Search results for "viral infection"
showing 10 items of 38 documents
Vertical transmission of naturally occurring Bunyamwera and insect-specific flavivirus infections in mosquitoes from islands and mainland shores of L…
2018
Background Many arboviruses transmitted by mosquitoes have been implicated as causative agents of both human and animal illnesses in East Africa. Although epidemics of arboviral emerging infectious diseases have risen in frequency in recent years, the extent to which mosquitoes maintain pathogens in circulation during inter-epidemic periods is still poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate whether arboviruses may be maintained by vertical transmission via immature life stages of different mosquito vector species. Methodology We collected immature mosquitoes (egg, larva, pupa) on the shores and islands of Lake Baringo and Lake Victoria in western Kenya and reared them to adults. Mo…
Role of RNA Guanine Quadruplexes in Favoring the Dimerization of SARS Unique Domain in Coronaviruses
2020
ABSTRACTCoronaviruses may produce severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). As a matter of fact, a new SARS-type virus, SARS-CoV-2, is responsible of a global pandemic in 2020 with unprecedented sanitary and economic consequences for most countries. In the present contribution we study, by all-atom equilibrium and enhanced sampling molecular dynamics simulations, the interaction between the SARS Unique Domain and RNA guanine quadruplexes, a process involved in eluding the defensive response of the host thus favoring viral infection of human cells. Our results evidence two stable binding modes involving an interaction site spanning either the protein dimer interface or only one monomer. The …
The interplay between the host microbiome and pathogenic viral infections
2021
The microorganisms associated with an organism, the microbiome, have a strong and wide impact in their host biology. In particular, the microbiome modulates both the host defense responses and immunity, thus influencing the fate of infections by pathogens. Indeed, this immune modulation and/or interaction with pathogenic viruses can be essential to define the outcome of viral infections. Understanding the interplay between the microbiome and pathogenic viruses opens future venues to fight viral infections and enhance the efficacy of antiviral therapies. An increasing number of researchers are focusing on microbiome-virus interactions, studying diverse combinations of microbial communities, …
Frequency of cytotoxic T lymphocyte precursors to herpes simplex virus type 1 as determined by limiting dilution analysis.
1983
The conditions for establishing a limiting dilution assay to measure cytotoxic T lymphocyte precursors (CTL-P) against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) were determined. Analysis by Poisson statistics demonstrated that the estimated frequency of HSV-1-reactive cells in the spleens of normal mice was less than 1/250,000. In contrast, mice immunized previously with infectious HSV-1 demonstrated a CTL-P frequency between 1/3,500 and 1/15,670. The generation of a maximum cytotoxic T lymphocyte response required that mice be primed in vivo with infectious virus. Immunization with inactivated virus either failed to elicit detectable CTL-P frequencies or gave frequencies markedly less than thos…
Baseline prediction of combination therapy outcome in hepatitis C virus 1b infected patients by discriminant analysis using viral and host factors.
2010
Background Current treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has limited efficacy −especially among genotype 1 infected patients−, is costly, and involves severe side effects. Thus, predicting non-response is of major interest for both patient wellbeing and health care expense. At present, treatment cannot be individualized on the basis of any baseline predictor of response. We aimed to identify pre-treatment clinical and virological parameters associated with treatment failure, as well as to assess whether therapy outcome could be predicted at baseline. Methodology Forty-three HCV subtype 1b (HCV-1b) chronically infected patients treated with pegylated-interferon alpha plus ri…
Traditional Chinese herbal medicine at the forefront battle against COVID-19: Clinical experience and scientific basis.
2020
Abstract Background Throughout the 5000-year history of China, more than 300 epidemics were recorded. Traditional Chinese herbal medicine (TCM) has been used effectively to combat each of these epidemics’ infections, and saved many lives. To date, there are hundreds of herbal TCM formulae developed for the purpose of prevention and treatment during epidemic infections. When COVID-19 ravaged the Wuhan district in China in early January 2020, without a deep understanding about the nature of COVID-19, patients admitted to the TCM Hospital in Wuhan were immediately treated with TCM and reported later with >90% efficacy. Approach We conducted conduct a systematic survey of various TCM herbal pre…
Transmission Heterogeneity and Control Strategies for Infectious Disease Emergence
2007
Background The control of emergence and spread of infectious diseases depends critically on the details of the genetic makeup of pathogens and hosts, their immunological, behavioral and ecological traits, and the pattern of temporal and spatial contacts among the age/stage-classes of susceptible and infectious host individuals. Methods and Findings We show that failing to acknowledge the existence of heterogeneities in the transmission rate among age/stage-classes can make traditional eradication and control strategies ineffective, and in some cases, policies aimed at controlling pathogen emergence can even increase disease incidence in the host. When control strategies target for reduction…
National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic
2022
Funder: Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence Scheme, FAIR project No 262675
Antioxidant Effects of Dietary Supplements on Adult COVID-19 Patients: Why Do We Not Also Use Them in Children?
2022
Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are very common in children, especially in the first five years of life, and several viruses, such as the influenza virus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and Rhinovirus, are triggers for symptoms that usually affect the upper airways. It has been known that during respiratory viral infections, a condition of oxidative stress (OS) occurs, and many studies have suggested the potential use of antioxidants as complementary components in prophylaxis and/or therapy of respiratory viral infections. Preliminary data have demonstrated that antioxidants may also interfere with the new coronavirus 2’s entry and replication in human cells, and that they have a role in …
Medical masks and Respirators for the Protection of Healthcare Workers from SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses
2020
The use of medical masks and respirators as personal protective equipment is pivotal to reducing the level of biological hazard to which healthcare workers are exposed during the outbreak of highly diffusible pathogens, such as the recent novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Unfortunately, during this pandemic, supplies are rapidly running out worldwide, with potential consequences for the rate of occupational infections. Also, knowledge about specific characteristics of respirators is of utmost importance to select the proper type according to the clinical setting. A wide variety of literature is available on the topic, but mostly based on Influenza viruses infection models. Clinical evidence on …