Veterinary researchers discover first U.S. strains of hepatitis E virus from rabbits | ScienceBlog.com

Researchers in the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech have identified the first strains of hepatitis E virus from farmed rabbits in the United States.

It is unknown whether the virus can spread from rabbits to humans.

Caitlin Cossaboom of Salisbury, Md., a second-year student in the combined Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Ph.D. program in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, is the first author of a publication entitled “Hepatitis E Virus in Rabbits, Virginia, USA” in the November issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Although researchers found hepatitis E virus in rabbits in China in 2009, this is the first time the virus has been identified in rabbits in the United States or anywhere outside of China,” Cossaboom said.

Dr. X.J. Meng, professor of biomedical sciences and pathobiology in the veterinary college, Cossaboom’s graduate advisor, and senior author of the study, identified the first animal strains of hepatitis E virus — swine hepatitis E virus from pigs — in 1997.

Following the landmark study on swine hepatitis E virus by Meng and his colleagues at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, researchers began to consider hepatitis E virus a zoonotic virus.

“Since 1997, researchers have found hepatitis E virus in pigs essentially in every swine-producing country and shown that the virus from pigs can infect humans,” said Meng.

He added that his lab also identified avian hepatitis E virus from chickens in the United States and that other researchers later discovered strains of the virus in other animal species, including rats, mongoose, deer, and wild boars.

Hepatitis E is an acute hepatic disease caused by infection with an RNA virus that has a fecal-oral transmission route.

The disease is mainly prevalent in developing countries, though sporadic cases have been reported in industrialized countries such as the United States.

The mortality rate associated with hepatitis E virus infection in humans is generally less than 1 percent, but it can reach up to 28 percent in infected pregnant women.

The virus has at least four distinct genotypes. Genotypes 1 and 2 infect only humans and typically occur in developing countries with poor sanitation conditions.

Meanwhile, genotypes 3 and 4 are zoonotic, can spread from animals to humans, and are found in both industrialised and developing countries.

“It is worth noting that the strains of the virus found in rabbits in the U.S. and China closely relate to genotype 3, a genotype that has been shown to transfer from animals to humans,” Meng said.

“The question is, ‘Do the strains of hepatitis E virus in rabbits infect humans?’ We don’t know, but the possibility is there and more research is needed to address this potential concern.”

She added that pigs can serve as “animal reservoirs” for genotypes 3 and 4 hepatitis E virus. In other words, the pigs can carry and shed the virus, and occasionally the virus may transmit to humans.

“However, it is unknown if the virus from rabbits can infect across species or serve as a reservoir,” Cossaboom said.

There are five known types of viral hepatitis: Hepatitis A transmits from person to person from ingesting contaminated food and water. Hepatitis B and C spread by blood-to-blood contact; the hepatitis C virus can also cause chronic infection and, in some cases, liver cancer.

Hepatitis D occurs in individuals who already have hepatitis B. Although all of these viruses, including hepatitis E virus, target the liver, none of them are genetically related.

H1N1: WHO uncertain whether the Pandemic is over of just Beginning

Senior World Health Organisation official Keiji Fukuda said Thursday that it was too early to declare the swine flu pandemic over, as it continues at "high levels" in parts of Europe and central Asia.

Although the A(H1N1) flu virus is peaking and even declining in parts of the northern hemisphere, and is hardly present in the south, Fukuda said there was an unproven possibility that there could be another wave later in the winter.

"It really probably remains too early to call the pandemic over," Fukuda said in a weekly telephone news conference.

Fukuda, Special Adviser to the WHO Director-General on Pandemic Influenza, said flu "activity continues at quite high levels in several different countries" notably the Czech Republic, France, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Switzerland.

Fukuda also noted that the signs of a peak and a decline in the caseload in North America and parts of Europe had occurred "extraordinarily early for influenza," with several months of the winter left.

As a result, the WHO could not rule out the possibility of another wave of illness in late winter or early spring.

"We simply are unable to answer this question right now. We continue to assess, right now we cannot predict whether we will see another upsurge in activity in the earlier parts of 2010," Fukuda said.

