Update from the 7th annual meeting of the Italian Society of Virology

The Italian Society of Virology (SIV) held a meeting in Orvieto (June 24-26, 2007) aimed at promoting interactions and collaborations between scientists in the field of Virology. The meeting had an attendance of about 170 virologists from Italy. In accordance with the normal format of the SIV National Meeting the conference transcended all areas of Virology. Sessions included invited speakers together with selected oral presentation. Covered topics included: General Virology and Viral Genetics, Medical Virology and Antiviral Therapy, Viral Biotechnologies and Gene Therapy, Viral Oncogenesis and Vaccines, Virus-Host Interactions and Pathogenesis, Emerging and Zoonotic Viral Infections. In this edition, a special effort was addressed to the HPV infection and prevention and to the guidelines for the preemptive (presymptomatic) therapy of human cytomegalovirus infections in transplant recipients. A summary of the main topics are reported.     

Replicating viral vectors as HIV vaccines Summary Report from IAVI Sponsored Satellite Symposium, International AIDS Society Conference, July 22, 2007

At the International AIDS Society Conference on Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention held in Sydney, Australia, in July 2007, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) convened a satellite symposium entitled 'Accelerating the Development of Replicating Viral Vectors for AIDS Vaccines.' Its purpose was to highlight the rationale for accelerating the development of replicating viral vectors for use as vaccines against HIV-1, and to bring together vaccine scientists, regulatory officials, and public health specialists from industrialized and developing nations to discuss the major issues facing the development and testing of replicating viral vector-based vaccines.     

Emerging and re-emerging bacterial diseases in India

There has been a remarkable progress in the prevention, control and even eradication of infectious diseases with improved hygiene and development of antimicrobials and vaccines. However, infectious diseases still remain a leading cause of global disease burden with high morbidity and mortality especially in the developing world. Furthermore, there have been threats of new diseases during the past three decades due to the evolution and adaptation of microbes and the re-emergence of old diseases due to the development of antimicrobial resistance and the capacity to spread to new geographic areas. The impact of the emerging and re-emerging diseases in India has been tremendous at socioeconomic and public health levels. Their control requires continuing surveillance, research and training, better diagnostic facilities and improved public health system. Emerging and reemerging zoonotic diseases, foodborne and waterborne diseases and diseases caused by multiresistant organisms constitute the major threats in India. This review of bacterial emerging and re-emerging diseases should be of critical importance to microbiologists, clinicians, public health personnel and policy makers in India.     

Gout and hyperuricemia in Japan: perspectives for international research on purines and pyrimidines in man

One of the best-known disorders in purine metabolism is accumulation of uric acid leading to gout. Gout is a lifestyle disease, which was nicely illustrated in the joint symposium of the Japanese Society of Gout and Nucleic Acid Metabolism and of the Purine and Pyrimidine Society held in February 2011 in Tokyo, Japan. The westernization of the Japanese diet led to an increase in hyperuricemia in Japanese, which subsequently boosted research in this field, as illustrated in this symposium. As a consequence, Japanese nucleotide research also expanded, leading to the development of not only new drugs for treatment of gout, but also for other diseases such as cancer, viral infections, and cardiovascular diseases. The research on inborn errors led to the identification of various genetic polymorphisms affecting drug metabolism, revealing differences between Asians and non-Asians. Such genetic differences may also affect the enzymatic properties of an enzyme or a transporter, necessitating specific inhibitors. This knowledge will help to introduce personalization of treatment. In this symposium, the interaction between various specialties formed an excellent basis for translational research between these specialties but also from the bench to the clinic.     

