Divergent Barmah forest virus from Papua New Guinea
- Authors: Caly, Leon , Horwood, Paul , Dhanasekaran, VijaykrishnaLynch, Stacey , Greenhill, Andrew , Pomat, William , Rai, Glennis , Kisa, Debbie , Bande, Grace , Druce, Julian , Abdad, Mohammad
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Emerging Infectious Diseases Vol. 25, no. 12 (2019), p. 2266-2269
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- Description: We report a case of Barmah Forest virus infection in a child from Central Province, Papua New Guinea, who had no previous travel history. Genomic characterization of the virus showed divergent origin compared with viruses previously detected, supporting the hypothesis that the range of Barmah Forest virus extends beyond Australia. © 2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All rights reserved.
SARS-CoV-2 does not replicate in embryonated hen's eggs or in MDCK cell lines
- Authors: Barr, Ian , Rynehart, Cleve , Whitney, Paul , Druce, Julian
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin Vol. 25, no. 25 (2020), p.
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- Description: The advent of COVID-19, has posed a risk that human respiratory samples containing human influenza viruses may also contain SARS-CoV-2. This potential risk may lead to SARS-CoV-2 contaminating conventional influenza vaccine production platforms as respiratory samples are used to directly inoculate embryonated hen's eggs and continuous cell lines that are used to isolate and produce influenza vaccines. We investigated the ability of these substrates to propagate SARS-CoV-2 and found that neither could support SARS-CoV-2 replication.
Pathogenesis, humoral immune responses, and transmission between cohoused animals in a ferret model of human respiratory syncytial virus infection
- Authors: Chan, Kok Fei , Carolan, Louise , Druce, Julian , Chappell, Keith , Watterson, Daniel , Young, Paul , Korenkov, Daniil , Subbarao, Kanta , Barr, Ian , Laurie, Karen , Reading, Patrick
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Virology Vol. 92, no. 4 (2018), p.
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- Description: Small-animal models have been used to obtain many insights regarding the pathogenesis and immune responses induced following infection with human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV). Among those described to date, infections in cotton rats, mice, guinea pigs, chinchillas, and Syrian hamsters with hRSV strains Long and/or A2 have been well characterized, although clinical isolates have also been examined. Ferrets are also susceptible to hRSV infection, but the pathogenesis and immune responses elicited following infection have not been well characterized. Here, we describe the infection of adult ferrets with hRSV Long or A2 via the intranasal route and characterized virus replication, as well as cytokine induction, in the upper and lower airways. Virus replication and cytokine induction during the acute phase of infection (days 0 to 15 postinfection) were similar between the two strains, and both elicited high levels of F glycoprotein-specific binding and neutralizing antibodies following virus clearance (days 16 to 22 postinfection). Importantly, we demonstrate transmission from experimentally infected donor ferrets to cohoused naive recipients and have characterized virus replication and cytokine induction in the upper airways of infected contact animals. Together, these studies provide a direct comparison of the pathogenesis of hRSV Long and A2 in ferrets and highlight the potential of this animal model to study serological responses and examine interventions that limit transmission of hRSV. Ferrets have been widely used to study pathogenesis, immunity, and transmission following human influenza virus infections however, far less is known regarding the utility of the ferret model to study hRSV infections. Following intranasal infection of adult ferrets with the well-characterized Long or A2 strain of hRSV, we report virus replication and cytokine induction in the upper and lower airways, as well as the development of virus-specific humoral responses. Importantly, we demonstrate transmission of hRSV from experimentally infected donor ferrets to cohoused naive recipients. Together, these findings significantly enhance our understanding of the utility of the ferret as a small-animal model to investigate aspects of hRSV pathogenesis and immunity.