Leslie AP Reperant

A severe epidemic erupted in Coyoacán at the southern end of Lake Texcoco, in Central Mexico, around 1330. Chroniclers of the 16th century reported that after disrupted fish supply, the inhabitants of Coyoacán had suffered high morbidity and mortality. They developed edema of their eyelids, face, and feet, and hemorrhagic diarrhea. Many died, mainly the young and the old. Pregnant women miscarried. The disease is classically considered an illness of nutritional origin. However, its clinical picture and the circumstances of its emergence are remarkably consistent with an outbreak of foodborne Chagas disease, possibly acquired upon the hunting and consumption of alternative food sources, such as infected opossums ( Didelphis spp.), unique reservoirs of Trypanosoma cruzi .

Objective: Barriers to international Ebola preparedness may be elucidated by identifying heterogeneities in arguments to invest in countermeasures during “peace time.”Methods: For each patent family (related patent documents that differed only by limited alterations to the same invention) concerning Ebola and published until the end of 2014 the oldest patent document was analyzed. Grounded theory coding identified 5 unmet needs for (1) vaccines and therapies, (2) control of outbreaks in endemic areas, (3) detection and control of outbreaks in nonendemic areas, (4) better understanding of filoviruses, and (5) protection against bioterrorism. Odds ratios for unmet needs by geographic regions and institution types were compared by using Pearson’s chi-square test.Results: Statistically significant heterogeneities in unmet need profiles were found. US applicants combined self-centric and altruistic arguments, focusing on medical unmet needs and bioterrorism protection. Russian and Asian applicants emphasized self-centric motives, specifically, detection and control of nonendemic outbreaks. A clear, statistically significant mismatch between industry and academia was found: whereas industrial applicants focused on bioterrorism and neglected detection and control of nonendemic outbreaks, academic applicants did the opposite.Conclusions: This research identified heterogeneities in articulated needs between geographic regions and stakeholder types. Structural articulation of unmet needs may form the basis for attuning stakeholder engagement strategies while progression across the demand-driven value chain might necessitate international concordance. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:644–648)

Influenza A virus infection is an important cause of respiratory disease in humans. The original reservoirs of influenza A virus are wild waterfowl and shorebirds, where virus infection causes limited, if any, disease. Both in humans and in wild waterbirds, epithelial cells are the main target of infection. However, influenza virus can spread from wild bird species to terrestrial poultry. Here, the virus can evolve into highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Part of this evolution involves increased viral tropism for endothelial cells. HPAI virus infections not only cause severe disease in chickens and other terrestrial poultry species but can also spread to humans and back to wild bird populations. Here, we review the role of the endothelium in the pathogenesis of influenza virus infection in wild birds, terrestrial poultry and humans with a particular focus on HPAI viruses. We demonstrate that whilst the endothelium is an important target of virus infection in terrestrial poultry and some wild bird species, in humans the endothelium is more important in controlling the local inflammatory milieu. Thus, the endothelium plays an important, but species-specific, role in the pathogenesis of influenza virus infection.

This is an open-access article.-- et al.This research was funded by EU FP7 grant ANTIGONE (#278976).Peer Reviewe

Influenza virus infections yearly cause high morbidity and mortality burdens in humans, and the development of a new influenza pandemic continues to threaten mankind as a Damoclean sword. Influenza vaccines have been produced by using egg-based virus growth and passaging techniques that were developed more than 60 years ago, following the identification of influenza A virus as an etiological agent of seasonal influenza. These vaccines aimed mainly at eliciting neutralizing antibodies targeting antigenically variable regions of the hemagglutinin (HA) protein, which requires regular updates to match circulating seasonal influenza A and B virus strains. Given the relatively limited protection induced by current seasonal influenza vaccines, a more universal influenza vaccine that would protect against more—if not all—influenza viruses is among the largest unmet medical needs of the 21st century. New insights into correlates of protection from influenza and into broad B- and T-cell protective anti-influenza immune responses offer promising avenues for innovative vaccine development as well as manufacturing strategies or platforms, leading to the development of a new generation of vaccines. These aim at the rapid and massive production of influenza vaccines that provide broad protective and long-lasting immunity. Recent advances in influenza vaccine research demonstrate the feasibility of a wide range of approaches and call for the initiation of preclinical proof-of-principle studies followed by clinical trials in humans.