A man in his 60's with interstitial pneumonitis who was previously admitted to another hospital was transferred to our hospital for further investigations 6 years prior to an acute exacerbation. Given his history of avian contact, the presence of antibodies specific to avian antigen, and a positive result of the inhalation provocation test using pigeon dropping extracts, he was diagnosed with bird-related hypersensitivity pneumonitis (BRHP). As such, we instructed the patient to avoid exposure to avian antigen, and regularly measured the level of avian antigen in dust samples collected from his household environment. Despite avoiding the stimulus, corticosteroids and immunosuppressants were needed in view of progression of dyspnea after approximately five to six years. Four months after immunosuppressant therapy began, the patient suffered an acute exacerbation of BRHP and died. At this time, we found that the level of avian antigen was much higher than baseline. We suggest that exposure to high level of avian antigen is one cause of an acute exacerbation of BRHP.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.15036/arerugi.67.954 | DOI Listing |
Nat Commun
January 2025
Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Hamilton, MT, USA.
The ongoing circulation of influenza A H5N1 in the United States has raised concerns of a pandemic caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza. Although the United States has stockpiled and is prepared to produce millions of vaccine doses to address an H5N1 pandemic, currently circulating H5N1 viruses contain multiple mutations within the immunodominant head domain of hemagglutinin (HA) compared to the antigens used in stockpiled vaccines. It is unclear if these stockpiled vaccines will need to be updated to match the contemporary H5N1 strains.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Comp Pathol
January 2025
Histologia i Anatomia Patològica, Facultat de Veterinària (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain.
Nocardia spp are ubiquitous, gram-positive, variably acid-fast, branching and beaded filamentous, facultative intracellular bacteria that are resistant to phagocytosis and can cause localized or systemic disease in a variety of mammals, including humans, as well as in birds, fish and reptiles. Seventeen pet domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) were diagnosed with nocardiosis by several methods including cytological evaluation, histopathology, Ziehl-Neelsen staining and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). All except two ferrets were 2 years old or older at the time of clinical presentation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccine
January 2025
Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Introduction: While it remains impossible to predict the timing of the next influenza pandemic, novel avian influenza A viruses continue to be considered a significant threat.
Methods: A Phase II study was conducted in healthy adults aged 18-64 years to assess the safety and immunogenicity of two intramuscular doses of pre-pandemic 2017 influenza A(H7N9) inactivated vaccine administered 21 days apart. Participants were randomized (n = 105 in each of Arms 1-3) to receive 3.
J Virol
January 2025
Department of Host-Microbe Interactions, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
Unlabelled: The tonsils have been identified as a site of replication for Epstein-Barr virus, adenovirus, human papillomavirus, and other respiratory viruses. Human tonsil epithelial cells (HTECs) are a heterogeneous group of actively differentiating cells. Here, we investigated the cellular features and susceptibility of differentiated HTECs to specific influenza viruses, including expression of avian-type and mammalian-type sialic acid (SA) receptors, viral replication dynamics, and the associated cytokine secretion profiles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
January 2025
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Influenza remains a persistent global health challenge, largely due to the virus' continuous antigenic drift and occasional shift, which impede the development of a universal vaccine. To address this, the identification of broadly neutralizing antibodies and their epitopes is crucial. Nanobodies, with their unique characteristics and binding capacity, offer a promising avenue to identify such epitopes.
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