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Toscana virus ( TOSV), West Nile virus ( WNV) and tickborne encephalitis virus ( TBEV) are among major viral pathogens causing febrile disease and meningitis/encephalitis. The impact of these viruses was investigated at a referral centre in Ankara Province, Central Anatolia in 2012, where previous reports suggested virus circulation but with scarce information on clinical cases and vector activity. Serum and/or cerebrospinal fluid samples from 94 individuals were evaluated, in addition to field-collected arthropod specimens that included 767 sandflies and 239 mosquitoes. Viral nucleic acids in clinical samples and arthropods were sought via specific and generic nested/real-time PCRs, and antibody responses in clinical samples were investigated via commercial indirect immunofluorescence tests ( IIFTs) and virus neutralization. A WNV antigen assay was also employed for mosquitoes. WNV neuroinvasive disease has been identified in a 63-year-old male via RNA detection, and the WNV strain was characterized as lineage 1. TOSV infections were diagnosed in six individuals (6.3%) via RNA or IgM detection. Partial sequences in a 23-year-old female, presented with fever and transient pancytopenia, were characterized as TOSV genotype A. Febrile disease with arthralgia and/or peripheral cranial nerve involvement was noted in cases with TOSV infections. Previous WNV and TOSV exposures have been observed in 5.3% and 2.1% of the subjects, respectively. No confirmed TBEV exposure could be identified. Morphological identification of the field-collected mosquitoes revealed Culex pipiens sensu lato (74.4%), Anopheles maculipennis (20.9%), An. claviger (2.1%) and others. Sandfly species were determined as Phlebotomus papatasi (36.2%), P. halepensis (27.3%), P. major s. l. (19.3%), P. sergenti (8.9%), P. perfiliewi (4.4%), P. simici (2.6%) and others. Viral infections in arthropods could not be demonstrated. TOSV genotype A and WNV lineage 1 activity have been demonstrated as well as serologically proven exposure in patients. Presence of sandfly and mosquito species capable of virus transmission has also been revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public Health is defined as an interdisciplinary multilevel approach that deals with questions of preventing diseases at the population level. In this context, this paper focuses on vector-borne diseases as an important threat with an increasing impact on human and animal health. Emphasis is laid on an integrated health approach ('One-Health' initiative) as it recognizes the interrelated nature of both human and animal health. The importance of vector-borne diseases to new and emerging diseases in Europe was demonstrated, for example, by the recent outbreak of West Nile virus infections in Greece, Northern Italy and Hungary; the spread of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus across Turkey, south-western countries of the former USSR and the Balkans; the dramatic increase in hantavirus infections in Germany in 2012; and the dengue virus outbreak in Portugal in the same year. This paper provides a systematic approach for the analysis, assessment and governance of emerging health risks attributed to vector-borne diseases by using a holistic approach developed by the International Risk Governance Council ( IRGC), called the ' IRGC Risk Governance Framework'. It can be used by decision-makers and general Public Health authorities in order to evaluate the situation regarding any specific pathogen or Public Health risk and to decide if additional measures should be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is the aetiological agent of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), a potentially fatal central nervous system infection of humans. TBE is endemic in many areas of Europe and Asia; however, very scarce data on TBEV activity are available from Turkey. We aimed to identify TBEV exposure in healthy blood donors and the impact of TBEV in central nervous system infections in Central/Northern Anatolia. Two-thousand four hundred and fifty four sera, collected from blood donors at Ankara, Konya, Eskişehir and Zonguldak branches of the Turkish Red Crescent Middle Anatolia Regional Blood Center, were analysed for TBEV serosurveillance. Paired serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples from 108 patients with the diagnosis of aseptic meningitis/encephalitis of unknown aetiology were also evaluated to identify TBE and neuroborreliosis cases. Commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and indirect immunofluorescence tests were employed for antibody detection. Forty-seven donor samples (1.9%) were reactive for TBEV IgG. In 25 persons with IgG reactivity (53.1%), risk factors for tick-borne infections were revealed. One sample from Zonguldak province (1/198; 0.5%) in the Black Sea region of Turkey was confirmed to possess neutralizing antibodies via plaque reduction