scholarly journals The 21st Annual Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Virology Association

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2392
Author(s):  
Laura A. St Clair ◽  
Ali L. Brehm ◽  
Shelby Cagle ◽  
Tillie Dunham ◽  
Jonathan Faris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Viral Disease ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Vaccine Platform ◽  
Varicella Zoster ◽  
Assembly Evaluation ◽  
Association Meeting ◽  
Poster Presentations

Nestled within the Rocky Mountain National Forest, 114 scientists and students gathered at Colorado State University’s Mountain Campus for this year’s 21st annual Rocky Mountain National Virology Association meeting. This 3-day retreat consisted of 31 talks and 30 poster presentations discussing advances in research pertaining to viral and prion diseases. The keynote address provided a timely discussion on zoonotic coronaviruses, lessons learned, and the path forward towards predicting, preparing, and preventing future viral disease outbreaks. Other invited speakers discussed advances in SARS-CoV-2 surveillance, molecular interactions involved in flavivirus genome assembly, evaluation of ethnomedicines for their efficacy against infectious diseases, multi-omic analyses to define risk factors associated with long COVID, the role that interferon lambda plays in control of viral pathogenesis, cell-fusion-dependent pathogenesis of varicella zoster virus, and advances in the development of a vaccine platform against prion diseases. On behalf of the Rocky Mountain Virology Association, this report summarizes select presentations.

scholarly journals Diverse and Complex Challenges to Migrant and Refugee Mental Health: Reflections of the M8 Alliance Expert Group on Migrant Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 3530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danny Sheath ◽  
Antoine Flahault ◽  
Joachim Seybold ◽  
Luciano Saso
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Migrant Health ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
World Health ◽  
Expert Group ◽  
Good Mental Health ◽  
University Of Rome

Forced migration is likely to continue to grow in the coming years due to climate change, disease outbreaks, conflict, and other factors. There are a huge number of challenges to maintaining good health, and specifically good mental health, among migrants at all stages of migration. It is vital to fully understand these diverse challenges so that we can work towards overcoming them. In 2017, as a response to the growing health challenges faced by migrants and refugees, the M8 Alliance created an expert group focussing on migrant and refugee health. The group meets annually at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, and this article is based on the discussions that took place at the third annual meeting (6–7 June 2019) and a special session on “Protecting the Mental Health of Refugees and Migrants,” which took place on 27 October at the World Health Summit 2019 in Berlin. Our discussions are also supported by supplementary literature to present the diverse and complex challenges to the mental health of migrants and refugees. We conclude with some lessons learned and hope for the future.

Forecasting viral disease outbreaks at the farm-level for commercial sow farms in the U.S

2021 ◽  
pp. 105449
Author(s):  
Igor Adolfo Dexheimer Paploski ◽  
Rahul Kumar Bhojwani ◽  
Juan Manuel Sanhueza ◽  
Cesar Agustín Corzo ◽  
Kimberly VanderWaal
Keyword(s):  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Viral Disease ◽  
Farm Level ◽  
The U.S

scholarly journals Human prion diseases: surgical lessons learned from iatrogenic prion transmission

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. E10 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Bonda ◽  
Sunil Manjila ◽  
Prachi Mehndiratta ◽  
Fahd Khan ◽  
Benjamin R. Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Disease ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
World Health ◽  
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies ◽  
Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽  
Prion Transmission ◽  
Iatrogenic Transmission

The human prion diseases, or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, have captivated our imaginations since their discovery in the Fore linguistic group in Papua New Guinea in the 1950s. The mysterious and poorly understood “infectious protein” has become somewhat of a household name in many regions across the globe. From bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly identified as mad cow disease, to endocannibalism, media outlets have capitalized on these devastatingly fatal neurological conditions. Interestingly, since their discovery, there have been more than 492 incidents of iatrogenic transmission of prion diseases, largely resulting from prion-contaminated growth hormone and dura mater grafts. Although fewer than 9 cases of probable iatrogenic neurosurgical cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) have been reported worldwide, the likelihood of some missed cases and the potential for prion transmission by neurosurgery create considerable concern. Laboratory studies indicate that standard decontamination and sterilization procedures may be insufficient to completely remove infectivity from prion-contaminated instruments. In this unfortunate event, the instruments may transmit the prion disease to others. Much caution therefore should be taken in the absence of strong evidence against the presence of a prion disease in a neurosurgical patient. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) have devised risk assessment and decontamination protocols for the prevention of iatrogenic transmission of the prion diseases, incidents of possible exposure to prions have unfortunately occurred in the United States. In this article, the authors outline the historical discoveries that led from kuru to the identification and isolation of the pathological prion proteins in addition to providing a brief description of human prion diseases and iatrogenic forms of CJD, a brief history of prion disease nosocomial transmission, and a summary of the CDC and WHO guidelines for prevention of prion disease transmission and decontamination of prion-contaminated neurosurgical instruments.

