scholarly journals Detection of a novel African-lineage-like Zika virus naturally infecting free-living neotropical primates in Southern Brazil

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Rodrigues de Almeida ◽  
Luiza Presser Ehlers ◽  
Meriane Demoliner ◽  
Ana Karolina Antunes Eisen ◽  
Viviane Girardi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zika Virus ◽  
Molecular Evidence ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Howler Monkeys ◽  
Transmission Cycle ◽  
African Lineage ◽  
Human Contact ◽  
Recent Emergence ◽  
Natural Hosts ◽  
Free Ranging

SummaryMosquito borne flaviviruses cause a series of important diseases in humans and animals. These viruses are maintained in cycles involving replication in mosquito and in vertebrate hosts. Most natural hosts are vertebrate animals living in sylvatic or peridomestic environments. Human contact with these environments may result in host shifts that lead to the establishment of urban transmission cycles. Zika virus is a Flavivirus that persists in nature in a transmission cycle involving non-human primates (NHP). Its recent emergence in Brazil has shed light upon the importance of surveying this agent in Brazilian sylvatic environments. Here we present histopathological and molecular evidence that free ranging howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba) in Southern Brazil are infected by ZIKV closely related to African lineage MR766. Nine NHP were nested RT-PCR positive for ZIKV RNA. Sequence analysis revealed 96 to 98% identity to ZIKV MR766 and 85% identity to ZIKV P6-740, the current epidemic strain. The affected howler monkeys presented discrete inflammatory infiltrates in several tissues and immunohistochemichal (IHC) labeling of viral antigen was observed in placenta. These findings point to the circulation of African lineage Zika virus in the Americas in non-human primates. And raises the possibility that ZIKV was introduced into the Americas on more than one occasion.

scholarly journals Kinetics of Asian and African Zika Virus Lineages over Single-cycle and Multi-cycle Growth in Culture: gene expression, cell killing, virus production, and mathematical modeling

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huicheng Shi ◽  
John Yin
Keyword(s):  
Cell Culture ◽  
Zika Virus ◽  
Virus Production ◽  
Congenital Defects ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
African Lineage ◽  
Intact Virus ◽  
One Step ◽  
Step Growth ◽  
Asian Lineage

Since 2014, an Asian lineage of Zika virus has caused outbreaks, and it has been associated with neurological disorders in adults and congenital defects in newborns. The resulting threat of the Zika virus to human health has prompted the development of new vaccines, which have yet to be approved for human use. Vaccines based on the attenuated or chemically inactivated virus will require large-scale production of the intact virus to meet potential global demands. Intact viruses are produced by infecting cultures of susceptible cells, a dynamic process that spans from hours to days and has yet to be optimized. Here, we infected Vero cells adhesively cultured in well-plates with two Zika virus strains: a recently isolated strain from the Asian lineage, and a cell-culture-adapted strain from the African lineage. At different time points post-infection, virus particles in the supernatant were quantified; further, microscopy images were used to quantify cell density and the proportion of cells expressing viral protein. These measurements were performed across multiple replicate samples of one-step infections every four hours over 60 hours and for multi-step infections every four to 24 hours over 144 hours, generating a rich dataset. For each set of data, mathematical models were developed to estimate parameters associated with cell infection and virus production. The African-lineage strain was found to produce a 14-fold higher yield than the Asian-lineage strain in one-step growth and a 7-fold higher titer in multi-step growth, suggesting a benefit of cell-culture adaptation for developing a vaccine strain. We found that image-based measurements were critical for discriminating among different models, and different parameters for the two strains could account for the experimentally observed differences. An exponential-distributed delay model performed best in accounting for multi-step infection of the Asian strain, and it highlighted the significant sensitivity of virus titer to the rate of viral degradation, with implications for optimization of vaccine production. More broadly, this work highlights how image-based measurements can contribute to discrimination of virus-culture models for the optimal production of inactivated and attenuated whole-virus vaccines.

scholarly journals Possible Emergence of Zika Virus of African Lineage in Brazil and the Risk for New Outbreaks

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia Martins Simon de Matos ◽  
André Ferreira Hennigen ◽  
Gabriela Elis Wachholz ◽  
Bruna Duarte Rengel ◽  
Lavinia Schuler-Faccini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zika Virus ◽  
African Lineage

scholarly journals Zika virus: A newly emergent vector-borne public health threat in the Americas

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sujit Pujhari ◽  
Jason L. Rasgon
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Birth Defects ◽  
Zika Virus ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
New Disease ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Transmission Cycle ◽  
Public Health Threat ◽  
Vector Borne

Zika virus is a newly emergent mosquito-borne flavivirus. Once almost ignored epidemiologically, recent major outbreaks and links to neurological birth defects have focused attention on this neglected pathogen. We review the discovery, biology and symptomatology of Zika virus, what is known and not known about the mosquitoes that transmit the virus, conspiracy theories currently hampering control efforts, and potential avenues of Zika control. It is likely that Zika virus is here to stay in the Americas, so a thorough understanding of the complete epidemiological transmission cycle and potential effects on the human population will be critical for managing this new disease in the coming years.

scholarly journals Protective to a T: The Role of T Cells during Zika Virus Infection

Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan D. Pardy ◽  
Martin J. Richer
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Cd8 T Cells ◽  
Zika Virus ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Cross Reactivity ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Cell Responses ◽  
Recent Emergence ◽  
Human Infections

