Hantavirus infection in children in Argentina.

Clinical hantavirus infection was diagnosed in five Argentine children ages 5 to 11 years by immunoglobulin M (IgM)- capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using Sin Nombre virus (SNV) antigens. Death in three of the children was associated with absence of detectable IgG to SNV antigens. An additional two cases in healthy children were studied: one, a breast-fed 15-month-old whose mother died of suspected hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) 8 months previously, had hantavirus IgG (> 1:6400); a second, whose mother survived HPS during month three of pregnancy, apparently had maternal antibodies no longer detectable 1 year after birth

El virus de la Coriomeningitis leucocitaria: un patógeno teratogénico no reconocido

Virus de la Coriomeningitis linfocitaria (LCMV), el primer miembro de la familia arenavirus en ser aislado, es el agente causante de una zoonosis adquirida de ratones o hamster crónicamente virémicos . El espectro clínico de la infección humana adquirida de LCMV se extiende desde inaparente y asintomático a, en raros ejemplos, una enfermedad severa sintomática, sistémica, fatal del sistema nervioso central (SNC). La infección intrauterina de LCMV ha resultado en muerte fetal o neonatal, así como también hidrocéfalo y corioretinitis en infantes. Nosotros hemos diagnosticado infección a LCMV congénita en tres infantes y hemos organizado datos inéditos y publicados sobre tres infantes afectados más (8, G.R.Istre, com. pers.). Este informe resume brevemente los aspectos salientes de la infección en cinco de estos seis infantes Estadounidense y plantea las similitudes entre éstos y los aspectos observados anteriormente temprano en Europa. Nosotros sugerimos que LCMV es una causa más frecuente de enfermedad del SNC en recién nacidos que lo anteriormente reconocido.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

El virus de la Coriomeningitis leucocitaria: un patógeno teratogénico no reconocido

Virus de la Coriomeningitis linfocitaria (LCMV), el primer miembro de la familia arenavirus en ser aislado, es el agente causante de una zoonosis adquirida de ratones o hamster crónicamente virémicos . El espectro clínico de la infección humana adquirida de LCMV se extiende desde inaparente y asintomático a, en raros ejemplos, una enfermedad severa sintomática, sistémica, fatal del sistema nervioso central (SNC). La infección intrauterina de LCMV ha resultado en muerte fetal o neonatal, así como también hidrocéfalo y corioretinitis en infantes. Nosotros hemos diagnosticado infección a LCMV congénita en tres infantes y hemos organizado datos inéditos y publicados sobre tres infantes afectados más (8, G.R.Istre, com. pers.). Este informe resume brevemente los aspectos salientes de la infección en cinco de estos seis infantes Estadounidense y plantea las similitudes entre éstos y los aspectos observados anteriormente temprano en Europa. Nosotros sugerimos que LCMV es una causa más frecuente de enfermedad del SNC en recién nacidos que lo anteriormente reconocido.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome associated with Monongahela virus, Pennsylvania.

The first two recognized cases of rapidly fatal hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in Pennsylvania occurred within an 8-month period in 1997. Illness in the two patients was confirmed by immunohistochemical techniques on autopsy material. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis of tissue from one patient and environmentally associated Peromyscus leucopus (white-footed mouse) identified the Monongahela virus variant. Physicians should be vigilant for such Monongahela virus-associated cases in the eastern United States and Canada, particularly in the Appalachian region

Chloroquine is a potent inhibitor of SARS coronavirus infection and spread

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by a newly discovered coronavirus (SARS-CoV). No effective prophylactic or post-exposure therapy is currently available. RESULTS: We report, however, that chloroquine has strong antiviral effects on SARS-CoV infection of primate cells. These inhibitory effects are observed when the cells are treated with the drug either before or after exposure to the virus, suggesting both prophylactic and therapeutic advantage. In addition to the well-known functions of chloroquine such as elevations of endosomal pH, the drug appears to interfere with terminal glycosylation of the cellular receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. This may negatively influence the virus-receptor binding and abrogate the infection, with further ramifications by the elevation of vesicular pH, resulting in the inhibition of infection and spread of SARS CoV at clinically admissible concentrations. CONCLUSION: Chloroquine is effective in preventing the spread of SARS CoV in cell culture. Favorable inhibition of virus spread was observed when the cells were either treated with chloroquine prior to or after SARS CoV infection. In addition, the indirect immunofluorescence assay described herein represents a simple and rapid method for screening SARS-CoV antiviral compounds

Chapare Virus, a Newly Discovered Arenavirus Isolated from a Fatal Hemorrhagic Fever Case in Bolivia

A small focus of hemorrhagic fever (HF) cases occurred near Cochabamba, Bolivia, in December 2003 and January 2004. Specimens were available from only one fatal case, which had a clinical course that included fever, headache, arthralgia, myalgia, and vomiting with subsequent deterioration and multiple hemorrhagic signs. A non-cytopathic virus was isolated from two of the patient serum samples, and identified as an arenavirus by IFA staining with a rabbit polyvalent antiserum raised against South American arenaviruses known to be associated with HF (Guanarito, Machupo, and Sabiá). RT-PCR analysis and subsequent analysis of the complete virus S and L RNA segment sequences identified the virus as a member of the New World Clade B arenaviruses, which includes all the pathogenic South American arenaviruses. The virus was shown to be most closely related to Sabiá virus, but with 26% and 30% nucleotide difference in the S and L segments, and 26%, 28%, 15% and 22% amino acid differences for the L, Z, N, and GP proteins, respectively, indicating the virus represents a newly discovered arenavirus, for which we propose the name Chapare virus. In conclusion, two different arenaviruses, Machupo and Chapare, can be associated with severe HF cases in Bolivia