Non - pharmaceutical interventions for respiratory virus infection in children and its effect.

With the emergence of new respiratory virus,it is more apparent for the vulnerability of population to respiratory viral infection. Non -pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) for respiratory virus infection have become the main way to prevent corona virus disease 2019. Some studies had proven its effectiveness. In addition,the NPIs also significantly reduced the incidence and hospitalization rate of other respiratory disease in children. NPIs for respiratory virus infection in children have its particularity and challenge. In daily life,it is important to guide children how to do the NPIs, so as to protect susceptible children and reduce the disease burden in children's health system. Therefore, the aerosol transmission, the specificity of the NPIs in children, and the impact on childhood respiratory diseases are described in this article, to improve the prevention of common respiratory diseases in children.Copyright © 2022 Chinese Medical Journals Publishing House Co.Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Effects of yogurt containing probiotics on respiratory virus infections: Influenza H1N1 and SARS-CoV-2.

Respiratory virus infections are an escalating issue and have become common worldwide. Influenza and COVID-19 are typical infectious respiratory diseases, and they sometimes lead to various complications. In a situation in which no established drug or treatment exists, consumption of proper food might be beneficial in maintaining health against external infections. We studied the potential effects of mixtures of probiotic strains on various viral infections. The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of yogurt containing probiotics to reduce the risk of respiratory viruses such as influenza H1N1 and SARS-CoV-2 infection. First, we performed in vitro tests using infected Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) and Vero E6 cells, to evaluate the potential effects of yogurt containing high-dose probiotics against influenza H1N1 and SARS-CoV-2 infection. The yogurt significantly reduced plaque formation in the virus-infected cells. We also performed in vivo tests using influenza H1N1-infected C57BL/6 mice and SARS-CoV-2-infected Syrian golden hamsters, to evaluate the potential effects of yogurt. Yogurt was administered orally once daily during the experimental period. Yogurt was also administered orally as pretreatment once daily for 3 wk before viral infection. Regarding influenza H1N1, it was found that yogurt caused an increase in the survival rate, body weight, and IFN-γ, IgG1, and IL-10 levels against viral infection and a decrease in the inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6. Although the SARS-CoV-2 copy number was not significantly reduced in the lungs of yogurt-treated SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters, the body weights and histopathological findings of the lungs were improved in the yogurt-treated group. In conclusion, we suggest that consumption of yogurt containing probiotics can lead to beneficial effects to prevent respiratory viral infections.

Viral infections in hospitalized children in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic: Association with non-pharmaceutical interventions.

Background: Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) during the COVID-19 pandemic aimed at prevention of SARS-CoV-2 transmission also influenced transmission of viruses other than SARS-CoV-2. The aim of this study was to describe and compare the burden of common viral respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in children admitted to Berlin University Children's Hospital (BCH) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic at different levels of public NPI measures. Methods: In this retrospective study, we analyzed the frequency of detection of common human respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses from January 2016 through January 2022 in all patients admitted to BCH. We compared virus detection before and during the COVID-19 pandemic at different levels of public NPI measures. Results: The frequency of detection of seasonal enveloped and non-enveloped viruses [Boca-, Corona-, Influenza-, Metapneumo-, Parainfluenza-, Rota-, and Respiratory Syncytial Viruses (RSV)] was diminished during the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas detection rates of non-seasonal viruses (Rhino-/Entero-, and Adenoviruses) were stable during the pandemic. After withdrawal of major NPI measures, we observed an out of season surge of the detection rates of Boca-, Corona-, Parainfluenzaviruses, and RSV. In contrast, no increased detection frequency was observed for Influenza-, Metapneumo-, and Rotaviruses as of January 2022. Conclusion: Corona-, Boca-, Parainfluenzaviruses, and RSV returned as frequently detected pathogens after withdrawal of major NPI measures. The out of season rise might be attributed to an "immune-debt" due to missing contact to viral antigens resulting in waning of population immunity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Non - pharmaceutical interventions for respiratory virus infection in children and its effect

With the emergence of new respiratory virus,it is more apparent for the vulnerability of population to respiratory viral infection. Non -pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) for respiratory virus infection have become the main way to prevent corona virus disease 2019. Some studies had proven its effectiveness. In addition,the NPIs also significantly reduced the incidence and hospitalization rate of other respiratory disease in children. NPIs for respiratory virus infection in children have its particularity and challenge. In daily life,it is important to guide children how to do the NPIs, so as to protect susceptible children and reduce the disease burden in children's health system. Therefore, the aerosol transmission, the specificity of the NPIs in children, and the impact on childhood respiratory diseases are described in this article, to improve the prevention of common respiratory diseases in children. © 2022 Chinese Medical Journals Publishing House Co.Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Dysfunctional telomeres through mitostress-induced cGAS/STING activation to aggravate immune senescence and viral pneumonia.