CD4 and CD8 T cells are an important part of the host’s capacity to defend itself against viral infections. During flavivirus infections, T cells have been implicated in both protective and pathogenic responses. Given the recent emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) as a prominent global health threat, the question remains as to how T cells contribute to anti-ZIKV immunity. Furthermore, high homology between ZIKV and other, co-circulating flaviviruses opens the possibility of positive or negative effects of cross-reactivity due to pre-existing immunity. In this review, we will discuss the CD4 and CD8 T cell responses to ZIKV, and the lessons we have learned from both mouse and human infections. In addition, we will consider the possibility of whether T cells, in the context of flavivirus-naïve and flavivirus-immune subjects, play a role in promoting ZIKV pathogenesis during infection.

scholarly journals Prevalence and causes of congenital microcephaly in the absence of a Zika virus outbreak in southern Brazil

2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (5) ◽  
pp. 600-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvani Herber ◽  
André A. Silva ◽  
Maria Teresa V. Sanseverino ◽  
Luciana Friedrich ◽  
Tani M.S. Ranieri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zika Virus ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Congenital Microcephaly

scholarly journals Contemporary Zika Virus Isolates Induce More dsRNA and Produce More Negative-Strand Intermediate in Human Astrocytoma Cells

Viruses ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trisha Barnard ◽  
Maaran Rajah ◽  
Selena Sagan
Keyword(s):  
Zika Virus ◽  
Febrile Illness ◽  
Neurological Complications ◽  
Replicative Fitness ◽  
Negative Strand ◽  
Astrocytoma Cells ◽  
Recent Emergence ◽  
Human Astrocytoma ◽  
Asian Lineage ◽  
Human Astrocytoma Cells

The recent emergence and rapid geographic expansion of Zika virus (ZIKV) poses a significant challenge for public health. Although historically causing only mild febrile illness, recent ZIKV outbreaks have been associated with more severe neurological complications, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and fetal microcephaly. Here we demonstrate that two contemporary (2015) ZIKV isolates from Puerto Rico and Brazil may have increased replicative fitness in human astrocytoma cells. Over a single infectious cycle, the Brazilian isolate replicates to higher titers and induces more severe cytopathic effects in human astrocytoma cells than the historical African reference strain or an early Asian lineage isolate. In addition, both contemporary isolates induce significantly more double-stranded RNA in infected astrocytoma cells, despite similar numbers of infected cells across isolates. Moreover, when we quantified positive- and negative-strand viral RNA, we found that the Asian lineage isolates displayed substantially more negative-strand replicative intermediates than the African lineage isolate in human astrocytoma cells. However, over multiple rounds of infection, the contemporary ZIKV isolates appear to be impaired in cell spread, infecting a lower proportion of cells at a low MOI despite replicating to similar or higher titers. Taken together, our data suggests that contemporary ZIKV isolates may have evolved mechanisms that allow them to replicate with increased efficiency in certain cell types, thereby highlighting the importance of cell-intrinsic factors in studies of viral replicative fitness.

scholarly journals Prevalence and genotypic identification of Cryptosporidium in free-ranging and farm-raised donkeys (Equus asinus asinus) in Xinjiang, China

Parasite ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Wen Wang ◽  
Zhenjie Zhang ◽  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Aiyun Zhao ◽  
Bo Jing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pcr Amplification ◽  
Small Subunit ◽  
Pcr Analysis ◽  
Zoonotic Potential ◽  
Cryptosporidium Hominis ◽  
Glycoprotein Gene ◽  
Human Contact ◽  
Equus Asinus ◽  
Genotypic Identification ◽  
Free Ranging

The prevalence and zoonotic potential of Cryptosporidium in donkeys is poorly understood. Here, 680 fecal specimens were collected from 178 free-ranging and 502 farmed donkeys in Xinjiang, China. Cryptosporidium was identified using PCR amplification of the small subunit of ribosomal DNA. Cryptosporidium-positive isolates were subtyped using PCR analysis of the 60 kDa glycoprotein gene (gp60). The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium was 2.4% (16/680), with 3.2% (16/502) in farmed donkeys and 0% (0/178) in free-ranging donkeys. Cryptosporidium hominis (n = 13), C. parvum (n = 1) and Cryptosporidium horse genotype (n = 2) were identified. The C. hominis isolates belonged to two subtypes, IkA16 (n = 9) and IkA16G1 (n = 4). The subtype of C. parvum was IIdA15G1, whereas the two Cryptosporidium horse genotype isolates were of subtype VIaA15G4. The predominance of C. hominis in donkeys suggests that these animals are infected through human contact.

Southern extension of the geographic range of black-and-gold howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya)

Mammalia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Márcia M.A. Jardim ◽  
Diego Queirolo ◽  
Felipe B. Peters ◽  
Fábio D. Mazim ◽  
Marina O. Favarini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Howler Monkey ◽  
Forest Loss ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Alouatta Caraya ◽  
Howler Monkeys ◽  
Pampa Biome ◽  
New Localities ◽  
Northeastern Argentina

Abstract The black-and-gold howler monkey (Alouatta caraya) is widely distributed in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and northeastern Argentina. Despite this wide distribution, it is locally threatened in some parts of its southern range by forest loss and fragmentation, and yellow fever outbreaks. We present 14 new localities of A. caraya occurrence in the Pampa biome of southern Brazil, extending its range southwards by approximately 100 km.

Adoption in free-ranging red howler monkeys,Alouatta seniculus of Venezuela

Primates ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Govindasamy Agoramoorthy ◽  
Rasanayagam Rudran
Keyword(s):  
Alouatta Seniculus ◽  
Howler Monkeys ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Red Howler Monkeys ◽  
Red Howler
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