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Anticipating the international spread of Zika virus from Brazil
... Sample N = 1000. 10. Case study of Brazil. ...
... We have validated the proposed model with real data set available at PAHO. The first transmission of Zika in Central America and Brazil was registered in May, 2015 [10]. It took a period of approximately eight months to recognize Zika as a major public health threat in early 2016. ...
... There have been several non mathematical studies [61,36,10] to understand the outbreak of Zika in Brazil. Also, there are some mathematical studies [30,4,15] conducted in this direction. ...
... En marzo de este mismo año, fue notificado un contagio viral que presentaba la erupción cutánea, confirmando el síntoma característico por la infección causada por el virus del Zika, demostrando que esta enfermedad tenía asociación con el Síndrome de Guillain-Barré. 7,8,9 En los registros científicos el gobierno del Brasil declaró en noviembre de 2015 una epidemia en el país, en donde fue establecido una emergencia a nivel nacional de salud pública, teniendo el destaque el creciente número de casos de microcefalia en recién nacidos, principalmente en el Noreste, que es conocida como una región de mayor índice de pobreza y descuido de las políticas públicas, especialmente en salud. 10 Estos datos apuntados en el Brasil estuvieron obtenidos a la Organización Mundial de la Salud -OMS y la Organización Panamericana de la Salud -OPS, donde se declaró a través del Reglamento Sanitario Internacional -RSI, la correlación entre la fiebre del virus del Zika y alteraciones neurológicas en niños con madres infectadas por el virus, siendo expuesta la Emergencia de Salud Pública de Importancia Internacional -ESPII. ...
... 18 Su transmisión es reconocida vectorial, por el mosquito Aedes Aegypti y Aedes Albopictus, que suelen picar durante el día y consiguen también alcanzar un punto máximo de su acción en la mañana y al atardecer/noche. 7 Estos mosquitos son el único medio de infección. Se han obtenido registros de que existen otras vías de transmisión, ocupacional, sanguínea (transfusión sanguínea), trasplante de órganos, sexual y materno fetal. ...
... Siendo el síntoma característico la fiebre y la erupción cutánea, bien como, registró el creciente número de casos, sobre todo de microcefalia en recién nacidos. 7,9,10,121 Los autores estudiados afirman que la ocurrencia en el primer trimestre de la gestación es el más peligroso para el feto desarrollar la microcefalia y anormalidades fetales, y el segundo y tercero también establecen porcentaje 86 de secuelas. Se ha demostrado la presencia del virus en líquido amniótico, esto prueba la relación entre la patología y el virus. ...
El presente artículo tuvo como objetivo general investigar la prevalencia y las principales malformaciones congénitas causadas por el virus Zika durante el embarazo. En esta contribución, traemos la contextualización histórica del Zika, la prevalencia y las principales malformaciones fetales fueron discutidas, de ahí la importancia de este estudio. Se prefirió como metodología la revisión bibliográfica y el análisis crítico de los estudios científicos, enfocando a autores que abordaron el contexto histórico del tema, además de otros escritores que condujeron actualización de la temática y nombraron sobre las secuelas fetales, como la forma desfavorable y el curso de la infección. Finalmente, se detallan brevemente la asociación entre Zika y anormalidades fetales, exponiendo que la prevalencia de que la microcefalia aún es la más prevalente, donde 80% de las madres infectadas tiene fetos con esta anormalidad.
... In the past, it has been noticed that air transport contributed to the spread of many diseases in the world [11,21,26]. Even some studies showed that airline travel might influence the spread of viruses such as Ebola [4], Dengue [27], Influenza [7,12,14], and Zika [3]. Those works supported our suspicion to check about the evidence that the number of passengers from air traffic is related to the spread of the pandemic. ...
... The meaning of our findings is that imported transmissions can trigger the local transmission. Air traffic can facilitate a virus spread [3,4,7,12,14,27] and taking into account spatial parameters, we can easily understand that when a passenger travels, he can infect or being infected. Even once back to his home country, the incidence might increase. ...
... This outbreak led to ZIKV infection being considered an important public health problem as there were reports showing that ZIKV infection was associated with neurological disorders, especially Guillain-Barré syndrome [8,9]. A large outbreak of ZIKV infection occurred in Brazil in 2015, and the virus rapidly spread to neighboring countries leading to over a million cases of infection [10][11][12]. Moreover, a number of cases of congenital microcephaly associated with ZIKV infection were reported for the first time during this outbreak [13,14]. ...
... The results (Fig. 3A, B) again showed direct inhibitory effects, with the effects being greater than had been observed for ZIKV. After 6 h incubation at the highest concentration of baicalein (500µM) no infectious virions were detected for DENV 2, while the JEV titer was reduced by some 7Log 10 . While the most dramatic effects on virus titers were seen with the highest concentration and longest incubation time, significant reductions in virus titers were seen for all three viruses with the shortest incubation time (1 h) and lowest concentration (100µM). ...
Background
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito transmitted virus spread primarily by Aedes species mosquitoes that can cause disease in humans, particularly when infection occurs in pregnancy where the virus can have a significant impact on the developing fetus. Despite this, there remains no prophylactic agent or therapeutic treatment for infection. Baicalein is a trihydroxyflavone, that is found in some traditional medicines commonly used in Asia, and has been shown to have several activities including antiviral properties. Importantly, studies have shown baicalein to be safe and well tolerated in humans, increasing its potential utilization.
Methods
This study sought to determine the anti-ZIKV activity of baicalein using a human cell line (A549). Cytotoxicity of baicalein was determined by the MTT assay, and the effect on ZIKV infection determined by treating A549 cells with baicalien at different time points in the infection process. Parameters including level of infection, virus production, viral protein expression and genome copy number were assessed by flow cytometry, plaque assay, western blot and quantitative RT-PCR, respectively.
Results
The results showed that baicalein had a half-maximal cytotoxic concentration (CC50) of > 800 µM, and a half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) of 124.88 µM. Time-of-addition analysis showed that baicalein had an inhibitory effect on ZIKV infection at the adsorption and post-adsorption stages. Moreover, baicalein also exerted a significant viral inactivation activity on ZIKV (as well as on dengue virus and Japanese encephalitis virus) virions.
Conclusion
Baicalein has now been shown to possess anti-ZIKV activity in a human cell line.
... Epidemic forecasting makes predictions about the development of observed quantities such as disease incidence that can inform health policy [1][2][3][4][5][6], e. g. by influencing decisions about resource allocation or the timing of public health interventions to control an outbreak. Forecasts can be made over long and short time horizons with different aims [7]. ...
... Sixth, we evaluated forecasts on the incidence of COVID-19 in six large US states over one year with carefully labeled epidemic phases. Future research may extend our analysis, e. g. considering different geographical regions, other epidemiological outcomes (e. g. deaths [7,55] or hospitalizations [37]), and or even epidemics of other pathogens (e. g. influenza [1,3]). ...
Short-term forecasts of infectious disease spread are a critical component in risk evaluation and public health decision making. While different models for short-term forecasting have been developed, open questions about their relative performance remain. Here, we compare short-term probabilistic forecasts of popular mechanistic models based on the renewal equation with forecasts of statistical time series models. Our empirical comparison is based on data of the daily incidence of COVID-19 across six large US states over the first pandemic year. We find that, on average, probabilistic forecasts from statistical time series models are overall at least as accurate as forecasts from mechanistic models. Moreover, statistical time series models better capture volatility. Our findings suggest that domain knowledge, which is integrated into mechanistic models by making assumptions about disease dynamics, does not improve short-term forecasts of disease incidence. We note, however, that forecasting is often only one of many objectives and thus mechanistic models remain important, for example, to model the impact of vaccines or the emergence of new variants.
