Severe Organ Impairment Was Common in Elderly Individuals with Dengue in Guangdong, China.

Guangdong, China, has experienced several dengue epidemics involving thousands of confirmed cases in recent decades, and elderly individuals suffered severe dengue (SD) most seriously. However, the clinical characteristics and risk factors for SD among elderly patients in Guangdong have not been investigated. Patients older than 65 years were recruited and divided into a dengue fever (DF) group and an SD group according to the 2009 Dengue Guidelines of the WHO.

Genotype of dengue virus serotype 1 in relation to severe dengue in Guangzhou, China.

Guangzhou has been the city most affected by the dengue virus (DENV) in China, with a predominance of DENV serotype 1 (DENV-1). Viral factors such as dengue serotype and genotype are associated with severe dengue (SD). However, none of the studies have investigated the relationship between DENV-1 genotypes and SD.

Dengue encephalopathy in an adult due to dengue virus type 1 infection.

Background: Dengue is an important public health problem, which caused by the dengue virus (DENV), a single-stranded RNA virus consisted of four serotypes. Central nervus system (CNS) impairment in dengue usually results from DENV-2 or DENV-3 infection, which lead to life-threatening outcomes. Furthermore, neurological complications due to DENV-1 was rare especially in adult patients.

Real-World Study on Chai-Shi-Jie-Du Granules for the Treatment of Dengue Fever and the Possible Mechanisms Based on Network Pharmacology.

Objectives: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a widely used method for treating dengue fever in China. TCM improves the symptoms of patients with dengue, but there is no standard TCM prescription for dengue fever. This real-world study aimed to evaluate the effects of Chai-Shi-Jie-Du (CSJD) granules for the treatment of dengue fever and the underlying mechanisms.

A unified global genotyping framework of dengue virus serotype-1 for a stratified coordinated surveillance strategy of dengue epidemics.

Background: Dengue is the fastest spreading arboviral disease, posing great challenges on global public health. A reproduceable and comparable global genotyping framework for contextualizing spatiotemporal epidemiological data of dengue virus (DENV) is essential for research studies and collaborative surveillance.

Methods: Targeting DENV-1 spreading prominently in recent decades, by reconciling all qualified complete E gene sequences of 5003 DENV-1 strains with epidemiological information from 78 epidemic countries/areas ranging from 1944 to 2018, we established and characterized a unified global high-resolution genotyping framework using phylogenetics, population genetics, phylogeography, and phylodynamics.

COVID-19 induces new-onset insulin resistance and lipid metabolic dysregulation via regulation of secreted metabolic factors.

Abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism in COVID-19 patients were recently reported with unclear mechanism. In this study, we retrospectively investigated a cohort of COVID-19 patients without pre-existing metabolic-related diseases, and found new-onset insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, and decreased HDL-C in these patients. Mechanistically, SARS-CoV-2 infection increased the expression of RE1-silencing transcription factor (REST), which modulated the expression of secreted metabolic factors including myeloperoxidase, apelin, and myostatin at the transcriptional level, resulting in the perturbation of glucose and lipid metabolism.

Studies and Clinical Observations Imply a Synergistic Effect Between Epstein-Barr Virus and Dengue Virus Infection.

Dengue virus (DENV) infection can lead to a complex spectrum of clinical outcomes, ranging from asymptomatic infection to life-threatening severe dengue. The reasons for thus drastically varying manifestations of the disease remain an enigma. Herein, we reported an original discovery of the synergistic effect between preexisting Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and DENV superinfection and of a strong correlation of these two viruses in the clinical samples from dengue patients.

Author Correction: Temporal dynamics in viral shedding and transmissibility of COVID-19.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Temporal dynamics in viral shedding and transmissibility of COVID-19.

We report temporal patterns of viral shedding in 94 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and modeled COVID-19 infectiousness profiles from a separate sample of 77 infector-infectee transmission pairs. We observed the highest viral load in throat swabs at the time of symptom onset, and inferred that infectiousness peaked on or before symptom onset. We estimated that 44% (95% confidence interval, 25-69%) of secondary cases were infected during the index cases' presymptomatic stage, in settings with substantial household clustering, active case finding and quarantine outside the home.

Novel pathogenic characteristics of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H7N9: viraemia and extrapulmonary infection.