Gout and Hyperuricemia in Japan: Perspectives for International Research on Purines and Pyrimidines in Man

One of the best-known disorders in purine metabolism is accumulation of uric acid leading to gout. Gout is a lifestyle disease, which was nicely illustrated in the joint symposium of the Japanese Society of Gout and Nucleic Acid Metabolism and of the Purine and Pyrimidine Society held in February 2011 in Tokyo, Japan. The westernization of the Japanese diet led to an increase in hyperuricemia in Japanese, which subsequently boosted research in this field, as illustrated in this symposium. As a consequence, Japanese nucleotide research also expanded, leading to the development of not only new drugs for treatment of gout, but also for other diseases such as cancer, viral infections, and cardiovascular diseases. The research on inborn errors led to the identification of various genetic polymorphisms affecting drug metabolism, revealing differences between Asians and non-Asians. Such genetic differences may also affect the enzymatic properties of an enzyme or a transporter, necessitating specific inhibitors. This knowledge will help to introduce personalization of treatment. In this symposium, the interaction between various specialties formed an excellent basis for translational research between these specialties but also from the bench to the clinic.     

Proceedings of the fourth National Congress of the Italian Society of Virology

The aim of the yearly National Congress of the Italian Society of Virology (SIV) is to promote the discussion between senior and younger researchers to improve the knowledge and scientific collaboration among the various areas of Virology. The invited and selected lecturers of the fourth National Congress of SIV covered the following topics: general Virology and viral Genetics; virus host interactions and pathogenesis; viral immunology and vaccines; emerging and re-emerging viral diseases; antiviral therapy; innovative diagnostics; viral biotechnologies and gene therapy. As in the previous edition (Salata and Palù, 2004 J Cell Physiol 199:171-173), a specific topic was thoroughly covered in a roundtable. In this edition the overviewed topic was HCV, from epidemiology and genetic variability to immunology and antiviral therapy. The final program can be found at the web site http://www.siv-virologia.it. A summary of the oral presentations of the 2004 meeting is reported.     

Emerging and reemerging infections in africa: the need for improved laboratory services and disease surveillance

Emerging and reemerging infections pose a serious public health threat to most countries of tropical Africa. In the past decade, epidemics of diseases including cholera, dysentery, meningitis, yellow fever and Ebola virus have resulted in significant morbidity and mortality. Improved laboratory services and disease surveillance systems are essential to monitor disease trends and to initiate public health action. The present situation of emerging and reemerging infections in Africa is described in this review, and strategies for improved disease surveillance and monitoring are discussed.     

Digital biology: an emerging and promising discipline

This article examines the role of computation and quantitative methods in modern biomedical research to identify emerging scientific, technical, policy and organizational trends. It identifies common concerns and practices in the emerging community of computationally-oriented bio-scientists by reviewing a national symposium, Digital Biology: the Emerging Paradigm, held at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, November 6th and 7th 2003. This meeting showed how biomedical computing promises scientific breakthroughs that will yield significant health benefits. Three key areas that define the emerging discipline of digital biology are: scientific data integration, multi-scale modeling and networked science. Each area faces unique technical challenges and information policy issues that must be addressed as the field matures. Here we summarize the emergent challenges and offer suggestions to academia, industry and government on how best to expand the role of computation in their scientific activities.     

Current trends in large‐scale viral surveillance methods in mosquitoes

Vector‐borne and zoonotic infectious diseases are serious public health concerns that affect approximately half of the world's population. In particular, arthropod‐borne viruses (arboviruses) have contributed to more mortality and morbidity worldwide with the emergence of dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika virus diseases. The infections have scaled up due to urbanization, globalization, and international mobility. Traditionally, the spread of mosquito‐borne viral diseases to humans was considered a low health priority concern. However, their categorization as emerging infectious diseases and public health emergencies of international concern has heightened the attention given by the government, academia, research, and industry for the development of timely, cost‐efficient, and sustainable solutions. The urgency has increased in the wake of global climate change. The focus on effective interventions includes epidemiological monitoring, vector control measures, molecular diagnostics, vaccines, and environmental determinants. In this review, we discuss the etiology and predisposition of mosquito‐borne viruses that are detrimental to public health and economically damaging when disseminated as epidemics. We focus on the large‐scale virus surveillance methods with special reference to innovations and interventions in molecular detection science and technologies that include viral nucleic acid isolation, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐based diagnostics, and high‐throughput sequencing technologies. In addition, we discuss the development of a viral RNA extraction and PCR‐based diagnostic kit (Invirustech) that can extract viral RNA from mosquitoes with verified applications in PCR‐based molecular diagnostics of Pan‐flavivirus.     