... The primary mode of ZIKV acquisition is through the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito [16], or through vertical transmission from an infected mother. Although the virus has been detected in breast milk of infected mothers, clinical data demonstrating transmission via breast milk to the infant is lacking [17]. ...
... This species of mosquito is also resident in a range of other countries including Australia, East Asia, and parts of the Middle East where ZIKV has yet to establish endemicity. Aedes albopictus, which lives across a range of temperate climates, is not the primary vector but is capable of DENV and ZIKV transmission [16,189]. ...
Flaviviruses are a diverse group of enveloped RNA viruses that cause significant clinical manifestations in the pregnancy and postpartum periods. This review highlights the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical features, diagnosis, and prevention of the key arthropod-borne flaviviruses of concern in pregnancy and the neonatal period—Zika, Dengue, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile, and Yellow fever viruses. Increased disease severity during pregnancy, risk of congenital malformations, and manifestations of postnatal infection vary widely amongst this virus family and may be quite marked. Laboratory confirmation of infection is complex, especially due to the reliance on serology for which flavivirus cross-reactivity challenges diagnostic specificity. As such, a thorough clinical history including relevant geographic exposures and prior vaccinations is paramount for accurate diagnosis. Novel vaccines are eagerly anticipated to ameliorate the impact of these flaviviruses, particularly neuroinvasive disease manifestations and congenital infection, with consideration of vaccine safety in pregnant women and children pivotal. Moving forward, the geographical spread of flaviviruses, as for other zoonoses, will be heavily influenced by climate change due to the potential expansion of vector and reservoir host habitats. Ongoing ‘One Health’ engagement across the human-animal-environment interface is critical to detect and responding to emergent flavivirus epidemics.
... Hence, for effective ZIKV containment and control, an effective public health surveillance system should be put into place by global health authorities. Such systems can be derived from arboviral diseases like dengue, chikungunya and other viral illnesses [17][18][19][20]. As per the recommendations of PAHO/WHO, (20-21) ZIKV surveillance system should comprise of two-pronged strategy: ...
... (2) Monitoring ZIKV cases for clinical and neurological progression and/or autoimmune sequelae [18][19][20][21][22]. ...
... During outbreaks, accurate anticipation of transmission dynamics is essential to tailor and measure the effect of strategies to control the emerging infectious disease [2][3][4] . Among variables that affect transmission, human reactions to the presence of disease are often ignored despite playing an important role in the implementation of protective behaviours such as social distancing, wearing masks or vaccine acceptance [5][6][7] . ...
During the early phase of outbreaks, awareness of the presence of the disease plays an important role in transmission dynamics. To investigate the processes of how people become aware of a disease, we conducted two complementary investigations. First, we surveyed 868 academic researchers in France, on the time and circumstances when they became aware of COVID-19 as an important event. We found that 25% did so before February 18th (first death in France), 50% did so before March 10th (first presidential allocution) and 75% did so before March 16th (announcement of the lockdown). Awareness came from nine categories of circumstances: (1) decisions taken by the government (elicited by 35.7% participants); (2) information from media or social media (24.7%); (3) conversation with friends (22.4%); (4) observed changes in their personal lives (14.0%); (5) decisions taken by the employer (9.2%); (6) observed changes at work (9.9%); (7) suspected case of COVID-19 in their entourage (3.1%); (8) fear for oneself or their entourage (2.8%) and (9) self-appraisal of scientific reports (2.8%). Second, we appraised three general media in France (a television news show, a radio news show, and a newspaper) and showed that COVID-19 became a preeminent topic only after March 1st 2020 when the epidemic is present on national soil. Our results show that multiple intricated factors prompt the awareness of an emerging infectious disease. Awareness is not solely driven by general media as they begin to focus on the topic late.
... In addition, there was an increase in the number of dengue cases across Pernambuco state at the end of 2018 and throughout 2019, including Recife [13]. The role of Ae. aegypti in the ZIKV transmission cycle is already well known and studied, this species being considered the main vector of the virus in the urban environment [54]. Nonetheless, the participation of Cx. quinquefasciatus as a potential ZIKV vector is still much discussed worldwide. ...
Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes are vectors of different arboviruses that cause a large burden of disease in humans worldwide. A key step towards reducing the impact of arboviruses on humans can be achieved through integrated mosquito surveillance and control approaches. We carried out an integrated approach of mosquito surveillance and control actions to reduce populations of these insects along with a viral surveillance in a neighborhood of Recife (Northeastern Brazil) with high mosquito densities and arbovirus transmission. The actions were carried out in 40 different houses in the Nova Descoberta neighborhood. The area was divided into two groups, the control group using tools to monitor the mosquito density (1 OVT; 1 Double BR-ovt; monthly capture of alates) and the experimental group with control actions using surveillance tools in an intensified way (2 OVTs; 2 Double BR-ovts; fortnightly capture of alates; toxic baits). We evaluated the study’s impact on the mosquito density via the Egg Density (ED) and Adult Density (AD) over a period of 12 cycles of 28 days each. The collected adult mosquitoes were processed via RT-qPCR for DENV, CHIKV and ZIKV and, subsequently, the Minimum Infection Rate (MIR) was calculated. After 12 cycles, we observed a 91% and 99% reduction in Aedes ED and AD in the monitored properties, as well as a 76% reduction in the AD of Cx. quinquefasciatus in the same properties. Moreover, we detected circulating arboviruses (DENV and ZIKV) in 19.52% of captured adult mosquitoes. We show that enhancing entomological surveillance tools can aid in the early detection of possible risk areas based on vector mosquito population numbers. Additionally, the detection of important arboviruses such as ZIKV and DENV raises awareness and allows for a better selection of risk areas and silent virus spread. It offers supplementary information for guiding emergency mosquito control measures in the target area. The goal is to minimize human–vector interactions and, subsequently, to lower the risk of transmitting circulating arboviruses.
... In 2015, a large ZIKV epidemic was documented in Brazil, resulting in an estimated 440,000-1.3 million cases (2). Of great concern, the epidemic was preceded by a dramatic increase in the number of congenital anomalies, including newborn microcephaly (3,4). ...
We generated 238 Zika virus (ZIKV) genomes from 135 persons in Brazil who had samples collected over 1 year to evaluate virus persistence. Phylogenetic inference clustered the genomes together with previously reported ZIKV strains from northern Brazil, showing that ZIKV has been remained relatively stable over time. Temporal phylogenetic analysis revealed limited within-host diversity among most ZIKV-persistent infected associated samples. However, we detected unusual virus temporal diversity from >5 persons, uncovering the existence of divergent genomes within the same patient. All those patients showed an increase in neutralizing antibody levels, followed by a decline at the convalescent phase of ZIKV infection. Of interest, in 3 of those patients, titers of neutralizing antibodies increased again after 6 months of ZIKV infection, concomitantly with real-time reverse transcription PCR re-positivity, supporting ZIKV reinfection events. Altogether, our findings provide evidence for the existence of ZIKV reinfection events.
