Summary More than 60% of human infectious diseases are caused by pathogens shared with wild or domestic animals. Zoonotic disease organisms include those that are endemic in human populations or ...enzootic in animal populations with frequent cross-species transmission to people. Some of these diseases have only emerged recently. Together, these organisms are responsible for a substantial burden of disease, with endemic and enzootic zoonoses causing about a billion cases of illness in people and millions of deaths every year. Emerging zoonoses are a growing threat to global health and have caused hundreds of billions of US dollars of economic damage in the past 20 years. We aimed to review how zoonotic diseases result from natural pathogen ecology, and how other circumstances, such as animal production, extraction of natural resources, and antimicrobial application change the dynamics of disease exposure to human beings. In view of present anthropogenic trends, a more effective approach to zoonotic disease prevention and control will require a broad view of medicine that emphasises evidence-based decision making and integrates ecological and evolutionary principles of animal, human, and environmental factors. This broad view is essential for the successful development of policies and practices that reduce probability of future zoonotic emergence, targeted surveillance and strategic prevention, and engagement of partners outside the medical community to help improve health outcomes and reduce disease threats.
Hantavirus infection: a review and global update Bi, Zhenqiang; Formenty, Pierre B H; Roth, Cathy E
Journal of infection in developing countries,
02/2008, Letnik:
2, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Hantaviruses have the potential to cause two different types of diseases in human: hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). HFRS, initially described ...clinically at the turn of the 20th century, occurs endemically in the Asian and European continents, while HPS, recognized as a clinical entity since 1993, represents the prototype of emerging diseases occurring in the Western hemisphere. Approximately 150,000 to 200,000 cases of HFRS are hospitalized each year world wide, with most of the cases occurring in the developing countries. The case fatality rate of HFRS varies from <1% to 12% depending on the viruses. Although HPS is much smaller in number than HFRS, with approximately 200 HPS cases per year in the Americas, the average case fatality rate is 40%. The reported cases of hantaviral infection is increasing in many countries and new hantavirus strains have been increasingly identified worldwide, which constitutes a public health problem of increasing global concern. Hantaviral infection might be underestimated due to its asymptomatic and non-specific mild infection, and the lack of simple standardized laboratory diagnostics in hospitals, especially in the developing countries. This review summarizes the current knowledge on virology, epidemiology, clinical manifestation, laboratory diagnostics, treatment and prevention of hantaviruses and hantaviral infections.
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV)
Filoviridae
Study Group continues to prospectively refine the established nomenclature for taxa included in family
Filoviridae
in an effort ...to decrease confusion of genus, species, and virus names and to adhere to amended stipulations of the International Code of Virus Classification and Nomenclature (ICVCN). Recently, the genus names
Ebolavirus
and
Marburgvirus
were changed to
Orthoebolavirus
and
Orthomarburgvirus
, respectively. Additionally, all established species names in family
Filoviridae
now adhere to the ICTV-mandated binomial format. Virus names remain unchanged and valid. Here, we outline the revised taxonomy of family
Filoviridae
as approved by the ICTV in April 2023.
is a family of negative-sense RNA viruses with genomes of about 13.1-20.9 kb that infect fish, mammals and reptiles. The filovirid genome is a linear, non-segmented RNA with five canonical open ...reading frames (ORFs) that encode a nucleoprotein (NP), a polymerase cofactor (VP35), a glycoprotein (GP
), a transcriptional activator (VP30) and a large protein (L) containing an RNA-directed RNA polymerase (RdRP) domain. All filovirid genomes encode additional proteins that vary among genera. Several filovirids (e.g., Ebola virus, Marburg virus) are pathogenic for humans and highly virulent. This is a summary of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) Report on the family
, which is available at www.ictv.global/report/filoviridae.
Drivers of Rift Valley fever epidemics in Madagascar Lancelot, Renaud; Béral, Marina; Rakotoharinome, Vincent Michel ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS,
01/2017, Letnik:
114, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a vector-borne viral disease widespread in Africa. The primary cycle involves mosquitoes and wild and domestic ruminant hosts. Humans are usually contaminated after contact ...with infected ruminants. As many environmental, agricultural, epidemiological, and anthropogenic factors are implicated in RVF spread, the multidisciplinary One Health approach was needed to identify the drivers of RVF epidemics in Madagascar. We examined the environmental patterns associated with these epidemics, comparing human and ruminant serological data with environmental and cattle-trade data. In contrast to East Africa, environmental drivers did not trigger the epidemics: They only modulated local Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) transmission in ruminants. Instead, RVFV was introduced through ruminant trade and subsequent movement of cattle between trade hubs caused its long-distance spread within the country. Contact with cattle brought in from infected districts was associated with higher infection risk in slaughterhouse workers. The finding that anthropogenic rather than environmental factors are the main drivers of RVF infection in humans can be used to design better prevention and early detection in the case of RVF resurgence in the region.
