A clinical and histopathological study of malformations observed in fetuses infected by the Zika virus

The present study reports on the clinical and histopathological findings observed in three fetuses infected by the ZIKV. It emphasizes the severity of brain damages and the minimal visceral and placental changes observed upon ZIKV infection. This confirms the selective neurotropism of ZIKV. Finally, it allows us to describe the cascade of multifactorial developmental defects leading to microcephaly.

Zika virus outbreak in the Pacific: Vector competence of regional vectors

Results from this study indicate a low ZIKV transmission by Ae. aegypti and Ae. polynesiensis tested from the Pacific region. These results were unexpected and suggest the importance of other factors especially the vector density, the mosquito lifespan or the large immunologically naive fraction of the population that may have contributed to the rapid spread of the ZIKV in the Pacific region during the 2013–2017 outbreak.

Re-visiting the evolution, dispersal and epidemiology of Zika virus in Asia. A commentary from the authors.

Pettersson et al provide a short commentary on their research article Re-visiting the evolution, dispersal and epidemiology of Zika virus in Asia published in Emerging Microbes & Infections in May 2018. This work was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under ZIKAlliance Grant Agreement no. 734548 and ZikaPLAN Grant Agreement no. 734584.

4 EU-funded Zika consortia met in Marseille during the International Symposium to discuss a common strategy for vaccine development

Re-visiting the evolution, dispersal and epidemiology of Zika virus in Asia

In this study, the authors have traced the phylogenetic history and spatio-temporal dispersal pattern of ZIKV in Asia prior to its explosive emergence in the Pacific region and the Americas.

A Novel Marsupial Hepatitis A Virus Corroborates Complex Evolutionary Patterns Shaping the Genus Hepatovirus

The authors conducted field work in Brazil to sample marsupials, one of the most ancient mammalian lineages, and identified a new HAV, marsupial HAV (MHAV).

External Quality Assessment for Zika Virus Molecular Diagnostic Testing, Brazil

The results from this study emphasize the need for continuous quality assessments of Zika virus diagnostic testing globally.

World Health Day at The Global Health Network

To celebrate World Health Day The Global Health Network is hosting a week of e-seminars, e-workshops and interviews that will discuss the operational, methodological and capacity challenges that impede health research in LMICs, and how to overcome common barriers.

Medical education videos available on the Network

Lecturio is a leading international eLearning platform for medical video education, serving students as well as universities and medical institutions. To offer best-in-class online medical courses, they work with hand-picked, renowned medical instructors from universities all over the world, and are offering their courses for free to all Global Health Network users.

Zika virus and Guillain–Barré syndrome in Bangladesh

Researchers found no significant association between ZIKV infection and GBS in Bangladesh, but GBS following ZIKV infection was characterized by a distinct clinical and electrophysiological subtype compared to C. jejuni infection. These findings indicate that ZIKV may precede a specific GBS subtype but the risk is low.

Pragmatism in practice: lessons learned during screening and enrollment for a randomised controlled trial in rural northern Ethiopia

We use the example of the Gojjam Lymphoedema Best Practice Trial (GoLBeT), a pragmatic trial in a remote rural setting in northern Ethiopia, to extract lessons relevant to other investigators balancing the demands of practicality and community acceptability with internal and external validity in clinical trials.

SuPReMe: a rapid reverse genetics method to generate clonal populations of recombinant RNA viruses

According to the authors, SuPReMe, therefore, represents an effective and promising option for the rapid generation of clonal recombinant populations of single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses.

Pregnancy Outcomes after ZIKV Infection in French Territories in the Americas

The risk of congenital neurologic defects related to Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has ranged from 6 to 42% in various reports. The aim of this study was to estimate this risk among pregnant women with symptomatic ZIKV infection in French territories in the Americas.

Zika virus epidemiology in Bolivia: A seroprevalence study in volunteer blood donors

The authors conclude that ZIKV has been circulating in Bolivian tropical areas but not in highlands, and that the epidemic has not been limited by previous immunity against dengue. Specific attention should be paid to the region of Santa Cruz, where the seroprevalence is still limited, but the density of Aedes aegypti populations makes plausible further spreading of the disease.

An overview of mosquito vectors of Zika virus

According to the authors of this study, mosquito control measures should remain focused on the mosquito Ae. aegypti which is also the vector of CHIKV and DENV, and much more research effort should be allocated to fill the knowledge gaps about this virus.

Open Public Consultation on “Strengthened cooperation against vaccine preventable diseases”

The European Commission is looking into ways to support  EU member states to address re-emerging preventable diseases and to increase vaccine coverage in Europe. This policy discussion is set against the background of an increase of vaccination hesitancy in several countries, vaccines shortages and vaccines R&D challenges. As part of this process, The European Commission has launched a public consultation.

A novel hepatitis B virus species discovered in capuchin monkeys sheds new light on the evolution of primate hepadnaviruses

Data in this article suggest ancestral co-speciation of hepadnaviruses and NHP, and an Old World origin of the divergent HBV genotypes F/H. The identification of a novel primate hepadnavirus offers new perspectives for urgently needed animal models of chronic hepatitis B.

Evidence for multiple sylvatic transmission cycles during the 2016–2017 yellow fever virus outbreak, Brazil

Since December 2016, Brazil has experienced an unusually large outbreak of yellow fever (YF). Whether urb a n transmission may contribute to the extent of the outbreak is unclear. The objective of this study was to characterize YF virus (YFV) genomes and to identify spatial patterns to determine thedistribution and origin of YF cases in Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro, the most affected Brazilian states during the current YFV outbreak.

Consortia wide exercise to agree on a core curriculum for observational, laboratory and clinical trials

The structural proteins of epidemic and historical strains of Zika virus differ in their ability to initiate viral infection in human host cells

In this study researchers show that ZIKV containing BeH819015 structural proteins is much less efficient in cell-attachment leading to a reduced susceptibility ofepithelial A549 and neuronal SH-SY5Y cells to viral infection.