The H7N9 virus mutated in 2017, resulting in new cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H7N9 virus infection. H7N9 was found in a viraemic patient in Guangdong province, China. The present study aimed to clarify the pathogenic characteristics of HPAI H7N9.

Defervescent dengue patients might be a potential source of infection for vector mosquitoes.

Background: Dengue is a re-emerging public health problem and mosquito-borne infectious disease that is transmitted mainly by Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus. Early diagnosis, isolation, and treatment of patients are critical steps for dengue epidemic control, especially to prevent secondary transmission of dengue virus (DENV).

Detectable 2019-nCoV viral RNA in blood is a strong indicator for the further clinical severity.

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection caused pneumonia. we retrospectively analyzed the virus presence in the pharyngeal swab, blood, and the anal swab detected by real-time PCR in the clinical lab. Unexpectedly, the 2109-nCoV RNA was readily detected in the blood (6 of 57 patients) and the anal swabs (11 of 28 patients).

Longitudinal analysis of the antibody repertoire of a Zika virus-infected patient revealed dynamic changes in antibody response.

The Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that causes neonatal abnormalities and other disorders. Antibodies to the ZIKV envelope (E) protein can block infection. In this study, next-generation sequencing (NGS) of immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) mRNA transcripts was combined with single-cell PCR cloning of E-binding monoclonal antibodies for analysing antibody response in a patient from the early stages of infection to more than one year after the clearance of the virus.

Convalescent patient-derived monoclonal antibodies targeting different epitopes of E protein confer protection against Zika virus in a neonatal mouse model.

The Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak and its link to microcephaly triggered a public health concern. To examine antibody response in a patient infected with ZIKV, we used single-cell PCR to clone 31 heavy and light chain-paired monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that bind to ZIKV envelope (E) proteins isolated from memory B cells of a ZIKV-infected patient. Three mAbs (7B3, 1C11, and 6A6) that showed the most potent and broad neutralization activities against the African, Asian, and American strains were selected for further analysis.

Gemykibivirus Genome in Lower Respiratory Tract of Elderly Woman With Unexplained Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Using metagenomics analysis, we are the first to identify the presence of a small, circular, single-stranded Gemykibivirus (GkV) genome from the respiratory tract of an elderly woman with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. Our results suggest that further studies on whether GkVs infect humans and cause respiratory disease are needed.

Kinetics of antigen-specific IgM/IgG/IgA antibody responses during Zika virus natural infection in two patients.

Understanding of kinetics of antibody responses is crucial for developing rapid serological tests and studying the mechanisms of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection. Most of the serological diagnostic assays previously published are based on either IgM or IgG titer, little is known on the level of IgA antibody in saliva and urine. In this study, we investigated the kinetics of IgM/IgG/IgA antibody responses in serum, saliva, and urine obtained from two ZIKV infected individuals from as early as the second day of onset of symptoms to as long as 2 years postinfection.

Dengue immune sera enhance Zika virus infection in human peripheral blood monocytes through Fc gamma receptors.

Antibody dependent enhancement (ADE) has most often been associated with dengue virus (DENV). Studies using leukemia cell lines suggest that DENV specific antibodies can enhance Zika virus (ZIKV) infectivity, and vice versa. To examine the mechanisms of ADE of ZIKV infection in primary human cells, we assessed 40 serum samples obtained from convalescent DENV-1 or DENV-3 infected subjects.

Delayed and highly specific antibody response to nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) revealed during natural human ZIKV infection by NS1-based capture ELISA.

Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) had spread rapidly in the past few years in southern hemisphere where dengue virus (DENV) had caused epidemic problems for over half a century. The high degree of cross-reactivity of Envelope (E) protein specific antibody responses between ZIKV and DENV made it challenging to perform differential diagnosis between the two infections using standard ELISA method for E protein.

Methods: Using an IgG capture ELISA, we investigated the kinetics of nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) antibody response during natural ZIKV infection and the cross-reactivity to NS1 proteins using convalescent sera obtained from patients infected by either DENV or ZIKV.

Delineating antibody recognition against Zika virus during natural infection.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging mosquito-transmitted flavivirus that shares a considerable degree of homology with dengue virus (DENV). Here, we examined longitudinal antibody response against ZIKV during natural infection in 2 convalescent individuals. By decomposing the antibody recognition into DI/DII and DIII of the E glycoprotein, we showed their development in humans followed a spatiotemporal hierarchy.