Disproportionately high incidence and mortality of respiratory infection such as influenza A virus (IAV) and SARS-CoV-2 have been evidenced in the elderly, but the role and the mechanism of age-associated immune deregulation in disease exacerbation are not well defined. Using a late generation of mice deficient in telomerase RNA (Terc-/- ), we herein demonstrated that aged mice were exquisitely susceptible to respiratory viral infection, with excessive inflammation and increased mortality. Furthermore, we identified the cGAS/STING pathway, which was essentially induced by the leaked mitochondrial DNA, as a biologically relevant mechanism contributing to exaggerated inflammation in Terc-/- mice following viral infection. Innate immune cells, mainly, macrophages with shortened telomeres, exhibited hallmarks of cellular senescence, mitochondrial distress, and aberrant activation of STING and NLRP3 inflammasome pathways, which predisposed mice to severe viral pneumonia during commonly mild infections. Application of STING inhibitor and, more importantly, senolytic agent, reduced the burden of stressed macrophages, improved mitochondrial integrity, and suppressed STING activation, thereby conferring the protection for Terc-/- mice against respiratory infection. Together, the findings expand our understanding of innate immune senescence and reveal the potential of the senolytics as a promising treatment to alleviate the symptom of viral pneumonia, particularly for the older population.

Strategies for fighting pandemic virus infections: Integration of virology and drug delivery.

Respiratory viruses have sometimes resulted in worldwide pandemics, with the influenza virus and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) being major participants. Long-term efforts have made it possible to control the influenza virus, but seasonal influenza continues to take many lives each year, and a pandemic influenza virus sometimes emerges. Although vaccines for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been developed, we are not yet able to coexist with the SARS-CoV-2. To overcome such viruses, it is necessary to obtain knowledge about international surveillance systems, virology, ecology and to determine that immune responses are effective. The information must then be transferred to drugs. Delivery systems would be expected to contribute to the rational development of drugs. In this review, virologist and drug delivery system (DDS) researchers discuss drug delivery strategies, especially the use of lipid-based nanocarriers, for fighting to respiratory virus infections.

Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) transmission in residential aged care using ultraviolet light (PETRA): a two-arm crossover randomised controlled trial protocol.

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 poses a considerable threat to those living in residential aged care facilities (RACF). RACF COVID-19 outbreaks have been characterised by the rapid spread of infection and high rates of severe disease and associated mortality. Despite a growing body of evidence supporting airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, current infection control measures in RACF including hand hygiene, social distancing, and sterilisation of surfaces, focus on contact and droplet transmission. Germicidal ultraviolet (GUV) light has been used widely to prevent airborne pathogen transmission. Our aim is to investigate the efficacy of GUV technology in reducing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in RACF. METHODS: A multicentre, two-arm double-crossover, randomised controlled trial will be conducted to determine the efficacy of GUV devices to reduce respiratory viral transmission in RACF, as an adjunct to existing infection control measures. The study will be conducted in partnership with three aged care providers in metropolitan and regional South Australia. RACF will be separated into paired within-site zones, then randomised to intervention order (GUV or control). The initial 6-week period will be followed by a 2-week washout before crossover to the second 6-week period. After accounting for estimated within-zone and within-facility correlations of infection, and baseline infection rates (10 per 100 person-days), a sample size of n = 8 zones (n = 40 residents/zone) will provide 89% power to detect a 50% reduction in symptomatic infection rate. The primary outcome will be the incidence rate ratio of combined symptomatic respiratory infections for intervention versus control. Secondary outcomes include incidence rates of hospitalisation for complications associated with respiratory infection; respiratory virus detection in facility air and fomite samples; rates of laboratory confirmed respiratory illnesses and genomic characteristics. DISCUSSION: Measures that can be deployed rapidly into RACF, that avoid the requirement for changes in resident and staff behaviour, and that are effective in reducing the risk of airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission, would provide considerable benefit in safeguarding a highly vulnerable population. In addition, such measures might substantially reduce rates of other respiratory viruses, which contribute considerably to resident morbidity and mortality. Trial registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12621000567820 (registered on 14th May, 2021).

[Respiratory virus infections after hematopoietic cell transplantation].

Respiratory viral infection is a common disease even among immunocompetent individuals. Moreover, approximately 40% of the hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) recipients suffer from a respiratory infection within 100 days after HCT. New respiratory viruses have been continuously identified in the past 20 years, such as new strains of coronaviruses (CoV), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), and human bocavirus (BoV). In 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 that caused the coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 pandemic was identified. The 30-day overall survival after lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) due to CoV, including SARS-CoV-2 or HMPV, was 60-70%, which is similar to that after LRTD due to influenza or respiratory syncytial virus. However, whether BoV is a pathogen of LRTD remains unclear. Moreover, corticosteroid has been reported as an efficient drug for LRTD due to SARS-CoV-2. Antiviral drug (remdesivir), anti-IL-6 receptor antibody (tocilizumab), and JAK inhibitor (ruxolitinib) are also expected to be efficient for the treatment of COVID-19. Thus, managing respiratory viruses in HCT recipients needs to be learned based on experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The triad: respiratory microbiome - virus - immune response in the pathophysiology of pulmonary viral infections.