Animal diseases affecting human welfare in developing countries: impacts and control

Animal diseases adversely affect human populations by reducing the amount and quality of food and fiber, and draft power. Epizootics of diseases such as rinderpest have caused massive mortality among domestic and wild animals. Extensive outbreaks of Venezuelan equine encephalltis have caused massive mortality in equines, and significant morbidity among people. Foot-and-mouth disease can cause high morbidity and great direct economic loss, and loss of markets as a trade barrier. Old diseases such as yellow fever and Rift Valley fever are still with us, and diseases such as the viral haemorrhagic fevers have suddenly appeared for the first time. The transmission of some of these diseases has been facilitated inadvertently by ecological change resulting from development projects. Animal disease control must be based on dealing with disease agents, and their hosts and vectors, as part of ecosystems and farming systems. Better disease surveiliance, diagnosis and reporting is needed. The economics of disease loss and the benefits of interventions must become part of the decision-making process.This paper was presented at the IUMS Symposium on New Developments in Diagnosis and Control of Infectious Diseases held in conjunction with the Eighth International Congress of Virology, Berlin, Germany, 24–31 August 1990.     

Public health surveillance and infectious disease detection

Emerging infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, SARS, and pandemic influenza, and the anthrax attacks of 2001, have demonstrated that we remain vulnerable to health threats caused by infectious diseases. The importance of strengthening global public health surveillance to provide early warning has been the primary recommendation of expert groups for at least the past 2 decades. However, despite improvements in the past decade, public health surveillance capabilities remain limited and fragmented, with uneven global coverage. Recent initiatives provide hope of addressing this issue, and new technological and conceptual advances could, for the first time, place capability for global surveillance within reach. Such advances include the revised International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) and the use of new data sources and methods to improve global coverage, sensitivity, and timeliness, which show promise for providing capabilities to extend and complement the existing infrastructure. One example is syndromic surveillance, using nontraditional and often automated data sources. Over the past 20 years, other initiatives, including ProMED-mail, GPHIN, and HealthMap, have demonstrated new mechanisms for acquiring surveillance data. In 2009 the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) began the Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) program, which includes the PREDICT project, to build global capacity for surveillance of novel infections that have pandemic potential (originating in wildlife and at the animal-human interface) and to develop a framework for risk assessment. Improved understanding of factors driving infectious disease emergence and new technological capabilities in modeling, diagnostics and pathogen identification, and communications, such as using the increasing global coverage of cellphones for public health surveillance, can further enhance global surveillance.     

肥胖相关的肠道微生物群落结构动力学与功能解析研究

肥胖及相关的慢性代谢性疾病近年来已经成为威胁全球的公共健康问题。越来越多的证据表明,在宿主的营养、免疫和代谢中有不可替代的作用的肠道菌群不仅可以通过调节宿主脂肪吸收存储相关的基因,影响后者的能量平衡,更重要的是其结构失调导致宿主循环系统中内毒素增加,诱发慢性、低水平炎症,导致肥胖和胰岛素抵抗。运用微生物分子生态学、元基因组学和代谢组学的方法,揭示与代谢性疾病相关的菌群结构失调,并鉴定出相关的特定细菌类群及其功能,使得通过以菌群为靶点的营养干预手段防止慢性代谢性疾病成为可能,将带来代谢性疾病预防和控制策略的革命性的变化。     

Key outcomes from stakeholder workshops at a symposium to inform the development of an Australian national plan for rare diseases

