to Ebola virus disease (EVD) transmission of Community Care Centers (CCCs), which were rapidly deployed in Sierra Leone during an accelerated phase of the 2014-2015 EVD epidemic. Focus group discussions, triads, and key informant interviews assessed acceptability of the CCCs. Facility registers, structured questionnaires, and laboratory records documented use, admission, and case identification. We estimated transmission effects by comparing time between symptom onset and isolation at CCCs relative to other facilities with the national Viral Hemorrhagic Fever data set. Between November 2014 and January 2015, 46 CCCs were operational. Over 13 epidemic weeks, 6129 patients were triaged identifying 719 (12%) EVD suspects. Community acceptance was high despite initial mistrust. Nearly all patients presented to CCCs outside the national alert system. Isolation of EVD suspects within 4 days of symptoms was higher in CCCs compared with other facilities (85% vs 49%; odds ratio = 6.0; 95% confidence interval = 4.0, 9.1), contributing to a 13% to 32% reduction in the EVD reproduction number (Ro). Community-based approaches to prevention and care can reduce Ebola transmission.

All aboard the disease train

Viral Economics![Figure][1] Expanded transportation networks have increased the transmission of viral diseases in France PHOTO: © EVGENY PROKOFYEV/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO Economic booms and improved transportation may come with a costly downside: increased transmission of viral diseases. Adda studied 25 years of weekly disease surveillance reports from across France, focusing on influenza, gastroenteritis, and chickenpox. He found that rail-worker strikes, which diminished travel, limited disease transmission, whereas the expansion of high-speed rail to new regions promoted disease spread. The estimated cost of this increased health burden was of the same magnitude as the benefit of improved travel. In times of economic prosperity, travel increased, driving up disease transmission. The impacts of holiday school closures suggest that, although closing schools during outbreaks could limit disease spread, this is not cost-effective in the light of lost learning and subsequent earning. Quart. J. Econ. , (2016). [1]: pending:yes

Mosquitocidal Activity of Extracts from <i>Ammi visnaga </i>(Apiaceae) Seeds

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are responsible for transmission of many viral diseases, such as Zika fever, dengue fever, yellow fever, and chikungunya. Emergence of resistance to currently used pesticides among mosquitoes has increased the importance for the search for novel mosquito control agents. Natural products, particularly plant and microbe derived secondary metabolites, are good sources in the search for such compounds. Ammi visnaga (Lam.) Lamarck is a plant in the Apiaceae family native to North Africa, Europe, and Asia. In the search for environmentally benign and effective insecticides as part of an ongoing joint effort between the USDA (US Department of Agriculture) and the DWFP (Deployed War Fighter Protection) program sponsored by the Department of Defense, we have investigated ethyl acetate extract of A. visnaga seeds. Two furanochromones, khellin and visnagin that exhibited larvicide activity against Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the seeds by bioassay-guided fractionation. This is the first report of mosquito larvicidal activity of khellin and visnagin.

Developing Anti-tick Vaccines.

Ticks are responsible for the transmission of viral, bacterial, and protozoal diseases of man and animals and also produce significant economic losses to cattle industry. The use of acaricides constitutes a major component of integrated tick control strategies. However, this is accompanied by the selection of acaricide-resistant ticks and contamination of environment and milk and meat products with drug residues. These issues highlight the need for alternative approaches to control tick infestations and have triggered the search for tick protective antigens for vaccine development. Vaccination as a tick control method has been practiced since the introduction of TickGARD and Gavac that were developed using the midgut glycoprotein Bm86 as antigen. Gavac within integrated tick management systems has proven to reduce the number of acaricidal applications per year that are required to control some strains of R. microplus ticks in different geographical regions. Nevertheless, it has limited or no efficacy against other tick species. These issues have stimulated research for additional tick protective antigens with critical functions in the tick. This chapter presents methodologies for the design and test of molecules as antigens against ticks. Considerations about different methods for the tick control compared to the immunological methods, the desirable characteristics for an anti-tick vaccine and the obstacles encountered for developing this kind of vaccines are discussed. Detailed methodologies for the establishment of a biological model to test new molecules as immunogens against ticks and to perform challenge trials with this model are presented. General considerations in the efficacy calculation for any anti-tick vaccine are also discussed.

