Potential zoonotic sources of SARS‐CoV‐2 infections

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) likely has evolutionary origins in other animals than humans based on genetically related viruses existing in rhinolophid bats and pangolins. Similar to other animal coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 contains a functional furin cleavage site in its spike protein, which may broaden the SARS-CoV-2 host range and affect pathogenesis. Whether ongoing zoonotic infections are possible in addition to efficient human-to-human transmission remains unclear. In contrast, human-to-animal transmission can occur based on evidence provided from natural and experimental settings. Carnivores, including domestic cats, ferrets and minks, appear to be particularly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 in contrast to poultry and other animals reared as livestock such as cattle and swine. Epidemiologic evidence supported by genomic sequencing corroborated mink-to-human transmission events in farm settings. Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 between experimentally infected cats additionally substantiates the possibility of cat-to-human transmission. To evaluate the COVID-19 risk represented by domestic and farmed carnivores, experimental assessments should include surveillance and health assessment of domestic and farmed carnivores, characterization of the immune interplay between SARS-CoV-2 and carnivore coronaviruses, determination of the SARS-CoV-2 host range beyond carnivores and identification of human risk groups such as veterinarians and farm workers. Strategies to mitigate the risk of zoonotic SARS-CoV-2 infections may have to be developed in a One Health framework and non-pharmaceutical interventions may have to consider free-roaming animals and the animal farming industry

EFEITO DO IMPLANTE INTRAVAGINAL DE PROGESTERONA SOBRE A CICLICIDADE DE ÉGUAS EM ANESTRO DA RAÇA QUARTO DE MILHA

O presente estudo teve como objetivo acompanhar a dinâmica folicular de dez éguas submetidas à inserção do dispositivo de liberação lenta de progesterona e, verificar se este procedimento antecipa o início da ciclicidade ovariana em éguas em anestro. Para isso, foram colhidos dados do uso de implante intravaginal de progesterona em éguas que se encontravam em anestro. Após dez dias da colocação do implante, o mesmo foi removido e administrado 0,25 mg de prostaglandina F2α por via intramuscular. As éguas foram diariamente acompanhadas, por meio de exame ultrassonográfico, até o folículo ovariano apresentar-se com 35 mm de diâmetro para se administrar hCG e GnRH e, no dia seguinte, realizar-se a inseminação artificial e aguardar a ovulação. Oito dias após a ovulação foi realizada a coleta dos embriões. Dentro das condições do presente experimento, concluímos que a utilização do implante intravaginal de progesterona sobre a ciclicidade das éguas em anestro demonstrou 80% de eficácia, conseguindo-se 75% de embriões viáveis. Podemos concluir, também, que a faixa etária das éguas não influenciou a eficácia do implante, já que éguas com idade entre três e 25 anos foram responsivas ao uso do implante intravaginal de progesterona

Perspectives on the Zika outbreak: herd immunity, antibody-dependent enhancement and vaccine

Submitted by Adagilson Silva ([email protected]) on 2017-05-05T18:22:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 zika17abr25.pdf: 150751 bytes, checksum: 7c2ffa760d310a51900bc0b7bc387677 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Adagilson Silva ([email protected]) on 2017-05-05T18:26:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 zika17abr25.pdf: 150751 bytes, checksum: 7c2ffa760d310a51900bc0b7bc387677 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-05T18:26:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 zika17abr25.pdf: 150751 bytes, checksum: 7c2ffa760d310a51900bc0b7bc387677 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães. Departamento de Virologia e Terapia Experimental. Recife, PE, Brazil.Universidade Federal de Pernambuco. Laboratório de Imunopatologia Keizo Asami. Setor de Virologia. Recife, PE, Brazil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães. Departamento de Virologia e Terapia Experimental. Recife, PE, Brazil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães. Departamento de Virologia e Terapia Experimental. Recife, PE, Brazil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães. Departamento de Virologia e Terapia Experimental. Recife, PE, Brazil

Identification of animal hosts of Fort Sherman virus, a New World zoonotic orthobunyavirus

