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Background: Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease caused by the Lassa virus (LASV). It is endemic in West Africa and infects about 300,000 people each year, leading to approximately 5000 deaths annually. The development of the LASV vaccine has been listed as a priority by the World Health Organization since 2018. Considering the accelerated development and availability of vaccines against COVID-19, we set out to assess the prospects of LASV vaccines and the progress made so far. Materials and Methods: We reviewed the progress made on twenty-six vaccine candidates listed by Salami et al. (2019) and searched for new vaccine candidates through Google Scholar, PubMed, and DOAJ from June to July 2021. We searched the articles published in English using keywords that included "vaccine" AND "Lassa fever" OR "Lassa virus" in the title/. Results: Thirty-four candidate vaccines were identified - 26 already listed in the review by Salami et al. and an additional 8, which were developed over the last seven years. 30 vaccines are still in the pre-clinical stage while 4 of them are currently undergoing clinical trials. The most promising candidates in 2019 were vesicular stomatitis virus-vectored vaccine and live-attenuated MV/LASV vaccine;both had progressed to clinical trials. Conclusions: Despite the focus on COVID-19 vaccines since 2020, LASV vaccine is under development and continues to make impressive progress, hence more emphasis should be put into exploring further clinical studies related to the most promising types of vaccines identified.
ABSTRACT
*Presenting author Emerging infectious diseases have been causing outbreaks in humans for centuries and most infectious diseases originate in animals. Re-emerging zoonotic pathogens are rapidly increasing in prevalence or geographic range and causing a significant and growing threat to global health. The present work provides an insight of zoonotic viruses risk at human-bat/rodent interfaces in Cambodia. We conducted studies to investigate the circulation of zoonotic viruses and the risk of exposure in human living at the interfaces with bats and rodents. Rodent's samples were collected in rural and urban areas of Cambodia. Organs were tested for Hantavirus, Orthohepevirus species C and Arenavirus. Bat's samples were collected in Steung Treng for Sarbecovirus and in Battambang and Kandal for Nipah virus detection. People working/living at the human-animal interfaces were screened for IgG antibodies. In rodents (750), hantavirus was detected in 3.3% rodents from urban areas only. Seoul orthohantavirus was the most predominant virus followed by Thottapalayam virus. HEV-C was detected only in rodents from urban settings (1.8%). Arenavirus was detected in both rural (6.8%) and urban (2.5%) areas. In humans (788), the seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against hantavirus, HEV-A and Arenavirus was 10.0%, 24% and 23.4% respectively. NiV was detected in flying fox's urines collected between 2013-2016 in Kandal (0.63%) and in Battambang (1.03%). Blood samples collected in both provinces were negative for NiV antibodies. SARS-CoV-2 related virus was detected in Rhinolphus shameli in Steung Treng in 2010, 2020 and 2021. Blood samples from people living at the vicinity of positive bats were positive for antibodies against CoV (7.7%), but no specific neutralizing SARS-CoV2 antibodies were detected. Our studies provided insight of the risk of zoonoses in Cambodia and highlighted the importance of zoonotic surveillance and further One Health effort to prevent, detect, and respond to future cross-species transmission.Copyright © 2023
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In January 2023, a total of 64 infectious diseases were reported globally, affecting 235 countries and regions. Except for influenza, the top five infectious diseases affecting greatest number of countries and regions were COVID-19 (235), monkeypox (110), dengue fever (31), measles (27) and cholera (15). The top five infectious diseases with highest case fatality rates were Nipah virus disease (62.5%), Ebola virus disease (47.0%), Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (37.5%), Lassa fever (15.1%) and West Nile fever (7.6%). The top five infectious diseases with greatest number of deaths were COVID-19, malaria, cholera, measles and dengue fever. The prevalent infectious diseases in Asia were COVID-19, cholera and dengue fever, the prevalent infectious diseases in Africa were COVID-19, cholera, yellow fever, Lassa fever, malaria and monkeypox, the prevalent infectious diseases in America were COVID-19, cholera, monkeypox, dengue fever and chikungunya fever, the prevalent infectious disease in Europe were COVID-19, monkeypox and invasive group A streptococcus infection.