neutralization test. TBEV IgM was detected in 9.2% (8/108) of the patients. IgM was accompanied by IgG reactivity in two persons where, in one, recent history of a tick bite was also identified. Intrathecal antibody production for TBEV could not be demonstrated. No evidence for Borrelia infections could be found. Confirmed exposure to TBEV and/or an antigenically similar tick-borne flavivirus is documented for the first time in blood donors in Zonguldak in Northern Anatolia. Probable cases of TBE have also been identified from Central Anatolia. The epidemiology of TBEV activity in Turkey needs to be assessed and benefits of vaccination for general population, risk groups or travellers must be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 47-year-old Belgian woman acquired yellow fever during a 1-week vacation in The Gambia; she had never been vaccinated against yellow fever. She died of massive gastrointestinal bleeding 7 days after the onset of the first symptoms. This dramatic case demonstrates that it is important for persons to be vaccinated against yellow fever before they travel to countries where yellow fever is endemic, even if the country, like The Gambia, does not require travelers to be vaccinated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary objective Isolation of dengue virus from dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever cases from Mindanao, Republic of the Philippines. methods 12 patients with clinically suspected dengue fever (DF) or dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) presenting in four regional hospitals between August and September 1995 on Minadano were enrolled in the study. Dengue virus was isolated by inoculation of Vero/E6 or C6/36 cells with patient serum. IgM antibodies were measured using a commercial test system. Up to 454 bp of the capsid region and 240 bp of the E/NS1 gene junction of different viral isolates were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. results Virus could be isolated from seven patients, five isolates were typed as dengue virus type 2 and two as dengue virus type 4 by immunostaining with monoclonal antibodies or by RT/PCR. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed a close relationship of the dengue virus type 2 isolates with viruses isolated in the Philippines in 1983 and 1988. conclusion As observed in studies from other parts of South East Asia, dengue virus type 2 was readily isolated from dengue haemorrhagic fever cases. Dengue virus type 2 and 4 circulate in Mindanao, Philippines, with dengue type 2 being responsible for most of our severe DF or DHF cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antigens in a particulate conformation were shown to be highly immunogenic in mammals. For this reason, the particle forming capacity of derivatives of the HIV-1 group specific core antigen p 55 gag was assayed and compared dependent on various expression systems: recombinant bacteria, vaccinia-and baculoviruses were established encoding the entire core protein p 55 either in its authentic sequence or lacking the myristylation consensus signal. Moreover, p 55 gag was expressed in combination with the protease (p 55-PR) or with the entire polymerase (p 55- pol), respectively. Budding of 100-160 nm p 55 core particles, resembling immature HIV-virions, was observed in the eucaryotic expression systems only. In comparison to the vaccinia virus driven expression of p 55 in mammalian cells, considerably higher yields of particulate core antigen were obtained by infection of Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) insect cells with the recombinant Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis (AcMNPV) baculovirus. Mutation of the NH-terminal myristylation signal sequence prevented budding of the immature core particles. Expression of the HIV p 55-PR gene construct by recombinant baculovirus resulted in complete processing of the p 55 gag precursor molecule in this system. The introduction of an artificial frameshift near the natural frameshift site resulted in constitutive expression of the viral protease and complete processing of p 55, both in Escherichia coli and in vaccinia virus infected cells. Interestingly, significant processing of p 55 resembling that of HIV infected H 9 cells could also be achieved in the vaccinia system by fusing the entire pol gene to the gag gene. Moreover, processing was not found to be dependent on amino-terminal myristylation of the gag procursor molecule, which is in contrast to observations with type C and type D retrovirus. However, complete processing of p 55 into p 24, p 17, p 9 and p 6 abolished particle formation. Purified immature HIV-virus like particles were highly immunogenic in rabbits, leading to a strong humoral immune response after immunization. Empty immature p 55 gag particles represent a noninfectious and attractive candidate for a basic vaccine component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]