Search results for "Emerging Infectious Diseases"
showing 10 items of 15 documents
Impact of vector dispersal and host-plant fidelity on the dissemination of an emerging plant pathogen
2012
International audience; Dissemination of vector-transmitted pathogens depend on the survival and dispersal of the vector and the vector's ability to transmit the pathogen, while the host range of vector and pathogen determine the breath of transmission possibilities. In this study, we address how the interaction between dispersal and plant fidelities of a pathogen (stolbur phytoplasma tuf-a) and its vector (Hyalesthes obsoletus: Cixiidae) affect the emergence of the pathogen. Using genetic markers, we analysed the geographic origin and range expansion of both organisms in Western Europe and, specifically, whether the pathogen's dissemination in the northern range is caused by resident vecto…
Environmental change and disease dynamics: effects of intensive forest management on Puumala hantavirus infection in boreal bank vole populations.
2012
Intensive management of Fennoscandian forests has led to a mosaic of woodlands in different stages of maturity. The main rodent host of the zoonotic Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) is the bank vole (Myodes glareolus), a species that can be found in all woodlands and especially mature forests. We investigated the influence of forest age structure on PUUV infection dynamics in bank voles. Over four years, we trapped small mammals twice a year in a forest network of different succession stages in Northern Finland. Our study sites represented four forest age classes from young (4 to 30 years) to mature (over 100 years) forests. We show that PUUV-infected bank voles occurred commonly in all forest age…
Topoisomerase 1 inhibition suppresses inflammatory genes and protects from death by inflammation
2015
Unwinding DNA and unleasing inflammation Fighting infections often comes with collateral damage, which sometimes can be deadly. For instance, in septic shock, the overwhelming release of inflammatory mediators drives multi-organ failure. Rialdi et al. now report a potential new therapeutic target for controlling excessive inflammation: the DNA unwinding enzyme topoisomerase I (Top1) (see the Perspective by Pope and Medzhitov). Upon infection, Top1 specifically localizes to the promoters of pathogen-induced genes and promotes their transcription by helping to recruit RNA polymerase II. Pharmacological inhibition of Top1 in a therapeutic setting increased survival in several mouse models of s…
Face masks effectively limit the probability of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
2021
Masking out air sharing The effectiveness of masks in preventing the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has been debated since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. One important question is whether masks are effective despite the forceful expulsion of respiratory matter during coughing and sneezing. Cheng et al. convincingly show that most people live in conditions in which the airborne virus load is low. The probability of infection changes nonlinearly with the amount of respiratory matter to which a person is exposed. If most people in the wider community wear even simple surgical masks, then the probability of an encounter with a virus particle is even fur…
Invasion Ability and Disease Dynamics of Environmentally Growing Opportunistic Pathogens under Outside-Host Competition
2014
Most theories of the evolution of virulence concentrate on obligatory host-pathogen relationship. Yet, many pathogens replicate in the environment outside-host where they compete with non-pathogenic forms. Thus, replication and competition in the outside-host environment may have profound influence on the evolution of virulence and disease dynamics. These environmentally growing opportunistic pathogens are also a logical step towards obligatory pathogenicity. Efficient treatment methods against these diseases, such as columnaris disease in fishes, are lacking because of their opportunist nature. We present a novel epidemiological model in which replication and competition in the outside-hos…
Mammal assemblage composition predicts global patterns in emerging infectious disease risk
2021
Abstract As a source of emerging infectious diseases, wildlife assemblages (and related spatial patterns) must be quantitatively assessed to help identify high‐risk locations. Previous assessments have largely focussed on the distributions of individual species; however, transmission dynamics are expected to depend on assemblage composition. Moreover, disease–diversity relationships have mainly been studied in the context of species loss, but assemblage composition and disease risk (e.g. infection prevalence in wildlife assemblages) can change without extinction. Based on the predicted distributions and abundances of 4466 mammal species, we estimated global patterns of disease risk through …
Permeability changes of integrin-containing multivesicular structures triggered by picornavirus entry.
2014
Cellular uptake of clustered α2β1-integrin induces the formation of membrane compartments that subsequently mature into a multivesicular body (MVB). Enhanced internalization mediated by clustered integrins was observed upon infection by the picornavirus echovirus 1 (EVI). We elucidated the structural features of virus-induced MVBs (vMVBs) in comparison to antibody-induced control MVBs (mock infection) by means of high-pressure cryo fixation of cells followed by immuno electron tomography during early entry of the virus. Three-dimensional tomograms revealed a marked increase in the size and complexity of these vMVBs and the intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) at 2 and 3.5 hours post infection (p.i.…
Promoting influenza prevention for elderly people in Hong Kong using health action process approach: study protocol.
2018
People 65 years or older are at greater risk of serious complications from the seasonal influenza compared with young. To promote elderly people’s behavioral compliance toward influenza prevention, the aim of the current project is to develop, implement, and evaluate a theory-based low-administration-cost intervention building on a leading psychological theory, the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA). The target group is Hong Kong Chinese elderly people aged 65 or older who rarely or never adopt any preventive actions. This project will be conducted in three phases over 24 months. In phase 1, intervention program will be developed building on the HAPA theoretical framework which comprises…
Preoperative nasopharyngeal swab testing and postoperative pulmonary complications in patients undergoing elective surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pand…
2021
Abstract Background Surgical services are preparing to scale up in areas affected by COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the association between preoperative SARS-CoV-2 testing and postoperative pulmonary complications in patients undergoing elective cancer surgery. Methods This international cohort study included adult patients undergoing elective surgery for cancer in areas affected by SARS-CoV-2 up to 19 April 2020. Patients suspected of SARS-CoV-2 infection before operation were excluded. The primary outcome measure was postoperative pulmonary complications at 30 days after surgery. Preoperative testing strategies were adjusted for confounding using mixed-effects models. Results Of 8…
Global Functional Analyses of Cellular Responses to Pore-Forming Toxins
2011
Here we present the first global functional analysis of cellular responses to pore-forming toxins (PFTs). PFTs are uniquely important bacterial virulence factors, comprising the single largest class of bacterial protein toxins and being important for the pathogenesis in humans of many Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Their mode of action is deceptively simple, poking holes in the plasma membrane of cells. The scattered studies to date of PFT-host cell interactions indicate a handful of genes are involved in cellular defenses to PFTs. How many genes are involved in cellular defenses against PFTs and how cellular defenses are coordinated are unknown. To address these questions, we pe…