West Nile Virus Encephalitis in a Barbary Macaque (Macaca sylvanus)

An aged Barbary ape (Macaca sylvanus) at the Toronto Zoo became infected with naturally acquired West Nile virus (WNV) encephalitis that caused neurologic signs, which, associated with other medical problems, led to euthanasia. The diagnosis was based on immunohistochemical assay of brain lesions, reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction, and virus isolation

Prognosis of West Nile virus associated acute flaccid paralysis: a case series

Introduction: Little is known about the long-term health related quality of life outcomes in patients with West Nile virus associated acute flaccid paralysis. We describe the quality of life scores of seven patients with acute flaccid paralysis who presented to hospital between 2003 and 2006, and were followed for up to two years. Case presentations: Between 2003 and 2006, 157 symptomatic patients with West Nile virus were enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study of West Nile virus in Canada. Seven patients (4%) had acute flaccid paralysis. The firs

Susceptibility of Pigs and Chickens to SARS Coronavirus

An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in humans, associated with a new coronavirus, was reported in Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America in early 2003. To address speculations that the virus originated in domesticated animals, or that domestic species were susceptible to the virus, we inoculated 6-week-old pigs and chickens intravenously, intranasally, ocularly, and orally with 106 PFU of SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Clinical signs did not develop in any animal, nor were gross pathologic changes evident on postmortem examinations. Attempts at virus isolation were unsuccessful; however, viral RNA was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in blood of both species during the first week after inoculation, and in chicken organs at 2 weeks after inoculation. Virus-neutralizing antibodies developed in the pigs. Our results indicate that these animals do not play a role as amplifying hosts for SARS-CoV

Ross River Virus Disease Reemergence, Fiji, 2003–2004

We report 2 clinically characteristic and serologically positive cases of Ross River virus infection in Canadian tourists who visited Fiji in late 2003 and early 2004. This report suggests that Ross River virus is once again circulating in Fiji, where it apparently disappeared after causing an epidemic in 1979 to 1980

Whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of strains of the agent of Lyme disease Borrelia burgdorferi from Canadian emergence zones

Lyme disease is emerging in southern Canada due to range expansion of the tick vector, followed by invasion of the agent of Lyme disease Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. Strain diversity, as determined by Multi Locus Sequence Typing, occurs in this zone of emergence, and this may have its origins in adaptation to ecological niches, and have phenotypic consequences for pathogenicity and serological test performance. Sixty-four unique strains were cultured from ticks collected in southern Canada and the genomes sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform. A maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of the chromosome revealed two large clades with multiple subclades. Consistent with previous studies on this species, the clades were not geographically defined, and some Canadian strains were highly divergent from previously sequenced US strains. There was evidence for recombination in the chromosome but this did not affect the phylogeny. Analysis of chromosomal genes indicated that these are under intense purifying selection. Phylogenies of the accessory genome and chromosome were congruent. Therefore strain differences identified in the phylogeny of chromosomal genes likely act as a proxy for genetic determinants of phenotypic differences amongst strains that are harboured in the accessory genome. Further studies on health implications of strain diversity are needed

Taxonomy of the order Bunyavirales : second update 2018

In October 2018, the order Bunyavirales was amended by inclusion of the family Arenaviridae, abolishment of three families, creation of three new families, 19 new genera, and 14 new species, and renaming of three genera and 22 species. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the order Bunyavirales as now accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV).Non peer reviewe

2021 Taxonomic update of phylum Negarnaviricota (Riboviria: Orthornavirae), including the large orders Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales.

Correction to: 2021 Taxonomic update of phylum Negarnaviricota (Riboviria: Orthornavirae), including the large orders Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales. Archives of Virology (2021) 166:3567–3579. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-021-05266-wIn March 2021, following the annual International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) ratification vote on newly proposed taxa, the phylum Negarnaviricota was amended and emended. The phylum was expanded by four families (Aliusviridae, Crepuscuviridae, Myriaviridae, and Natareviridae), three subfamilies (Alpharhabdovirinae, Betarhabdovirinae, and Gammarhabdovirinae), 42 genera, and 200 species. Thirty-nine species were renamed and/or moved and seven species were abolished. This article presents the updated taxonomy of Negarnaviricota as now accepted by the ICTV.This work was supported in part through Laulima Government Solutions, LLC prime contract with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under Contract No. HHSN272201800013C. J.H.K. performed this work as an employee of Tunnell Government Services (TGS), a subcontractor of Laulima Government Solutions, LLC under Contract No. HHSN272201800013C. This work was also supported in part with federal funds from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), under Contract No. 75N91019D00024, Task Order No. 75N91019F00130 to I.C., who was supported by the Clinical Monitoring Research Program Directorate, Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research. This work was also funded in part by Contract No. HSHQDC-15-C-00064 awarded by DHS S&T for the management and operation of The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, a federally funded research and development center operated by the Battelle National Biodefense Institute (V.W.); and NIH contract HHSN272201000040I/HHSN27200004/D04 and grant R24AI120942 (N.V., R.B.T.). S.S. acknowledges partial support from the Special Research Initiative of Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES), Mississippi State University, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, Hatch Project 1021494. Part of this work was supported by the Francis Crick Institute which receives its core funding from Cancer Research UK (FC001030), the UK Medical Research Council (FC001030), and the Wellcome Trust (FC001030).S

2021 Taxonomic update of phylum Negarnaviricota (Riboviria: Orthornavirae), including the large orders Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales.

In March 2021, following the annual International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) ratification vote on newly proposed taxa, the phylum Negarnaviricota was amended and emended. The phylum was expanded by four families (Aliusviridae, Crepuscuviridae, Myriaviridae, and Natareviridae), three subfamilies (Alpharhabdovirinae, Betarhabdovirinae, and Gammarhabdovirinae), 42 genera, and 200 species. Thirty-nine species were renamed and/or moved and seven species were abolished. This article presents the updated taxonomy of Negarnaviricota as now accepted by the ICTV

Application of DNA array technology for diagnostic microbiology

Microarrays or DNA chips have been hailed as the ultimate experimental tool for research, drug discovery and diagnostics. They have the potential to perform a multitude of molecular tests simultaneously and to produce a wealth of information from a single clinical sample. Applications include genotyping, expression analysis and sequencing (1-4). The aim of this review is to provide a brief summary of current microarray technology and highlight the many ways in which it is being developed for use in clinical microbiology laboratories