The full impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) on pregnancy remains uncharacterized. Current literature suggests minimal maternal, fetal, and neonatal morbidity and mortality. COVID‐19 ...manifestations appear similar between pregnant and nonpregnant women. We present a case of placental severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) virus in a woman with mild COVID‐19 disease, then review the literature. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was performed to detect SARS‐CoV‐2. Immunohistochemistry staining was performed with specific monoclonal antibodies to detect SARS‐CoV‐2 antigen or to identify trophoblasts. A 29‐year‐old multigravida presented at 40‐4/7 weeks for labor induction. With myalgias 2 days prior, she tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2. We demonstrate maternal vascular malperfusion, with no fetal vascular malperfusion, as well as SARS‐CoV‐2 virus in chorionic villi endothelial cells, and also rarely in trophoblasts. To our knowledge, this is the first report of placental SARS‐CoV‐2 despite mild COVID‐19 disease (no symptoms of COVID‐19 aside from myalgias); patient had no fever, cough, or shortness of breath, but only myalgias and sick contacts. Despite her mild COVID‐19 disease in pregnancy, we demonstrate placental vasculopathy and presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 virus across the placenta. Evidence of placental COVID‐19 raises concern for placental vasculopathy (potentially leading to fetal growth restriction and other pregnancy complications) and possible vertical transmission—especially for pregnant women who may be exposed to COVID‐19 in early pregnancy. This raises important questions of whether future pregnancy guidance should include stricter pandemic precautions, such as screening for a wider array of COVID‐19 symptoms, increased antenatal surveillance, and possibly routine COVID‐19 testing throughout pregnancy.
Highlights
We present a case of placental SARS‐CoV‐2 virus in a woman with mild COVID‐19 disease.
This is the first report of placental SARS‐CoV‐2 despite mild COVID‐19 disease (no symptoms of COVID‐19 aside from myalgias); patient had no fever, cough, or shortness of breath, but only myalgias and sick contacts.
Despite mild COVID‐19 disease in pregnancy, we demonstrate placental vasculopathy and presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 virus across the placenta.
This report raises important questions of whether future pregnancy guidance should include stricter pandemic precautions.
The outbreak of a novel corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the city of Wuhan, China has resulted in more than 1.7 million laboratory confirmed cases all over the world. Recent studies showed ...that SARS-CoV-2 was likely originated from bats, but its intermediate hosts are still largely unknown. In this study, we assembled the complete genome of a coronavirus identified in 3 sick Malayan pangolins. The molecular and phylogenetic analyses showed that this pangolin coronavirus (pangolin-CoV-2020) is genetically related to the SARS-CoV-2 as well as a group of bat coronaviruses but do not support the SARS-CoV-2 emerged directly from the pangolin-CoV-2020. Our study suggests that pangolins are natural hosts of Betacoronaviruses. Large surveillance of coronaviruses in pangolins could improve our understanding of the spectrum of coronaviruses in pangolins. In addition to conservation of wildlife, minimizing the exposures of humans to wildlife will be important to reduce the spillover risks of coronaviruses from wild animals to humans.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Antigenic characterization of emerging and re-emerging viruses is necessary for the prevention of and response to outbreaks, evaluation of infection mechanisms, understanding of virus evolution, and ...selection of strains for vaccine development. Primary analytic methods, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent/lectin assays, hemagglutination inhibition, neuraminidase inhibition, micro-neutralization assays, and antigenic cartography, have been widely used in the field of influenza research. These techniques have been improved upon over time for increased analytical capacity, and some have been mobilized for the rapid characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as its variants, facilitating the development of highly effective vaccines within 1 year of the initially reported outbreak. While great strides have been made for evaluating the antigenic properties of these viruses, multiple challenges prevent efficient vaccine strain selection and accurate assessment. For influenza, these barriers include the requirement for a large virus quantity to perform the assays, more than what can typically be provided by the clinical samples alone, cell- or egg-adapted mutations that can cause antigenic mismatch between the vaccine strain and circulating viruses, and up to a 6-month duration of vaccine development after vaccine strain selection, which allows viruses to continue evolving with potential for antigenic drift and, thus, antigenic mismatch between the vaccine strain and the emerging epidemic strain. SARS-CoV-2 characterization has faced similar challenges with the additional barrier of the need for facilities with high biosafety levels due to its infectious nature. In this study, we review the primary analytic methods used for antigenic characterization of influenza and SARS-CoV-2 and discuss the barriers of these methods and current developments for addressing these challenges.