H1N1: Thailand Reports First Human-to-Pigs Transmission of Swine Flu

Thailand confirmed Thursday its first case of a pig infected with swine flu spread from humans, senior officials said.

Agriculture minister Thira Wongsamut said that one of 80 pigs in a sample group tested for the virus at Kasertsart University farm in the central province of Sara Buri had contracted A(H1N1) influenza.

"It was only in one sample that we found the A(H1N1)," Thira said.

The ministry has quarantined a five kilometre-radius around the farm, where university research is carried out, as a precautionary measure, he said, adding that new helth checks would be conducted at the farm every three days.

The ministry's permanent secretary Yukol Limlamthong said that none of the 132 workers at the university farm had contracted swine flu. He could not confirm if a research student had brought the virus in.

"We can not prove that, but the test results show the pigs contracted the virus from a human," Yukol said.

Thira said that eating pork did not pose a danger.

"The virus spread from human to pigs, as in several countries. We've had no case of it spreading from pigs to humans," he said.

Since the swine flu outbreak began in April, the ministry said it has tested more than 26,000 pigs for the virus.

It has confirmed 29,741 human cases of the flu and 190 of those were fatal.

The Thai government has a one-million dollar fund set aside to combat swine flu.

Memes from 'Infectious' Bloggers & Twitters

The way that certain images, videos or concepts can suddenly spread like wildfire across the web, using email and social websites to propagate, is one of online culture's most unique phenomena.

Now Spanish researchers claim to have found a way to accurately predict how quickly and widely new "memes", as they are called, will spread. The ability to forecast this "viral" behaviour would be of great interest to sociologists and marketeers, among others.

The secret, they say, is to recognise the fact that people vary in how "infectious" they are when it comes to sharing content online. While some people pass on things they receive right away, others do so after some delay, or not at all.

Medical models
The viral spread of information online has conventionally been modelled using epidemiological tools developed to analyse the spread of biological viruses.

One of the concepts borrowed is that of an infection's R₀, or basic reproductive number, which describes how many other people someone with the virus can be expected to infect. Knowing the R₀ number help predict the likelihood and extent of real life epidemics, such as H1N1 swine flu.

Rememebr that models that apply the idea to online information can only indicate whether an internet meme is likely to be successful or to die out quickly, says Esteban Moro at the Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain.

Moro, working with José Luis Iribarren at IBM in Madrid, used IBM's company email newsletter to show the importance of variations between people's infectiousness in propagating memes online.

Woman Contracts Gorilla HIV: Proof of Direct Connection between SIV and HIV /AIDS

A new strain of HIV has jumped from gorillas to humans.

So far, only one person, a 62-year-old French woman from Cameroon, has been reported to be infected with the virus.

It very closely resembles strains of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) recently discovered in western gorillas in the wild.

"It would be surprising if there aren't many more" human cases, says David Robertson, a bioinformaticist at the University of Manchester, UK who analysed the virus's DNA along with colleagues in France.

"We don't think this is a direct gorilla-to-human transmission." It is more likely to be the result of eating 'Bush meat', plus transmission via sexual activity.

Drug hope

Until 2004, the infected woman lived in a suburb of Cameroon's capital city Yaoundé, where she didn't come into contact with apes or eat their meat, SIV's primary route to humans. This means that she probably acquired the infection from another human, likely through sexual contact.

AIDS

The woman hasn't yet shown any sign of a compromised immune system, the hallmark of AIDS but tests on laboratory-cultured human cells suggest that the virus can replicate in the same white blood cells as other strains of HIV. However, the new virus should be susceptible to anti-retroviral drugs that slow the growth of other strains of HIV, Robertson says.

SIV

Based on its genetic sequence, the virus appears most closely related to a number of SIV strains collected recently in gorilla faecal samples from forests in Cameroon. These viruses also resemble "group O" strains of HIV, which infect far fewer people than other strains of HIV, most of them in Cameroon.

Original source

The discovery of a gorilla virus in humans could suggest that some of these group O viruses came from gorillas, Robertson says, but it's also possible that the virus originated chimpanzees and was transmitted independently to gorillas and to humans.