... During the Zika virus outbreak in Brazil in 2015, environmental samples like mosquitoes were collected and analyzed, leading to the identification of the virus, and facilitating a better understanding of its spread and the development of effective mosquito control strategies [76]. Similarly, in the case of Legionnaires' disease, environmental samples from a hotel's cooling tower were analyzed to identify the presence of Legionella pneumophila, aiding in pinpointing the source of the outbreak [77]. ...
Pathogen discovery plays a crucial role in the fields of infectious diseases, clinical microbiology, and public health. During the past four years, the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of early and accurate identification of novel pathogens for effective management and prevention of outbreaks. The post-COVID era has ushered in a new phase of infectious disease research, marked by accelerated advancements in pathogen discovery. This review encapsulates the recent innovations and paradigm shifts that have reshaped the landscape of pathogen discovery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Primarily, we summarize the latest technology innovations, applications, and causation proving strategies that enable rapid and accurate pathogen discovery for both acute and historical infections. We also explored the significance and the latest trends and approaches being employed for effective implementation of pathogen discovery from various clinical and environmental samples. Furthermore, we emphasize the collaborative nature of the pandemic response, which has led to the establishment of global networks for pathogen discovery.
... Until then it was not considered to be a serious illness, with only a few cases reported, all thought to be of no major health consequence (2,3). The recent outbreak in Brazil evidenced that manifestations of Zika virus infection can range from only a minor symptomatic ailment to one inducing dangerous gestational and neurological sequelae. ...
... The proper treatment of the Zika virus is not defined till now to control the vectors together with the pesticide spray and stopping the larval breeding environments. The expecting female mainly designates the Zika virus through the susceptible-infection based on the present circumstances (Musso et al., 2014;Okosun and Makinde, 2014;Bogoch et al., 2016). The mathematical models become gradually dangerous from the epidemiology disease (Lee et al., 2016). ...
... The scale of the current pandemic has led to a widespread a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 adoption of data-driven public health responses across the globe. Outbreak analysis and realtime modelling, including short-term forecasts of future incidence, have been used to inform decision making and response efforts in several past public health challenges including the West African Ebola epidemic and seasonal influenza [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. In the current pandemic, mathematical models have helped public health officials better understand the evolving epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 [12][13][14] and the potential impact of implementing or releasing interventions. ...
Since 8 th March 2020 up to the time of writing, we have been producing near real-time weekly estimates of SARS-CoV-2 transmissibility and forecasts of deaths due to COVID-19 for all countries with evidence of sustained transmission, shared online. We also developed a novel heuristic to combine weekly estimates of transmissibility to produce forecasts over a 4-week horizon. Here we present a retrospective evaluation of the forecasts produced between 8 th March to 29 th November 2020 for 81 countries. We evaluated the robustness of the forecasts produced in real-time using relative error, coverage probability, and comparisons with null models. During the 39-week period covered by this study, both the short- and medium-term forecasts captured well the epidemic trajectory across different waves of COVID-19 infections with small relative errors over the forecast horizon. The model was well calibrated with 56.3% and 45.6% of the observations lying in the 50% Credible Interval in 1-week and 4-week ahead forecasts respectively. The retrospective evaluation of our models shows that simple transmission models calibrated using routine disease surveillance data can reliably capture the epidemic trajectory in multiple countries. The medium-term forecasts can be used in conjunction with the short-term forecasts of COVID-19 mortality as a useful planning tool as countries continue to relax public health measures.
... The transmission of Zika virus disease in Americas was reported in early 2015 when patients presenting dengue-like symptoms appeared in Northeast Brazil [22]. Since then, Zika virus started spreading to other countries, and further transmission of the virus is anticipated [23]. The disease caused by Zika was neglected until the virus was identified in America [24]. ...
Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging arbovirus which is endemic in several countries. ZIKV waspreviously reported to cause sporadic infections with subclinical or mild illness until 2015 whenZIKV spread throughout the America. Although first human case of ZIKV was detected in 1954,it has recently gained attention due to its association with several neurological defects innewborns if the mother is infected with ZIKV during pregnancy. The Zika virus is primarilytransmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. But in recent times, there are evidence ofnon-vector transmission such as sexual transmission, mother to fetus transmission (Verticaltransmission), blood transfusion, and infectious urine transmission. Till date, there is no antiviraldrug for treatment of Zika virus infection. The vaccines to prevent infection of Zika virus are stillunder development.This review summarizes the history, ZIKV infection during pregnancy, modesof transmission, clinical symptoms, vaccine development, and antiviral drug advancement
... Since 2013, Zika has spread to >49 countries and territories . Its largest outbreak in the Americas in 2015/16 resulted in up to 1.3 million infections and 4180 cases of microcephaly in Brazil by the end of 2015 alone (Bogoch et al., 2016;Teixeira et al., 2016). ...
This report explores 10 transboundary climate risks of global importance. The assessments take a deep dive into how transboundary climate risks impact local livelihoods, and critical sectors such as finance, health and global supply chains (e.g. agricultural commodities and manufacturing components). Each chapter explores, for a given transboundary climate risk, its likelihood in a changing climate, its impacts across different distances and time scales, and its method of transmission, as well as provides readers with an in-depth analysis of a representative real-world case study.
... 16. Canadian firm BlueDot [39] gathers text data from about a hundred thousand articles in more than 65 languages everyday in addition to airline ticket data globally, as well as censuses, climate data, publicly available statistics reports, global infectious diseases alerts, etc to find disease hot spots, and can send alerts to its clients. BlueDot's automated infectious disease surveillance proved effective during the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak, the 2014 ebola outbreak, and was able to predict the outbreak and the high risk cities for covid-19 in 2020 nine days before the USCDC and WHO sent out notices. ...
The current wave of digital transformation has spurred digitisation reforms and has led to prodigious development of AI & NLP systems, with several of them entering the public domain. There is a perception that these systems have a non trivial impact on society but there is a dearth of literature in critical AI on what are the kinds of these systems and how do they operate. This paper constructs a broad taxonomy of NLP systems which impact or are impacted by the ``public'' and provides a concrete analyses via various instrumental and normative lenses on the socio-technical nature of these systems. This paper categorises thirty examples of these systems into seven families, namely; finance, customer service, policy making, education, healthcare, law, and security, based on their public use cases. It then critically analyses these applications, first the priors and assumptions they are based on, then their mechanisms, possible methods of data collection, the models and error functions used, etc. This paper further delves into exploring the socio-economic and political contexts in which these families of systems are generally used and their potential impact on the same, and the function creep of these systems. It provides commentary on the potential long-term downstream impact of these systems on communities which use them. Aside from providing a birds eye view of what exists our in depth analysis provides insights on what is lacking in the current discourse on NLP in particular and critical AI in general, proposes additions to the current framework of analysis, provides recommendations future research direction, and highlights the need to importance of exploring the social in this socio-technical system.
... Currently, there is no definitive treatment for the Zika virus with the exclusion of controlling the vectors by using insecticide spray along with the extinguishing habitats of the larval breeds. In recent investigations, pregnant women, particularly present vulnerable to the infection of Zika virus infection [8][9][10]. The mathematical form of the models has become a growing factor in this work by using disease epidemiology and its control [11][12][13][14][15]. Lee et al. [16] designed a Zika virus model to consider human and vector population dynamics. ...
