Development of a New Multispecies Protein A-Based ELISA for Serodiagnosis of Hepatitis E Infection with Validation in Domestic Swine.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infects roughly 20 million people worldwide, causing self-limiting acute hepatic disease that can evolve into a chronic course. HEV-3, HEV-4, and HEV-7 genotypes are zoonotic and transmitted to humans by consuming raw or undercooked meat. Here, we developed an indirect ELISA based on the recombinant HEV-3 capsid and performed a seroprevalence study on domestic swine in northeastern Brazil.

Diagnostic Potential for the Detection of Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis of an ELISA Assay Based on the Q5 Recombinant Protein: A Large-Scale and Comparative Evaluation Using Canine Sera with a Positive Diagnosis from the Dual-Path-Platform (DPP) Test.

Dogs are considered the major domestic reservoir for human visceral leishmaniasis, a serious disease caused by the parasite. Diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) is critical for disease control, with several methods currently available. Among the serological tests, the DPP rapid test and the EIE-LVC, more commonly used in Brazil, are associated with variable sensitivity and specificity.

Evolutionary study of potentially zoonotic hepatitis E virus genotype 3 from swine in Northeast Brazil.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV), an emerging virus associated with acute hepatic disease, leads to thousands of deaths worldwide. HEV has already been reported in Brazil; however, there is a lack of epidemiological and molecular information on the genetic variability, taxonomy, and evolution of HEV. It is thus unclear whether hepatitis E is a neglected disease in Brazil or it has low relevance for public health in this country.

Development and Validation of Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) for Rapid Detection of ZIKV in Mosquito Samples from Brazil.

The rapid spread of Zika virus (ZIKV) represents a global public health problem, especially in areas that harbor several mosquito species responsible for virus transmission, such as Brazil. In these areas, improvement in mosquito control needs to be a top priority, but mosquito viral surveillance occurs inefficiently in ZIKV-endemic countries. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) is the gold standard for molecular diagnostic of ZIKV in both human and mosquito samples.

In vitro and in vivo models for studying Zika virus biology.

The emergence and rapid spread of Zika virus (ZIKV) in the Americas has prompted the development of in vitro and in vivo models to understand several aspects of ZIKV biology and boost the development of vaccines and antivirals. In vitro model studies include reverse genetics systems, two-dimensional (2D) cell models, such as primary cells and cell lines, and ex vivo three-dimensional (3D) models derived from skin, brain and placenta. While these models are cost-effective and allow rigorous control of experimental variables, they do not always recapitulate in vivo scenarios.