"Until we do more sampling we're also guessing a little bit," Robertson concedes.

WHO: Latest Satement on H1N1 Swine Flu Level 6

Dr Margaret Chan
Director-General of the World Health Organization

Ladies and gentlemen,

In late April, WHO announced the emergence of a novel (to us) influenza A virus.

This particular H1N1 strain has not circulated previously in humans (recently). The virus is entirely new (to us).

The virus is contagious, spreading easily from one person to another, and from one country to another. As of today, nearly 30,000 confirmed cases have been reported in 74 countries. (You do the maths?)

This is only part of the picture. With few exceptions, countries with large numbers of cases are those with good surveillance and testing procedures in place. (If you don't look for trouble you will not find it but it will find you, eventually)

Spread in several countries can no longer be traced to clearly-defined chains of human-to-human transmission. Further spread is considered inevitable. (We haven't a clue what's happening)

I have conferred with leading influenza experts, virologists, and public health officials. In line with procedures set out in the International Health Regulations, I have sought guidance and advice from an Emergency Committee established for this purpose. (We are lost for ideas and further confused by the geeks)

On the basis of available evidence, and these expert assessments of the evidence, the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic have been met. (WE are covering our ass)

I have therefore decided to raise the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6. (Reluctantly, after strong demands from the global community)

The world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic.

We are in the earliest days of the pandemic. The virus is spreading under a close and careful watch. (We are but spectators watching it go on)

No previous pandemic has been detected so early or watched so closely, in real-time, right at the very beginning. The world can now reap the benefits of investments, over the last five years, in pandemic preparedness. (We know where to hide, how quick to run and have many ass covering methods)

We have a head start. This places us in a strong position. But it also creates a demand for advice and reassurance in the midst of limited data and considerable scientific uncertainty. (We are in headless chicken mode)

Thanks to close monitoring, thorough investigations, and frank reporting from countries, we have some early snapshots depicting spread of the virus and the range of illness it can cause. (Everyone is sending us scarey pictures)

We know, too, that this early, patchy picture can change very quickly. The virus writes the rules and this one, like all influenza viruses, can change the rules, without rhyme or reason, at any time. (We haven't a clue what to do now that heavy handed bureaucracy doesn't work)

Globally, we have good reason to believe that this pandemic, at least in its early days, will be of moderate severity. As we know from experience, severity can vary, depending on many factors, from one country to another. (We hope its not too bad for a bit but don't quite believe it will stay that way)

On present evidence, the overwhelming majority of patients experience mild symptoms and make a rapid and full recovery, often in the absence of any form of medical treatment. (See its not a problem really, if you ignore the poor and the dying)

Worldwide, the number of deaths is small. Each and every one of these deaths is tragic, and we have to brace ourselves to see more. However, we do not expect to see a sudden and dramatic jump in the number of severe or fatal infections. (Fingers crossed it doesn't affect any of us)

We know that the novel H1N1 virus preferentially infects younger people. In nearly all areas with large and sustained outbreaks, the majority of cases have occurred in people under the age of 25 years. (So that's ok then for us oldies)

In some of these countries, around 2% of cases have developed severe illness, often with very rapid progression to life-threatening pneumonia. (As opposed to the less deadly pneumonias)

Most cases of severe and fatal infections have been in adults between the ages of 30 and 50 years. (Again with the young people remark and the 'greys' shall inherit the earth, is it? Our time has come around again? Don't think so)

This pattern is significantly different from that seen during epidemics of seasonal influenza, when most deaths occur in frail elderly people. (Its natures way)

Many, though not all, severe cases have occurred in people with underlying chronic conditions. Based on limited, preliminary data, conditions most frequently seen include respiratory diseases, notably asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and obesity. (This we understand!)

At the same time, it is important to note that around one third to half of the severe and fatal infections are occurring in previously healthy young and middle-aged people. (Now you're just getting annoying, broken record )

Without question, pregnant women are at increased risk of complications. This heightened risk takes on added importance for a virus, like this one, that preferentially infects younger age groups. (Are you going to list all the young groups and sectors, I hope not)

Finally, and perhaps of greatest concern, we do not know how this virus will behave under conditions typically found in the developing world. To date, the vast majority of cases have been detected and investigated in comparatively well-off countries. (Can it be spread through designer label changing rooms, Starbuck lattes, BMW steering wheels and IKEA's catalogue?)

