Your viral past
Did you ever wonder what different virus infections you have had in your lifetime? Now you can find out with just a drop of your blood and about $25.
Immune defense systems of many hosts produce antibodies in response to virus infections. These large proteins, which are generally virus specific, can block or inhibit virus infection, and persist at low levels for many years after the initial infection. Hence it is possible to determine whether an individual has had a virus infection by looking for anti-viral antibodies in the blood. Up to now the process of identifying such antibodies has been slow and limited to one or a...
Source: virology blog - June 5, 2015 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information antibody bacteriophage infection phage display proteome public epitopes serology unbiased assay viral virome VirScan virus Source Type: blogs
TWiV 331: Why is this outbreak different from all other outbreaks?
On episode #331 of the science show This Week in Virology, the TWiV team discusses the possible association of the respiratory pathogen enterovirus D68 with neurological disease.
You can find TWiV #331 at www.twiv.tv. (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - April 5, 2015 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology acute flaccid myelitis acute flaccid paralysis chronic fatigue syndrome enterovirus enterovirus D68 mecfs neurological disease picornavirus poliomyelitis poliovirus viral Source Type: blogs
Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in Singapore
Rates of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease (HFM) in Singapore exceed those of all other reporting countries in Asia. In fact, HFM is at least as common as varicella in Singapore [1,2]. See graph:
References:
1. Berger SA. Enterovirus Infections: Global Status, 2015. 102 pages, 67 graphs, 1,936 references. Gideon e-books, http://www.gideononline.com/ebooks/disease/enterovirus-infections-global-status/
2. Berger SA. Infectious Diseases of Singapore, 2015. 460 pages, 112 graphs, 1,964 references. Gideon e-books, http://www.gideononline.com/ebooks/country/singapore/
3. Gideon graph tool at http://www.gideonon...
Source: GIDEON blog - March 21, 2015 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Dr. Stephen Berger Tags: Ebooks Epidemiology Graphs ProMED Hand Hand foot and mouth disease Singapore Source Type: blogs
TWiV 328: Lariat tricks in 3D
On episode #328 of the science show This Week in Virology, the TWiVocateurs discuss how the RNA polymerase of enteroviruses binds a component of the splicing machinery and inhibits mRNA processing.
You can find TWiV #328 at www.twiv.tv. (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - March 15, 2015 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology 3Dpol coxsackievirus enterovirus enterovirus 71 mRNA NLS nuclear localization signal nucleus picornavirus poliovirus Prp8 RdRp rhinovirus RNA polymerase snurp spliceosome splicing viral Source Type: blogs
With vaccines, pediatricians walk a thin line
It’s 2015, and we’re talking about measles. Not Enterovirus. Not Ebola. Not RSV. Not influenza. Instead, we’re talking about a historical virus that was declared eradicated from the United States in 2000. Most pediatricians who began practicing within the last 15 years have never even seen the disease.
Continue reading ...
Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 11, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Justin Morgan, MD Tags: Physician Infectious disease Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
Lessons from Ebola: The Infectious Disease Era, And The Need To Prepare, Will Never Be Over
With the wall-to-wall news coverage of Ebola recently, it’s hard for many to distinguish fact from fiction and to really understand the risk the disease poses and how prepared we are to fight it.
Fighting infectious diseases requires constant vigilance. Along with Ebola, health officials around the globe are closely watching other emerging threats: MERS-CoV, pandemic flu strains, Marburg, Chikungunya and Enterovirus D68. The best defense to all of these threats is a good offense — detecting, treating and containing as quickly and effectively as possible.
And yet, we have consistently degraded our ability to respond...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - October 28, 2014 Category: Health Management Authors: Jeffrey Levi Tags: All Categories Global Health Hospitals Pharma Policy Prevention Public Health Research Workforce Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, October 21, 2014
From MedPage Today:
Study Links Enterovirus in Kids to T1D. Enterovirus infection may be tied to the development of type 1 diabetes.
LVAD Patient Education Misses the Mark. Patient information on left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) is biased in favor of the device, and is suboptimal for helping people determine their pros and cons.
Microbiome May Link Jet Lag to Obesity, Disease. Gut microbes have circadian rhythms controlled by the biological clock of the host, and disruption of this microbial arrangement could lead to obesity and metabolic disease.
Ebola and Dialysis: Lessons Learned. For some Ebola patients dialysi...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - October 21, 2014 Category: Journals (General) Authors: MedPage Today Tags: News Diabetes Endocrinology Heart Infectious disease Nephrology Source Type: blogs
Enterovirus 68: Why you shouldn’t panic
With all the news about enterovirus 68 sending hundreds of children to hospitals, it’s easy to panic when you hear about a case in your neighborhood — or, even worse, if your child starts coughing.
But please, don’t panic.
Continue reading ...
Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - October 19, 2014 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Conditions Infectious disease Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
Enterovirus D68 infections in North America
Enterovirus D68 by Jason Roberts
An outbreak of respiratory disease caused by enterovirus D68 began in August of this year with clusters of cases in Missouri and Illinois. Since then 691 infections have been confirmed in 46 states in the US.
The number of confirmed infections is likely to increase in the coming weeks, as CDC has developed a more rapid diagnostic test. Previously it was necessary to amplify the viral genome by polymerase chain reaction, followed by nucleotide sequencing to determine the identity of the agent. The new test utilizes real time, reverse transcription PCR which is specific for the EV-D68 strai...
Source: virology blog - October 15, 2014 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information enterovirus EV-D68 limb weakness non-polio enterovirus North America outbreak paralysis respiratory disease viral Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, October 14, 2014
From MedPage Today:
ID System Reduces NICU Errors. Mistakes made when entering clinical orders in one hospital’s electronic medical records system were reduced after implementation of a unique naming system to reduce confusion and miscommunication in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Clinicians Explore EV-D68, Paralysis Link. The mysterious cases of acute flaccid paralysis in children might be an unusual manifestation of the enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) infections that are also circulating.
MMR Vax Proves Safe Over Time in U.S. Adults. Over a 10-year period, more than 3,000 U.S. adults who received the measles, ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - October 14, 2014 Category: Journals (General) Authors: MedPage Today Tags: News Endocrinology Infectious disease Source Type: blogs
New Yorkers like their science from scientists
I cannot pass up the opportunity to point out this wonderful quote by Ginia Ballafante in her NY Times piece, Fear of Vaccines Goes Viral. The article starts by noting an article on plummeting vaccination rates in Los Angeles:
The piece had the virtue of offering New Yorkers yet another opportunity to feel smugly superior to their counterparts in L.A., because of course here on the East Coast we like our science to come from scientists, not from former Playboy models and people who feel entitled to pontificate about public health because they drink kefir.
As a scientist who works in New York, I can’t help but think ...
Source: virology blog - October 12, 2014 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Information anti-vax ebola virus enterovirus D68 immunization vaccination vaccine viral virology Source Type: blogs
The incubation period of a viral infection
The time before the symptoms of a viral infection appear is called the incubation period. During this time, viral genomes are replicating and the host is responding, producing cytokines such as interferon that can have global effects, leading to the classical symptoms of an acute infection (e.g., fever, malaise, aches, pains, and nausea). These symptoms are called the prodrome, to distinguish them from those characteristic of infection (e.g. paralysis for poliovirus, hemorrhagic fever for Ebolaviruses, rash for measles virus).
Whether or not an infected person is contagious (i.e. is shedding virus) during the incubation...
Source: virology blog - October 8, 2014 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information contagious ebola virus Ebolaviruses enterovirus incubation period infection poliovirus transmission viral Source Type: blogs
Acute flaccid paralysis of unknown etiology in California
Enterovirus D68 by Jason Roberts
In February 2014 I wrote about children in California who developed a poliomyelitis-like paralysis, also called acute flaccid paralysis or AFP. However, the cause of this paralysis was not known. The CDC has released its study of these cases and concludes “The etiology of AFP with anterior myelitis in the cases described in this report remains undetermined.”
A total of 23 cases of AFP* in California were reported to CDC during the period June 2012 through June 2014. These cases were from diverse geographic regions of the state. Specimens from 19 of the patients were available ...
Source: virology blog - October 7, 2014 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information acute flaccid paralysis AFP anterior myelitis California enterovirus EV-D68 poliovirus rhinovirus viral Source Type: blogs
TWiV 305: Rhymes with shinola
On episode #305 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Kathy continue their coverage of the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa, with a discussion of case fatality ratio, reproductive index, a conspiracy theory, and spread of the virus to the United States.
You can find TWiV #305 at www.twiv.tv. (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - October 5, 2014 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology ebola virus ebolavirus enterovirus epidemic EV-D68 Guinea Liberia polio-like paralysis reproductive index Sierra Leone Tagged as: case fatality ratio transmission viral Zaire Source Type: blogs
Do not “take two aspirins and call me in the morning”: The story of Enterovirus D68
Photo by Philippe Put.
The story began on August 19, 2014 when a children’s hospital in Kansas City notified the CDC that almost two-dozen children had been admitted to the hospital with a severe respiratory illness. Four days later the CDC heard from a different children’s hospital 511 miles away, reporting more than a dozen seriously ill children hospitalized in Chicago with the same symptoms.
The CDC quickly tested specimens from these children and detected an unusual culprit: enterovirus D68. There are more than a hundred different enteroviruses, divided into four groups (type C is polio). Most enteroviruses cause ...
Source: Conversations with Dr Greene - September 24, 2014 Category: Child Development Authors: Dr. Alan Greene Tags: Dr. Greene's Blog Respiratory Infection Virus Source Type: blogs