An orthobunyavirus termed Fort Sherman virus (FSV) was isolated in 1985 from a febrile US soldier in Panama, yet potential animal reservoirs remained unknown. We investigated sera from 192 clinically healthy peri-domestic animals sampled in northeastern Brazil during 2014–2018 by broadly reactive RT-PCR for orthobunyavirus RNA, including 50 cattle, 57 sheep, 35 goats and 50 horses. One horse sampled in 2018 was positive (0.5%; 95% CI, 0.01–3.2) at 6.2 × 103 viral RNA copies/mL. Genomic comparisons following virus isolation in Vero cells and deep sequencing revealed high identity of translated amino acid sequences between the new orthobunyavirus and the Panamanian FSV prototype (genes: L, 98.8%; M, 83.5%; S, 100%), suggesting these viruses are conspecific. Database comparisons revealed even higher genomic identity between the Brazilian FSV and taxonomically unassigned Argentinian mosquito- and horse-derived viruses sampled in 1965, 1982 and 2013 with only 1.1% maximum translated amino acid distances across viral genes, suggesting the Argentinian viruses were also distinct FSV strains. The Panamanian FSV strain was an M gene reassortant relative to all Southern American FSV strains, clustering phylogenetically with Cache Valley virus (CVV). Mean dN/dS ratios among FSV genes ranged from 0.03 to 0.07, compatible with strong purifying selection. FSV-specific neutralizing antibodies occurred at relatively high end-point titres in the range of 1:300 in 22.0% of horses (11 out of 50 animals), 8.0% of cattle (4/50 animals), 7.0% of sheep (4/57 animals) and 2.9% of goats (1/35 animals). High specificity of serologic testing was suggested by significantly higher overall FSV-specific compared to CVV- and Bunyamwera virus-specific end-point titres (p = .009), corroborating a broad vertebrate host range within peri-domestic animals. Growth kinetics using mosquito-, midge- and sandfly-derived cell lines suggested Aedes mosquitos as potential vectors. Our findings highlight the occurrence of FSV across a geographic range exceeding 7,000 km, surprising genomic conservation across a time span exceeding 50 years, M gene-based reassortment events, and the existence of multiple animal hosts of FSV

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis E virus (HEV) in domestic non-commercial pigs reared in small-scale farms and wild boar in South of Brazil

Hepatitis E is a zoonotic emerging disease distributed worldwide. The domestic swine and wild boars (Sus scrofa) are known as important reservoirs of HEV although HEV infections have been detected in other animal species. The southern region of Brazil has the largest swine productions in the country, ranging from highly-specialized commercial swine productions to small-scale non-commercial pig farms. The small-scale farms allow interactions between wild boars and domestic pigs, when occasionally pathogens transmission can occur between these populations. The aim of this study was to determine HEV seroprevalence in non-commercial domestic pigs and wild boars from two southern Brazilian states (RS: Rio Grande do Sul; SC: Santa Catarina), and discuss if the consumption of raw or undercooked meat from these animals is a potential risk to public health. Animals from RS and SC States were sampled. Serum was harvested from wild boar hunted between 2012 and 2016, and from non-commercial small-scale pig farms in 2014. Overall 249 wild boars (56 from RS and 193 from SC) and 382 pigs (261 from RS and 121 from SC) were tested to detect anti-HEV IgG antibodies using a commercial HEV antibody ELISA kit (Thermo fisher), specific for swine. Overall difference was observed (P\u3c0.0001) regarding HEV seroprevalence between wild boar 4.42% (n=249) and non-commercial domestic pigs 46.60% (n=382). In relation to wild boars samples, higher seroprevalence for Hepatitis E was observed in RS (14.29%; n=56) and lower in SC (1.55%; n=193; P\u3c0.0004). In relation to pigs, RS had also higher seroprevalence (53.26%; n=261) than SC (32.23%; n=121; P\u3c0.0002). Although interactions between wild boar and non-commercial domestic pigs are known to occur, the lowest antibody detection in wild boar suggest that these contact may not be sufficient to explain seroprevalence in studied populations. Our results indicate that non-commercial pigs are a more likely source of infection for the human population than wild boar

Sloths host Anhanga virus‐related phleboviruses across large distances in time and space