Global Convergent Translational Science for Neuro-involvement in Ebola Viral Disease: Lessons Learned from Neuro-AIDS

2017 ◽  
pp. 751-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Chiappelli ◽  
Allen M. Khakshooy ◽  
Andre Barkhordarian ◽  
Vandan R. Kasar ◽  
Melissa Nahcivan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Viral Disease ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Translational Science

scholarly journals Report on the Japan Association of Self-Access Learning (JASAL) 2016 Annual Conference

2016 ◽  
pp. 383-393
Author(s):  
Michael P. Lin
Keyword(s):  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Professional Organization ◽  
Annual Conference ◽  
Plenary Talk ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Poster Presentations ◽  
Oral Presentations

This article reports on the JASAL 2016 Annual Conference held on December 10, 2016 at Konan Women’s University in Kobe, Japan. JASAL (Japan Association for Self-Access Learning) is a non-profit professional organization devoted to promoting self-access learning in Japan. The conference consisted of opening remarks by JASAL president Hisako Yamashita, a plenary talk by Dr. Jo Mynard, twenty oral presentations on various self-access learning topics, twelve poster presentations, and tours of the e-space, which is a self-access center at Konan Women’s University. Ninety-five participants from over forty institutions attended. In this summary, the author reports on the day’s events, featuring select presentations on SALC design, leadership, integration into curriculum, training, and lessons learned.

scholarly journals Nodular Scleritis Associated with Herpes Zoster Virus: An Infectious and Immune-Mediated Process

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Loureiro ◽  
Renata Rothwell ◽  
Sofia Fonseca
Keyword(s):  
Poor Response ◽  
Oral Prednisolone ◽  
Viral Disease ◽  
Response To Treatment ◽  
Pcr Analysis ◽  
Clinical Resolution ◽  
Varicella Zoster ◽  
Immune Mediated ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
The Right

Purpose.To describe a case of anterior nodular scleritis, preceded by an anterior hypertensive uveitis, which was primarily caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV).Case Report. A 54-year-old woman presented with anterior uveitis of the right eye presumably caused by herpetic viral disease and was successfully treated. Two months later, she developed a nodular scleritis and started oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory without effect. A complete laboratory workup revealed positivity for HLA-B27; the infectious workup was negative. Therapy was changed to oral prednisolone and an incomplete improvement occurred. Therefore, a diagnostic anterior paracentesis was performed and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis revealed VZV. She was treated with valacyclovir and the oral prednisolone began to decrease; however, a marked worsening of the scleritis occurred with the reduction of the daily dose; subsequently, methotrexate was introduced allowing the suspension of the prednisolone and led to clinical resolution of the scleritis.Conclusion.This report of anterior nodular scleritis caused by VZV argues in favor of an underlying immune-mediated component, requiring immunosuppressive therapy for clinical resolution. The PCR analysis of the aqueous humor was revealed to be a valuable technique and should be considered in cases of scleritis with poor response to treatment.

When infection mimics cauda equina syndrome: a cautionary tale

2021 ◽  
Vol 103 (6) ◽  
pp. e181-e183
Author(s):  
R Shah ◽  
N Jayakumar ◽  
S Athar ◽  
N Ashwood
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Varicella Zoster Virus ◽  
Cauda Equina Syndrome ◽  
Cauda Equina ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Varicella Zoster ◽  
Elsberg Syndrome

A 63-year-old man presented to the emergency department with low back pain, perineal and genital numbness, together with bilateral lower limb paraesthesia and urinary retention. He was admitted under the orthopaedic service for investigation of suspected cauda equina syndrome. Magnetic resonance imaging of his spine did not reveal any evidence of cauda equina compression. Magnetic resonance imaging of his brain demonstrated nonspecific multiple hyperintensities in the right frontotemporal and left temporo-occipital regions. Computed tomography of his chest, abdomen, and pelvis did not identify any evidence of malignancy. Cerebrospinal fluid from a lumbar puncture showed a high leucocyte count (predominantly lymphocytes). Viral cerebrospinal fluid polymerase chain reaction was positive for varicella zoster virus. A diagnosis of varicella zoster virus myeloradiculitis (Elsberg syndrome) was established and the patient was treated with intravenous aciclovir. Unfortunately, the patient succumbed to a devastating intracerebral haemorrhage during his inpatient stay, probably due to vasculopathy from the underlying varicella zoster virus infection. This case describes a rare infectious mimic of cauda equina syndrome. Elsberg syndrome is an infectious syndrome characterised by bilateral lumbosacral myeloradiculitis, with varicella zoster virus being a well-recognised aetiological agent. We discuss the relevant literature in detail and identify the key, cautionary lessons learned from this case.

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