Influenza Virus Serology at the Human-Animal Interface

Zoonoses, i.e. diseases that are transmissible from animals to humans, have received increasing scientific and public attention in recent years. A comprehensive literature review identified 60% of human pathogens as zoonotic, of which 12% constitute so-called ‘emerging infectious diseases’. This term denotes previously unknown diseases that cause outbreaks or known diseases that cause significantly more infections

Serological evidence of influenza a viruses in frugivorous bats from Africa

Bats are likely natural hosts for a range of zoonotic viruses such as Marburg, Ebola, Rabies, as well as for various Corona- and Paramyxoviruses. In 2009/10, researchers discovered RNA of two novel influenza virus subtypes - H17N10 and H18N11 - in Central and South American fruit bats. The identification of bats as possible additional reservoir for influenza A viruses raises questions about the role of this mammalian taxon in influenza A virus ecology and possible public health relevance. As molecular testing can be limited by a short time window in which the virus is present, serological testing provides information about past infections and virus spread in populations after the virus has been cleared. This study aimed at screening available sera from 100 free-ranging, frugivorous bats (Eidolon helvum) sampled in 2009/10 in Ghana, for the presence of antibodies against the complete panel of influenza A haemagglutinin (HA) types ranging from H1 to H18 by means of a protein microarray platform. This technique enables simultaneous serological testing against multiple recombinant HA-types in 5μl of serum. Preliminary results indicate serological evidence against avian influenza subtype H9 in about 30% of the animals screened, with low-level cross-reactivity to phylogenetically closely related subtypes H8 and H12. To our knowledge, this is the first report of serological evidence of influenza A viruses other than H17 and H18 in bats. As avian influenza subtype H9 is associated with human infections, the implications of our findings from

Influenza at the animal-human interface: A review of the literature for virological evidence of human infection with swine or avian influenza viruses other than A(H5N1)

Factors that trigger human infection with animal influenza virus progressing into a pandemic are poorly understood. Within a project developing an evidence-based risk assessment framework for influenza viruses in animals, we conducted a review of the literature for evidence of human infection with animal influenza viruses by diagnostic methods used. The review covering Medline, Embase, SciSearch and CabAbstracts yielded 6,955 articles, of which we retained 89; for influenza A(H5N1) and A(H7N9), the official case counts of the World Health Organization were used. An additional 30 studies were included by scanning the reference lists. Here, we present the findings for confirmed infections with virological evidence. We found reports of 1,419 naturally infected human cases, of which 648 were associated with avian influenza virus (AIV) A(H5N1), 375 with other AIV subtypes, and 396 with swine influenza virus (SIV). Human cases naturally infected with AIV spanned haemagglutinin subtypes H5, H6, H7, H9 and H10. SIV cases were associated with endemic SIV of H1 and H3 subtype d

Getting More Out of Less - A Quantitative Serological Screening Tool for Simultaneous Detection of Multiple Influenza A Hemagglutinin-Types in Chickens

Current avian influenza surveillance in poultry primarily targets subtypes of interest for the veterinary sector (H5, H7). However, as virological and serological evidence suggest, surveillance of additional subtypes is important for public health as well as for the poultry industry. Therefore, we developed a protein microarray enabling simultaneous identification of antibodies directed against different HA-types of influenza A viruses in chickens. The assay successfully discriminated negative from experimentally and naturally infected, seropositive chickens. Sensitivity and specificity depended on the cut-off level used but ranged from 84.4% to 100% and 100%, respectively, for a cut off level of =1:40, showing minimal cross reactivity. As this testing platform is also validated for the use in humans, it constitutes a surveillance tool that can be applied in human-animal interface studies

Sprachkompetenz im naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht

Die vorliegende Diplomarbeit befasst sich mit dem Thema der Kompetenzorientierung in den naturwissenschaftlichen Fächern Physik, Biologie und Chemie, wobei das Kompetenzmodell NAWI 8 als Basis herangezogen wurde. Der Schwerpunkt wird in dieser Arbeit auf die Sprachkompetenz gelegt. Nach einer Einführung in die Thematik ?Sprache im Fachunterricht? wird speziell auf die Berücksichtigung der Sprachkompetenz bei PISA-Aufgaben und im NAWI 8 Modell eingegangen. Im Schuljahr 2011/2012 wurden im Rahmen des Programms IMST Unterrichtsprojekte durchgeführt, welche die Sprachkompetenz der Lernenden fördern sollten. Durch eine Analyse von Projektantrag und Projektbericht wird gezeigt, wie eine Stärkung dieser Kompetenz bei Schülerinnen und Schüler durch Anwendung verschiedenster Methoden und spezieller Aufgaben möglich ist. Um Lehrpersonen bei der Förderung der Sprachkompetenz zu unterstützen, werden in dieser Arbeit entsprechende methodische Ansätze diskutiert. Zusätzlich wurde eine Aufgabensammlung erstellt und nach dem Kompetenzmodell NAWI 8 kategorisiert.The present diploma thesis deals with the concept of competence orientation in the natural sciences physics, chemistry and biology. For this purpose, the competence model NAWI 8 is used as the basis. The main focus of this thesis will be on language competence. After providing an introduction into ?Language in Subject Teaching? the consideration of language competence is being covered in connection with PISA tasks and the NAWI 8 model. In the school-year of 2011-2012 the program IMST has sponsored school-projects which main goal was to systematically support and enhance the student?s language competence. Comparison and analysis of the project proposal and project report give indications how a student's competency in language skills can be enhanced through the application of various methods and tasks. The following thesis suggests appropriate methods to support teachers with the development of language skills. Additionally, a set of exercises have been attached and categorised according to the competence model NAWI 8.vorgelegt von Gudrun FreidlAbweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des VerfassersZsfassung in dt. und engl. SpracheGraz, Univ., Dipl.-Arb., 2013(VLID)23199

