禽流感病毒毒力与生态学选择

禽流感（Avian Influenza,AI;也有俗称为Bird Flu）是禽流行性感冒的简称,是由甲型流感病毒引起的一种禽类（家禽和野禽）的感染和（或）疾病综合征^[1]。甲型流感病毒具有16个血凝素亚型（Subtype）,分别为HA1～16;9个神经氨酸酶亚型,分别为NA1-9。与其他动物来源的流感病毒不同的是,从禽（鸟）来源的甲型流感病毒含有所有不同的HA与NA亚型,因此被认为禽（鸟）是甲型流感病毒的储存基因库。HA亚型与NA亚型的组合构成了甲型流感病毒的亚型联合（HANA）,即为血清型^[2]。     

同时检测新甲型H1N1及人季节性H1N1和H3N2流感病毒的单管多重荧光定量PCR方法

本研究设计的一种4重荧光定量RT-PCR检测方法,以A型流感病毒各亚型的血凝素基因(HA)为检测靶标,实现了同时检测新甲型H1N1流感病毒、人季节性H1N1流感病毒和人季节性H3N2流感病毒。本法使用人细胞RNA酶P基因作为内参,以判断标本来源和实施质量控制。利用不同来源和亚型的流感病毒验证了该方法的特异性;利用连续稀释的新甲型H1N1流感病毒HA全基因体外转录物进行灵敏度分析。结果表明该方法灵敏度高,可检测低至20个拷贝的RNA;特异性强,每对引物只检测出对应的病毒,无交叉反应;并且成功地验证性检验了34份新甲型H1N1流感病毒阳性临床标本和20份人季节性H1N1和H3N2流感病毒及人乙型(HB)流感病毒阳性临床标本。因此,该多重荧光定量RT-PCR法是一种可同时检测2009年新甲型流感病毒及季节性流感病毒的有效方法。     

甲型H1N1／2009流感病毒的种属跨越机制

在世界范围流行的甲型H1N1／2009流感病毒具有下述3个重要特征：可寄生于人体,易感人群很多,患者年龄偏低．本研究确定了病毒蛋白中的一块关键区域．该区域对病毒所寄生的物种的种属范围起决定性作用,并且是全球性流感病毒的一个标志性区域．正是该区域氨基酸的特性导致了上述3个特点．具体来说,对宿主的免疫系统而言,病毒蛋白质结构的变化会形成新的标靶结构,并且可以进一步导致宿主范围的变化．基于多肽链发生致病性结构转换的概率,本研究确定了甲型流感病毒中对控制宿主范围起决定性作用的氨基酸的位置．研究发现甲型H1N1／2009流感病毒中处于这些位点的多肽链在本质上可以在寄生于人的毒株中表达,而之前仅在宿主为禽、猪的毒株中被发现．其与另一氨基酸短串的协同构象改变对于甲型H1N1／2009流感病毒的种属跨越具有重要作用．人体对这些关键位点的免疫缺陷导致了甲型H1N1／2009流感病毒宿主人群多和青年人易致病的特点．     

禽流感与猪流感病毒：跨越物种传播的新认识

今年在墨西哥暴发的流感疫情来源于一种新的流感病毒：甲型H1N1病毒．这种病毒包括人源,禽源和猪源等甲型流感病毒基因片段,为混合毒株．比较了禽、猪和人的流感病毒在其天然宿主中的致病机理,主要目的是评估猪和禽的流感病毒成为人兽共患病的可能性,同时还评估猪在禽流感病毒传入人的过程中可能起到的作用．禽流感和猪流感作为人畜共患疾病,在流感病毒从动物到人的传播过程中起到关键的作用．猪作为流感病毒的中间宿主,具有混合器作用,人、猪、禽流感病毒可在其体内进行基因重排产生新病毒,并可能跨越种间屏障感染人类．但是流感病毒本身的跨越种间障碍传播不足以引起人流感的大暴发,动物流感病毒必须经过显著的遗传变异后才能使其在人群中长期存在．     

甲型流感病毒基因组进化事件检测软件的实现

目的 流感病毒通过跨宿主迁移和基因组重配作用等进化事件引起抗原转换是造成流感大流行的主要原因;传统上利用系统发生树通过进化分析检测这些事件,而进化分析过程复杂并且算法参数较难设定.方法 作者曾提出了一种利用基因型谱检测甲型流感病毒基因组进化事件的新方法,弥补了进化分析的这些缺陷.在本文中,利用C++ Builder开发工具在Windows平台上实现了基因型谱分析方法.结果 利用甲型流感病毒进化事件检测软件,可以快速的检测跨宿主迁移和基因组重配作用等甲型流感病毒基因组进化事件.结论 甲型流感病毒进化事件检测软件可以作为流感病毒疫情监测控制中进化分析的辅助工具,无论在病毒基因组进化的基础研究和疾控实践中都将具有很强的应用价值.     

