No abstract

The emergence of the H7N9 influenza virus in humans in Eastern China has raised concerns that a new influenza pandemic could occur. Here, we used a ferret model to evaluate the infectivity and transmissibility of A/Shanghai/2/2013 (SH2), a human H7N9 virus isolate. This virus replicated in the upper and lower respiratory tracts of the ferrets and was shed at high titers for 6 to 7 days, with ferrets showing relatively mild clinical signs. SH2 was efficiently transmitted between ferrets via direct contact, but less efficiently by airborne exposure. Pigs were productively infected by SH2 and shed virus for 6 days but were unable to transmit the virus to naïve pigs or ferrets. Under appropriate conditions, human-to-human transmission of the H7N9 virus may be possible.

The Chikungunya virus infection zones have now quickly spread from Africa to parts of Asia, North America and Europe. Originally thought to trigger a disease of only mild symptoms, recently Chikungunya virus caused large-scale fatalities and widespread economic loss that was linked to recent virus genetic mutation and evolution. Due to the paucity of information on Chikungunya immunological progression, we investigated the serum levels of 13 cytokines/chemokines during the acute phase of Chikungunya disease and 6- and 12-month post-infection follow-up from patients of the Italian outbreak. We found that CXCL9/MIG, CCL2/MCP-1, IL-6 and CXCL10/IP-10 were significantly raised in the acute phase compared to follow-up samples. Furthermore, IL-1β, TNF-α, Il-12, IL-10, IFN-γ and IL-5 had low initial acute phase levels that significantly increased at later time points. Analysis of symptom severity showed association with CXCL9/MIG, CXCL10/IP-10 and IgG levels. These data give insight into Chikungunya disease establishment and subsequent convalescence, which is imperative to the treatment and containment of this quickly evolving and frequently re-emerging disease.

Synergistic combinations of antimicrobial agents with different mechanisms of action have been introduced as more successful strategies to combat infections involving multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria. In this study, we investigated synergistic antimicrobial activity of Camellia sinensis and Juglans regia which are commonly used plants with different antimicrobial agents. Antimicrobial susceptibility of 350 Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains belonging to 10 different bacterial species, was tested against Camellia sinensis and Juglans regia extracts. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined by agar dilution and microbroth dilution assays. Plant extracts were tested for synergistic antimicrobial activity with different antimicrobial agents by checkerboard titration, Etest/agar incorporation assays, and time kill kinetics. Extract treated and untreated bacteria were subjected to transmission electron microscopy to see the effect on bacterial cell morphology. Camellia sinensis extract showed higher antibacterial activity against MDR S. Typhi, alone and in combination with nalidixic acid, than to susceptible isolates.” We further explore anti-staphylococcal activity of Juglans regia that lead to the changes in bacterial cell morphology indicating the cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria as possible target of action. The synergistic combination of Juglans regia and oxacillin reverted oxacillin resistance of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains in vitro. This study provides novel information about antimicrobial and synergistic activity of Camellia sinensis and Juglans regia against MDR pathogens