Tropical Medicine Commons^™

Expert Recommendations To Strengthen Chikungunya Outbreak Surveillance And Reporting For Traveler Health Protection, Daniel C. Payne, Karoun H. Bagamian, Jeffery Goad, Nathan D. Grubaugh, Michael A. Johansson, Moritz U. G. Kraemer, Eyal Leshem, Francesca F. Norman, Alfonso J. Rodríguez-Morales, Henrik Salje, Stephen Thomas, Scott C. Weaver, Lindsey A. Laytner, Rebecca Sturgis, Suzanne K. Scheele, Davidson H. Hamer

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Chikungunya, a debilitating mosquito-borne disease caused by chikungunya virus, has surged dramatically in the past two decades. Chikungunya outbreaks can intensify rapidly, with infections posing a significant endemic health burden in tropical/subtropical areas and for travelers. Health professionals require timely and accurate outbreak information to adequately protect travelers and assess chikungunya risk. However, detection is often insufficient in the areas most susceptible to outbreaks, leading to diagnostic and reporting delays. Consequently, travelers are often unaware of increased chikungunya infection risk at their destination. We assessed chikungunya surveillance and reporting resources, and we developed expert recommendations for traveler health protection. Because …

An Assessment Of Cultural Perceptions And Recognition Of Ebola Virus Disease, And Its Correlation With Traditional Burial Practice In Rural Guinea, Chulwoo Park, Amira Roess, Sally Lahm, Mamadou Kally Bah, Mohamed Campel Camara, John Sandberg

GW Research Days 2016 - 2020

Background:

In the midst of the unprecedented Ebola outbreak in West Africa during 2014-2016, the humanitarian response to control the disease was hampered in part because there was a limited understanding of local traditional rituals or indigenous medicine (ethnomedicine) on the part of the responders. The Ebola outbreak claimed 11,310 lives, more than all other outbreaks combined. West African burial funeral ceremonies and surrounding rituals may have hindered interventions that included the forceful removal of the sick or dead from the community.

Objective:

Our objective was to understand transmission associated with traditional burial practices in rural Guinea. Through the lens …

Anti-Herv-K (Hml-2) Capsid Antibody Responses In Hiv Elite Controllers., Miguel De Mulder, Devi Sengupta, Steven G Deeks, Jeffrey N Martin, Christopher D Pilcher, Frederick M Hecht, Jonah B Sacha, Douglas F Nixon, Henri-Alexandre Michaud

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Background

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) comprise approximately 8% of the human genome and while the majority are transcriptionally silent, the most recently integrated HERV, HERV-K (HML-2), remains active. During HIV infection, HERV-K (HML-2) specific mRNA transcripts and viral proteins can be detected. In this study, we aimed to understand the antibody response against HERV-K (HML-2) Gag in the context of HIV-1 infection.

Results

We developed an ELISA assay using either recombinant protein or 164 redundant “15mer” HERV-K (HML-2) Gag peptides to test sera for antibody reactivity. We identified a total of eight potential HERV-K (HML-2) Gag immunogenic domains: two on …

A Murine Model To Study Epilepsy And Sudep Induced By Malaria Infection., Paddy Ssentongo, Anna E Robuccio, Godfrey Thuku, Derek G Sim, Ali Nabi, Fatemeh Bahari, Balaji Shanmugasundaram, Myles W Billard, Andrew Geronimo, Kurt W Short, Patrick J Drew, Jennifer Baccon, Steven L Weinstein, Frank G Gilliam, José A Stoute, Vernon M Chinchilli, Andrew F Read, Bruce J Gluckman, Steven J Schiff

Neurology Faculty Publications

One of the largest single sources of epilepsy in the world is produced as a neurological sequela in survivors of cerebral malaria. Nevertheless, the pathophysiological mechanisms of such epileptogenesis remain unknown and no adjunctive therapy during cerebral malaria has been shown to reduce the rate of subsequent epilepsy. There is no existing animal model of postmalarial epilepsy. In this technical report we demonstrate the first such animal models. These models were created from multiple mouse and parasite strain combinations, so that the epilepsy observed retained universality with respect to genetic background. We also discovered spontaneous sudden unexpected death in epilepsy …