2009甲型H1N1流感病毒研究进展

2009年3月在美国和墨西哥爆发的新型甲型H1N1流感在很短的时间内便扩散到世界多个国家,形成了流感的大流行,引起世界卫生组织和各国的高度重视。综述新型甲型H1N1流感病毒的基因组来源、目前主要的检测手段,并对预防和治疗的方法进行简单介绍。     

T细胞生长因子与甲型流感病毒Tc细胞的克隆化

本文作者结合个人在英国国立医学研究所免疫系建立的第一株甲型流感病毒特异的Tc克隆,并描述了其生物学特性,撰写此文,对TCGF做概括性讨论。     

发现天然抗流感病毒蛋白

美国科学家通过在家禽和猪身上进行试验,发现了一类抗病毒蛋白——干扰素诱导跨膜蛋白家族,其中IFITM3蛋白尤其能够对抗甲型流感病毒、西尼罗河病毒、登革热病毒等多种病毒（Cell．doi;10．1016／j．cell．2009．12．017）。     

艾本德公司捐赠PCR仪

近日．艾本德公司向上海市公共卫生临床中心捐赠一台荧光定量PCR仪。作为上海指定的防控甲型H1N1流感的定点医疗机构,上海市公共卫生临床中心应急检测和生物安全实验室凭借自身优势将承担甲型H1N1流感病毒的快速诊断,病毒分离鉴定等重要任务。根据WHO发布的甲型H1N1流感实验室检测指南以及国家疾病预防控制中心甲型H1N1流感病毒实验室检测技术方案,实时荧光PCR方法被用于快速有效检测新型H1N1流感病毒核酸．定量PCR仪成为不可或缺的实验设备。     

甲型流感病毒在我国动物中分布的初步调查

通过血清学调查证实,人的绝大多数甲型流感病毒能自然感染家离、家畜。通过病原学调查证实了甲型流感病毒在我国动物中分布面广,品种复杂。这些进一步支持人甲型流感病毒新亚型可能来源于动物的观点,并可能有助于进一步弄清近三次人的甲型流感病毒新亚型均首先发现于我国及其附近地区的原因。并进一步证实了甲,与甲。型流感病毒均能由人自然感染猪;首次较确切地在含有H．抗体的猪血清中查到有N。的抗体;在少数鸡血清中再次查到低水平的H．抗体。     

基于禽流感发生风险的生态安全评价研究进展

禽流感是危害公共健康、社会经济和政治稳定重要的传染性疾病。近年来,禽流感引发的区域生态安全(公共卫生安全和生物安全)问题日益受到学界关注。为此,有必要从禽流感发生风险的角度来开展区域生态安全评价。根据1996—2017年发表的禽流感发生风险与生态安全评价英文文献,运用Citespace软件综合分析了禽流感与生态安全评价的最新研究进展。在阐述禽流感发生风险与生态安全评价关系基础上,结合生态安全评价理论框架,从数据来源、适用范围、优缺点等方面分别对禽流感发生风险评估方法以及基于禽流感发生风险的生态安全评价方法进行对比与总结。综述表明:禽流感发生风险对生物物种安全和公共卫生安全的威胁已经严重影响到区域生态安全,其引发的公共卫生危机和生物多样性减少是生态安全评价研究的重要内容,从禽流感发生风险视角评价区域生态安全具有其必要性和紧迫性,并迫切需要加强相关模型方法及其应用研究。目前,禽流感研究主要以病毒学、流行病学为主,与生态安全领域结合研究较为缺乏,在生态安全评价中有关禽流感发生风险内容的研究基本被忽视。既可为深入揭示禽流感发生与传播的动力学机制与防控和监测禽流感提供科学依据,亦可为未来开展基于禽流感发生风险的区域生态安全评价研究提供方法借鉴。     

Algorithms for mapping of mRNA targets for microRNA

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in human health and disease as endogenous suppressors of the translation of coding genes. At this early point of time in miRNA biology, it is important to identify specific cognate mRNA targets for miRNA. Investigation of the significance of miRNAs in disease processes relies on algorithms that hypothetically link specific miRNAs to their putative target genes. The development of such algorithms represents a hot area of research in biomedical informatics. Lack of biological data linking specific miRNAs to their respective mRNA targets represents the most serious limitation at this time. This article presents a concise review addressing the most popular concepts underlying state-of-the-art algorithms and principles aimed at target mapping for specific miRNAs. Strategies for improvement of the current bioinformatics tools and effective approaches for biological validation are discussed.     

