The Flavivirus genus includes a number of important viruses that are pathogenic to humans and ani... more The Flavivirus genus includes a number of important viruses that are pathogenic to humans and animals and are responsible for outbreaks across the globe. Integrins, a family of heterodimeric transmembrane molecules expressed in all nucleated cells mediate critical functions of cell physiology and cell cycle. Integrins were previously postulated to be involved in flavivirus entry and to modulate flavivirus replication efficiency. In the present study, mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF), lacking the expression of αVβ3 integrin (MEF-αVβ3−/−), were infected with four different flaviviruses, namely yellow fever virus (YFV), West Nile virus (WNV), Usutu virus (USUV) and Langat virus (LGTV). The effects of the αVβ3 integrin absence in double-knockout MEF-αVβ3−/− on flavivirus binding, internalization and replication were compared to the respective wild-type cells. Binding to the cell surface for all four flaviviruses was not affected by the ablation of αVβ3 integrin, whereas internalization...
SUMMARY Background: Hantavirus disease is a zoonosis of increasing clinical importance. A new inc... more SUMMARY Background: Hantavirus disease is a zoonosis of increasing clinical importance. A new incidence peak was reached in Germany in 2012, with more than 2800 reported cases. These viruses are transmitted from small mammals to human beings. The disease begins with high fever and non-pathognomonic manifestations that can end in shock and organ failure. Methods: This article is based on a selective literature search, on the authors’ experiences at the National Referral Laboratory for Hantavirus Infections (Nationales Konsiliarlaboratorium fur Hantaviren), and on published recommendations from Germany and abroad. Results: Two hantavirus species cause clinically relevant infections in Germany. Puumala virus, which is transmitted by bank voles, causes large outbreaks of disease every 2 to 3 years in the southwestern and western regions of Germany and in the Bavarian Forest. Dobrava-Belgrad virus, transmitted by striped field mice, causes infections in the north and east of the country....
SUMMARY Puumala virus (PUUV) causes many human infections in large parts of Europe and can lead t... more SUMMARY Puumala virus (PUUV) causes many human infections in large parts of Europe and can lead to mild to moderate disease. The bank vole (Myodes glareolus) is the only reservoir of PUUV in Central Europe. A commercial PUUV rapid field test for rodents was validated for bank-vole blood samples collected in two PUUV-endemic regions in Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg). A comparison of the results of the rapid field test and standard ELISAs indicated a test efficacy of 93–95%, largely independent of the origin of the antigens used in the ELISA. In ELISAs, reactivity for the German PUUV strain was higher compared to the Swedish strain but not compared to the Finnish strain, which was used for the rapid field test. In conclusion, the use of the rapid field test can facilitate short-term estimation of PUUV seroprevalence in bank-vole populations in Germany and can aid in assessing human PUUV infection risk.
The Norway rat Rattus norvegicus is an important reservoir of various zoonotic pathogens, such as... more The Norway rat Rattus norvegicus is an important reservoir of various zoonotic pathogens, such as cowpox virus and Leptospira, but also for agents of no or unknown zoonotic potential. We describe a survey of 426 Norway rats originating from five European countries and different habitats for Leptospira spp., rickettsiae, orthopox virus (OPV), avian metapneumovirus subtype A and B (aMPV), and rat polyomavirus (rat PyV). Leptospira DNA was detected in 60 of 420 (14.3%) rats and Rickettsia DNA was found in three of 369 (0.8%) rats investigated. PCR-based typing resulted in the identification of L. interrogans sequence type 17, serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae, and Rickettsia helvetica, respectively. Rat PyV DNA was detected in 103 of 421 (24.5%) rats. OPV DNA and aMPV RNA were detected in none of the rats, but OPV-specific antibodies in three of 388 (0.8%) rats. The frequency of single Leptospira and rat PyV infections and co-infections was, independent of sex, greater for adults compared ...
The large virus family Paramyxoviridae includes some of the most significant human and livestock ... more The large virus family Paramyxoviridae includes some of the most significant human and livestock viruses, such as measles-, distemper-, mumps-, parainfluenza-, newcastle disease-, respiratory syncytial virus and metapneumoviruses. Here we identify an estimated 66 new paramyxoviruses in a worldwide sample of 119 bat and rodent species (9,278 individuals). major discoveries include evidence of an origin of Hendra-and nipah virus in Africa, identification of a bat virus conspecific with the human mumps virus, detection of close relatives of respiratory syncytial virus, mouse pneumonia-and canine distemper virus in bats, as well as direct evidence of sendai virus in rodents. Phylogenetic reconstruction of host associations suggests a predominance of host switches from bats to other mammals and birds. Hypothesis tests in a maximum likelihood framework permit the phylogenetic placement of bats as tentative hosts at ancestral nodes to both the major Paramyxoviridae subfamilies (Paramyxovirinae and Pneumovirinae). Future attempts to predict the emergence of novel paramyxoviruses in humans and livestock will have to rely fundamentally on these data.
