A model of the artificial metastasis of human epidermoid carcinoma A431 in nude mice for examination of the oncolytic activity of vaccinia virus

Human carcinoma A431 cells were subcutaneously injected into nude mice at points remote from each other. One of the two xenografts developed after­wards was used for treatment with a recombinant vaccinia virus, while another served as an artificial metastasis. We used the attenuated recombinant vaccinia virus (VACV) VVdGF-GFP2 of the L-IVP strain (GenBank accession number KP233807), with deletion of two virulence genes: the virus growth factor and thymidine kinase, with the gene for the green fluorescent protein (GFP2) inserted in an area of the latter. Treatments were performed by a single intratumoral injection of the recombinant VACV at a dose of 107 PFU/mouse. VACV was detected in cells of the artificial metastasis as early as two days following infection, and after 8 days virus concentrations were com- parable with those in the infected tumor (~109 PFU/ml). Electron microscopy revealed selective replication of the recombinant in tumor cells. Targeted accumulation of GFP2 in both tumor and metastasis was shown in the UV-images of the mice obtained using the In-vivo Multispectral Imaging System (Bruker, Germany). Complete destruction of the tumor was registered after 12 days, and that of metastasis, after 20 days post injection of VVdGF-GFP2. The destruction process was accompanied by pronounced edema and leukocyte infiltration of tumor tissue. The recombinant virus induced a significant reduction in the sizes of the tumor and metastasis: by the end of the experiment (35 days) the xenografts in the control mice were 10 times larger than those in the treated mice (5000 vs. 500 mm3). Our study showed that the attenuated VACV administered by the peripheral route not only is able to destroy the primary tumor, but also has a distinct antimeta­static action

Genotypes and Subtypes of Hepatitis B Virus Isolates in the Territory of Siberia

Identified are the occurrence, serotypic and genotypic variations of Hepatitis B virus isolates (HBV) among the Novosibirsk region inhabitants (n=2000), native population of the Alarsk District of the Irkutsk Region (n=487) and Shuryshkarsk Township of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District (n=657). Occurrence rate of hepatitis В surface antigen (HBsAg) among different groups of the Novosibirsk Region population varied within the limits of 3,6-35,0 %. It was 8,2 % in Alarsk District, and 3,2 % in Shuryshkarsk Township. HBV isolates of D genotype (92-97 %) prevail among the population of Siberia; few are the cases of A (1,7 %) and C (1,2-8 %) genotypes. The identified varying occurrence of HBV sub-genotypes and HBsAg subtypes in two aboriginal groups of Siberia (D3 sub-genotype and ayw2 subtype - in the Alarsk District, D2 and ayw3 - in Shuryshkarsk Township) suggests the existence of, at least, two isolated HBV virus populations, circulating among different groups of Siberia native population

Influenza (H5N1) Viruses in Poultry, Russian Federation, 2005–2006

Migrating waterfowl may be the primary source of influenza (H5N1) in western Siberia and the European part of the Russian Federation

Taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales: update 2016

In 2016, the order Mononegavirales was emended through the addition of two new families (Mymonaviridae and Sunviridae), the elevation of the paramyxoviral subfamily Pneumovirinae to family status (Pneumoviridae), the addition of five free-floating genera (Anphevirus, Arlivirus, Chengtivirus, Crustavirus, and Wastrivirus), and several other changes at the genus and species levels. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales as now accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV)

Filovirus RefSeq Entries: Evaluation and Selection of Filovirus Type Variants, Type Sequences, and Names

Sequence determination of complete or coding-complete genomes of viruses is becoming common practice for supporting the work of epidemiologists, ecologists, virologists, and taxonomists. Sequencing duration and costs are rapidly decreasing, sequencing hardware is under modification for use by non-experts, and software is constantly being improved to simplify sequence data management and analysis. Thus, analysis of virus disease outbreaks on the molecular level is now feasible, including characterization of the evolution of individual virus populations in single patients over time. The increasing accumulation of sequencing data creates a management problem for the curators of commonly used sequence databases and an entry retrieval problem for end users. Therefore, utilizing the data to their fullest potential will require setting nomenclature and annotation standards for virus isolates and associated genomic sequences. The National Center for Biotechnology Information’s (NCBI’s) RefSeq is a non-redundant, curated database for reference (or type) nucleotide sequence records that supplies source data to numerous other databases. Building on recently proposed templates for filovirus variant naming [ ()////-], we report consensus decisions from a majority of past and currently active filovirus experts on the eight filovirus type variants and isolates to be represented in RefSeq, their final designations, and their associated sequences

