1,354,374 research outputs found
Molecular characterization of Influenza strains circulated in patients admitted to ICU during the 2017-18 season in Italy
No full textBackground: The 2017/18 influenza season has been characterized by the uncommon early high rate circulation of influenza B virus. In fact, based on epidemiological surveillance data of ECDC the majority of influenza viruses detected were type B (63%), representing a high level of circulation of influenza B viruses compared to recent seasons [1]. Material and Methods: A total of 764 influenza laboratory-confirmed cases in ICUs patients have reported in Italy during the last influenza season and 172 (22.5%) of them occurred in Lombardy region. The typing of Influenza positive samples (A and B strains) and sequencing of HA gene were performed as previously described [2,3]. Results: Eighty-three out of 172 (48.3%) cases were typed as A/H1N1pdm09, 71 (41.3%) as influenza B, 1 (0.6%) as influenza A/H3N2 and from 10 (20.2%) no typing results were obtained. HA sequencing was performed for 58/83 (69.9%) influenza A and 33/71 (46.5%) influenza B strains. Forty-two (72.4%) Influenza A/H1N1pdm09 strains were characterized by the T120A change as observed. Overall, mutations (G/N/A) at codon 222 were observed in 5/58 (8.6%) influenza A/H1N1pdm09 strains. All influenza B strains belonged to the B/Phuket/3073/2013 clade and were characterized by L172Q and M251V changes. Conclusions: Un upsurge of influenza B cases in patients admitted to ICU with a severe respiratory infections has been observed during the last influenza season. No molecular signatures associated with increased severity were observed among Influenza B strains. On the contrary, Influenza A/H1N1pdm09 virus strains harbored, also in samples of URTI, the more aggressive 222G/N mutations. References: [1] https://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/weekly-influenzaupdate-week-20-may-2018 (last access 05 June 2018) [2] Piralla A, Lunghi G, Ruggiero L, Girello A, Bianchini S, Rovida F, Caimmi S, Marseglia GL, Principi N, Baldanti F, Esposito S. Molecular epidemiology of influenza B virus among hospitalized pediatric patients in Northern Italy during the 2015-16 season. PLoS One. 2017 Oct 19;12(10):e0185893. [3] Piralla A, Rovida F, Girello A, Premoli M, Mojoli F, Belliato M, Braschi A, Iotti G, Pariani E, Bubba L, Zanetti AR, Baldanti F. Frequency of respiratory virus infections and next-generation analysis of influenza A/H1N1pdm09 dynamics in the lower respiratory tract of patients admitted to the ICU. PLoS One. 2017 Jun 7;12(6):e0178926
Editorial for the Special Issue “Epidemiology of Enterovirus Disease”
No full textEnteroviruses (Enterovirus genus, Picornaviridae family) are distributed worldwide and are among the most common causes of human disease globally [...
A new Real-Time RT-PCR Assay for Detection of Human Enterovirus 68 (EV-D68) in Respiratory Samples.
No full textA global reemergence of human enterovirus 68 (EV-D68) associated with severe respiratory illness was occurred during the 2014. We developed and validated an EV-D68-specific real-time RT-PCR for the detection of EV-D68 in respiratory samples. The rapid diagnosis of EV-D68 may contribute to better management of EV-D68 infections
A novel human enterovirus C (EV-C118) identified in two children hospitalised because of acute otitis media and community-acquired pneumonia in Israel
No full textWe report the discovery of a novel enterovirus C (EV-C118) identified in two Israeli children hospitalised for acute otitis media and community-acquired pneumonia. The highest pair-wise sequence identity scores with the EV-C109 and EV-C117 reference strains were, respectively, 63.5% and 63.6% nucleotide identity, and 82.5% and 79.9% amino acid identit
Complete genome characterization of enterovirus 104 circulating in Northern Italy shows recombinant origin of the P3 region
No full textHuman enterovirus 104 (EV-C104) is a member of the Human Enterovirus species C (Family Picornaviridae, Genus Enterovirus) and has been associated with mild respiratory syndromes. At present, only two EV-C104 complete genome sequences from strains detected in Switzerland and Japan have been deposited in GenBank. In this study a complete genome analysis of seven Italian EV-C104 strains was carried out. In addition, VP1 sequence analysis was performed in an additional 5 Italian strains (for a total of 12 strains). The genome length of the seven strains was 7406 nucleotides (nt). The seven genomes showed 91.0-96.9% nucleotide identity with respect to other available EV-C104 complete genomes. The P1 and P2 regions of the Italian strains were closely related to EV-C104 identified in Switzerland, while the P3 region was closely related to the EV-C117 strain. In addition, bootscan analysis showed the presence of one putative recombination breakpoint between the P2 and P3 regions. Based on the trees constructed with partial VP1/2A nucleotide sequences, as well as the 3D partial coding region tree, the Italian strains appear to form a single and independent cluster together with the EV-C104 Japanese strain. In conclusion, a complete phylogenetic analysis of the relationship between EV-C104 and other known HEV-C strains was achieved. In addition, the recombinant origin of EV-C104, which has circulated in Italy and Japan, was demonstrated
Circulation of two enterovirus C105 (EV-C105) lineages in Europe and Africa
No full textThe coding sequences of five human enterovirus (HEV)-C genotype 105 strains recovered in Italy, Romania and Burundi from patients with upper and lower respiratory tract infections were analysed and phylogenetically compared with other circulating HEV-C strains. The EV-C105 was closely related to EV-C109 and EV-C118 strains. The European strains were similar to other circulating EV-C105 strains, while the two African EV-C105 clustered in separate bootstrapsupported (.0.90) branches of the P2 and P3 region trees. Minor inconsistencies in the clustering pattern of EV-C105 in the capsid region (P1) and non-capsid region (P3) suggest that recombination may have occurred in EV-C105 group B viruses. In conclusion, phylogenetic analysis revealed the circulation of two distinct EV-C105 lineages in Europe and Africa. A different pattern of evolution could be hypothesized for the two EV-C105 lineages
Xenotropic and polytropic murine leukemia virus-related sequences are not detected in the majority of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.
