Objective: To monitor severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA contamination in samples linked to imported cold-chain food and assess the situation from the implementation of a centralized supervision warehouse system in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Methods: Swabs of workers and frozen-food-related samples were collected between July 2020 and December 2023 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was extracted and analyzed by a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction using the commercially available SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test kit.
Human enterovirus (EV) infections can lead to various manifestations, with variable correlations between genotypes and symptoms. Human enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) was considered to be associated with acute respiratory disease and acute flaccid myelitis. In this short report, both EV-D68 and poliovirus 3 were detected in the stool of a hospitalized 5-month child who presented with acute respiratory symptoms and who was recently vaccinated with oral polio vaccine (OPV), using a metatranscriptomic high-throughput sequencing method.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent research have shown that influenza C virus (ICV) has a possible higher clinical impact than previously thought. But knowledge about ICV is limited compared with influenza A and B viruses, due to poor systematic surveillance and inability to propagate. Herein, a case infected with triple reassortant ICV was identified during an influenza A(H3N2) outbreak, which was the first report of ICV infection in mainland China.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe strong suppression of Aedes albopictus on two Guangzhou islands in China has been successfully achieved by releasing males with an artificial triple-Wolbachia infection. However, it requires the use of radiation to sterilize residual females to prevent population replacement. To develop a highly effective tool for dengue control, we tested a standalone incompatible insect technique (IIT) to control A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith a large population most susceptible to Omicron and emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, China faces uncertain scenarios if reopening its border. Thus, we aimed to predict the impact of combination preventative interventions on hospitalization and death. An age-stratified susceptible-infectious-quarantined-hospitalized-removed-susceptible (SIQHRS) model based on the new guidelines of COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment (the ninth edition) was constructed to simulate the transmission dynamics of Omicron within 365 days.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs one of the most rapidly evolving proteins of the genus Betacoronavirus, open reading frames (ORF8's) function and potential pathological consequence in vivo are still obscure. In this study, we show that the secretion of ORF8 is dependent on its N-terminal signal peptide sequence and can be inhibited by reactive oxygen species scavenger and endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi transportation inhibitor in cultured cells. To trace the effect of its possible in vivo secretion, we examined the plasma samples of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) convalescent patients and found that the patients aged from 40 to 60 had higher antibody titers than those under 40.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant has spread rapidly worldwide. To provide data on its virological profile, we here report the first local transmission of Delta in mainland China. All 167 infections could be traced back to the first index case.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenomic surveillance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) plays an important role in COVID-19 pandemic control and elimination efforts, especially by elucidating its global transmission network and illustrating its viral evolution. The deployment of multiplex PCR assays that target SARS-CoV-2 followed by either massively parallel or nanopore sequencing is a widely-used strategy to obtain genome sequences from primary samples. However, multiplex PCR-based sequencing carries an inherent bias of sequencing depth among different amplicons, which may cause uneven coverage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe current pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected >160 million individuals to date, and has caused millions of deaths worldwide, at least in part due to the unclarified pathophysiology of this disease. Identifying the underlying molecular mechanisms of COVID-19 is critical to overcome this pandemic. Metabolites mirror the disease progression of an individual and can provide extensive insights into their pathophysiological significance at each stage of disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDengue is a significant public health issue, affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide. As it is spreading from tropical and subtropical zones, some regions previously recognised as non-endemic are at risk of becoming endemic. However, the global circulation of dengue is not fully understood and quantitative measurements of endemicity levels are lacking, posing an obstacle in the precise control of dengue spread.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Nine COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease, 2019) cases were observed in one community in Guangzhou. All the cases lived in three vertically aligned units of one building sharing the same piping system, which provided one unique opportunity to examine the transmission mode of SARS-CoV-2.
Methods: We interviewed the cases on the history of travelling and close contact with the index patients.
Background: Sewage transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has never been demonstrated. During a COVID-19 outbreak in Guangzhou, China in April 2020, we investigated the mode of transmission.
Methods: We collected clinical and environmental samples from quarantined residents and their environment for RT-PCR testing and genome sequencing.
As traditional approaches to the control of dengue and Zika are insufficient, significant efforts have been made to develop utilization of the endosymbiotic bacterium to reduce the ability of mosquitoes to transmit pathogens. Although is known to inhibit flaviviruses in mosquitoes, including dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV), it remains unclear how the endosymbiont interferes with viral replication cycle. In this study, we have carried out viral binding assays to investigate the impact of the strain AlbB on the attachment of DENV serotype 2 (DENV-2) and ZIKV to Aag-2 cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: More than 2 months have passed since the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) first emerged in Wuhan, China. With the migration of people, the epidemic has rapidly spread within China and throughout the world. Due to the severity of the epidemic, undiscovered transmission of COVID-19 deserves further investigation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection and was first reported in central China in December 2019. Extensive molecular surveillance in Guangdong, China's most populous province, during early 2020 resulted in 1,388 reported RNA-positive cases from 1.6 million tests.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring January 26-February 10, 2020, an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus disease in an air-conditioned restaurant in Guangzhou, China, involved 3 family clusters. The airflow direction was consistent with droplet transmission. To prevent the spread of the virus in restaurants, we recommend increasing the distance between tables and improving ventilation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Respiratory viruses, such as influenza viruses, initially infect the upper airways but can manifest as severe lower respiratory tract infections in high-risk patients with significant morbidity and mortality. For syndromic diagnosis, several multiplex nucleic acid amplification tests have been developed for clinics, of which SureX 13 Respiratory Pathogen Multiplex Kit (ResP) can simultaneously detect 13 pathogens directly from airway secretion specimens. The organisms identified are influenza virus A, influenza virus A pdmH1N1 (2009), influenza virus A H3N2, influenza virus B, adenovirus, boca virus, rhinovirus, parainfluenza virus, coronavirus, respiratory syncytial virus, human metapneumovirus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Chlamydia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) poise significant risk to human health and the poultry industry. We evaluated the transmission risk along the poultry supply chain.
Methods: During October 2015 and July 2016, four rounds of cross-sectional surveys were performed to characterize AIV spread in farms, transport vehicles, slaughterhouses, wholesale and retail live poultry markets (LPMs).
Background: Guangzhou reported its first laboratory-confirmed case of influenza A (H7N9) on January 10, 2014. A total of 25 cases were reported from the first wave of the epidemic until April 8, 2014. The fatality rate was much higher than in previous reports.
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