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Calls have been made for governments to adopt a cohesive approach to rare diseases through the development of national plans. At present, Australia does not have a national plan for rare diseases. To progress such a plan an inaugural Australian Rare Diseases Symposium was held in Western Australia in April 2011. This paper describes the key issues identified by symposium attendees for the development of a national plan, compares these to the content of EUROPLAN and national plans elsewhere and discusses how the outcomes might be integrated for national planning. METHODS: The symposium was comprised of a series of plenary sessions followed by workshops. The topics covered were; 1) Development of national plans for rare diseases; 2) Patient empowerment; 3) Patient care, support and management; 4) Research and translation; 5) Networks, partnerships and collaboration. All stakeholders within the rare diseases community were invited to participate, including: people affected by rare diseases such as patients, carers, and families; clinicians and allied health practitioners; social and disability services; researchers; patient support groups; industry (e.g. pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies); regulators and policy-makers. RESULTS: All of these stakeholder groups were represented at the symposium. Workshop participants indicated the need for a national plan, a national peak body, a standard definition of 'rare diseases', education campaigns, lobbying of government, research infrastructure, streamlined whole-of-lifetime service provision, case co-ordination, early diagnosis, support for health professionals and dedicated funding. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are consistent with frameworks and initiatives being undertaken internationally (such as EUROPLAN), and with national plans in other countries. This implies that the development of an Australian national plan could plausibly draw on frameworks for plan development that have been proposed for use in other jurisdictions. The translation of the symposium outcomes to government policy (i.e. a national plan) requires the consideration of several factors such as the under-representation of some stakeholder groups (e.g. clinicians) and the current lack of evidence required to translate some of the symposium outcomes to policy options. The acquisition of evidence provides a necessary first step in a comprehensive planning approach.     

Report of the 2011 annual meeting of the Italian Society for Virology

The 10th annual meeting of the Italian Society for Virology (SIV) comprised seven plenary sessions focused on: General virology and viral genetics; Virus-Host interaction and pathogenesis; Viral oncology; Emerging viruses and zoonotic, foodborne and environmental pathways of transmission; Viral immunology and vaccines; Medical virology and antiviral therapy; Viral biotechnologies and gene therapy. The meeting had an attendance of 143 virologists, about 60% were senior, and the other were young scientists. The submitted abstracts amounted to 88 and the abstracts selected for oral presentation were 41. Complete abstracts of oral and poster presentations are available at the web site www.siv-virologia.it. A summary of the plenary lectures and oral selected presentations is reported.     

Large-scale investigation of zoonotic viruses in the era of high-throughput sequencing

Zoonotic diseases considerably impact public health and socioeconomics. RNA viruses reportedly caused approximately 94% of zoonotic diseases documented from 1990 to 2010, emphasizing the importance of investigating RNA viruses in animals. Furthermore, it has been estimated that hundreds of thousands of animal viruses capable of infecting humans are yet to be discovered, warning against the inadequacy of our understanding of viral diversity. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) has enabled the identification of viral infections with relatively little bias. Viral searches using both symptomatic and asymptomatic animal samples by HTS have revealed hidden viral infections. This review introduces the history of viral searches using HTS, current analytical limitations, and future potentials. We primarily summarize recent research on large-scale investigations on viral infections reusing HTS data from public databases. Furthermore, considering the accumulation of uncultivated viruses, we discuss current studies and challenges for connecting viral sequences to their phenotypes using various approaches: performing data analysis, developing predictive modeling, or implementing high-throughput platforms of virological experiments. We believe that this article provides a future direction in large-scale investigations of potential zoonotic viruses using the HTS technology.     

Determinants of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.