Zika virus disease: An obscure disease which became a public health emergency

Zika virus remained in relative obscurity for many years, but within a period of just 1 year, it has spread into Brazil, Pacific Island, and throughout the Americas. Zika virus disease has become the fetal infectious disease which is associated with human birth defects and created such global havoc that the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern. This review summarizes the transmission, distribution, clinical features, diagnosis, prevention, and future perspectives of Zika virus disease.

Identification of HIV Mutation as Diagnostic Biomarker through Next Generation Sequencing.

Current clinical detection of Human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) is used to target viral genes and proteins. However, the immunoassay, such as viral culture or Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), lacks accuracy in the diagnosis, as these conventional assays rely on the stable genome and HIV-1 is a highly-mutated virus. Next generation sequencing (NGS) promises to be transformative for the practice of infectious disease, and the rapidly reducing cost and processing time mean that this will become a feasible technology in diagnostic and research laboratories in the near future. The technology offers the superior sensitivity to detect the pathogenic viruses, including unknown and unexpected strains. To leverage the NGS technology in order to improve current HIV-1 diagnosis and genotyping methods. Ten blood samples were collected from HIV-1 infected patients which were diagnosed by RT PCR at Singapore Communicable Disease Centre, Tan Tock Seng Hospital from October 2014 to March 2015. Viral RNAs were extracted from blood plasma and reversed into cDNA. The HIV-1 cDNA samples were cleaned up using a PCR purification kit and the sequencing library was prepared and identified through MiSeq. Two common mutations were observed in all ten samples. The common mutations were identified at genome locations 1908 and 2104 as missense and silent mutations respectively, conferring S37N and S3S found on aspartic protease and reverse transcriptase subunits. The common mutations identified in this study were not previously reported, therefore suggesting the potential for them to be used for identification of viral infection, disease transmission and drug resistance. This was especially the case for, missense mutation S37N which could cause an amino acid change in viral proteases thus reducing the binding affinity of some protease inhibitors. Thus, the unique common mutations identified in this study could be used as diagnostic biomarkers to indicate the origin of infection as being from Singapore.

Ebinformatics: Ebola fuzzy informatics systems on the diagnosis, prediction and recommendation of appropriate treatments for Ebola virus disease (EVD)

Abstract Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) also known as the Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a very deadly infectious disease to humankind. Therefore, a safer and complementary method of diagnosis is to employ the use of an expert system in order to initiate a platform for pre-clinical treatments, thus acting as a precursor to comprehensive medical diagnosis and treatments. This work presents a design and implementation of informatics software and a knowledge-based expert system for the diagnosis, and provision of recommendations on the appropriate type of recommended treatment to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). In this research an Ebola fuzzy informatics system was developed for the purpose of diagnosing and providing useful recommendations to the management of the EVD in West Africa and other affected regions of the world. It also acts as a supplementary resource in providing medical advice to individuals in Ebola – ravaged countries. This aim was achieved through the following objectives: (i) gathering of facts through the conduct of a comprehensive continental survey to determine the knowledge and perception level of the public about factors responsible for the transmission of the Ebola Virus Disease (ii) develop an informatics software based on information collated from health institutions on basic diagnosis of the Ebola Virus Disease-related symptoms (iii) adopting and marrying the knowledge of fuzzy logic and expert systems in developing the informatics software. Necessary requirements were collated from the review of existing expert systems, consultation of journals and articles, and internet sources. Online survey was conducted to determine the level at which individuals are aware of the factors responsible for the transmission of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). The expert system developed, was designed to use fuzzy logic as its inference mechanism along with a set of rules. A knowledge base was created to help provide diagnosis on the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). The Root Sum Square (RSS) was adopted as a fuzzy inference method. The degree of participation of each input parameter was shown using the triangular membership function and the defuzzification technique used is the Center of Gravity (CoG). The resulting software produced a user-friendly desktop-based, Windows-based, application and the tools used were explained in the results section in three (3) separate phases. First, a comprehensive online survey was conducted over a period of about 3–9 months. 100 Participants participated in the survey on the perception and knowledge analysis of different individuals about Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) transmission factors. 31% of the participants didn't know that there is presently no cure for Ebola. 28% believed that there is presently a cure for Ebola. 43% agreed that Ebola is both air-borne and water-borne, while 33% disagreed, 24% do not know. 23% believed that insects and mosquitoes can help in transmitting the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), while 30% were completely ignorant. We noticed that ignorance was a major limiting factor among some participants. Second, a test was conducted among 45 people. Results from a comprehensive testing of the Ebinformatics software by allowing users to operate and use the software, revealed that 60% of them were satisfied, while 16% were not satisfied with the software, while 24% were indifferent. 69% of the users were in agreement that Ebinformatics was supportive, 20% disagreed, while 11% were indifferent. 67% found the software easy to use, 13% disagreed, while 20% were indifferent. Third, the output of the software, showing the various diagnosis and recommendations interfaces were presented. Recommendations were also given with respect to how the system can be extended, and further improved upon.