Prior to the emergence of the A/goose/Guangdong/1/1996 (Gs/GD) H5N1 influenza A virus, the long‐held and well‐supported paradigm was that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks were ...restricted to poultry, the result of cross‐species transmission of precursor viruses from wild aquatic birds that subsequently gained pathogenicity in domestic birds. Therefore, management agencies typically adopted a prevention, control, and eradication strategy that included strict biosecurity for domestic bird production, isolation of infected and exposed flocks, and prompt depopulation. In most cases, this strategy has proved sufficient for eradicating HPAI. Since 2002, this paradigm has been challenged with many detections of viral descendants of the Gs/GD lineage among wild birds, most of which have been associated with sporadic mortality events. Since the emergence and evolution of the genetically distinct clade 2.3.4.4 Gs/GD lineage HPAI viruses in approximately 2010, there have been further increases in the occurrence of HPAI in wild birds and geographic spread through migratory bird movement. A prominent example is the introduction of clade 2.3.4.4 Gs/GD HPAI viruses from East Asia to North America via migratory birds in autumn 2014 that ultimately led to the largest outbreak of HPAI in the history of the United States. Given the apparent maintenance of Gs/GD lineage HPAI viruses in a global avian reservoir; bidirectional virus exchange between wild and domestic birds facilitating the continued adaptation of Gs/GD HPAI viruses in wild bird hosts; the current frequency of HPAI outbreaks in wild birds globally, and particularly in Eurasia where Gs/GD HPAI viruses may now be enzootic; and ongoing dispersal of AI viruses from East Asia to North America via migratory birds, HPAI now represents an emerging disease threat to North American wildlife. This recent paradigm shift implies that management of HPAI in domestic birds alone may no longer be sufficient to eradicate HPAI viruses from a given country or region. Rather, agencies managing wild birds and their habitats may consider the development or adoption of mitigation strategies to minimize introductions to poultry, to reduce negative impacts on wild bird populations, and to diminish adverse effects to stakeholders using wildlife resources. The main objective of this review is, therefore, to provide information that will assist wildlife managers in developing mitigation strategies or approaches for dealing with outbreaks of Gs/GD HPAI in wild birds in the form of preparedness, surveillance, research, communications, and targeted management actions. Resultant outbreak response plans and actions may represent meaningful steps of wildlife managers toward the use of collaborative and multi‐jurisdictional One Health approaches when it comes to the detection, investigation, and mitigation of emerging viruses at the human‐domestic animal‐wildlife interface.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza has become sufficiently common and geographically widespread in wild birds such that it now represents an emergent disease threat to North American wildlife. This review aims to provide information that will assist wildlife managers in developing mitigation strategies or approaches for dealing with future outbreaks in wild birds in the form of preparedness, surveillance, research, communications, and targeted management actions.
The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has engulfed the world and is the highlight of medical community at this time. As humanity fights the battle against this virus, questions are arising regarding ...the appropriate management of at risk patient populations. The immunocompromised cohort is particularly susceptible to this infection, and we have tried to explore the medical management of one such group, which is composed of individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). There is limited data on the management of IBD during the ongoing pandemic. Several medical societies have put forth suggestions on how to manage immunocompromised patients in order to minimize risk of developing coronavirus disease 2019. This review aims to present available recommendations from experts and provides an insight on preventive and therapeutic strategies that can be implemented for the medical management of patients with IBD. We anticipate that as more information arises, new guidelines will emerge.