No full textXMRV and polytropic MLV-related virus have been controversially associated with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Subsequent reports failed to detect XMRV and MLV-related virus in CFS patients, and the previous results have been interpreted as a massive laboratory contamination by mouse DNA sequences. Among 12 sequental CFS patients, two were positive for XMRV/MLV sequences. In contrast, 40 selected control subjects were negative CSF patients and controls were negative for mitochondrial mous-specific DNA sequences. These findings do not confirm the high frequency of MLV-related viruses infeciton in CFS patients, but also contrast the widespread laboratory contamination previously suggested
Reconstruction of the Evolutionary Dynamics of the A(H1N1)pdm09 Influenza Virus in Italy during the Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Phases
No full textThe aim of this study was to reconstruct the evolutionary dynamics of the A(H1N1)pdm09 influenza virus in Italy during two epidemic seasons (2009/2010 and 2010/2011) in the light of the forces driving the evolution of the virus. Nearly six thousands respiratory specimens were collected from patients with influenza-like illness within the framework of the Italian Influenza Surveillance Network, and the A(H1N1)pdm09 hemagglutinin (HA) gene was amplified and directly sequenced from 227 of these. Phylodynamic and phylogeographical analyses were made using a Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo method, and codon-specific positive selection acting on the HA coding sequence was evaluated. The global and local phylogenetic analyses showed that all of the Italian sequences sampled in the post-pandemic (2010/2011) season grouped into at least four highly significant Italian clades, whereas those of the pandemic season (2009/2010) were interspersed with isolates from other countries at the tree root. The time of the most recent common ancestor of the strains circulating in the pandemic season in Italy was estimated to be between the spring and summer of 2009, whereas the Italian clades of the post-pandemic season originated in the spring of 2010 and showed radiation in the summer/autumn of the same year; this was confirmed by a Bayesian skyline plot showing the biphasic growth of the effective number of infections. The local phylogeography analysis showed that the first season of infection originated in Northern Italian localities with high density populations, whereas the second involved less densely populated localities, in line with a gravity-like model of geographical dispersion. Two HA sites, codons 97 and 222, were under positive selection. In conclusion, the A(H1N1)pdm09 virus was introduced into Italy in the spring of 2009 by means of multiple importations. This was followed by repeated founder effects in the post-pandemic period that originated specific Italian clades. Citation: Zehender G, Pariani E, Piralla A, Lai A, Gabanelli E, et al. (2012) Reconstruction of the Evolutionary Dynamics of the A(H1N1)pdm09 Influenza Virus in Italy during the Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Phases
Complete genome sequence of a novel human enterovirus C (HEV-C117) identified in a child with community-acquired pneumonia.
No full textThe new enterovirus C-117 strain belongs to the human enterovirus C species in the Picornaviridae family. We describe the characterization of the complete genome of this strain identified in a respiratory specimen of a child enrolled in the Community-Acquired Pneumonia Pediatric Research Initiative (CAP-PRI) study evaluating the etiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP)
Persistent Human Cosavirus Infection in Lung Transplant Recipient, Italy
No full textHuman cosavirus is a novel picornavirus recently identified in feces from children in southern Asia. We report infection with human cosavirus in a patient in the Mediterranean area. The patient was an adult double lung transplant recipient who had chronic diarrhea associated with persistent infection with human cosavirus
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