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African swine fever ( ASF) has caused the swine industry of the Russian Federation substantial economic losses over the last 7 years, and the disease spread from there to a number of neighbouring countries. Wild boar has been involved in the spread of the disease both at local and at transboundary levels. Understanding ASF dynamics in wild boars is prerequisite to preventing the spread and to designing and applying effective surveillance and control plans. The reproductive ratio ( R0) is an epidemiological indicator commonly used to quantify the extent of disease spread. Here, it was estimated in nine spatio-temporal clusters of ASF in wild boar cases in the Russian Federation (2007-2013). Clusters were defined by exploring the maximum distance of association of ASF cases using K Ripley analysis and spatio-temporal scan statistics. A maximum spatial association of 133 km in wild boar cases was identified which is within de the conventional radius of surveillance zone (100-150 km). The mean range value of R0 = 1.58 (1.13-3.77) was lower compared to values previously estimated for ASF transmission within farms but similar to early estimates between farm ( R0 = 2-3), in domestic pigs using notification data in the Russian Federation. Results obtained provide quantitative knowledge on the epidemiology of ASF in wild boars in the Russian Federation. They identify the ASF transmission rate value in affected natural wild populations, for the first time, which could provide basis for modelling ASF transmission and suggest that current surveillance radius should be reviewed to make surveillance in wild nature more targeted and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and Hypothesis: The objective was to assess PD-L1 expression in nonbacterial chronic cystitis (NCC) and bladder cancer (BC)., Methods: The present study included 20 NCC and 20 BC patients. The degree of inflammation of the bladder wall was assessed on slides stained with H&E. Viral pathogens (herpes simplex virus, Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, and high-risk HPVs) were detected using real-time polymerase chain reaction analyses of the bladder specimens. Immunohistochemistry was performed to assess the PD-L1 expression in bladder tissue., Results: Expression of PD-L1 was detected in 40% of NCC patients and 85% of BC patients. Viral pathogens were found in 50% of NCC patients and 60% of BC patients, with EBV being the most common. In NCC patients the immune cell score correlated strongly with the degree of inflammatory infiltration of the bladder wall (r = 0.867, p < 0.001), the presence of lymphoid aggregates in the submucosa (r = 0.804, p < 0.001), koilocytosis (r = 0.620, p = 0.004), and the presence of viral pathogens (r = 0.784, p < 0.001). In BC patients the immune cell score correlated with the degree of inflammatory infiltration of the bladder wall (r = 0.534, p = 0.015) and the presence of viral pathogens (r = 0.626, p = 0.003), but not with the presence of lymphoid aggregates in the submucosa (r = 0.083, p = 0.729), and koilocytosis (r = 0.366, p = 0.112)., Conclusions: Expression of PD-L1 was detected in a cohort of NCC patients, although the PD-L1 positivity rate was lower than that in BC. Our results demonstrate that the degree of PD-L1 expression in bladder tissue is associated with the presence of viral infections and with the degree of inflammatory infiltration of the bladder wall in both NCC and BC., (© 2024. The International Urogynecological Association.)

African swine fever (ASF) is a lethal hemorrhagic disease of Suidae , i.e., domestic pigs and wild boars, caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV). The development of cross-protective vaccines against ASF is imperative for effective disease control, particularly in regions where ASF is endemic, potentially featuring multiple circulating ASFV isolates. The investigation of non-hemadsorbing naturally attenuated isolates and laboratory recombinant strains with a deletion in the EP402R gene has attracted interest. Our study aimed to assess the impacts of various administration routes and doses of the naturally attenuated ASFV-PSA-1NH (immunotype IV, genotype I) isolate on the manifestation of clinical signs of ASF and the level of protection against the heterologous ASFV-Stavropol 01/08 strain (seroimmunotype VIII, genotype II). The results demonstrated that the intranasal administration of a low dose of ASFV-PSA-1NH to pigs minimized the clinical signs of ASF and established a high level of protection against the heterologous strain ASFV-Stavropol 01/08. Despite the challenges in standardizing the dosage for intranasal administration, this approach appears as a viable alternative in ASF vaccination.