INTRODUCTION: The longstanding dogma that the healthy lung is sterile has been refuted by recent advances in culture-independent analyses of airway samples. The respiratory microbiome comprises all airway and lung tissue-associated microbes. These micro-organisms occur throughout the upper and lower respiratory tracts, with different populations and distinct burdens at specific sites and can be classified as pathogenic or commensal. AREAS COVERED: The majority of studies investigating the respiratory microbiome have focused on bacteria; however, emerging evidence has revealed the composition of the lung virome, the global viral communities present in the lung tissue. In this review, we searched PubMed and used keywords such as airway microbiome. We restricted outputs to English language and did not limit by any dates. We summarize the up-to-date knowledge on how the microbiome interacts with the host immune system and influences the pathogenesis of pulmonary viral infections. EXPERT OPINION: The relationship between colonizing microbes and the host is complex and various factors need to be considered in order to appreciate its pathophysiological consequences. Understanding these intricate mechanisms of interaction among the respiratory microbiome, viruses and the immune response may lead to the development of better therapies to treat or prevent respiratory viral infections.

COVID19 outbreak in Lombardy, Italy: An analysis on the short-term relationship between air pollution, climatic factors and the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Short-term exposure to air pollution, as well as to climate variables have been linked to a higher incidence of respiratory viral diseases. The study aims to assess the short-term influence of air pollution and climate on COVID19 incidence in Lombardy (Italy), during the early stage of the outbreak, before the implementation of the lockdown measures. The daily number of COVID19 cases in Lombardy from February 25th to March 10th, 2020, and the daily average concentrations up to 15 days before the study period of particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5), O3, SO2, and NO2 together with climate variables (temperature, relative humidity - RH%, wind speed, precipitation), were analyzed. A univariable mixed model with a logarithm transformation as link function was applied for each day, from 15 days (lag15) to one day (lag1) before the day of detected cases, to evaluate the effect of each variable. Additionally, change points (Break Points-BP) in the relationship between incident cases and air pollution or climatic factors were estimated. The results did not show a univocal relationship between air quality or climate factors and COVID19 incidence. PM10, PM2.5 and O3 concentrations in the last lags seem to be related to an increased COVID19 incidence, probably due to an increased susceptibility of the host. In addition, low temperature and low wind speed in some lags resulted associated with increased daily COVID19 incidence. The findings observed suggest that these factors, in particular conditions and lags, may increase individual susceptibility to the development of viral infections such as SARS-CoV-2.

Characteristics of respiratory virus infections in autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients, a prospective study, Bern, Switzerland, 2015-2017.

BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of respiratory virus infections (RVI) in patients undergoing autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-SCT) is not well described. METHODS: Our goal was to describe the epidemiology of respiratory virus infections (RVI) in patients undergoing autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-SCT) in a single tertiary centre observation study during two respiratory virus seasons (2015-2017). All symptomatic auto-SCT patients were tested for RVI by nasopharyngeal swab. RESULTS: 156 transplantation episodes were included, 69% were male and, the median age was 57 years. We detected 19 RVIs in 156 transplantation episodes (12%). The median time to RVI after hospitalization was 13 days [IQR 7-13] and 15/19 (79%) had a possible nosocomial origin (occurrence ≥ 5 days after admission). The nosocomial infections included 5/15 (33%) 'severe' RVIs (3 influenza viruses, 1 parainfluenza virus, and 1 adenovirus) as well as 10/15 (66%) non-severe virus infections (including human rhinovirus and human coronavirus). CONCLUSION: In approximately 10% of auto-SCT transplantation episodes, an RVI with likely nosocomial origin was detected and included 'severe viruses' such as influenza. Our study suggests that infection prevention measures in auto-SCT patients can be improved. ABBREVIATIONS: AdV: adenovirus; ALL: acute lymphatic leukaemia; AML: acute myeloid leukaemia; auto-SCT: autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation; hCoV: human coronavirus; HD: Hodgkin's disease; hMPV: human metapneumovirus; HRV: human rhinovirus; HSCT: allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation; IQR: interquartile range; GCT: germ cell tumour; MM: multiple myeloma; NHL: non-Hodgkin lymphoma; PIV: parainfluenza virus; RSV: respiratory syncytial virus.