Effectiveness of Ring Vaccination as Control Strategy for Ebola Virus Disease.

Using an Ebola virus disease transmission model, we found that addition of ring vaccination at the outset of the West Africa epidemic might not have led to containment of this disease. However, in later stages of the epidemic or in outbreaks with less intense transmission or more effective control, this strategy could help eliminate the disease.

Seminal Fluid: Potential Sources of Ebola Virus Disease Transmission in the Population

Seminal Fluid: Potential Sources of Ebola Virus Disease Transmission in the Population

K. Subramanya Sastry: Plant virus and viroid diseases in the tropics, Volume 1: Introduction of plant viruses and sub-viral agents, classification, assessment of loss, transmission, and diagnosis

Throughout the world, most of the plants are naturally affected by number of virus and viroid diseases, besides fungal and bacterial pathogens. Virus and viroid diseases are economically important because of the losses they cause in productivity and quality of the plant products. The profitable crop production depends on the appropriate diagnosis of the etiological agents and application of management measures. In the first volume, the author Dr. K Subramanya Sastry, has provided up-to-date information on different aspects of plant virus and viroid diseases of crop plants of South East Asia, Africa, South American countries in five chapters, which are interlinked and exhaustive. Detail information on classification, crop yield losses, transmission and diagnosis of virus and viroid diseases at advanced as well as comprehensive level has been described. In the introductory chapter, the author has presented the information on tropical countries, their climate, tropical crops and the prevalent virus and viroid diseases. The second chapter is focused on introduction of virus and virus-like diseases and their classification based on the 9th report of ICTV published by King et al. (2012). In the third chapter, the author has provided the extensive yield losses both quantitatively and qualitatively in large number of crops due to virus and viroid infections. Viruses cause their damage in such diverse ways like reducing the vigor and life span of the infected plants of the orchards, groves and pastures. In the fourth chapter, Dr. Sastry, has discussed the different agents and factors involved in the spread of virus and viroid diseases, which are very much required for framing suitable management measures. The author has also provided exhaustive information on seed transmission of plant virus and viroid diseases which would be quite useful to the personnel involved at quarantine and agriculture. The fifth chapter describes the diagnosis and detection of plant virus and viroid diseases by the application of techniques including the electron microscopy, serological techniques like variants of ELISA, monoclonal antibody techniques, nucleic acid hybridization technologies, PCR/RT-PCR, microarray technologies, biosensors, etc., which are the outcome of number of years of hard work in different research laboratories at global level. The diagnostic techniques which are sensitive, rapid and accurate in virus and viroid diagnosis are provided. This volume 1 will serve as one of the valuable and comprehensive reference book for the basic, practical and applied plant pathologists, scientists, teaching faculty and researchers of plant virology, plant pathology and plant biology. This volume is relevant and timely in view of the rapidly expanding international trade of plant and plant products. The author, Dr. K Subramanya Sastry, has done sincere hard work and major efforts to provide the latest information and it is my pleasure to complement him, for his outstanding and comprehensive volume 1 on plant virus and viroid diseases in the tropics.

Heterologous recombinant protein with decapacitating activity prevents and reverts cryodamage in ram sperm: An emerging biotechnological tool for cryobiology