This article presents the results of virological and genetic studies of an isolate of caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) virus from the republic of Mordovia, Russian Federation. The isolate was found during monitoring studies of goat blood samples for the viral genome, and the presence of antibodies to lentiviruses was detected. According to the recommendation of the OIE, the positive result of PCR was confirmed with nucleotide sequencing. It was found that the obtained nucleotide sequence is identical to the genome of small ruminant lentiviruses presented in the GenBank database. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the isolate "Mordovia-2018" was included in the same cluster with an isolate from the Tver region of the Russian Federation detected in 2008. The sequence of the fragment of the env -gene of the isolate from the republic of Mordovia is available in GenBank under the number MN186380.1. To isolate the virus, a fraction of peripheral blood monocyte cells from the animal's blood was added to a monolayer of lamb synovial membrane cell culture, and ten passages were carried out. The first manifestations of the cytopathic effect were observed after the third passage on the eighth day of cultivation in the form of single large cells of irregular shape with 5-7 nuclei. At the seventh passage, multiple syncytium with 7-12 nuclei were observed. At subsequent passage levels, the formation of syncytium containing more than 10-14 nuclei was observed.

The facultative intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes is of major veterinary importance in small ruminants. Nevertheless, details of L. monocytogenes interactions with cells of small ruminants are not fully established. To study the potential of L. monocytogenes to infect sheep cells, we used the finite sheep kidney cell line (shKEC), which was infected with the wild-type L. monocytogenes strain EGDe. The invasion efficiency was 0.015 ± 0.004%. The invasion factor InlB was critically important for invasion, and inlB gene deletion almost prevented L. monocytogenes invasion into shKEC cells. Comparison of the potential of phylogenetically defined InlB isoforms to restore the invasive phenotype of the EGDeΔinlB strain demonstrated that although all InlB isoforms restored invasion of the EGDeΔinlB strain into shKEC cells, the InlB isoforms typical of highly virulent ruminant strains of the clonal complexes CC1 and CC7 were more efficient than isoforms typical of CC2 and CC9 strains (which are less virulent toward ruminants) in supporting invasion. Listeria monocytogenes effectively multiplied with a doubling of time in about 90 min after they entered the sheep cells. Intracellular bacteria moved using the well-known actin polymerization mechanism. Cell-to-cell spreading was restricted to the infection of a few tens of neighboring cells for 7 days. Overall, the obtained results demonstrated that (i) InlB is required for invasion into sheep cells, (ii) InlB isoforms might be important for hypervirulence of certain clonal groups toward ruminants, and (iii) L. monocytogenes effectively multiplies in ovine cells once entered., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Chalenko, Kolbasova, Pivova, Abdulkadieva, Povolyaeva, Kalinin, Kolbasov and Ermolaeva.)

African swine fever (ASF) is an emerging disease threat to the swine industry worldwide. There is no vaccine against ASF, and progress is hindered by a lack of knowledge concerning the extent of ASFV strain diversity and the viral antigens conferring type-specific protective immunity in pigs. We have previously demonstrated that homologous ASFV serotype-specific proteins CD2v (EP402R) and/or C-type lectin are required for protection against challenge with the virulent ASFV strain Congo (Genotype I, Serogroup 2), and we have identified T-cell epitopes on CD2v which may be associated with serotype-specific protection. Here, using a cell-culture adapted derivative of the ASFV strain Congo (Congo-a) with specific deletion of the EP402R gene (ΔCongoCD2v) in swine vaccination/challenge experiments, we demonstrated that deletion of the EP402R gene results in the failure of ΔCongoCD2v to induce protection against challenge with the virulent strain Congo (Congo-v). While ΔCongoCD2v growth kinetics in COS-1 cells and primary swine macrophage culture were almost identical to parental Congo-a, replication of ΔCongoCD2v in vivo was significantly reduced compared with parental Congo-a. Our data support the idea that the CD2v protein is important for the ability of homologous live-attenuated vaccines to induce protective immunity against the ASFV strain Congo challenge in vivo.

L. monocytogenes is a widespread facultative intracellular pathogen. The range of natural hosts that supporting L. monocytogenes persistence in the environment has not been fully established yet. In this study, we were interested in the potential of L. monocytogenes to infect cells of bats, which are being increasingly recognized as a reservoir for microorganisms that are pathogenic to humans and domestic animals. A stable epithelial cell line was developed from the kidneys of Pipistrellus nathusii , a small bat widely distributed across Europe. The wild-type L. monocytogenes strain EGDe infected this cell line with an invasion efficiency of 0.0078 ± 0.0009%. Once it entered bat cells, L. monocytogenes doubled within about 70 minutes. When L. monocytogenes lacked either of the major invasion factors, InlA and InlB, invasion efficiency decreased by a factor of 10 and 25 respectively ( p < 0.000001). The obtained results suggest that bat epithelial cells are susceptible to L. monocytogenes infection and that L. monocytogenes invasion of bat cells depends on the major invasion factors InlA and InlB. These results constitute the first report on in vitro studies of L. monocytogenes infection in bats., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