The purpose of this study is to present the numerical performances and interpretations of the SEIR nonlinear system based on the Zika virus spreading by using the stochastic neural networks based intelligent computing solver. The epidemic form of the nonlinear system represents the four dynamics of the patients, susceptible patients S(y), exposed patients hospitalized in hospital E(y), infected patients I(y), and recovered patients R(y), i.e., SEIR model. The computing numerical outcomes and performances of the system are examined by using the artificial neural networks (ANNs) and the scaled conjugate gradient (SCG) for the training of the networks, i.e., ANNs-SCG. The correctness of the ANNs-SCG scheme is observed by comparing the proposed and reference solutions for three cases of the SEIR model to solve the nonlinear system based on the Zika virus spreading dynamics through the knacks of ANNs-SCG procedure based on exhaustive experimentations. The outcomes of the ANNs-SCG algorithm are found consistently in good agreement with standard numerical solutions with negligible errors. Moreover, the procedure’s constancy, dependability, and exactness are perceived by using the values of state transitions, error histogram measures, correlation, and regression analysis.
... Native to Africa, the first signs of ZIKV emergence, in terms of increased human cases, began in Yap Island, Micronesia in 2007, followed by outbreaks in French Polynesia in 2013 [1] and an epidemic in northeastern Brazil associated with many humans infected, ranging from 440,000-1.3 million cases in 2015 [2]. During this time, ZIKV became a pandemic throughout the Americas, raising the concern about Zika transmission in the continental U.S., especially Gulf Coast states such as Florida [3]. ...
The Asian lineage of Zika virus (ZIKV), a mosquito-borne pathogen originally from Africa, caused an epidemic into Brazil in 2015 and subsequently spread throughout the Americas. Local transmission in the U.S. is a public health concern, especially for Florida where the mosquito vectors Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus are widespread, abundant, and there is a high potential for virus introduction due to imported cases. Here we evaluate relative susceptibility to infection and transmission of Zika virus among geographic populations of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus in Florida. Both species have been implicated as ZIKV vectors elsewhere, but both virus and vector genotype are known to influence transmission capacities and, hence, the risk of outbreaks. We test the hypothesis that Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus show geographic differences in midgut and salivary gland barriers that limit ZIKV transmission, using local populations of the two vector species recently colonized from three regions of Florida to compare their susceptibility to ZIKV infection, disseminated infection, and transmission potential. Susceptibility to infection was higher in Ae. aegypti (range 76–92%) than Ae. albopictus (range 47–54%). Aedes aegypti exhibited 33–44% higher susceptibility to infection than Ae. albopictus, with Ae. aegypti from Okeechobee, FL having 17% higher susceptibility to infection than Ae. aegypti from Miami, FL. Similarly, disseminated infection was higher in Ae. aegypti (range 87–89%) than Ae. albopictus (range 31–39%), although did not vary by region. Enhanced infection and disseminated infection in Ae. aegypti were associated with higher viral loads in mosquito samples than in Ae. albopictus. Transmission rates did not vary by species or region (range 26–47%). The results support the hypothesis that Ae. aegypti, but not Ae. albopictus, exhibited regional differences in midgut infection barriers. Our observation of higher vector competence for Ae. aegypti than Ae. albopictus, together with this species greater propensity to feed on humans, lends support to the notion that Ae. aegypti is regarded as the primary vector for ZIKV and public health concern in continental U.S.
... Previously, similarly obtained information was used during the Ebola epidemic in West Africa (EVD) in 2014 (Halloran et al. 2014;Wesolowski et al. 2014) and other epidemics such as MERS-CoV in 2013 and the Zika virus in 2016. At that time, the use of data characterised population movements in affected areas in order to limit transmission to other areas (Poletto et al. 2014;Bogoch et al. 2016). ...
This article analyses the variability of the number of mobile phone network users in and around the Białowieża National Park during the summer holidays in 2019 and 2020 based on Call Detail Records. The data collected was used to analyse the mobility of Poles in the study area during the SARS CoV 2 pandemic. The research shows that despite the area's peripheral location and the prevailing pandemic, the number of users of the mobile network in the summer of 2020 increased compared with 2019 – by 20.2% in July and 14.3% in August. The increase in users logged in results from the increased number of tourists who were looking for remote places that could afford them some protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in the summer of 2020.
... AI can also be used for emergency prediction, preparedness, and response. For example, natural language processing and machine learning techniques have been used to detect and track infectious disease outbreaks using commercial flight itineraries, climate data and animal and insect population data for early detection of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China [35] and prediction of international Zika transmission [36]. ...
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve public health’s ability to promote the health of all people in all communities. To successfully realize this potential and use AI for public health functions it is important for public health organizations to thoughtfully develop strategies for AI implementation. Six key priorities for successful use of AI technologies by public health organizations are discussed: 1) Contemporary data governance; 2) Investment in modernized data and analytic infrastructure and procedures; 3) Addressing the skills gap in the workforce; 4) Development of strategic collaborative partnerships; 5) Use of good AI practices for transparency and reproducibility, and; 6) Explicit consideration of equity and bias.
... What is known is that Brazil is one of sixty countries and territories which to date report "continuing" transmission of the Zika virus by the Aedes mosquitoes. 1 An estimated 440 000 to 1.3 million Zika virus infections have occurred in Brazil, and the virus has spread to several neighbouring countries. 2 There is mounting clinical evidence that Zika infection is associated not just with paediatric microcephaly and brain damage, but also with adult conditions such as Guillain-Barré syndrome 3 and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. 4 On 28 May 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a media statement with the following advisory for those considering travel to the Olympics 1 : • Follow the travel advice provided by the country's health authorities, and consult a health worker before travelling. ...
... The virus is spread by the Aedes genus of mosquito [10], which is also the vector for dengue virus (DENV). ZIKV is therefore likely to be capable of sustained transmission in other tropical areas [11]. As well as causing symptoms such as fever and rash, ZIKV infection has also been linked to increased incidence of neurological sequelae, including Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) [12,13] and microcephaly in infants born to mothers who were infected with 2/16 . ...
Between October 2013 and April 2014, more than 30,000 cases of Zika virus (ZIKV) disease were estimated to have attended healthcare facilities in French Polynesia. ZIKV has also been reported in Africa and Asia, and in 2015 the virus spread to South America and the Caribbean. Infection with ZIKV has been associated with neurological complications including Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) and microcephaly, which led the World Health Organization to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in February 2015. To better understand the transmission dynamics of ZIKV, we used a mathematical model to examine the 2013–14 outbreak on the six major archipelagos of French Polynesia. Our median estimates for the basic reproduction number ranged from 2.6–4.8, with an estimated 11.5% (95% CI: 7.32–17.9%) of total infections reported. As a result, we estimated that 94% (95% CI: 91–97%) of the total population of the six archipelagos were infected during the outbreak. Based on the demography of French Polynesia, our results imply that if ZIKV infection provides complete protection against future infection, it would take 12–20 years before there are a sufficient number of susceptible individuals for ZIKV to reemerge, which is on the same timescale as the circulation of dengue virus serotypes in the region. Our analysis suggests that ZIKV may exhibit similar dynamics to dengue virus in island populations, with transmission characterized by large, sporadic outbreaks with a high proportion of asymptomatic or unreported cases.
