Global Landscape of Encephalitis: Key Priorities to Reduce Future Disease Burden.

Encephalitis affects people across the lifespan, has high rates of mortality and morbidity, and results in significant neurological sequelae with long-term consequences to quality of life and wider society. The true incidence is currently unknown due to inaccurate reporting systems. The disease burden of encephalitis is unequally distributed across the globe being highest in low- and middle-income countries where resources are limited.

Untargeted Metabolomics Sheds Light on the Secondary Metabolism of Fungi Triggered by Choline-Based Ionic Liquids.

Fungal secondary metabolites constitute a rich source of yet undiscovered bioactive compounds. Their production is often silent under standard laboratory conditions, but the production of some compounds can be triggered simply by altering the cultivation conditions. The usage of an organic salt - ionic liquid - as growth medium supplement can greatly impact the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, leading to higher diversity of compounds accumulating extracellularly.

Yellow fever epizootics in non-human primates, Southeast and Northeast Brazil (2017 and 2018).

Background: Yellow fever (YF) is a severe, infectious, but non-communicable arboviral hemorrhagic disease. In the last decades, yellow fever virus (YFV) infections have been prevalent in endemic areas in Brazil, affecting human and non-human primate (NHP) populations. Monitoring of NHP infection started in 1999, and reports of epizootic diseases are considered important indicators of viral transmission, particularly in relation to the sylvatic cycle.

Yellow Fever Virus Reemergence and Spread in Southeast Brazil, 2016-2019.

The recent reemergence of yellow fever virus (YFV) in Brazil has raised serious concerns due to the rapid dissemination of the virus in the southeastern region. To better understand YFV genetic diversity and dynamics during the recent outbreak in southeastern Brazil, we generated 18 complete and nearly complete genomes from the peak of the epidemic curve from nonhuman primates (NHPs) and human infected cases across the Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro states. Genomic sequencing of 18 YFV genomes revealed the estimated timing, source, and likely routes of yellow fever virus transmission and dispersion during one of the largest outbreaks ever registered in Brazil.

Field diagnosis and genotyping of chikungunya virus using a dried reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay and MinION sequencing.

Detection and sequencing of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) genome was performed using a combination of a modified reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) method and a MinION sequencer. We developed the protocol for drying all the reagents for the RT-LAMP in a single reaction tube. Using this system, the CHIKV genome was effectively amplified under isothermal conditions, and used as a template for MinION sequencing with a laptop computer.

Minor groove binder modification of widely used TaqMan hydrolysis probe for detection of dengue virus reduces risk of false-negative real-time PCR results for serotype 4.

Dengue is a vector-transmitted viral infection that is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in humans worldwide, with over 50 million apparent cases and a fatality rate of 2.5 % of 0.5 million severe cases per annum in recent years.

The spectrum of neurological disease associated with Zika and chikungunya viruses in adults in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: A case series.

Background: During 2015-16 Brazil experienced the largest epidemic of Zika virus ever reported. This arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) has been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in adults but other neurological associations are uncertain. Chikungunya virus has caused outbreaks in Brazil since 2014 but associated neurological disease has rarely been reported here.

Rapid antigen tests for dengue virus serotypes and Zika virus in patient serum.

The recent Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak demonstrates that cost-effective clinical diagnostics are urgently needed to detect and distinguish viral infections to improve patient care. Unlike dengue virus (DENV), ZIKV infections during pregnancy correlate with severe birth defects, including microcephaly and neurological disorders. Because ZIKV and DENV are related flaviviruses, their homologous proteins and nucleic acids can cause cross-reactions and false-positive results in molecular, antigenic, and serologic diagnostics.

Lineage-Specific Real-Time RT-PCR for Yellow Fever Virus Outbreak Surveillance, Brazil.

The current yellow fever outbreak in Brazil prompted widespread yellow fever virus (YFV) vaccination campaigns, imposing a responsibility to distinguish between vaccine- and wild-type YFV-associated disease. We developed novel multiplex real-time reverse transcription PCRs that differentiate between vaccine and American wild-type YFV. We validated these highly specific and sensitive assays in an outbreak setting.

Structural investigation of C6/36 and Vero cell cultures infected with a Brazilian Zika virus.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a member of the flavivirus genus, and its genome is approximately 10.8 kilobases of positive-strand RNA enclosed in a capsid and surrounded by a membrane. Studies on the replication dynamics of ZIKV are scarce, which limits the development of antiviral agents and vaccines directed against ZIKV.

Zika puzzle in Brazil: peculiar conditions of viral introduction and dissemination - A Review.

This article discusses the peculiar conditions that favoured the unexpected introduction of Zika virus into the poorest northeastern region of Brazil in 2015, its speed of transmission to other Brazilian states, other Latin American countries and other regions, and the severity of related neurological disorders in newborns and adults. Contrasting with evidence that Zika had so far caused only mild cases in humans in the last six decades, the epidemiological scenario of this outbreak in Brazil indicates dramatic health effects: in 2015, an increase of 20-fold in notified cases of microcephaly and/or central nervous system (CNS) alterations suggestive of Zika congenital infection, followed by an exponential increase in 2016, with 2366 cumulative cases confirmed in the country by the end of December 2016. A significant increase in Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults has also been reported.

Zika virus disrupts molecular fingerprinting of human neurospheres.

Zika virus (ZIKV) has been associated with microcephaly and other brain abnormalities; however, the molecular consequences of ZIKV to human brain development are still not fully understood. Here we describe alterations in human neurospheres derived from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells infected with the strain of Zika virus that is circulating in Brazil. Combining proteomics and mRNA transcriptional profiling, over 500 proteins and genes associated with the Brazilian ZIKV infection were found to be differentially expressed.

Fatal encephalitis associated with Zika virus infection in an adult.

Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) was first identified in the Americas in 2015, when an outbreak of an exanthematous illness occurred in Brazil. Subsequentely, there was an increase of microcephaly cases, suggesting an association between ZIKV and this neurological complication. Currently, ZIKV has been recognised as causing a wide range of neurological complications including Guillain Barré syndrome, and myelitis.

Zika virus infection: epidemiology, clinical manifestations and diagnosis.

Purpose Of Review: Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arbovirus previously believed to cause only a mild and self-limiting illness. Recently, it has emerged as a new public health threat that caused a large outbreak in French Polynesia in 2013-2014 and since 2015 an explosive outbreak in Brazil, with an increase in severe congenital malformations (microcephaly) and neurological complications, mainly Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Since then, it has spread through the Americas.

Zika Virus Outbreak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Clinical Characterization, Epidemiological and Virological Aspects.

Background: In 2015, Brazil was faced with the cocirculation of three arboviruses of major public health importance. The emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) presents new challenges to both clinicians and public health authorities. Overlapping clinical features between diseases caused by ZIKV, Dengue (DENV) and Chikungunya (CHIKV) and the lack of validated serological assays for ZIKV make accurate diagnosis difficult.

Yellow Fever 17DD Vaccine Virus Infection Causes Detectable Changes in Chicken Embryos.

The yellow fever (YF) 17D vaccine is one of the most effective human vaccines ever created. The YF vaccine has been produced since 1937 in embryonated chicken eggs inoculated with the YF 17D virus. Yet, little information is available about the infection mechanism of YF 17DD virus in this biological model.