Let me underscore two of many reasons for this concern. First, more than 99% of maternal deaths, which are a marker of poor quality care during pregnancy and childbirth, occurs in the developing world. (Cause we count them and gieve over them. We don't just bury them and move on because its a fact of life in poverty)

Second, around 85% of the burden of chronic diseases is concentrated in low- and middle-income countries. (God bless the old and rich, for they shall survive again)

Although the pandemic appears to have moderate severity in comparatively well-off countries, it is prudent to anticipate a bleaker picture as the virus spreads to areas with limited resources, poor health care, and a high prevalence of underlying medical problems. (God bless the poor, it is their destiny to suffer)

Ladies and gentlemen, (You're not winning any friends here)

A characteristic feature of pandemics is their rapid spread to all parts of the world. In the previous century, this spread has typically taken around 6 to 9 months, even during times when most international travel was by ship or rail. (It goes where people go)

Countries should prepare to see cases, or the further spread of cases, in the near future. Countries where outbreaks appear to have peaked should prepare for a second wave of infection. (We've only just begun to fight. It will not be over by Xmas)

Guidance on specific protective and precautionary measures has been sent to ministries of health in all countries. Countries with no or only a few cases should remain vigilant. (If you ain't got it yet, just wait, it's coming your way)

Countries with widespread transmission should focus on the appropriate management of patients. The testing and investigation of patients should be limited, as such measures are resource intensive and can very quickly strain capacities. (You know what you have and you can't cure it, so attend to the sick and dying as best you can)

WHO has been in close dialogue with influenza vaccine manufacturers. I understand that production of vaccines for seasonal influenza will be completed soon, and that full capacity will be available to ensure the largest possible supply of pandemic vaccine in the months to come. (Pharma companies are happy to flood the market with as much useless vaccine as you are willing to pay for and by the way, because of the urgency the price has gone up enormously)

Pending the availability of vaccines, several non-pharmaceutical interventions can confer some protection. (We don't currently have any effective vaccines and wont have for months, by which time the pandemic will have burned itself out)

WHO continues to recommend no restrictions on travel and no border closures. (We cannot enforce or control it anyway)

Influenza pandemics, whether moderate or severe, are remarkable events because of the almost universal susceptibility of the world’s population to infection. (Shit happens)

We are all in this together, and we will all get through this, together. (Except the one's who die of neglect and insufficient measures being taken, allegedly)

Thank you. (Now run for your life, except the old and rich. You're gonna be just fine. Pass the good port in any storm!)

H1N1 - Swine flu pandemic declaration

The World Health Organization has declared H1N1 swine flu an official Level 6 pandemic - in the WHO's rating scheme. This means the world's vaccine industry will be rubbing their hands with glee because they can now switch from making vaccine for ordinary flu to pandemic vaccine, where the big money is to be made.

However companies are not likely to change production until they have finished their current production run of ordinary flu vaccine in July or August. That will be the case, even though that vaccine will be useless if swine flu behaves like previous pandemics and replaces the current, ordinary flu viruses. After all, it doesn't make financial sense to hang onto surplus stock when there are eager customers out there willing to buy it, whether it's effective or not.

The WHO's declaration of level six activates a slew of government pre-orders for pandemic vaccine. These will take precedence over recent orders for H1N1 vaccine. Countries that don't have pre-orders will face delays or increased charges, following the normal commercial process of supply and demand drives price.

Mild infectious outbreak

The WHO cautioned against over-reaction, as most cases of H1N1 have so far been relatively mild. The organisation had been under pressure not to declare a pandemic for such a mild virus but the pharmaceutical companies have been lobbying hard.

Unfortunately, the WHO officials have insisted that a flu pandemic is defined by how fast a novel flu virus spreads, and who it affects, not necessarily how severe it is. This is partly because the same virus can be mild in some people and severe in others, and partly because it can evolve.