Sloths are genetically and physiologically divergent mammals. Phleboviruses are major arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) causing disease in humans and other animals globally. Sloths host arboviruses, but virus detections are scarce. A phlebovirus termed Anhanga virus (ANHV) was isolated from a Brazilian Linnaeus's two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) in 1962. Here, we investigated the presence of phleboviruses in sera sampled in 2014 from 74 Hoffmann's two-toed (Choloepus hoffmanni, n = 65) and three-toed (Bradypus variegatus, n = 9) sloths in Costa Rica by broadly reactive RT-PCR. A clinically healthy adult Hoffmann's two-toed sloth was infected with a phlebovirus. Viral load in this animal was high at 8.5 × 107 RNA copies/ml. The full coding sequence of the virus was determined by deep sequencing. Phylogenetic analyses and sequence distance comparisons revealed that the new sloth virus, likely representing a new phlebovirus species, provisionally named Penshurt virus (PEHV), was most closely related to ANHV, with amino acid identities of 93.1%, 84.6%, 94.7% and 89.0% in the translated L, M, N and NSs genes, respectively. Significantly more non-synonymous mutations relative to ANHV occurred in the M gene encoding the viral glycoproteins and in the NSs gene encoding a putative interferon antagonist compared to L and N genes. This was compatible with viral adaptation to different sloth species and with micro-evolutionary processes associated with immune evasion during the genealogy of sloth-associated phleboviruses. However, gene-wide mean dN/dS ratios were low at 0.02–0.15 and no sites showed significant evidence for positive selection, pointing to comparable selection pressures within sloth-associated viruses and genetically related phleboviruses infecting hosts other than sloths. The detection of a new phlebovirus closely-related to ANHV, in sloths from Costa Rica fifty years after and more than 3,000 km away from the isolation of ANHV confirmed the host associations of ANHV-related phleboviruses with the two extant species of two-toed sloths

Evidence against Zika virus infection of pets and peri-domestic animals in Latin America and Africa

Decades after its discovery in East Africa, Zika virus (ZIKV) emerged in Brazil in 2013 and infected millions of people during intense urban transmission. Whether vertebrates other than humans are involved in ZIKV transmission cycles remained unclear. Here, we investigate the role of different animals as ZIKV reservoirs by testing 1723 sera of pets, peri-domestic animals and African non-human primates (NHP) sampled during 2013–2018 in Brazil and 2006–2016 in Côte d'Ivoire. Exhaustive neutralization testing substantiated co-circulation of multiple flaviviruses and failed to confirm ZIKV infection in pets or peri-domestic animals in Côte d'Ivoire (n=259) and Brazil (n=1416). In contrast, ZIKV seroprevalence was 22.2% (2/9, 95% CI, 2.8–60.1) in West African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and 11.1% (1/9, 95% CI, 0.3–48.3) in king colobus (Colobus polycomos). Our results indicate that while NHP may represent ZIKV reservoirs in Africa, pets or peri-domestic animals likely do not play a role in ZIKV transmission cycles.Peer Reviewe

Delirium em pós operatório: uma revisão integrativa

Investigar a literatura acerca das intervenções disponíveis para prevenir delirium em pacientes idosos pós cirúrgicos. Foi realizada uma Revisão Integrativa da Literatura. O levantamento eletrônico foi realizado nas bases de dados LILACS e Pubmed com o auxílio das palavras-chave registradas nos Descritores em Ciências da Saúde (DeCs): Delirium, idosos, cirurgia, prevenção, pós operatório. As palavras-chave foram ainda traduzidas para o idioma inglês da seguinte forma: Delirium, elderly, surgery, prevention, post-operative. A instituição de estratégias que possam prevenir o delirium é de fundamental importância no acompanhamento de idosos em pós operatório. O haloperidol intravenoso em baixas doses pode diminuir a incidência de delirium pós operatório em pacientes idosos. a ocorrência de biomarcadores como indicadores de diagnóstico ou de prognóstico de delirium e, registraram que, as evidências disponíveis atualmente na literatura não apoiam a utilização dessa estratégia. A dexmedetomidina parece ser uma medicação eficaz capaz de promover a diminuição da ocorrência de delirium nesses pacientes. Além disso, estratégias que possam promover a diminuição exposição a sedativos pode promover a redução dessa condição. A anestesia regional intraoperatória não foi capaz de promover a diminuição da ocorrência do delirium pós-operatório. A utilização do haloperidol na redução da ocorrência do delirium é incerta