The Flavivirus genus includes a number of important viruses that are pathogenic to humans and ani... more The Flavivirus genus includes a number of important viruses that are pathogenic to humans and animals and are responsible for outbreaks across the globe. Integrins, a family of heterodimeric transmembrane molecules expressed in all nucleated cells mediate critical functions of cell physiology and cell cycle. Integrins were previously postulated to be involved in flavivirus entry and to modulate flavivirus replication efficiency. In the present study, mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF), lacking the expression of αVβ3 integrin (MEF-αVβ3−/−), were infected with four different flaviviruses, namely yellow fever virus (YFV), West Nile virus (WNV), Usutu virus (USUV) and Langat virus (LGTV). The effects of the αVβ3 integrin absence in double-knockout MEF-αVβ3−/− on flavivirus binding, internalization and replication were compared to the respective wild-type cells. Binding to the cell surface for all four flaviviruses was not affected by the ablation of αVβ3 integrin, whereas internalization...
SUMMARY Background: Hantavirus disease is a zoonosis of increasing clinical importance. A new inc... more SUMMARY Background: Hantavirus disease is a zoonosis of increasing clinical importance. A new incidence peak was reached in Germany in 2012, with more than 2800 reported cases. These viruses are transmitted from small mammals to human beings. The disease begins with high fever and non-pathognomonic manifestations that can end in shock and organ failure. Methods: This article is based on a selective literature search, on the authors’ experiences at the National Referral Laboratory for Hantavirus Infections (Nationales Konsiliarlaboratorium fur Hantaviren), and on published recommendations from Germany and abroad. Results: Two hantavirus species cause clinically relevant infections in Germany. Puumala virus, which is transmitted by bank voles, causes large outbreaks of disease every 2 to 3 years in the southwestern and western regions of Germany and in the Bavarian Forest. Dobrava-Belgrad virus, transmitted by striped field mice, causes infections in the north and east of the country....
SUMMARY Puumala virus (PUUV) causes many human infections in large parts of Europe and can lead t... more SUMMARY Puumala virus (PUUV) causes many human infections in large parts of Europe and can lead to mild to moderate disease. The bank vole (Myodes glareolus) is the only reservoir of PUUV in Central Europe. A commercial PUUV rapid field test for rodents was validated for bank-vole blood samples collected in two PUUV-endemic regions in Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg). A comparison of the results of the rapid field test and standard ELISAs indicated a test efficacy of 93–95%, largely independent of the origin of the antigens used in the ELISA. In ELISAs, reactivity for the German PUUV strain was higher compared to the Swedish strain but not compared to the Finnish strain, which was used for the rapid field test. In conclusion, the use of the rapid field test can facilitate short-term estimation of PUUV seroprevalence in bank-vole populations in Germany and can aid in assessing human PUUV infection risk.
The Norway rat Rattus norvegicus is an important reservoir of various zoonotic pathogens, such as... more The Norway rat Rattus norvegicus is an important reservoir of various zoonotic pathogens, such as cowpox virus and Leptospira, but also for agents of no or unknown zoonotic potential. We describe a survey of 426 Norway rats originating from five European countries and different habitats for Leptospira spp., rickettsiae, orthopox virus (OPV), avian metapneumovirus subtype A and B (aMPV), and rat polyomavirus (rat PyV). Leptospira DNA was detected in 60 of 420 (14.3%) rats and Rickettsia DNA was found in three of 369 (0.8%) rats investigated. PCR-based typing resulted in the identification of L. interrogans sequence type 17, serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae, and Rickettsia helvetica, respectively. Rat PyV DNA was detected in 103 of 421 (24.5%) rats. OPV DNA and aMPV RNA were detected in none of the rats, but OPV-specific antibodies in three of 388 (0.8%) rats. The frequency of single Leptospira and rat PyV infections and co-infections was, independent of sex, greater for adults compared ...
The large virus family Paramyxoviridae includes some of the most significant human and livestock ... more The large virus family Paramyxoviridae includes some of the most significant human and livestock viruses, such as measles-, distemper-, mumps-, parainfluenza-, newcastle disease-, respiratory syncytial virus and metapneumoviruses. Here we identify an estimated 66 new paramyxoviruses in a worldwide sample of 119 bat and rodent species (9,278 individuals). major discoveries include evidence of an origin of Hendra-and nipah virus in Africa, identification of a bat virus conspecific with the human mumps virus, detection of close relatives of respiratory syncytial virus, mouse pneumonia-and canine distemper virus in bats, as well as direct evidence of sendai virus in rodents. Phylogenetic reconstruction of host associations suggests a predominance of host switches from bats to other mammals and birds. Hypothesis tests in a maximum likelihood framework permit the phylogenetic placement of bats as tentative hosts at ancestral nodes to both the major Paramyxoviridae subfamilies (Paramyxovirinae and Pneumovirinae). Future attempts to predict the emergence of novel paramyxoviruses in humans and livestock will have to rely fundamentally on these data.
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