Yeast Help Identify Cytopathic Factors Of Zika Virus, Michael I. Bukrinsky

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Accumulating evidence implicates Zika virus (ZIKV) in pathogenesis of microcephaly in newborns and Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults. However, it remains unclear which viral proteins are responsible for these effects and what are the underlying mechanisms of their pathogenic activity. A recent paper by Drs. Zhao and Gallo, and their colleagues at University of Maryland in Baltimore used fission yeast for genome-wide analysis of ZIKV proteins. They demonstrated cytopathogenic activity for seven ZIKV proteins, anaC, C, prM, M, E, NS2B and NS4A. This activity was shown to be dependent on oxidative stress, and for NS4A they demonstrated involvement of the TOR …

Mait Cells Are Reduced In Frequency And Functionally Impaired In Human T Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 Infection: Potential Clinical Implications., Dominic Paquin-Proulx, Benjamin C Greenspun, Emanuela A S Costa, Aluisio C Segurado, Esper G Kallas, Douglas F Nixon, Fabio E Leal

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

HTLV-1 infection is associated with several inflammatory disorders, including the neurodegenerative condition HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). It is unclear why a minority of infected subjects develop HAM/TSP. The cellular immune response has been implicated in the development of inflammatory alterations in these patients; however the pathogenic mechanisms for disease progression remain unclear. Furthermore, HTLV-1-infected individuals have an increase incidence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, suggesting that immunological defect are associated with HTLV-1 infection. Evidence suggests an important role for Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells in the early control of Mtb infection. Chronic viral infections like HIV and HCV have …

A Fashi Lymphoproliferative Phenotype Reveals Non-Apoptotic Fas Signalling In Htlv-1-Associated Neuroinflammation., Soraya Maria Menezes, Fabio E Leal, Tim Dierckx, Ricardo Khouri, Daniele Decanine, Gilvaneia Silva-Santos, +Several Additional Authors

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV)-1 was the first human retrovirus to be associated to cancer, namely Adult T-cell Leukemia (ATL), but its pathogenesis remains enigmatic, since only a minority of infected individuals develops either ATL or the neuroinflammatory disorder HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). A functional FAS -670 polymorphism in an interferon (IFN)-regulated STAT1-binding site has been associated to both ATL and HAM/TSP susceptibility. Fashi T stem cell memory (Tscm) cells have been identified as the hierarchical apex of ATL, but have not been investigated in HAM/TSP. In addition, both FAS and STAT1 have been identified in an IFN-inducible HAM/TSP …

Ebola Vp40 In Exosomes Can Cause Immune Cell Dysfunction, Michelle Pleet, Allison Mathiesen, Catherine Demarino, Yao Akpamagbo, Robert Barclay, Sergey N. Iordanskiy, +6 Additional Authors

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Ebola virus (EBOV) is an enveloped, ssRNA virus from the family Filoviridae capable of causing severe hemorrhagic fever with up to 80–90% mortality rates. The most recent outbreak of EBOV in West Africa starting in 2014 resulted in over 11,300 deaths; however, long-lasting persistence and recurrence in survivors has been documented, potentially leading to further transmission of the virus. We have previously shown that exosomes from cells infected with HIV-1, HTLV-1 and Rift Valley Fever virus are able to transfer viral proteins and non-coding RNAs to naïve recipient cells, resulting in an altered cellular activity. In the current manuscript, we …

Empiric Deworming And Cd4 Count Recovery In Hiv-Infected Ugandans Initiating Antiretroviral Therapy, Alexander J. Lankowski, Alexander C. Tsai, Michael Kanyesigye, Mwebesa B. Bwana, Jessica E. Haberer, Megan Wenger, Jeffrey N. Martin, David Bangsberg, Peter W. Hunt, Mark J. Siedner

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: There is conflicting evidence on the immunologic benefit of treating helminth co-infections (‘‘deworming’’) in HIV-infected individuals. Several studies have documented reduced viral load and increased CD4 count in antiretroviral therapy (ART) naive individuals after deworming. However, there are a lack of data on the effect of deworming therapy on CD4 count recovery among HIV-infected persons taking ART.

Methodology/Principal Findings: To estimate the association between empiric deworming therapy and CD4 count after ART initiation, we performed a retrospective observational study among HIV-infected adults on ART at a publicly operated HIV clinic in southwestern Uganda. Subjects were assigned as having received …