Historically, in 1918, the last pandemic H1N1 started out mild, but its second wave was much more severe. There were sound reasons for this, whereby the virus latched onto the antiodies that had been created by the first outbreak and this allowed them easy access to disabling the immune system of victims.

This virus affects young people

Pandemic flu can also kill healthy young adults, not the very young and old like ordinary flu. "Approximately half the people who have died from this H1N1 infection have been previously healthy people," Keiji Fukuda, head of flu at the WHO, said on Tuesday, adding this had given the organisation "the most concern" but again, the causes are known and predictble.

"It is of greatest importance to continue surveillance of the virus worldwide," David Heymann, the deposed head of health security at the WHO. "Science cannot predict what course this virus will take as it continues to spread in humans." maybe that's why he was removed from office.

The population deserves answers and solutions to these problems and not to be used as guinea pigs and an ever-increasing source of revenue for the exploitation of pharmaceutical companies, allegedly. Discuss!

Malaria and Dengue on the Run

Aedes aegypti. The head is at centre right, with large compound eyes (blue). There are two hairy antennae and a long proboscis (pink) used for penetrating human skin and sucking blood (Image: Eye Of Science / SPL)" title="A coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the head of a female yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. The head is at centre right, with large compound eyes (blue). There are two hairy antennae and a long proboscis (pink) used for penetrating human skin and sucking blood (Image: Eye Of Science / SPL)">

A coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the head of a female yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. The head is at centre right, with large compound eyes (blue). There are two hairy antennae and a long proboscis (pink) used for penetrating human skin and sucking blood (Image: Eye Of Science / SPL)

Female A. aegypti feed almost exclusively on human blood (see image), and unlike most other mosquito species, it thrives in human habitats. Their larvae grow readily in water-filled plant pot plates and discarded plastic containers. Some even claim that it is more adept at avoiding well-aimed swats.

When an A. aegypti mosquito (see image) bites someone who has dengue, the virus begins replicating in the mosquito's gut. From there it spreads to the salivary gland and, 10 to 14 days after being infected, the mosquito's saliva contains enough virus to infect anyone it bites.

The aim is to combat dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease that has reached pandemic proportions in a matter of decades. If the new approach works against dengue fever it should also work against other insect-borne diseases, including the biggest killer, malaria. That possibility has won the team developing this strategy funding through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The potential benefits are huge, but before it can go ahead the team will have to convince people the strategy is safe. If things go wrong, it might make dengue spread even faster.

Still, the situation is already pretty bad. In south-east Asia, long plagued by dengue, outbreaks are becoming bigger, more frequent and longer lasting. In Australia, the Pacific and most of the Americas, where dengue was once rare, the disease is taking hold with a vengeance. An outbreak earlier this year that affected at least 60,000 people in Brazil and Argentina reached Buenos Aires for the first time.

Slow Death to Chocolate?

Yes! Yes! Yes!

IT'S chocolate egg season again, and sales of the pagan and Christian symbols of rebirth are as strong as ever. But the hunt for Easter eggs may truly be on next year, because chocolate trees are in increasing trouble.

Chocolate is made from the fermented, roasted seeds of the cacao tree. The cacao swollen shoot virus (CSSV) can kill the trees, and threatens to slash this year's spring crop by a third in the world's biggest producer, Ivory Coast. Meanwhile a fungus called witches' broom is doing the same in Brazil. Now researchers are racing to sequence the cacao genome and find genes that can resist CSSV.

Cacao trees are native to the Amazon rainforest, but west Africa produces 70 per cent of the world's cocoa, virtually all on tiny, impoverished farms. In recent years, demand for chocolate has mushroomed. The farmers cannot afford expensive fertiliser so they boost production by planting more cacao trees over a greater area. That means cutting down other trees that normally grow between cacao crops, which also replicate their rainforest origins and give them the protective shade they prefer.

"Increasingly cacao is grown almost as a monoculture," says Paul Hadley of the University of Reading, UK. That promotes the spread of disease, as does the trend towards growing the trees in drier regions - water-stressed cacao trees are less able to fight off disease.