HCV-related burden of disease in Europe: a systematic assessment of incidence, prevalence, morbidity, and mortality

Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading cause of chronic liver disease, end-stage cirrhosis, and liver cancer, but little is known about the burden of disease caused by the virus. We summarised burden of disease data presently available for Europe, compared the data to current expert estimates, and identified areas in which better data are needed. Methods Literature and international health databases were systematically searched for HCV-specific burden of disease data, including incidence, prevalence, mortality, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and liver transplantation. Data were collected for the WHO European region with emphasis on 22 countries. If HCV-specific data were unavailable, these were calculated via HCV-attributable fractions. Results HCV-specific burden of disease data for Europe are scarce. Incidence data provided by national surveillance are not fully comparable and need to be standardised. HCV prevalence data are often inconclusive. According to available data, an estimated 7.3–8.8 million people (1.1–1.3%) are infected in our 22 focus countries. HCV-specific mortality, DALY, and transplantation data are unavailable. Estimations via HCV-attributable fractions indicate that HCV caused more than 86000 deaths and 1.2 million DALYs in the WHO European region in 2002. Most of the DALYs (95%) were accumulated by patients in preventable disease stages. About one-quarter of the liver transplants performed in 25 European countries in 2004 were attributable to HCV. Conclusion Our results indicate that hepatitis C is a major health problem and highlight the importance of timely antiviral treatment. However, data on the burden of disease of hepatitis C in Europe are scarce, outdated or inconclusive, which indicates that hepatitis C is still a neglected disease in many countries. What is needed are public awareness, co-ordinated action plans, and better data. European physicians should be aware that many infections are still undetected, provide timely testing and antiviral treatment, and avoid iatrogenic transmission

ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Filoviridae.

Members of the family Filoviridae produce variously shaped, often filamentous, enveloped virions containing linear non-segmented, negative-sense RNA genomes of 15-19 kb. Several filoviruses (e.g., Ebola virus) are pathogenic for humans and are highly virulent. Several filoviruses infect bats (e.g., Marburg virus), whereas the hosts of most other filoviruses are unknown. This is a summary of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) Report on Filoviridae, which is available at www.ictv.global/report/filoviridae

Taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales : update 2016

In 2016, the order Mononegavirales was emended through the addition of two new families (Mymonaviridae and Sunviridae), the elevation of the paramyxoviral subfamily Pneumovirinae to family status (Pneumoviridae), the addition of five free-floating genera (Anphevirus, Arlivirus, Chengtivirus, Crustavirus, and Wastrivirus), and several other changes at the genus and species levels. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales as now accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV)

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

Virus nomenclature below the species level : a standardized nomenclature for laboratory animal-adapted strains and variants of viruses assigned to the family Filoviridae

The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) organizes the classification of viruses into taxa, but is not responsible for the nomenclature for taxa members. International experts groups, such as the ICTV Study Groups, recommend the classification and naming of viruses and their strains, variants, and isolates. The ICTV Filoviridae Study Group has recently introduced an updated classification and nomenclature for filoviruses. Subsequently, and together with numerous other filovirus experts, a consistent nomenclature for their natural genetic variants and isolates was developed that aims at simplifying the retrieval of sequence data from electronic databases. This is a first important step toward a viral genome annotation standard as sought by the US National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Here, this work is extended to include filoviruses obtained in the laboratory by artificial selection through passage in laboratory hosts. The previously developed template for natural filovirus genetic variant naming ( //<year of sampling>/-) is retained, but it is proposed to adapt the type of information added to each field for laboratory animal-adapted variants. For instance, the full-length designation of an Ebola virus Mayinga variant adapted at the State Research Center for Virology and Biotechnology “Vector” to cause disease in guinea pigs after seven passages would be akin to “Ebola virus VECTOR/C.porcellus-lab/COD/1976/Mayinga- GPA-P7”. As was proposed for the names of natural filovirus variants, we suggest using the fulllength designation in databases, as well as in the method section of publications. Shortened designations (such as “EBOV VECTOR/C.por/COD/76/May-GPA-P7”) and abbreviations (such as “EBOV/May-GPA-P7”) could be used in the remainder of the text depending on how critical it is to convey information contained in the full-length name. “EBOV” would suffice if only one EBOV strain/variant/isolate is addressed.This work was funded in part by the Joint Science and Technology Office for Chem Bio Defense (proposal #TMTI0048_09_RD_T to SB).http://www.springerlink.com/content/0304-8608/hb2013ab201