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In this chapter, we describe the main molecular features of SARS-CoV-2 that cause COVID-19 disease, as well as a high-efficiency computational prediction called Polarity Index Method®. We also introduce a molecular classification of the RNA virus and DNA virus families and two main classifications: supervised and non-supervised algorithms of the predictions of the predominant function of proteins. Finally, some results obtained by the proposed non-supervised method are given, as well as some particularities found about the linear representation of proteins. © 2022 Scrivener Publishing LLC.
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In December 2022, a total of 68 infectious diseases were reported globally, affecting 235 countries and regions. Except for influenza, the top five infectious diseases affecting greatest number of countries and regions were COVID-19 (235), monkeypox (110), dengue fever (28), measles (27) and cholera (14). The top five infectious diseases with highest case fatality rates were Ebola virus disease (47.0%), Rift Valley fever (44.2%), Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (40.0%), Lassa fever (17.6%) and West Nile fever (7.6%). The top five infectious diseases with greatest number of deaths were COVID-19, malaria, cholera, dengue fever and measles. The prevalent infectious diseases in Asia were COVID-19, cholera and dengue fever, the prevalent infectious diseases in Africa were COVID-19, cholera, yellow fever, Lassa fever, monkeypox, malaria and measles, the prevalent infectious diseases in America were COVID-19, cholera, monkeypox, dengue fever and chikungunya fever, the prevalent infectious disease in Europe were COVID-19, monkeypox and invasive group A streptococcus infection.
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Vaccination is effective in preventing the increase of disease, especially emerging infectious diseases (EIDs), and it is particularly important for people in close contact with infected sources and susceptible populations who are at increased risk of getting infectious diseases due to behavior, occupation or health. Despite targeted vaccination guidelines, inadequate vaccination of the key populations fails to receive widespread attention, resulting in a high-risk transition of disease from key populations to general populations. Strengthening the vaccination of the susceptible groups can effectively block the spread of pathogens to general populations, and reduce the consumption of medical resources in universal vaccination, which has significant economic value. In this review, we describe the prevalence of EIDs, analyze the experience and lessons of infectious disease vaccination in key populations through several cases, and further explore the causes for the decline in vaccination rates of key populations. According to the trends of EIDs, a plan to strengthen the vaccination of key populations is proposed to effectively prevent the transition of EIDs from key populations to general populations.
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In May 2022, a total of 66 infectious diseases were reported globally, affecting 233 countries and regions. Except for influenza, the top five infectious diseases affecting greatest number of countries and regions were COVID-19 (233), monkeypox (36), dengue fever (31), measles (24) and cholera (11). The top five infectious diseases with highest case fatality rates were Ebola virus disease (100.0%), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (34.4%), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (22.2%), Lassa fever (19.8%) and monkeypox (4.0%). The top five infectious diseases with greatest number of deaths were COVID-19, malaria, cholera, dengue fever and measles. The prevalent infectious diseases in Asia were COVID-19, dengue fever and cholera, the prevalent infectious diseases in Africa were COVID-19, Ebola virus disease, cholera, yellow fever, Lassa fever, malaria and monkeypox, the prevalent infectious diseases in America were COVID-19, dengue fever, chikungunya fever and Zika virus disease, the prevalent infectious disease in Europe were COVID-19, monkeypox and acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology.
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In March 2022, a total of 63 infectious diseases were reported globally, affecting 230 countries and regions. Except for influenza, the top five infectious diseases affecting greatest number of countries and regions were COVID-19 (230), dengue fever (32), measles (29), chikungunya fever (10) and cholera (9). The top five infectious diseases with highest case fatality rates were Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (33.3%), Rift Valley fever (20.0%), Lassa fever (18.6%), yellow fever (11.3%) and monkeypox (5.5%). The top five infectious diseases with greatest number of deaths were COVID-19, malaria, measles, cholera and Lassa fever. The prevalent infectious diseases in Asia were COVID-19 and dengue fever, the prevalent infectious diseases in Africa were COVID-19, cholera, yellow fever, Lassa fever, malaria, measles and poliomyelitis, the prevalent infectious diseases in America were COVID-19, dengue fever and chikungunya fever, the prevalent infectious disease in Europe was COVID-19.