This paper reports a case of bluetongue virus (BTV) infection in the Smolensk and Kaluga regions of Russia in 2011-2012. The virus was initially detected in heifers transferred in Russia from Germany through Poland and Belarus in 2011. On day 27 of quarantine, RNA and infectious viruses of BTV were detected in four heifers, but five were serologically positive. However, on day 3 before shipment, all heifers were seronegative and PCR-negative for BTV. Thus, a few animals from this consignment were viremic without any evident subclinical infection. Based on Seg-2 (VP2 gene) and Seg-5 (NS1 gene) sequencing, the recovered virus had 99.86-100% nucleotide identity with BTV-14-like viruses such as the vaccine BTV-14 strain RSArrrr/BTV 14 and the BTV-14 isolates detected in Lithuania and Poland in 2012. Subsequently, BTV-14 was also reported in local animals in two regions of Russia. During the monitoring survey, 1623 local animals within a 300-km radius were tested, of which 471 tested positive by ELISA and 183 by PCR for BTV-14 RNA. No other serotypes were identified in either imported or aboriginal animals within that radius. The Culicoides midges trapped at the site of the outbreak in May 2012 tested positive for the BTV-14 genome, indicating that the possible mechanism of spread most likely occurs via vector bites. However, further investigation is required to confirm this hypothesis, which would provide an improved understanding of the circulation and overwintering of BTV in northern latitudes., (Copyright © 2020 Koltsov, Tsybanov, Gogin, Kolbasov and Koltsova.)

Background: General knowledge on climate change effects and adaptation strategies has increased significantly in recent years. However, there is still a substantial information gap regarding the influence of climate change on infectious diseases and how these diseases should be identified. From a One Health perspective, zoonotic infections are of particular concern. The climate in Northern regions is changing faster than the global average. This study sought to identify climate-sensitive infectious diseases (CSIs) of relevance for humans and/or animals living in Northern regions. Inclusion criteria for CSIs were constructed using expert assessments. Based on these principles, 37 potential CSIs relevant for Northern regions were identified. A systematic literature search was performed in three databases using an explicit stepwise approach to determine whether the literature supports selection of these 37 potential CSIs., Results: In total, 1275 nominated abstracts were read and categorised using predefined criteria. Results showed that arthropod vector-borne diseases in particular are recognised as having potential to expand their distribution towards Northern latitudes and that tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis, midge-borne bluetongue and the parasitic infection fasciolosis can be classified as climate-sensitive. Many of the other potential CSIs considered are affected by extreme weather events, but could not be clearly classified as climate-sensitive. An additional literature search comparing awareness of climate influences on potential CSIs between 1997-2006 and 2007-2016 showed an increase in the number of papers mentioning effects of climate change., Conclusions: The four CSIs identified in this study could be targeted in a systematic surveillance programme in Northern regions. It is evident that climate change can affect the epidemiology and geographical range of many infectious diseases, but there were difficulties in identifying additional CSIs, most likely because other factors may be of equal or greater importance. However, climate-ecological dynamics are constantly under change, and therefore diseases may fall in or out of the climate-sensitive definition over time. There is increasing awareness in the literature of the effects of climate change on infectious diseases over time.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is the only known DNA arbovirus, and the ability to replicate efficiently in both insect and mammalian cells is encoded in its viral genome. Despite having a relatively low overall genomic mutation rate, ASFV demonstrates genetic diversity in certain genes and complexity in gene content in other genomic regions, indicating that ASFV may exploit multiple mechanisms for diversification and acquire new phenotype characteristics. ASFV antigenic diversity is reflected in the ability to type cross-protective viruses together into serogroups, largely based on antibody-mediated inhibition of hemadsorption. Here we review ASFV genetic signatures of ASFV type specificity, genome variability, and the hemadsorption as a means of defining virus antigenic type, and how these may be used toward defining antigenic and phenotypic diversity that is problematic for development of vaccine solutions to ASF., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

African swine fever (ASF) is an emerging disease threat for the swine industry worldwide. No ASF vaccine is available, and progress is hindered by lack of knowledge concerning the extent of ASF virus (ASFV) strain diversity and the viral antigens conferring type-specific protective immunity in pigs. Previously, we demonstrated that ASFV serotype-specific proteins CD2v (EP402R) and/or C-type lectin (EP153R) are important for protection against homologous ASF infection. Here, we identified six discrete T-cell epitope regions present on CD2v and C-type lectin using IFN-γ ELISpot assay and PBMCs from ASF immune animals, indicating cellular reactivity to these proteins in the context of ASFV infection and protective immunity. Notably, three of the epitope regions map to previously described serotype-specific signature regions of these proteins. Improved understanding of ASFV protective antigens, relevant epitopes and their diversity in nature will facilitate ASFV subunit vaccine design and development.

