The Viruses of Wild Pigeon Droppings

<div><p>Birds are frequent sources of emerging human infectious diseases. Viral particles were enriched from the feces of 51 wild urban pigeons (<i>Columba livia</i>) from Hong Kong and Hungary, their nucleic acids randomly amplified and then sequenced. We identified sequences from known and novel species from the viral families <i>Circoviridae, Parvoviridae, Picornaviridae, Reoviridae, Adenovirus, Astroviridae,</i> and <i>Caliciviridae (listed in decreasing number of reads)</i>, as well as plant and insect viruses likely originating from consumed food. The near full genome of a new species of a proposed parvovirus genus provisionally called <i>Aviparvovirus</i> contained an unusually long middle ORF showing weak similarity to an ORF of unknown function from a fowl adenovirus. Picornaviruses found in both Asia and Europe that are distantly related to the turkey megrivirus and contained a highly divergent 2A1 region were named mesiviruses. All eleven segments of a novel rotavirus subgroup related to a chicken rotavirus in group G were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. This study provides an initial assessment of the enteric virome in the droppings of pigeons, a feral urban species with frequent human contact.</p></div

Antiviral strategies against influenza virus: towards new therapeutic approaches

Influenza viruses are major human pathogens responsible for respiratory diseases affecting millions of people worldwide and characterized by high morbidity and significant mortality. Influenza infections can be controlled by vaccination and antiviral drugs. However, vaccines need annual updating and give limited protection. Only two classes of drugs are currently approved for the treatment of influenza: M2 ion channel blockers and neuraminidase inhibitors. However, they are often associated with limited efficacy and adverse side effects. In addition, the currently available drugs suffer from rapid and extensive emergence of drug resistance. All this highlights the urgent need for developing new antiviral strategies with novel mechanisms of action and with reduced drug resistance potential. Several new classes of antiviral agents targeting viral replication mechanisms or cellular proteins/processes are under development. This review gives an overview of novel strategies targeting the virus and/or the host cell for counteracting influenza virus infection