Author Summary
Since the first reported major outbreak of Zika virus disease in Micronesia in 2007, the virus has caused outbreaks throughout the Pacific and South America. Transmitted by the Aedes species of mosquitoes, the virus has been linked to possible neurological complications including Guillain-Barre Syndrome and microcephaly. To improve our understanding of the transmission dynamics of Zika virus in island populations, we analysed the 2013–14 outbreak on the six major archipelagos of French Polynesia. We found evidence that Zika virus infected the majority of population, but only around 12% of total infections on the archipelagos were reported as cases. If infection with Zika virus generates lifelong immunity, we estimate that it would take at least 15–20 years before there are enough susceptible people for the virus to reemerge. Our results suggest that Zika virus could exhibit similar dynamics to dengue virus in the Pacific, producing large but sporadic outbreaks in small island populations.
... The viral infection causes fever, rash, headache, joint and muscle pain, conjunctivitis, severe eye lesions, newborn microcephaly, and Guillain-Barré syndrome [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The virus has been transmitted and has spread rapidly in the Americas, especially in Brazil [7]; the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a global public health concern for public health on 1 February 2016. The viral infection is also likely to spread to many uninfected countries and regions due to the widespread distribution of the Aedes that transmits it, the frequent international trade activities, and rising tourism [8]. ...
Lipid droplets (LDs) are highly conserved and dynamic intracellular organelles. Their functions are not limited to serving as neutral lipid reservoirs; they also participate in non-energy storage functions, such as cell lipid metabolism, protection from cell stresses, maintaining protein homeostasis, and regulating nuclear function. During a Zika virus (ZIKV) infection, the viruses hijack the LDs to provide energy and lipid sources for viral replication. The co-localization of ZIKV capsid (C) protein with LDs supports its role as a virus replication platform and a key compartment for promoting the generation of progeny virus particles. However, in view of the multiple functions of LDs, their role in ZIKV infection needs further elucidation. Here, we review the basic mechanism of LD biogenesis and biological functions and discuss how ZIKV infection utilizes these effects of LDs to facilitate virus replication, along with the future application strategy of developing new antiviral drugs based on the interaction of ZIKV with LDs.
... Firstly, we should emphasize that the object of the declared emergency corresponds to the effects caused by the disease (congenital syndromes) and not the epidemic itself. Considering the dizzying contemporary international mobility, Zika quickly reached other countries 32 . Colombia and the U.S. reported autochthonous Zika virus transmission cases and records of babies with microcephaly and took steps to control them. ...
The study of global health agenda-setting and issue-prioritization has been one of the key aspects of a critical literature that, in recent years, has aimed to identify the political dimensions of global health governance and to shed light on points of tension, exclusion, and inequality. This essay speaks to this critical global health literature, focusing on the construction of the category of emergencies of international concern. Considering the case of the outbreak of zika and congenital syndrome in Brazil in 2016, it explores the conditions enabling the construction of an emergency. We question the factors and conditions around this public health event that were considered during the decision-making process and that transcended material, more objective data regarding zika’s epidemiology, its morbimortality, or its association with congenital malformations. We conclude that the securitized context and the growing relevance of risk to global health are important conditions for understanding emergency declarations.
... There was not much scientific awareness of ZIKV early after it was identified, and accordingly, it was understudied until the first reemergence of ZIKV occurred on the Yap Islands in Micronesia in 2007 [6]. Subsequently, an outbreak of ZIKV was reported in French Polynesia in 2013-2014 [7] and an epidemic in Brazil with~130,000 suspected cases in late 2015 ( Figure 1) [8,9]. In 2016, the World Health Organization declared the ZIKV epidemic as an international health emergency [10,11]. ...
Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging flavivirus that is associated with neurological complications, such as neuroinflammatory Guillain Barré Syndrome in adults and microcephaly in newborns, and remains a potentially significant and international public health concern. The World Health Organization is urging the development of novel antiviral therapeutic strategies against ZIKV, as there are no clinically approved vaccines or drugs against this virus. Given the public health crisis that is related to ZIKV cases in the last decade, efficient strategies should be identified rapidly to combat or treat ZIKV infection. Several promising strategies have been reported through drug repurposing studies, de novo design, and the high-throughput screening of compound libraries in only a few years. This review summarizes the genome and structure of ZIKV, viral life cycle, transmission cycle, clinical manifestations, cellular and animal models, and antiviral drug developments, with the goal of increasing our understanding of ZIKV and ultimately defeating it.
... ZIKV massively spread into the Americas in 2015 (Krow-Lucal et al., 2018), and 2016-2017 witnessed the peak of the ZIKV epidemic. A total of 216,207 ZIKV cases were reported in Brazil including 8,604 babies born with deformities during 2016-2017 (Bogoch et al., 2016;Narasimhan et al., 2020). ...
Testosterone is essential to human growth and development as well as immune regulation. Zika virus (ZIKV), an emerging arbovirus associated with neurological complications including neuroinflammation, can also cause testicular damage and decrease testosterone secretion. However, whether the dysregulation of testosterone plays a role in the process of neuroinflammation during ZIKV pathogenesis is still unclear. In this study, we found that ZIKV infection caused testicular damage and decreased testosterone secretion in male mice, and testosterone supplementation after ZIKV infection reduced their mortality and attenuated the pathological symptoms. Further investigation revealed that testosterone treatment after ZIKV infection alleviated inflammation and nerve injury in mouse brain. Additionally, the reduced CD8⁺ T cell infiltration and interferon gamma production were observed in brains of testosterone treated mice. Overall, our results demonstrated that testosterone plays a protective role in ZIKV-infected mice, and thus it can be developed as a potential therapeutic drug against ZIKV infection.
... Within the ECSA genotype, there is a lineage that is considered very important due to its biological characteristics: the Indian Ocean Lineage (IOL). CHIKV outbreaks are aggravated by a simultaneous co-circulation with other arboviruses, including the Dengue, Zika, and Mayaro viruses, which share symptoms in acute symptomatic individuals, which is a limitation for the clinical diagnosis and treatment [6][7][8][9][10]. ...
The Togaviridae family comprises a large and diverse group of viruses responsible for recurrent outbreaks in humans. Within this family, the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an important Alphavirus in terms of morbidity, mortality, and economic impact on humans in different regions of the world. The objective of this study was to perform an IgG epitope recognition of the CHIKV’s structural proteins E2 and E3 using linear synthetic peptides recognized by serum from patients in the convalescence phase of infection. The serum samples used were collected in the state of Sergipe, Brazil in 2016. Based on the results obtained using immunoinformatic predictions, synthetic B-cell peptides corresponding to the epitopes of structural proteins E2 and E3 of the CHIKV were analyzed by the indirect peptide ELISA technique. Protein E2 was the main target of the immune response, and three conserved peptides, corresponding to peptides P3 and P4 located at Domain A and P5 at the end of Domain B, were identified. The peptides P4 and P5 were the most reactive and specific among the 11 epitopes analyzed and showed potential for use in serological diagnostic trials and development and/or improvement of the Chikungunya virus diagnosis and vaccine design.
A few of the negative effects of climate change that are threatening ecosystems include rising temperatures, extreme weather and sea level rise. The conditions under which vectors carrying the disease are present, such as ticks, mosquitoes and fleas, result from rising temperatures and precipitation patterns. The wide range of Aedes mosquitoes aid in the spread of the Zika virus and dengue fever. Lyme disease has expanded northward in Quebec due to climate change, which was previously considered a low-risk zone for this disease. It is important to note that the spread of malaria to previously low-risk areas, in particular the highlands and the hills of northern India, has been facilitated by rising temperatures and changing precipitation. The ability of cholera-causing organisms to multiply in vulnerable areas is further aided by changes in rising temperatures. The introduction of zoonotic diseases like Ebola, SARS, and COVID-19 is facilitated by ecological changes brought on not only by climate change but by loss of biodiversity also. Population displacement caused by climate-related disasters can also escalate the risk of disease transmission. In most cases, victims of these outbreaks of diseases are the poor people of developing countries. To minimise or stop the spread of disease, effective public health policies and combating climate change are indispensable. Interdisciplinary collaboration, policy interventions, and public awareness are necessary to combat all of these. This communication aims to discuss the impact of climate change on epidemics and to stress the urgent need for comprehensive and coordinated measures to address the problem.