During the last decades fundamental and applied aspects of mammalian ram sperm cryopreservation have been increasingly explored by scientists and biotechnologists. Many works report modifications in the composition of the freezing extenders and explore the beneficial and detrimental effects of seminal plasma or seminal plasma components in cryopreservation. Seminal plasma is known to contain stabilizing proteins, thereby this is a good start point to study the maintenance of membrane stability based on the basic knowledge of sperm physiology. However, seminal plasma composition is variable among rams and also the introduction of exogenous seminal plasma or its fractions to commercial semen can be associated with the transmission of viral diseases. Our work shows that a mouse protein, called SPINK3 (Serine Protease Inhibitor Kazal type 3) with decapacitating activity interacts with heterologous ram sperm when it is produced as a recombinant molecule. By immunocytochemistry assays we demonstrate that this protein (naturally expressed by mouse seminal vesicle under androgenic control) binds to the apical portion of both fresh and frozen ram sperm, the same localization described in mouse homologous sperm. Furthermore, it significantly improves sperm progressive motility compared to non-treated samples when it is added to freezing extenders and to dilution media after thawing. On the contrary, addition of SPINK3 does not modify sperm viability. The percentage of sperm with intact acrosome after ionophore induction was also significantly higher in sperm frozen in the presence of SPINK3 compared to control samples and the addition of SPINK3 after thawing significantly reduced both induced and non induced acrosomal loss, indicating that heterologous SPINK3 might act as a calcium inhibitor transport as described in mouse. Based on our results SPINK3 may find a place as a desirable biotechnological tool to achieve a higher proportion of competent sperm to fertilize.

Addressing contact tracing challenges-critical to halting Ebola virus disease transmission.

Delayed and ineffective contact tracing contributed to the extensive transmission of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the 2014-2015 West African outbreak. Understanding and addressing the challenges to implementing and managing contact tracing is essential to stopping EVD transmission and preventing large-scale EVD outbreaks in the future. Interviews were conducted with United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff members engaged in contact tracing activities in the affected West African countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Senegal, Nigeria, and Mali from September through December 2014. Two staff members from each country were interviewed. The five most frequently cited contact tracing challenges were identified. Challenges have been evident in every step of the contact tracing process from implementation to management, including identifying, locating, and enrolling contact-persons, as well as managing personnel and ensuring contact tracing performance. Common themes observed in all of the affected West African countries have included fear, stigma, and community misperceptions regarding EVD. Countries that have overcome these challenges, ensuring immediate and comprehensive contact tracing, have been successful in halting EVD transmission. Addressing challenges to contact tracing implementation and management in the West African EVD outbreak is essential to stopping ongoing transmission.

Epidemiology of Ebola virus disease transmission among health care workers in Sierra Leone, May to December 2014: a retrospective descriptive study.

BackgroundAnecdotal evidence suggests that much of the continuing infection of health care workers (HCWs) with Ebola virus during the current outbreak in Sierra Leone has occurred in settings other than Ebola isolation units, and it is likely that some proportion of acquisition by HCWs occurs outside the workplace. There is a critical need to define more precisely the pathways of Ebola infection among HCWs, to optimise measures for reducing risk during current and future outbreaks.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective descriptive study of Ebola acquisition among health workers in Sierra Leone during May–December 2014. The data used were obtained mainly from the national Ebola database, a cross-sectional survey conducted through administration of a structured questionnaire to infected HCWs, and key informant interviews of select health stakeholders.ResultsA total of 293 HCWs comprising 277 (95 %) confirmed, 6 (2 %) probable, and 10 (3 %) suspected cases of infection with Ebola virus were enrolled in the study from nine districts of the country. Over half of infected HCWs (153) were nurses; others included laboratory staff (19, 6.5 %), doctors (9, 3.1 %), cleaners and porters (9, 3.1 %), Community Health Officers (8, 2.7 %), and pharmacists (2, 0.7 %). HCW infections were mainly reported from the Western Area (24.9 %), Kailahun (18.4 %), Kenema (17.7 %), and Bombali (13.3 %) districts. Almost half of the infected HCWs (120, 47.4 %) believed that their exposure occurred in a hospital setting. Others believed that they were exposed in the home (48, 19 %), at health centres (45, 17.8 %), or at other types of health facilities (13, 5.1 %). Only 27 (10.7 %) of all HCW infections were associated with Ebola virus disease (EVD) isolation units. Over half (60 %, 150) of infected HCWs said they had been trained in infection prevention and control prior to their infection, whereas 34 % (85) reported that they had not been so trained.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated the perception that most HCW infections are associated with general health care and home settings and not with dedicated EVD settings, which should provide substantial reassurance to HCWs that measures in place at dedicated EVD facilities generally provide substantial protection when fully adhered to.

A Lentiviral Vector Expressing Japanese Encephalitis Virus-like Particles Elicits Broad Neutralizing Antibody Response in Pigs.

BackgroundJapanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is the major cause of viral encephalitis in Southeast Asia. Vaccination of domestic pigs has been suggested as a “one health” strategy to reduce viral disease transmission to humans. The efficiency of two lentiviral TRIP/JEV vectors expressing the JEV envelope prM and E glycoproteins at eliciting protective humoral response was assessed in a mouse model and piglets.Methodology/Principal FindingsA gene encoding the envelope proteins prM and E from a genotype 3 JEV strain was inserted into a lentiviral TRIP vector. Two lentiviral vectors TRIP/JEV were generated, each expressing the prM signal peptide followed by the prM protein and the E glycoprotein, the latter being expressed either in its native form or lacking its two C-terminal transmembrane domains. In vitro transduction of cells with the TRIP/JEV vector expressing the native prM and E resulted in the efficient secretion of virus-like particles of Japanese encephalitis virus. Immunization of BALB/c mice with TRIP/JEV vectors resulted in the production of IgGs against Japanese encephalitis virus, and the injection of a second dose one month after the prime injection greatly boosted antibody titers. The TRIP/JEV vectors elicited neutralizing antibodies against JEV strains belonging to genotypes 1, 3, and 5. Immunization of piglets with two doses of the lentiviral vector expressing JEV virus-like particles led to high titers of anti-JEV antibodies, that had efficient neutralizing activity regardless of the JEV genotype tested.Conclusions/SignificanceImmunization of pigs with the lentiviral vector expressing JEV virus-like particles is particularly efficient to prime antigen-specific humoral immunity and trigger neutralizing antibody responses against JEV genotypes 1, 3, and 5. The titers of neutralizing antibodies elicited by the TRIP/JEV vector are sufficient to confer protection in domestic pigs against different genotypes of JEV and this could be of a great utility in endemic regions where more than one genotype is circulating.

Complex of Measures Aimed at Prevention of Ebola Virus Disease Importation and Transmission, Performed within the Frames of Sanitary Protection of the Territories of the Russian Federation

An estimated scope of measures, aimed at the prevention of Ebola virus disease importation and transmission in the territory of the Russian Federation, targets the maximum level of hazard to the population. It has a complex interagency character, whereby the Federal service for surveillance in the sphere of consumers rights protection and human welfare functions as coordinator and principal executing agency. The measures affect the following areas: regulatory compliance and methodological support, sanitary-quarantine control reinforcement at the entry points on the state border of the Russian Federation, strengthening of anti-epidemic preparedness of the Rospotrebnadzor and public healthcare institutions and authorities, including operational preparedness of the laboratory facilities, information support within the framework of epidemiological surveillance, and involvement in the activities under the international collaboration for epidemic response and control. Practices have been completed as regards series of actions conducted from the time of the case identification and further on; evacuation of the infected and suspected individuals, procedures for sanitary disinfection, interventions in the relation to contact persons, and readiness for anti-epidemic measures performance.

Rising to the Challenge: The Ebola Outbreak in Sierra Leone and How Insights Into One Nongovernmental Organization's Response Can Inform Future Core Competencies.

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play a critical humanitarian role in the developing world. Over 100 NGOs currently operate in Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa that ranks 183 out of 187 in the United Nation's Human Development Index. Following a brutal 11-year war that ended in January 2002, the country has been unsuccessful at building a sufficiently resourced, robust, and anticipatory public health and medical care infrastructure. Consequently, Sierra Leone suffers from high levels of poverty, infant mortality, and limited access to safe drinking water, as well as morbidity from malnutrition, diarrheal diseases, hepatitis A, cholera, and typhoid fever. Large international NGOs such as Doctors Without Borders have attempted to fill the void left by fragile and fragmented government health services but have been overwhelmed and saturated by the continual spread of Ebola virus disease and growing numbers of cases and deaths. Smaller NGOs endeavored to assist during this crisis as well. One of them, Caritas, has actively sought public health knowledge and has applied public health principles to reduce and contain Ebola virus disease transmission. The Ebola outbreak illuminates the importance of building basic public health capabilities within the core competences of NGOs.

Trends in AIDS Deaths, New Infections and ART Coverage in the Top 30 Countries with the Highest AIDS Mortality Burden; 1990-2013.