Prediction of a Rift Valley fever outbreak Anyamba, Assaf; Chretien, Jean-Paul; Small, Jennifer ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS,
01/2009, Letnik:
106, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
El Niño/Southern Oscillation related climate anomalies were analyzed by using a combination of satellite measurements of elevated sea-surface temperatures and subsequent elevated rainfall and ...satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index data. A Rift Valley fever (RVF) risk mapping model using these climate data predicted areas where outbreaks of RVF in humans and animals were expected and occurred in the Horn of Africa from December 2006 to May 2007. The predictions were subsequently confirmed by entomological and epidemiological field investigations of virus activity in the areas identified as at risk. Accurate spatial and temporal predictions of disease activity, as it occurred first in southern Somalia and then through much of Kenya before affecting northern Tanzania, provided a 2 to 6 week period of warning for the Horn of Africa that facilitated disease outbreak response and mitigation activities. To our knowledge, this is the first prospective prediction of a RVF outbreak.
Highlights • The paper provides a comprehensive overview of the status of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in countries across the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Region (WHO ...EMR). • The increasing incidence of CCHF disease in the region and its spread to new geographical areas is highlighted. • Knowledge gaps concerning the burden and circulation of CCHF virus in the WHO EMR are identified. • A strategic framework is described, which details the research and development work necessary to curb the ongoing and new threats posed by CCHF virus.
Studies on the burden of human monkeypox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were last conducted from 1981 to 1986. Since then, the population that is immunologically naïve to ...orthopoxviruses has increased significantly due to cessation of mass smallpox vaccination campaigns. To assess the current risk of infection, we analyzed human monkeypox incidence trends in a monkeypoxenzootic region. Active, population-based surveillance was conducted in nine health zones in central DRC Epidemiologic data and biological samples were obtained from suspected cases. Cumulative incidence (per 10,000 population) and major determinants of infection were compared with data from active surveillance in similar regions from 1981 to 1986. Between November 2005 and November 2007, 760 laboratory-confirmed human monkeypox cases were identified in participating health zones. The average annual cumulative incidence across zones was 5.53 per 10,000 (2.18-14.42). Factors associated with increased risk of infection included: living in forested areas, male gender, age < 15, and no prior smallpox vaccination. Vaccinated persons had a 5.2-fold lower risk of monkeypox than unvaccinated persons (0.78 vs. 4.05 per 10,000). Comparison of active surveillance data in the same health zone from the 1980s (0.72 per 10,000) and 2006-07 (14.42 per 10,000) suggests a 20-fold increase in human monkeypox incidence. Thirty years after mass smallpox vaccination campaigns ceased, human monkeypox incidence has dramatically increased in rural DRC. Improved surveillance and epidemiological analysis is needed to better assess the public health burden and develop strategies for reducing the risk of wider spread of infection.
Detection and control of emerging infectious diseases in conflict situations are major challenges due to multiple risk factors known to enhance emergence and transmission of infectious diseases. ...These include inadequate surveillance and response systems, destroyed infrastructure, collapsed health systems and disruption of disease control programs, and infection control practices even more inadequate than those in resource-poor settings, as well as ongoing insecurity and poor coordination among humanitarian agencies. This article outlines factors that potentiate emergence and transmission of infectious diseases in conflict situations and highlights several priority actions for their containment and control.
In July and September 2007, miners working in Kitaka Cave, Uganda, were diagnosed with Marburg hemorrhagic fever. The likely source of infection in the cave was Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus ...aegyptiacus) based on detection of Marburg virus RNA in 31/611 (5.1%) bats, virus-specific antibody in bat sera, and isolation of genetically diverse virus from bat tissues. The virus isolates were collected nine months apart, demonstrating long-term virus circulation. The bat colony was estimated to be over 100,000 animals using mark and re-capture methods, predicting the presence of over 5,000 virus-infected bats. The genetically diverse virus genome sequences from bats and miners closely matched. These data indicate common Egyptian fruit bats can represent a major natural reservoir and source of Marburg virus with potential for spillover into humans.
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