London: A team of UK scientists has for the first time isolated the Lloviu virus (LLOV) - a close relative of Ebola virus, from bats in Hungary.LLOV is part of the filovirus family - which includes the Ebola virus. While Ebola (and other filoviruses including the similarly pathogenic Marburg virus) have only occurred naturally in Africa, Lloviu has been discovered in Europe.The filovirus LLOV was first identified via its genetic material (RNA) in Schreiber's bats in 2002 from Spain. It was subsequently detected in bats in Hungary, said the team from the Medway School of Pharmacy (a partnership between the universities of Kent and Greenwich).Their findings, published by Nature Communications, highlight the need for future research to ensure pandemic preparedness."Our research is a smoking gun. It's vital that we know both more about the distribution of this virus and that research is done in this area to assess the risks and to ensure we are prepared for potential epidemics and pandemics," said Dr Simon Scott from the Viral Pseudotye Unit (VPU) at Medway.The team have also discovered that Lloviu has the potential to both infect human cells as well as to replicate. This raises concerns about potential widespread transmission in Europe and urges immediate pathogenicity and antiviral studies.They also revealed no antibody cross-reactivity between LLOV and Ebola, suggesting that existing Ebola vaccines may not protect against Lloviu, should it be transmitted to man.Further, the scientists showed that a recombinant LLOV is able to infect known target cells of Ebola virus, including human primary macrophages. However, the inflammatory response in human macrophages - a hallmark of Ebola virus disease - is not induced by the virus. This suggests that LLOV might be able to infect humans, but the infection might not lead to disease, similar to the nonpathogenic Reston virus, they said.As a zoonotic virus - one which passes between animals and humans - LLOV is of interest to public health around the world due to our close relationship with animals in agriculture, as companions and in the natural environment. This is even more the case in recent years with the continued destruction and encroachment of natural habitats of many wild creatures.According to the World Health Organisation, "zoonoses comprise a large percentage of all newly identified infectious diseases, as well as many existing ones".Scott said the research clearly shows that there is a considerable knowledge gap regarding the pathogenicity, animal hosts, and transmissibility of these newly discovered viruses.Among filoviruses, only Ebola viruses have received the most attention, mainly due to the multiple documented human outbreaks, particularly the West African Ebola virus (EBOV) disease outbreak in 2013-2016 and the recent outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea. —IANS

A team of UK scientists has for the first time isolated the Lloviu virus (LLOV) - a close relative of Ebola virus, from bats in Hungary.

Scientists Isolate Close Relative Of Ebola With Pandemic Potential From Bats

Juba: The South Sudanese government announced that it is stepping up vigilance along the borders following an Ebola outbreak in neighbouring Uganda. Victoria Anib Majur, the undersecretary in the Ministry of Health, advised communities living along the border with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to report any suspicious case to health authorities, reports Xinhua news agency. "We are very concerned about the Ebola outbreak in Uganda because we share the border. We have a lot of movement across the border, our families are in Uganda and Ugandans are on this side," Majur told journalists here on Tuesday. She also urged the public to refrain from eating bushmeat since Ebola spreads to humans through animals. Majur disclosed that national assessment teams will be deployed in the border areas of Yambio and Nimule bordering both DRC and Uganda, respectively. On August 21, the DRC government announced an Ebola outbreak after detecting a 46-year-old woman living in the city of Beni, in the province of North Kivu. Majur added that they would be partnering with the Unicef to promote public awareness of the Ebola virus disease. Fabian Ndenzako, the acting WHO Representative for South Sudan, said that the Health Ministry has already activated the incident management system for Ebola virus disease. "There is a lot of movement across the border, so it's really important that this incident management system is really activated. We don't have a case in South Sudan but given the proximity and closeness, we have to prepare," Ndenzako said. Since its discovery in 1976, the majority of cases and outbreaks of Ebola have occurred in Africa. The 2014�2016 outbreak in West Africa was the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak ever, according to the World Health Organization. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and then spreads to humans through direct contact with the infected people.
—IANS &nbsp;

The South Sudanese government announced that it is stepping up vigilance along the borders following an Ebola outbreak in neighbouring Uganda.