In the 1960s and 1970s, many public health experts assumed that infectious diseases could at long last be conquered as had occurred with smallpox. In the last two decades, reports warned that infectious diseases were clearly not a problem of the past. They could not be considered as a unique or isolated event of wild and faraway regions, but penetrated every corner of the globe. Emerging infectious diseases have been recently described as clinically distinct conditions whose incidence in humans has increased regionally or worldwide within the past two decades. Emergence may be due to the introduction of new agents to or the recognition of an existing disease that has gone undetected, and re-emergence may describe the re-appearance of known diseases after a decline in incidence. In this article a global, multidisciplinary and integrated approach in different fields of demography, epidemiology, economy, ecology, anthropology and environment at science has been considered to describe the different determinants responsible for the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases.     

综述与专论: 树鼩病毒感染模型的研究新进展

病毒感染引起的疾病接近中国主要传染病发病率的一半,也是传染病致死的主要病因。建立与人类亲缘关系较近、方便有效的感染人类病毒的动物模型,对了解病毒的生物学特性、感染致病机理及制定有效防控措施具有重要意义。树鼩作为灵长类动物的近亲,与人类在生理生化、基因组学等方面的相似性远高于大鼠、小鼠等常用啮齿类实验动物,并具有个体小、便于实验操作、饲养成本低、能感染多种人类病毒等特点,作为动物模型在病毒感染性疾病研究中突显优势和潜能。本文从地区分布、进化、生物学特性等方面,阐述了树鼩作为动物模型应用于病毒感染性疾病研究的优势,包括在乙型肝炎病毒、甲型肝炎病毒,及其他病毒感染疾病研究中的进展。     

Medical virology in Malaysia

Virology is a branch of biological science dealing with the study of viruses, and medical virology focuses on the study and control of diseases due to viruses that is of medical importance. The development of medical virology in Malaysia has its beginning in the Institute for Medical Research (IMR), following the establishment of the Division of Medical Zoology and Virus Research in the institute on 23 March 1953. The second institution in the country to establish diagnostic and research work in medical virology was Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya. This was followed by University Kebangsaan Malaysia, University Sains Malaysia and University of Sarawak Malaysia. The National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) is the latest institution to establish a laboratory in 2003 for virus isolation and services to support country surveillance and outbreak investigation of infectious diseases due to viruses. In the field of medical virology, Malaysia contributed substantially in the areas of virus diagnostic services, development and research ranging from survey and documentation on the existence and prevalence of viruses causing diseases in Malaysia, clinical presentation and epidemiological features of virus diseases, evaluation of new diagnostic tests to pathogenesis of viral diseases. Malaysia contributed to the discoveries of at least 12 new viruses in the world. ASEAN plus Three (China, Japan, Republic of Korea) Emerging Infectious Programme was established to overcome the challenges and impact of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in this region. Malaysia as the co-ordinator of the laboratory component of the programme, contributed to strengthen the regional laboratory capability, capacity, laboratory-based surveillance and networking. The future of medical virology in Malaysia in terms of integration of diagnostic, reference and research to support the country's need will be enhanced and strengthened with the on-going development of the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Malaysia) which also incorporates a futuristic Special Diagnostic and Reference Laboratory.     

我国西尼罗病毒和Tahyna病毒的发现与流行

已发现100余种蚊传虫媒病毒在世界各地流行,其引发的人兽共患病是全世界关注的公共卫生问题。长期以来我国仅发现乙型脑炎和登革热两种蚊传虫媒病毒病,但近年来新发现西尼罗病毒和Tahyna病毒及其感染疾病流行。从我国新疆维吾尔自治区采集的蚊虫标本中分离到西尼罗病毒,大量血清学研究证明当地不仅存在西尼罗病毒感染所致疾病,还发生过西尼罗病毒感染引发的病毒性脑炎流行。目前已从新疆维吾尔自治区、青海省和内蒙古自治区采集的蚊虫标本中分离到Tahyna病毒,并发现其在自然界动物中的循环和导致的人类感染流行。西尼罗病毒和Tahyna病毒及其相关感染性疾病的发现为我国虫媒病毒及虫媒病毒病的预防与控制提出了新的挑战。