Cattle have been proposed as the natural reservoir of a novel member of the virus family Orthomyxoviridae, which has been tentatively classified as influenza D virus (IDV). Although isolated from ...sick animals, it is unclear whether IDV causes any clinical disease in cattle. To address this aspect of Koch's postulates, three dairy calves (treatment animals) held in individual pens were inoculated intranasally with IDV strain D/bovine/Mississippi/C00046N/2014. At 1 day postinoculation, a seronegative calf (contact animal) was added to each of the treatment animal pens. The cattle in both treatment and contact groups seroconverted, and virus was detected in their respiratory tracts. Histologically, there was a significant increase in neutrophil tracking in tracheal epithelia of the treatment calves compared to control animals. While infected and contact animals demonstrated various symptoms of respiratory tract infection, they were mild, and the calves in the treatment group did not differ from the controls in terms of heart rate, respiratory rate, or rectal temperature. To mimic zoonotic transmission, two ferrets were exposed to a plastic toy fomite soaked with infected nasal discharge from the treatment calves. These ferrets did not shed the virus or seroconvert. In summary, this study demonstrates that IDV causes a mild respiratory disease upon experimental infection of cattle and can be transmitted effectively among cattle by in-pen contact, but not from cattle to ferrets through fomite exposure. These findings support the hypothesis that cattle are a natural reservoir for the virus.
A novel influenza virus, tentatively classified as influenza D virus (IDV), was identified in swine, cattle, sheep, and goats. Among these hosts, cattle have been proposed as the natural reservoir. In this study, we show that cattle experimentally infected with IDV can shed virus and transmit it to other cattle through direct contact, but not to ferrets through fomite routes. IDV caused minor clinical signs in the infected cattle, fulfilling another of Koch's postulates for this novel agent, although other objective clinical endpoints were not different from those of control animals. Although the disease observed was mild, IDV induced neutrophil tracking and epithelial attenuation in cattle trachea, which could facilitate coinfection with other pathogens, and in doing so, predispose animals to bovine respiratory disease.
Abstract
Background
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has a higher infection rate in pregnant women than age-matched adults. With increased infectivity and ...transmissibility, the Delta variant is predominant worldwide.
Methods
In this study, we describe intrauterine fetal demise in unvaccinated women with mild symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant infection.
Results
Histology and elevated proinflammatory responses of the placenta suggest that fetal demise was associated with placental malperfusion due to Delta variant infection.
Conclusions
This study suggests that the Delta variant can cause severe morbidity and mortality to fetuses. Vaccination should continue to be advocated and will likely continue to reduce SARS-CoV-2 infection risks for pregnant women and their fetuses.
We describe intrauterine fetal demise in unvaccinated women with mild symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant infection. Histology and elevated proinflammatory responses of the placenta suggest that fetal demise was associated with placental malperfusion due to Delta variant infection.
Influenza A viruses (IAV) circulate endemically among many wild aquatic bird populations that seasonally migrate between wintering grounds in southern latitudes to breeding ranges along the perimeter ...of the circumpolar arctic. Arctic and subarctic zones are hypothesized to serve as ecologic drivers of the intercontinental movement and reassortment of IAVs due to high densities of disparate populations of long distance migratory and native bird species present during breeding seasons. Iceland is a staging ground that connects the East Atlantic and North Atlantic American flyways, providing a unique study system for characterizing viral flow between eastern and western hemispheres. Using Bayesian phylodynamic analyses, we sought to evaluate the viral connectivity of Iceland to proximal regions and how inter‐species transmission and reassortment dynamics in this region influence the geographic spread of low and highly pathogenic IAVs. Findings demonstrate that IAV movement in the arctic and subarctic reflects wild bird migration around the perimeter of the circumpolar north, favouring short‐distance flights between proximal regions rather than long distance flights over the polar interior. Iceland connects virus movement between mainland Europe and North America, consistent with the westward migration of wild birds from mainland Europe to Northeastern Canada and Greenland. Though virus diffusion rates were similar among avian taxonomic groups in Iceland, gulls play an outsized role as sinks of IAVs from other avian hosts prior to onward migration. These data identify patterns of virus movement in northern latitudes and inform future surveillance strategies related to seasonal and emergent IAVs with potential public health concern.
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