Introduction: Serological diagnosis of virus-associated tumors attracts the attention of many specialists. The changes in the level of antiviral antibodies in tumors of different localizations are proved. In some cases, the authors suggest using these data either for screening of tumors or for controlling the cure., Aim: to evaluate the predictive value of antiviral antibodies for the recurrence of bladder cancer., Materials and Methods: a level of antiviral antibodies (IgG, M) against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), herpes simplex virus (HSV) 1 and 2 types, cytomegalovirus (CMV) of 100 patients with bladder cancer (72 men and 28 women) aged from 38 to 90 years (mean age 65+/-10) was studied. Multivariate analysis with a construction of classification tree was performed. The recurrence of the bladder cancer was used as the dependent variable., Results: in patients with recurrence of bladder cancer there was an increase in the level of anti-CMV IgG (616.5+/-501.46 U/ml vs. 339.06+/-306.61 U/ml, p=0.0017) and anti-EBV IgG-EBNA (246,7+/-207 U/ml vs. 141,5+/-163,7 U/ml, p=0.0118). After the construction of the classification tree, anti-CMV IgG, anti-EBV IgG-EBNA, tumor stage and the presence of CMV DNA in tumor tissue were selected. It allowed to classify correctly 20 of 24 patients with recurrence and 58 of 72 patients without relapse. The most significant predictors included anti-CMV IgG level (100%), anti-BNA IgG level (78%) and tumor stage (50%). The sensitivity, specificity, positive prognostic value (probability of tumor detection in patients with a positive test result), negative prognostic value (probability of absence of the tumor in persons with a negative test result) and accuracy were 83.33%, 80.56%, 58.82%, 93.55% and 81.25%, respectively. A multivariate analysis (binary logistic regression) was performed and a reliable model (2=22,438, p=0,00043) was created, including the following parameters: anti-CMV IgG more than 670 u/ml, anti-BNA IgG more than 130 u/ml, the degree of anaplasia, the presence CMV and/or EBV DNA in tumor tissue. Based on the regression equation, an accuracy test for prediction of tumor recurrence was carried out, which resulted in fairly high predictive results: specificity and sensitivity were 95.2% and 33.3%, respectively., Conclusions: anti-CMV IgG level more than 670 U/ml and anti-BNA IgG level more than 130 U/ml are reliable predictors for the recurrence of bladder cancer.

African swine fever (ASF) is one of the most devastating diseases affecting the swine industry worldwide. No effective vaccine is currently available for disease prevention and control. Although live attenuated vaccines (LAV) have demonstrated great potential for immunizing against homologous strains of African swine fever virus (ASFV), adverse reactions from LAV remain a concern. Here, by using a homologous ASFV Congo strain system, we show passage-attenuated Congo LAV to induce an efficient protective immune response against challenge with the virulent parental Congo strain. Notably, only the parental challenge Congo strain was identified in blood and organs of recovered pigs through B602L gene PCR, long-range PCR, nucleotide sequencing and virus isolation. Thus, despite the great protective potential of homologous attenuated ASFV strain, the challenge Congo strain can persist for weeks in recovered pigs and a recrudescence of virulent virus at late time post-challenge may occur.

Aim: To determine the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) of high oncogenic risk in the development of urinary bladder cancer., Materials and Methods: 100 patients (72 men and 28 women) aged 38 to 90 years (mean age 65+/-10 years) diagnosed with bladder cancer were examined and underwent treatment. Clinical assessment was complemented by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for the presence of antiviral antibodies to herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 and type 2, cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), urethra scraping for detecting high oncogenic risk HPV. Tumor tissue was sampled for PCR virus detection. Semi-quantitative analysis was used to evaluate the components of lymphocyte-plasmocyte and leukocyte infiltrates and cytopathic changes in tumor tissue., Results: There were positive correlations between cytopathic cell changes (koylocytosis and intranuclear inclusions, as manifestations of HPV) and the level of antiviral antibodies, the presence of viruses in the tumor, as well as with the components of the lymphoid-plasmocyte infiltrate. Negative correlations were found between the presence of papillomatosis and the above changes., Conclusion: Human papillomavirus is believed to be a trigger for the initiation of a tumor in young patients with a latent infection (CMV and EBV, HSV, HPV). Cytopathic changes (kylocytosis and intranuclear inclusions) were associated with the activity and morphological features of herpes-viral infections. Their degree varied depending on the stage of the process, but not on the anaplasia degree. Papillomatosis is associated with a more favorable course of the tumor process.