Background
As global travel resumed in COVID-19 endemicity, the potential of aircraft wastewater monitoring to provide early warning of disease trends for SARS-CoV-2 variants and other infectious diseases, particularly at international air travel hubs, was recognized. We therefore assessed and compared the feasibility of testing wastewater from inbound aircraft and airport terminals for 18 pathogens including SARS-CoV-2 in Singapore, a popular travel hub in Asia.
Methods
Wastewater samples collected from inbound medium- and long-haul flights and airport terminals were tested for SARS-CoV-2. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) was carried out on positive samples to identify SARS-CoV-2 variants. Airport and aircraft samples were further tested for 17 other pathogens through quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).
Results
The proportion of SARS-CoV-2-positive samples and the average virus load was higher for wastewater samples from aircraft as compared to airport terminals. Cross-correlation analyses indicated that viral load trends from airport wastewater led local COVID-19 case trends by two to five days. A total of ten variants (44 sub-lineages) were successfully identified from aircraft wastewater and airport terminals, and four variants of interest (VOIs) and one variant under monitoring (VUM) were detected in aircraft and airport wastewater 18-31 days prior to detection in local clinical cases. The detection of five respiratory and four enteric viruses in aircraft wastewater samples further underscores the potential to expand aircraft wastewater to monitoring pathogens beyond SARS-CoV-2.
Conclusion
Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of aircraft wastewater testing for monitoring infectious diseases threats, potentially detecting signals before clinical cases are reported. The triangulation of similar datapoints from aircraft wastewater of international travel nodes could therefore serve as a useful early warning system for global health threats.
Background
The high frequency of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare it an emerging threat in 2016. Presently, countries in South America continue to report a significant number of Zika virus cases. Zika virus infection has been associated with neurological diseases. This article explores the impact of ZIKV infection on IgG + Zika-reactive conditions using a neurosphere model.
Methods
Neurospheres derived from Wistar rats were exposed to Zika virus and IgG + Zika-reactive conditions. The study assessed the area, irregularity rate, and relative gene expression of NOTCH-1, HES-1, and HEY-1, as well as the expression of GCSF and IL-10.
Results
The irregularity rate of ZIKV neurospheres decreased at its lowest concentration; however, our morphology analysis was insufficient to fully elucidate the impact of ZIKV on neurospheres. Interestingly, IgG + serum exhibited neuroprotective effects against subsequent Zika virus exposure, restoring NOTCH-1 and HES-1 expression levels to normal. HEY-1 expression remained unaffected by Zika virus exposure but decreased with IgG + serum. Surprisingly, levels of the anti-inflammatory markers GCSF and IL-10 showed no significant changes.
Conclusions
These findings highlight the complex interplay between ZIKV infection, immune response, and neurodevelopmental processes. Further research is necessary to elucidate the precise mechanisms underlying these observations and explore potential therapeutic interventions.
The Zika virus (ZIKV) is a serious global public health crisis. A major control challenge is its multiple transmission modes. This paper aims to simulate the transmission patterns of ZIKV using a dynamic process-based epidemiological model written in ordinary differential equations, which incorporates the human-to-mosquito infection by bites and sewage, mosquito-to-human infection by bites, and human-to-human infection by sex. Mathematical analyses are carried out to calculate the basic reproduction number and backward bifurcation, and prove the existence and stability of the equilibria. The model is validated with infection data by applying it to the 2015–2016 ZIKV epidemic in Brazil. The results indicate that the reproduction number is estimated to be 2.13, in which the contributions by mosquito bite, sex and sewage account for 85.7%, 3.5% and 10.8%, respectively. This number and the morbidity rate are most sensitive to parameters related to mosquito ecology, rather than asymptomatic or human-to-human transmission. Multiple transmission routes and suitable temperature exacerbate ZIKV infection in Brazil, and the vast majority of human infection cases were prevented by the intervention implemented. These findings may provide new insights to improve the risk assessment of ZIKV infection.
Efficient and targeted delivery of a DNA payload is vital for developing safe gene therapy. Owing to the recent success of commercial oncolytic vector and multiple COVID-19 vaccines, adenovirus vectors are back in the spotlight. Adenovirus vectors can be used in gene therapy by altering the wild-type virus and making it replication-defective; specific viral genes can be removed and replaced with a segment that holds a therapeutic gene, and this vector can be used as delivery vehicle for tissue specific gene delivery. Modified conditionally replicative–oncolytic adenoviruses target tumors exclusively and have been studied in clinical trials extensively. This comprehensive review seeks to offer a summary of adenovirus vectors, exploring their characteristics, genetic enhancements, and diverse applications in clinical and preclinical settings. A significant emphasis is placed on their crucial role in advancing cancer therapy and the latest breakthroughs in vaccine clinical trials for various diseases. Additionally, we tackle current challenges and future avenues for optimizing adenovirus vectors, promising to open new frontiers in the fields of cell and gene therapies.
This chapter raises the profile of health data sharing to highlight how international collaboration involving data sharing is critical in enhancing resilience to national, regional, and global public health crises. Empirical evidence shows that there is an intensification of health information and data circulation across international borders, and global advocacy for the sharing of health-related data is increasing, albeit unevenly around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic and other contemporary public health crises (Ebola virus and avian influenza) have heightened discussions amongst health authorities and agencies on appropriate and effective sharing and communication of health information and data. Therefore, having more clarity and/or understanding of the dynamics involved in international cooperation between countries or collaborative research involving health data sharing is imperative, particularly in developing economies sharing common health risks. That is the aim of this chapter, which analyses the complex nature of health data sharing with a focus on Africa where infectious disease outbreaks are increasing. The benefits of sharing health information/data which could increase healthcare delivery in Africa have been outlined. Still the practice is not yet common among healthcare agencies in Africa for reasons that have also been discussed in the chapter. From the identified impediment to data sharing, the overarching argument is that there would be key gains for global public health if data are shared equitably, ethically, and efficiently and is mutually beneficial to all the parties involved. Succinct recommendations have been proffered to address the health data-sharing gap in Africa. The potential contribution of this chapter to the literature and targeted policy/practice that could strengthen health data sharing cannot be overemphasized.