BackgroundAntiretroviral therapy (ART) prevents human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease progression, mortality and transmission. We assess the impact of expanded HIV treatment for the prevention of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)-related deaths and simulate four treatment scenarios for Nigeria and South Africa.MethodsFor 1990–2013, we used the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) database to examine trends in AIDS deaths, HIV incidence and prevalence, ART coverage, annual AIDS death rate, AIDS death-to-treatment and HIV infections to treatment ratios for the top 30 countries with the highest AIDS mortality burden and compare them with data from high-income countries. We projected the 1990–2020 AIDS deaths for Nigeria and South Africa using four treatment scenarios: 1) no ART; 2) maintaining current ART coverage; 3) 90% ART coverage based on 2013 World Health Organization (WHO) ART guidelines by 2020; and 4) reaching the United Nations 90-90-90 Target by 2020.FindingsIn 2013, there were 1.3 million (1.1 million–1.6 million) AIDS deaths in the top 30 countries representing 87% of global AIDS deaths. Eight countries accounted for 58% of the global AIDS deaths; Nigeria and South Africa accounted for 27% of global AIDS deaths. The highest death rates per 1000 people living with HIV were in Central African Republic (91), South Sudan (82), Côte d’Ivoire (75), Cameroon (72) and Chad (71), nearly 8–10 times higher than the high-income countries. ART access in 2013 has averted as estimated 1,051,354 and 422,448 deaths in South Africa and Nigeria, respectively. Increasing ART coverage in these two countries to meet the proposed UN 90-90-90 Target by 2020 could avert 2.2 and 1.2 million deaths, respectively.InterpretationOver the past decade the expansion of access to ART averted millions of deaths. Reaching the proposed UN 90-90-90 Target by 2020 will prevent additional morbidity, mortality and HIV transmission. Despite progress, high-burden countries will need to accelerate access to ART treatment to avert millions of premature AIDS deaths and new HIV infections.

Synthetic Long Peptide Influenza Vaccine Containing Conserved T and B Cell Epitopes Reduces Viral Load in Lungs of Mice and Ferrets.

Currently licensed influenza vaccines mainly induce antibodies against highly variable epitopes. Due to antigenic drift, protection is subtype or strain-specific and regular vaccine updates are required. In case of antigenic shifts, which have caused several pandemics in the past, completely new vaccines need to be developed. We set out to develop a vaccine that provides protection against a broad range of influenza viruses. Therefore, highly conserved parts of the influenza A virus (IAV) were selected of which we constructed antibody and T cell inducing peptide-based vaccines. The B epitope vaccine consists of the highly conserved HA2 fusion peptide and M2e peptide coupled to a CD4 helper epitope. The T epitope vaccine comprises 25 overlapping synthetic long peptides of 26-34 amino acids, thereby avoiding restriction for a certain MHC haplotype. These peptides are derived from nucleoprotein (NP), polymerase basic protein 1 (PB1) and matrix protein 1 (M1). C57BL/6 mice, BALB/c mice, and ferrets were vaccinated with the B epitopes, 25 SLP or a combination of both. Vaccine-specific antibodies were detected in sera of mice and ferrets and vaccine-specific cellular responses were measured in mice. Following challenge, both mice and ferrets showed a reduction of virus titers in the lungs in response to vaccination. Summarizing, a peptide-based vaccine directed against conserved parts of influenza virus containing B and T cell epitopes shows promising results for further development. Such a vaccine may reduce disease burden and virus transmission during pandemic outbreaks.

Inhibition of infectious bursal disease virus transmission using bioceramic derived from chicken feces

Bioceramic powder (BCX), at pH 13.0, derived from chicken feces, was evaluated for its efficacy to inactivate virus and inhibit virus horizontal transmission by fecal–oral route, using infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) vaccine strain D78 as a challenge virus. Three 1-week-old SPF chicks were vaccinated per os and used as seeder birds. Six hours later, 3 sentinel 1-week-old SPF chicks were introduced into the same cage. Results revealed that BCX had excellent efficacy to inactivate IBDV within 3min. Treating IBDV contaminated litter in the cage with BCX could prevent transmission of IBDV to new sensitive chicks completely. Further, transmission of IBDV to the sentinel chicks was significantly inhibited by adding BCX to litter and chicken feed. These data suggest that BCX at pH 13, derived from chicken feces, has excellent efficacy to inactivate IBDV, which can be applied in bedding materials for preventing viral transmission during production round. It is a good material that can effectively be used for enhancing biosecurity system in poultry farms.