宠物鸟·疫病·公共卫生

宠物鸟种类多,来源地广,检验检疫预防措施缺乏,致使宠物鸟疫病不断传播,并造成人类的感染,已经威胁到公共卫生。宠物鸟疫病中以新城疫、禽流感、鹦鹉热最为常见,而且与人类关系密切,具有重要的公共卫生学意义。本文从宠物鸟在疫病流行传播中的意义、疫病的宿主感染谱、疫病的流行特征以及疫病的公共卫生学意义对新城疫、禽流感、鹦鹉热三种疫病进行了综述。表明宠物鸟疫病的感染率比较高,且严重危害人类健康。加强对宠物鸟疫病的检验检疫及预防,很好的防控宠物鸟类疫病具有非常重要的意义。     

Improving Health in Ucayali,Peru: A Multisector and Multilevel Analysis

We review the key determinants of health in Ucayali, Peru, identified by researchers, and, according to these, propose a set of tools to improve health in this area. Women and indigenous peoples are recognized as two vulnerable groups in the region that face greater health risks, and these are the main focus of the development of tools for health improvement. Also, the growing economic integration in the region facilitates the spread of infectious disease, thus requiring several levels of intervention. The tools discussed to improve health in Ucayali cross several scales and sectors. They include improved natural resource management, education and empowerment of women, integration of traditional and biomedical care, improved health information management, and community mobilization for health. Overall, our conclusions reinforce the limitations of the biomedical approach, which focuses on the treatment of specific pathologies in improving health. Health-system development requires the cooperation of many sectors and many actors across several spatial scales.     

Climate change and vector-borne diseases: what are the implications for public health research and policy?

Vector-borne diseases continue to contribute significantly to the global burden of disease, and cause epidemics that disrupt health security and cause wider socioeconomic impacts around the world. All are sensitive in different ways to weather and climate conditions, so that the ongoing trends of increasing temperature and more variable weather threaten to undermine recent global progress against these diseases. Here, we review the current state of the global public health effort to address this challenge, and outline related initiatives by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners. Much of the debate to date has centred on attribution of past changes in disease rates to climate change, and the use of scenario-based models to project future changes in risk for specific diseases. While these can give useful indications, the unavoidable uncertainty in such analyses, and contingency on other socioeconomic and public health determinants in the past or future, limit their utility as decision-support tools. For operational health agencies, the most pressing need is the strengthening of current disease control efforts to bring down current disease rates and manage short-term climate risks, which will, in turn, increase resilience to long-term climate change. The WHO and partner agencies are working through a range of programmes to (i) ensure political support and financial investment in preventive and curative interventions to bring down current disease burdens; (ii) promote a comprehensive approach to climate risk management; (iii) support applied research, through definition of global and regional research agendas, and targeted research initiatives on priority diseases and population groups.     

Treating viral exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: insights from a mouse model of cigarette smoke and H1N1 influenza infection

Background

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a progressive lung disease that is punctuated by periods of exacerbations (worsening of symptoms) that are attributable to viral infections. While rhinoviruses are most commonly isolated viruses during episodes of exacerbation, influenza viruses have the potential to become even more problematic with the increased likelihood of an epidemic.

Methodology and Principal Findings

This study examined the impact of current and potential pharmacological targets namely the systemic corticosteroid dexamethasone and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor- gamma agonist pioglitazone on the outcome of infection in smoke-exposed mice. C57BL/6 mice were exposed to room air or cigarette smoke for 4 days and subsequently inoculated with an H1N1 influenza A virus. Interventions were delivered daily during the course of infection. We show that smoke-exposed mice have an exacerbated inflammatory response following infection. While smoke exposure did not compromise viral clearance, precision cut lung slices from smoke-exposed mice showed greater expression of CC (MCP-1, -3), and CXC (KC, MIP-2, GCP-2) chemokines compared to controls when stimulated with a viral mimic or influenza A virus. While dexamethasone treatment partially attenuated the inflammatory response in the broncho-alveolar lavage of smoke-exposed, virally-infected animals, viral-induced neutrophilia was steroid insensitive. In contrast to controls, dexamethasone-treated smoke-exposed influenza-infected mice had a worsened health status. Pioglitazone treatment of virally-infected smoke-exposed mice proved more efficacious than the steroid intervention. Further mechanistic evaluation revealed that a deficiency in CCR2 did not improve the inflammatory outcome in smoke-exposed, virally-infected animals.