This chapter emphasizes on future trends of insect biotechnology in protein vaccines production, future crop protection, pest management approaches, and recent biotechnological progress. The chapter also addresses the major aspects of insect biotechnology in various sectors and also its significance and associated risks in human life applications.The finest developments in insect biotechnology were driven by the progress in present-day sub-atomic science, especially by the advancement of strategies, which permitted one to completely arrange the genomes of various insect species. The economic potential of insect biotechnology, for the exploration of biodiversity products and bioeconomy, lead to the massive growth of this field over the past 30 years.In detailed explanation on the biological approaches to Pest Management using genetically engineered insects, self-limiting agricultural insect pests, and biorational insecticides are discussed in the chapter. Furthermore, a brief view on recent biotechnological advances in forest pest management and identification of specific pest control molecules are elaborated. In brief, the chapter attempts to show what the aspects of insect biotechnology are trying to achieve and how far these aims are currently realized. We hope that this chapter will be useful to researchers and scholars wishing to obtain an overall perspective for future research on prospects of Insect biotechnology.KeywordsInsecticidesPesticidesInsect cellsGenetic modificationAgriculturePest management
Background: Since transmission of the virus occurs by interaction among individuals, the transportation system is the main factor in the spread of the COVID-19. The purpose of the study was to explain traffic transport measures to managing COVID-19 in Iran. Method: We first received the approvals of the Iran Committee against COVID-19. Then, measures of travel restrictions in 120 approvals were selected and categorized by the research team. Results All the measures associated with travel restrictions were elicited from the data analysis and were classified into four categories, including private transportation within the city, travel by private transportation means, travel between countries, and public transportation. Conclusion Travel restrictions have a severe impact on the sector, causing major dysfunction in activities at airlines and airports and significantly increase the risk of failure for air transport-related businesses. Therefore, developing the strategies to correct and re-orientate their businesses is urgently necessitating. To decrease the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary the engagement of citizens, the private sector, governments at all levels, as well as international agencies, and all other related organizations.
The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a rise in misinformation from various media sources, which contributed to the heightened severity of hate speech. The upsurgence of hate speech online has devastatingly translated to real-life hate crimes, which saw an increase of 32% in 2020 in the United States alone (U.S. Department of Justice 2022). In this paper, I explore the current effects of hate speech and why hate speech should be widely recognized as a public health issue. I also discuss current artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) strategies to mitigate hate speech along with the ethical concerns with using these technologies. Future considerations to improve AI/ML are also examined. Through analyzing these two contrasting methodologies (public health versus AI/ML), I argue that these two approaches applied by themselves are not efficient or sustainable. Therefore, I propose a third approach that combines both AI/ML and public health. With this proposed approach, the reactive side of AI/ML and the preventative nature of public health measures are united to develop an effective manner of addressing hate speech.
Epidemiological investigations on the impact of Zika virus infection have largely focused on severe neurological outcomes, including congenital malformations in fetuses and newborns and Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults. What remains unclear are the longer-term health outcomes following a ZIKV epidemic. This thesis describes and evaluates the health impacts of ZIKV infection in French Territories of the Americas and in Vietnam. Using a population-based cohort study of pregnant women in French Territories of the Americas, we have been able to estimate the risk of adverse pregnancy and early childhood outcomes up to 24 months of age among women with symptomatic, RT-PCR confirmed infection. In an extended version of the same cohort, we have also been able to compare neurodevelopment outcomes at 24 months of age in children with and without in utero Zika virus exposure. Finally, in Vietnam, we were able to conduct a multidisciplinary investigation to describe the outcomes of the pregnancies among the 68 women with RT-PCR confirmed Zika virus infection, the virological and phylogenetic analyses of the Zika virus strain implicated in the outbreak and the kinetics of the longer-term immune response to Zika virus infection. Together, these findings contribute to the accumulative body of literature on the impact of Zika virus infectic on maternal, neonatal and early childhood health outcomes.
The One Health Approach has a need for a deep reform of surveillance systems within the framework of Public Health services in every country and at a collaborative, international level. In this chapter, we go through definitions in the public health and epidemiologic surveillance fields, through health, veterinary and environmental lenses. Existing specific surveillance systems are briefly discussed: zoonotic and foodborne diseases, emerging pathogens, antimicrobial resistance and environmental hazards. The chapter then identifies existing barriers to surveillance and points out opportunities in the near future. In the prospects for the future, proposals for reorganization at a national and international level are identified, alongside the need for speed in surveillance and action, the opportunities beyond the traditional scope of Health and the responsibility in creating and managing predictive tools at our disposal.
Objective
The French Polynesia Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak (2013–2014) broadened the known manifestations of ZIKV disease (ZVD) to include neural and congenital syndromes. A subsequent epidemic in the Americas (2015–2016) caused >685,000 suspected/confirmed cases before seemingly disappearing as fast as it expanded. A study was implemented (2017–2018) to detect ZVD cases in the region (Mexico, Honduras, Colombia and Puerto Rico), with the aim of validating surveillance methodology so as to increase sensitivity in case detection, which would have potential application for future vaccine development endeavors.
Study design and setting
To identify potential cases, we focused on signs/symptoms that were frequently associated with ZVD for confirmation by PCR. Serostatus and seroconversion were evaluated by ZIKV non-structural protein 1 blockade-of-binding enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (BOB ELISA) and microneutralization assay.
Results
Overall, 2,400 participants aged 15–40 years were enrolled; 959 (40.0%) had signs/symptoms that could be associated with ZVD: axillary temperature ≥37°C (64.3%), myalgia (60.8%) and arthralgia (58.6%). Three suspected cases were virologically confirmed. Zika seroprevalence was high at study initiation (52.6% [BOB ELISA] and 56.0% [microneutralization assay]). In participants who were Zika seronegative, low seroconversion rates were observed after one year follow-up (3.6% [BOB ELISA] and 3.1% [microneutralization assay]).
Conclusion
The ZIKV continued to circulate in the Americas at very low levels following the 2015–2016 outbreak. The epidemiological factors driving Zika’s rapid rise and decline remain poorly understood.
Clinical trial registration
Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03158233 BARDA (Contract # HHSO100201600039C) WHO Universal Trial Number: U1111-1183-5687.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve public health surveillance, health promotion, and population health management through improved targeting of interventions and policy to populations that are most in need, known as precision public health. To successfully realize this potential and use AI for public health functions it is important for public health organizations to thoughtfully develop strategies for AI implementation. Five key priorities for successful use of AI technologies by public health organizations are discussed in this commentary: 1) Contemporary data governance; 2) Investment in modernized data and analytic infrastructure and procedures; 3) Addressing the skills gap; 4) Development of strategic collaborative partnerships, and; 5) Use of AI best practices including explicit consideration of equity.
Transplacental transmission of Zika virus (ZIKV) during early pregnancy may lead to several neurological alterations, known as congenital Zika syndrome. We have previously shown that intravaginal infection of immunocompetent dams with ZIKV during the early stage of pregnancy triggers neuroinflammation in fetuses, characterized by increased brain expression of inflammatory factors, including IL-6, IL-18, CCL2, CXCL1, and CXCL10. The present study sought to understand the long-term consequences of these early cerebral alterations. For that, pregnant FVB/NJ immunocompetent females were infected intravaginally on the gestational day (GD) 4.5 and experiments were performed when offspring reached between 4 to 5 months of age. The exposure to ZIKV promoted significant neuronal cell loss detected in the CA1 region of the hippocampus of adult mice. However, only females showed reduced expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD95), and syntaxin-1A, which are important genes related to neuronal function and synaptic plasticity. Moreover, the protein levels of the pre- and postsynaptic markers, SNAP25 and PSD95, respectively, were decreased exclusively in ZIKV-exposed female mice, indicating that ZIKV exposure in utero induces synaptic loss. Additionally, only females exposed to ZIKV showed risk-taking behavior and hippocampal-dependent spatial memory deficit. Together, these results demonstrate that intravaginal infection of mice on GD4.5 induces neurological alterations in the offspring detectable in their adulthood and that female mice, rather than male mice, are more susceptible to ZIKV-induced neurobehavioral alterations.