 S.Sudan on high alert after Ebola outbreak in Uganda

New Delhi (The Hawk): As concerns grow about the alarming rise of tomato flu, ebola, measles, and other infections in the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, leading healthcare experts have emphasised the need to strengthen national health programmes, such as those involving key immunizations, and to expand the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP).
In the country, the IDSP is a decentralised, state-based monitoring programme. It is designed to detect early warning signals of oncoming outbreaks and facilitate a prompt, efficient response.
"Re-emerging illnesses such as measles and drug-resistant tuberculosis are serious public health concerns in India at this moment. Existing national health programmes suffered greatly during the epidemic due to resource diversion and shifting objectives "Professor at the Centre for Community Medicine at AIIMS in New Delhi, Dr. Harshal R. Salve, told IANS.
Salve emphasised that the moment has come to focus on boosting national health programmes such as immunisation, TB, and IDSP with additional funding, infrastructure development, and capacity building.
The repeated reappearance of novel and diverse infection-causing organisms has posed a threat to the population, particularly in light of the recent pandemic.
Other diseases, particularly those caused by viruses such as Ebola, Measles, and more recently Tomato Flu, are spreading over the world. The majority of these infections are the result of human-animal interactions.
"Moreover, the majority of these infections are caused by viruses that are known to mutate easily and adopt a form that allows them to evade the body's immune system. The persistent mutation and alterations in its genetic coding pose obstacles to the development of effective, curative medications or vaccinations "says Dr Anurag Aggarwal, Consultant-Internal Medicine, Marengo QRG Hospital, Faridabad.
According to Dr. Neha Rastogi, Consultant for Infectious Diseases at the Fortis Memorial Research Institute, "we are currently witnessing the emergence of a pandemic spectre."
"Due to the widespread use of antimicrobials in the current context, antimicrobial-resistant superbugs/bacteria have spawned a significant super pandemic. Considering the ongoing propagation of these multidrug-resistant diseases, it is important to tackle this asymptomatic epidemic "The doctor told IANS.
Due to a complicated interaction between the immune system and altered environmental conditions, new viruses and their ever-changing varieties are on the rise.
In the coming decades, the risk of such pests will increase as a result of climate and environmental change, rapid urbanisation, and an increase in global migration facilitated by improved connectivity.
According to Dr. Ravindra Gupta, Head of Department of Internal Medicine at C.K. Birla Hospital in Gurugram, "climate change may alter the range of global diseases, allowing infections, particularly vector-borne infections, to spread across new terrains."
Changes in the environment and land use practises have led to an increase in animal-human interactions.
Consequently, animal viruses are being passed to people, causing issues for humanity.
"Global warming is another significant factor in the creation of new viruses. There is an urgent need to increase disease surveillance, comprehend the biological processes that contribute to the growth of vectors such as mosquitoes, ants, etc., and take the necessary steps to control them "Dr Gupta said.
(Inputs from Agencies)

As concerns grow about the alarming rise of tomato flu, ebola, measles, and other infections in the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, leading healthcare experts have emphasised the need to strengthen national health programmes, such as those involving key immunizations, and to expand the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP).

Immunization and disease surveillance must be increased immediately

New York: A new study has shown that Ebola virus creates and uses intercellular tunnels to move from cell to cell and evade treatments. The findings by scientists at Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed) revealed that Ebola virus creates the very tunnels it uses to hide and move within the human body. The study, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, may help develop effective drugs and therapies that can stop viruses in their tracks. “Our findings suggest that the virus can create its hiding place, hide and then move to new cells and replicate,” said Olena Shtanko, Assistant Professor at Texas Biomed. Specifically, the virus is generating something called tunneling nanotubes -- dynamic connections between cells that allow the cells to communicate by exchanging particles over relatively long distances, up to 200 microns. While these structures have been shown to play a prominent role in promoting neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, HIV-1 and influenza, Dr. Shtanko is the first to investigate their role in disseminating Ebola virus. “When we launched this project a couple of years ago, we thought the general model of spread of Ebola virus infection -- where a viral particle infects a cell, replication begins, new virus particles are made and released into the body to infect neighbouring cells --was a bit too simplistic,” Dr. Shtanko said. Using state-of-the-art technology with live scanning electron and high-resolution 3D-microscopy, Dr. Shtanko and her team showed that Ebola virus infection in cells enhanced the formation of tunneling nanotubes containing viral particles. The tunneling nanotubes then promoted the transfer of these particles to other cells. Notably, the full virus was not required to trigger nanotube formation, only small sections of the virus coding for individual proteins were needed. This happened even in the presence of treatments meant to stop Ebola virus. “Importantly, we observed that Ebola virus infection could spread in cultures treated with virus entry inhibitors or therapeutic treatments that stop viruses from entering a cell,” Dr. Shtanko explained. However, the scientists are yet to learn how exactly Ebola virus particles are transported through tunneling nanotubes. —IANS

A new study has shown that Ebola virus creates and uses intercellular tunnels to move from cell to cell and evade treatments

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Scientists Isolate Close Relative Of Ebola With Pandemic Potential From Bats

Inam Ansari

The Hawk

Tag : Ebola

Scientists Isolate Close Relative Of Ebola With Pandemic Potential From Bats

Inam Ansari

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