Conclusions and Significance

This animal model of cigarette smoke and H1N1 influenza infection demonstrates that smoke-exposed animals are differentially primed to respond to viral insult. While providing a platform to test pharmacological interventions, this model demonstrates that treating viral exacerbations with alternative anti-inflammatory drugs, such as PPAR-gamma agonists should be further explored since they showed greater efficacy than systemic corticosteroids.     

Schistosomiasis-related perceptions, attitudes and treatment-seeking practices in Magu district, Tanzania: public health implications

A study on perceptions, attitudes and treatment-seeking practices related to schistosomiasis was conducted among the Wasukuma in the rural Magu district of Tanzania at the shore of Lake Victoria where Schistosoma haematobium and mansoni infections are endemic. The study applied in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and a questionnaire survey among adults and primary school children. The perceived symptoms and causes were incongruous with the biomedical perspective and a number of respondents found schistosomiasis to be a shameful disease. Lack of diagnostic and curative services at the government health care facilities was common, but there was a willingness from the biomedical health care services to collaborate with the traditional healers. Recommendations to the District Health Management Team were: that collaboration between biomedical and traditional health care providers should be strengthened and that the government facilities' diagnostic and curative capacity with regard to schistosomiasis should be upgraded. Culturally compatible health education programmes should be developed in collaboration with the local community.     

Animals in the influenza world

In the history of influenza there are many references, notes and comments about influenza epizootics occurring among various non-human animals, sometimes coinciding with epidemics of influenza in human beings. That the first influenza viruses were recovered from non-human animals is not so surprising, given the current knowledge of the distribution of influenza among animals. Influenza viruses are found in a wide variety of mammalian and avian species. In some species the disease that occurs as a result of the infection mimics the influenza disease of human beings, in other species there are no signs of disease, and in others there is disease specific to a species. It is clear that influenza viruses have a significant impact on the health of several animal species. In recent times it has also become clear that many species of animals are inextricably entwined in the puzzle of influenza viruses and human influenza. Our knowledge in animals has provided both questions and answers about the influenza viruses and their diseases. Certainly our understanding of human influenza has been advanced because of the animals in the influenza world.     

Age-matched comparison of children hospitalized for 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza with those hospitalized for seasonal H1N1 and H3N2

BACKGROUND: A wide spectrum of clinical manifestation ranging from deaths to a mild course of disease has been reported in children infected with the 2009 pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) influenza. METHODOLOGY/MAJOR FINDINGS: We conducted an age-matched control study comparing children hospitalized for pH1N1 with historic controls infected with seasonal H1N1 and H3N2 influenza to correct for the effect of age on disease susceptibility and clinical manifestations. We also compared children with pH1N1 to children concurrently admitted for seasonal influenza during the pandemic period to adjust for differences in health-seeking behavior during the pandemic or other potential bias associated with historic controls. There was no death or intensive care admission. Children with pH1N1 were more likely to have at least one risk condition for influenza, an underlying chronic pulmonary condition, more likely to have asthma exacerbation and to be treated with oseltamivir. There was no difference in other aspects of the clinical course or outcome. CONCLUSION: Disease manifestation of children hospitalized for pH1N1 infection was mild in our patient population.     

Pandemic management and developing world bioethics: bird flu in West Bengal

This paper examines the case of a recent H5N1virus (avian influenza) outbreak in West Bengal, an eastern state of India, and argues that poorly executed pandemic management may be viewed as a moral lapse. It further argues that pandemic management initiatives are intimately related to the concept of health as a social 'good' and to the moral responsibility of protection from foreseeable social harm from an infectious disease. The initiatives, therefore, have to be guided by special moral obligations towards biorisk reduction, obligations which remain unfulfilled when a public body entrusted with the responsibility fails to manage satisfactorily the prevention and control of the infection. The overall conclusion is that pandemic management has a moral dimension. The gravity of the threat that fatal infectious diseases pose for public health creates special moral obligations for public bodies in pandemic situations. However, the paper views the West Bengal case as a learning opportunity, and considers the lapses cited as challenges that better, more effectively conducted pandemic management can prepare for. It is hoped that this paper will provoke constructive bioethical deliberations, particularly pertinent to the developing world, on how to ensure that the obligations towards health are fulfilled ethically and more effectively.