Summary Statement
In utero exposure to ZIKV leads to decreased number of neurons in adult mice. Female mice exposed to ZIKV in utero exhibit lower levels of BDNF, a decrease in synaptic markers, memory deficits, and risk-taking behavior during adulthood.
The control of the transmission of viruses is really challenging. Zika virus is the twentieth among the most deadly viruses in world’s history. With the advancement in research and technology several epidemiological issues are controlled, yet the vector borne diseases have remained a great challenge and the most effective approach to control its spread is to strictly adhere to the precautionary measures. Computational framework is ideal to forecast the impact of precautionary measures on the crossover behaviour of the Zika virus and the delay in population growth, caused by such viruses. During this research, a delayed computational model is studied and the dynamical analysis with useful thresholds are reported. The compartmental model is comprised of the interactions of Zika virus infected cells and the short lived effector cells. Based on the fetal abnormalities, associated with the Zika virus infection, delayed pregnancy is recommended by WHO. The impact of the Zika virus to the delayed pregnancies, to avoid such fetal complications is demonstrated with the aid of dynamical analysis of interactions with delay at the inter-cellular levels. The dynamics are depicted numerically relative to key parameters and useful conclusions are drawn.
Aims:
To synthesize the oral alterations observed in children with microcephaly associated with congenital Zika virus syndrome (CZS); and to compare the oral alterations of these children to a normotypic healthy controls.
Methods and results:
A search was performed in six electronic databases. Observational studies published that reported oral alterations in children with CZS were selected. Two authors independently extracted data, assessed study quality, using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist tools, and the certainty of evidence, using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Twenty-one studies were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled crude occurrence showed 88% of increased salivation (95%CI: 82%-94%), 83% of biofilm (95%CI: 75%-91%), and 73% of bruxism (95%CI: 52%-95%). Compared to normotypic controls, children with CZS-associated microcephaly had a higher chance to have difficulty in lip sealing (OR: 18.28; 95%CI: 1.42-235.91), inadequate lingual posture at rest (OR: 13.57; 95%CI: 4.24-43.44), and delayed eruption (OR: 12.92; 95%CI: 3.42-48.78), with very low certainty.
Conclusion:
There are several oral alterations found among children with CZS-associated microcephaly. They are more prone to present some of these alterations, such as difficulty in lip sealing, although with very low certainty of evidence.
In the present time, our understanding of disease pathogenesis has changed significantly due to the advent of newer technology and recent scientific breakthroughs. The network models consisting of the genomic regions are being prepared by combining the developed molecular phenotyping profiling with deep clinical phenotyping, which can influence the levels of transcripts, proteins, and metabolites and can be exploited in various ways in diagnosing diseases and personalized drug development. Digital biomarkers (BM) can support in disease diagnosis in multiple ways, including patient identification to treatment recommendation. The use of “omics” technology and large sample sizes has resulted in vast data sets, providing a wealth of knowledge about different illnesses and their links to intrinsic biology. The analysis of such extensive data requires sophisticated computational and statistical methods. New data can be converted into usable knowledge to allow for faster diagnosis and treatment choices using these advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning algorithms, computational biology, and digital BMs. As a result, it is expected that such advancements would aid in the fight against infectious disorders, epidemics, and pandemics. Hence, in this article, we would explore the importance of various AI tools that can be utilized for drug discovery and precision medicine.
Dengue and chikungunya are increasing global public health concerns due to their rapid geographical spread and increasing disease burden. Knowledge of the contemporary distribution of their shared vectors, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus remains incomplete and is complicated by an ongoing range expansion fuelled by increased global trade and travel. Mapping the global distribution of these vectors and the geographical determinants of their ranges is essential for public health planning. Here we compile the largest contemporary database for both species and pair it with relevant environmental variables predicting their global distribution. We show Aedes distributions to be the widest ever recorded; now extensive in all continents, including North America and Europe. These maps will help define the spatial limits of current autochthonous transmission of dengue and chikungunya viruses. It is only with this kind of rigorous entomological baseline that we can hope to project future health impacts of these viruses.
Background
Dengue is a disease that has undergone significant expansion over the past hundred years. Understanding what factors limit the distribution of transmission can be used to predict current and future limits to further dengue expansion. While not the only factor, temperature plays an important role in defining these limits. Previous attempts to analyse the effect of temperature on the geographic distribution of dengue have not considered its dynamic intra-annual and diurnal change and its cumulative effects on mosquito and virus populations.
Methods
Here we expand an existing modelling framework with new temperature-based relationships to model an index proportional to the basic reproductive number of the dengue virus. This model framework is combined with high spatial and temporal resolution global temperature data to model the effects of temperature on Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus persistence and competence for dengue virus transmission.
Results
Our model predicted areas where temperature is not expected to permit transmission and/or Aedes persistence throughout the year. By reanalysing existing experimental data our analysis indicates that Ae. albopictus, often considered a minor vector of dengue, has comparable rates of virus dissemination to its primary vector, Ae. aegypti, and when the longer lifespan of Ae. albopictus is considered its competence for dengue virus transmission far exceeds that of Ae. aegypti.
Conclusions
These results can be used to analyse the effects of temperature and other contributing factors on the expansion of dengue or its Aedes vectors. Our finding that Ae. albopictus has a greater capacity for dengue transmission than Ae. aegypti is contrary to current explanations for the comparative rarity of dengue transmission in established Ae. albopictus populations. This suggests that the limited capacity of Ae. albopictus to transmit DENV is more dependent on its ecology than vector competence. The recommendations, which we explicitly outlined here, point to clear targets for entomological investigation.
In 2007, physicians on Yap Island reported an outbreak of illness characterized by rash, conjunctivitis, and arthralgia. Although serum from some patients had IgM antibody against dengue virus, the illness seemed clinically distinct from previously detected dengue. Subsequent testing with the use of consensus primers detected Zika virus RNA in the serum of the patients but no dengue virus or other arboviral RNA. No previous outbreaks and only 14 cases of Zika virus disease have been previously documented.
We obtained serum samples from patients and interviewed patients for information on clinical signs and symptoms. Zika virus disease was confirmed by a finding of Zika virus RNA or a specific neutralizing antibody response to Zika virus in the serum. Patients with IgM antibody against Zika virus who had a potentially cross-reactive neutralizing-antibody response were classified as having probable Zika virus disease. We conducted a household survey to estimate the proportion of Yap residents with IgM antibody against Zika virus and to identify possible mosquito vectors of Zika virus.
We identified 49 confirmed and 59 probable cases of Zika virus disease. The patients resided in 9 of the 10 municipalities on Yap. Rash, fever, arthralgia, and conjunctivitis were common symptoms. No hospitalizations, hemorrhagic manifestations, or deaths due to Zika virus were reported. We estimated that 73% (95% confidence interval, 68 to 77) of Yap residents 3 years of age or older had been recently infected with Zika virus. Aedes hensilli was the predominant mosquito species identified.
This outbreak of Zika virus illness in Micronesia represents transmission of Zika virus outside Africa and Asia. Although most patients had mild illness, clinicians and public health officials should be aware of the risk of further expansion of Zika virus transmission.
Chikungunya virus infection is a rapid-onset, febrile disease with intense asthenia, arthralgia, myalgia, headache, and rash. This mosquito-borne alphavirus has spread throughout the Caribbean and into much of Central America. Further spread in the Americas seems likely.