Weighing serological evidence of human exposure to animal influenza viruses − A literature review

Assessing influenza A virus strains circulating in animals and their potential to cross the species barrier and cause human infections is important to improve human influenza surveillance and preparedness. We reviewed studies describing serological evidence of human exposure to animal influenza viruses. Comparing serological data is difficult due to a lack of standardisation in study designs and in laboratory methods used in published reports. Therefore, we designed a scoring system to assess and weigh specificity of obtained serology results in the selected articles. Many studies report reliable evidence of antibodies to swine influenza viruses among persons occupationally exposed to pigs. Most avian influenza studies target H5, H7 and H9 subtypes and most serological evidence of human exposure to avian influenza viruses is reported for these subtypes. Avian influenza studies receiving a low grade in this review often reported higher seroprevalences in humans compared with studies with a high grade. Official surveillance systems mainly focus on avian H5 and H7 viruses. Swine influenza viruses and avian subtypes other than H5 and H7 (emphasising H9) should be additionally included in official surveillance systems. Surveillance efforts should also be directed towards understudied geographical areas, such as Africa and South America

Exploring novel sero-epidemiological tools—Effect of different storage conditions on longitudinal stability of microarray slides comprising influenza A-, measles- and Streptococcus pneumoniae antigens

In this study we evaluated the long-term stability of a microarray-based serological screening platform, containing antigens of influenza A, measles and Streptococcus pneumoniae, as part of a preparedness research program aiming to develop assays for syndromic disease detection. Spotted microarray slides were kept at four different storage regimes with varying temperature and humidity conditions. We showed that under the standard storage condition in a temperature-controlled (21 °C) and desiccated environment (0% relative humidity), microarray slides remained stable for at least 22 months without loss of antigen quality, whereas the other three conditions (37 °C, desiccated; Room temperature, non-desiccated; Frozen, desiccated) produced acceptable results for some antigens (influenza A, S.pneumoniae), but not for others (measles). We conclude that these arrays for multiplex antibody testing can be prepared and stored for prolonged periods of time, which aids laboratory-preparedness and facilitates sero-epidemiological studies

Tracing Back the Source of an Outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium; National Outbreak Linked to the Consumption of Raw and Undercooked Beef Products, the Netherlands, October to December 2015.

On 23 October 2015, six related cases with gastroenteritis called the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority. They suspected filet américain, a raw beef spread, to be the source of infection. Leftovers and stool samples tested positive for Salmonella Typhimurium. Multiple locus variable-number of tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) revealed a MLVA pattern (02-23-08-08-212), which had not been detected in the Netherlands before. Concomitantly, an increase of this MLVA type was observed in the national Salmonella surveillance, amounting to 46 cases between 26 October and 9 December

Pneumonia risk of people living close to goat and poultry farms – Taking GPS derived mobility patterns into account

We previously observed an increased incidence of pneumonia in persons living near goat and poultry farms, using animal presence around the home to define exposure. However, it is unclear to what extent individual mobility and time spent outdoors close to home contributes to this increased risk. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate the role of mobility patterns and time spent outdoors in the vicinity of goat or poultry farms in relation to pneumonia risk. In a rural Dutch cohort, 941 members logged their mobility using GPS trackers for 7 days. Pneumonia was diagnosed in 83 subjects (participants reported that pneumonia had been diagnosed by a medical doctor, or recorded in EMR from general practitioners, 2011–2014). We used logistic regression to evaluate pneumonia-risk by presence of goat farms within 500 and 1000 m around the home and around GPS-tracks (only non-motorised mobility), also we evaluated whether more time spent outdoors increased pneumonia-risks. We observed a clearly increased risk of pneumonia among people living in close proximity to goat farms, ORs increased with closer distances of homes to farms (500 m: 6.2 (95% CI 2.2–16.5) 1000 m: 2.5 (1.4–4.3)) The risk increased for individuals who spent more time outdoors close to home, but only if homes were close to goat farms (within 500 m and often outdoors: 12.7 (3.6–45.4) less often: 2.0 (0.3–9.2), no goat farms and often outdoors: 1.0 (0.6–1.6)). For poultry we found no increased risks. Pneumonia-risks increased when people lived near goat farms, especially when they spent more time outdoors, mobility does not seem to add to these risks