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As a result of the scale of the Covid 19 pandemic that launched from China in December 2019 and to limit its spread, several treatments were used to control this virus, including, hydroxychloroquine, favipiravir, lopinavir, remidesivir, tocilizumab, and anakinra. Favipiravir is an antiviral drug that works by inhibiting RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, favipiravir inhibited viral genome replication, which was most noticeable in the middle of the viral proliferation period. Favipiravir was found to have antiviral activity, Purine nucleosides or purine bases inhibit favipiravir, meaning that it competes with purine nucleosides rather than pyrimidine nucleosides, In a time-of-drugaddition test, to treat a variety of RNA viruses (influenza, West Nile, yellow fever, flaviviruses, arenaviruses, bunyaviruses and alphaviruses). Here, we show for the first time the histologycal effect of favipiravir on the liver and kidneys using albino rats, using light microscopy, where the optical microscopic revealed that normal doses in liver showed hepatic cords arranged, normal central vein and mild sinusoildal infiltration of mono nuclear leukocytes mainly lymphocytes, the hepatocytes showed mild granular cytoplasm while double doses showed little hemorrhagic foci and disarrangement of hepatic cords. The magnified sections revealed few of hepatocytes showed mild cloudy swelling associated with little figures of cellular necrosis. As for kidneys, the optical microscopic observations showed multiple foci of hemorrhage, the magnified section revealed congestion of glomerular capillary tuft and few of renal tubules showed mild granular or vacular degeneration. On the other hand, sections of renal medulla revealed normal appearance for normal doses while renal cortex and medulla were showed marked interstitial nephritis, which characterized by interstitial thickening due to infiltration of mono nuclear leukocytes and the renal tubules showed sever vacular degeneration and necrosis for double doses. These results can guide the safe use of favipiravir and reduce the risks to tissue the liver and kidney by using double doses.
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Viral exoribonucleases are uncommon in the world of RNA viruses. To date, they have only been identified in the Arenaviridae and the Coronaviridae families. The exoribonucleases of these viruses play a crucial role in the pathogenicity and interplay with host innate immune response. Moreover, coronaviruses exoribonuclease is also involved in a proofreading mechanism ensuring the genetic stability of the viral genome. Because of their key roles in virus life cycle, they constitute attractive target for drug design. Here we developed a sensitive, robust and reliable fluorescence polarization assay to measure the exoribonuclease activity and its inhibition in vitro. The effectiveness of the method was validated on three different viral exoribonucleases, including SARS-CoV-2, Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis and Machupo viruses. We performed a screening of a focused library consisting of 113 metal chelators. Hit compounds were recovered with an IC50 at micromolar level. We confirmed 3 hits in SARS-CoV-2 infected Vero-E6 cells.
Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents , Arenavirus , Exoribonucleases , SARS-CoV-2 , Animals , Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Arenavirus/drug effects , Chlorocebus aethiops , Exoribonucleases/antagonists & inhibitors , Fluorescence Polarization , SARS-CoV-2/drug effects , Vero Cells , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/antagonists & inhibitorsABSTRACT
In January 2022, a total of 68 infectious diseases were reported globally, affecting 228 countries and regions. Except for influenza, the top five infectious diseases affecting greatest number of countries and regions were corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19, 228), dengue fever (26), measles (19), cholera (12) and leptospirosis (10). The top five infectious diseases with highest case fatality rates were Rift Valley fever (100.0%), Lassa fever (19.0%), yellow fever (15.5%), plague (7.5%) and West Nile fever (7.1%). The top five infectious diseases with greatest number of deaths were COVID-19, malaria, measles, Lassa fever and cholera. The prevalent infectious diseases in Asia were COVID-19 and dengue fever, the prevalent infectious diseases in Africa were COVID-19, cholera, yellow fever, Lassa fever, malaria and measles, the prevalent infectious diseases in America were COVID-19, dengue fever and chikungunya fever, the prevalent infectious disease in Europe was COVID-19.
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In December 2021, a total of 64 infectious diseases were reported globally, affecting 228 countries and regions. Except for influenza, the top five infectious diseases affecting greatest number of countries and regions were corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19, 228), measles (29), dengue fever (28), cholera (12) and chikungunya fever (9). The top five infectious diseases with highest case fatality rates were Ebola virus disease (81.8%), Middle East respiratory syndrome (34.4%), yellow fever (22.0%), Lassa fever (20.0%) and plague (10.8%). The top five infectious diseases with greatest number of deaths were COVID-19, malaria, measles, dengue fever and cholera. The prevalent infectious diseases in Asia were COVID-19 and dengue fever, the prevalent infectious diseases in Africa were COVID-19, cholera, yellow fever, plague, Lassa fever, poliomyelitis, malaria and measles, the prevalent infectious diseases in America were COVID-19, dengue fever, chikungunya fever and Zika virus disease, the prevalent infectious disease in Europe was COVID-19.
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In November 2021, a total of 65 infectious diseases were reported globally, affecting 226 countries and regions. Except for influenza, the top five infectious diseases affecting greatest number of countries and regions were Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19, 226), dengue fever (31), measles (21), poliomyelitis (11) and cholera (10). The top five infectious diseases with highest case fatality rates were Ebola virus disease (81.8%), Lassa fever (18.6%), yellow fever (15.3%), meningitis (7.9%) and plague (7.6%). The top five infectious diseases with greatest number of deaths were COVID-19, malaria, cholera, dengue fever and yellow fever. The prevalent infectious diseases in Asia were COVID-19 and dengue fever, the prevalent infectious diseases in Africa were COVID-19, Ebola virus disease, cholera, yellow fever, Lassa fever, poliomyelitis, malaria and measles, the prevalent infectious diseases in America were COVID-19, dengue fever, chikungunya fever and Zika virus disease, the prevalent infectious disease in Europe were COVID-19 and West Nile fever.
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In September 2021, a total of 63 infectious diseases were reported globally, affecting 226 countries and regions. Except for influenza, the top five infectious diseases affecting greatest number of countries and regions were Corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19, 226), dengue fever (28), measles (26), West Nile fever (10) and cholera (9). The top five infectious diseases with highest case fatality rates were Nipah virus disease (100.0%), Middle East respiratory syndrome (34.4%), Lassa fever (20.3%), plague (20.0%) and meningitis (15.8%). The top five infectious diseases with greatest number of deaths were COVID-19, malaria, cholera, meningitis and dengue fever. The prevalent infectious diseases in Asia were COVID-19 and dengue fever, the prevalent infectious diseases in Africa were COVID-19, cholera, plague, yellow fever, Lassa fever, poliomyelitis, malaria and measles, the prevalent infectious diseases in America were COVID-19, dengue fever and chikungunya fever, the prevalent infectious disease in Europe were COVID-19 and West Nile fever.
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This special issue contains 58 articles that discuss COVID-19 in relation to other diseases. Topics include dengue fever, tuberculosis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, antiretroviral shortage amidst the pandemic, measles, reinfection by 2 genetically distinct SARS-CoV-2 viruses, Lassa fever, molecular biology of SARS-CoV-2 proteins, dermatological manifestation of COVID-19, immunosuppressive therapy in COVID-19-positive patients, rapid antigen tests for detection of COVID-19, among others.
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Prior to 2020, the threat of a novel viral pandemic was omnipresent but largely ignored. Just 12 months prior to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic our team received funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to establish and validate a rapid response pipeline for subunit vaccine development based on our proprietary Molecular Clamp platform. Throughout the course of 2019 we conducted two mock tests of our system for rapid antigen production against two potential, emerging viral pathogens, Achimota paramyxovirus and Wenzhou mammarenavirus. For each virus we expressed a small panel of recombinant variants of the membrane fusion protein and screened for expression level, product homogeneity, and the presence of the expected trimeric pre-fusion conformation. Lessons learned from this exercise paved the way for our response to COVID-19, for which our candidate antigen is currently in phase I clinical trial.