AI summary · arXiv: 2109.09112v1 · q-bio.GN
Nipah virus vector sequences in COVID-19 patient samples sequenced by the Wuhan Institute of Virology
The essentials
- A new report sheds light on the detection of Nipah virus in raw RNA-Seq sequencing reads from five December 2019 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).
- The Nipah virus is a BSL4-level pathogen and CDC-designated Bioterrorism Agent that has never been reported to have occurred at the WIV.
- NiV genes are encapsulated in synthetic vectors for assembly of a NiV infectious clone, indicating research was being conducted on an assembled NiV infectious clone at WIV.
- Contamination of patient sequencing reads by an infectious NiV clone could indicate a significant breach of BSL-4 protocols.
- The authors call on WIV to explain the purpose behind this research on infectious clones of Nipah Virus, provide a detailed chronology regarding this work, and clarify how and when during sample preparation this contamination occurred.
- This raises concerns about biosafety practices at WIV and highlights potential risks associated with conducting research on highly pathogenic viruses like Nipah in high containment laboratories such as BSL-4 facilities.
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Phylogeography, Transmission, and Viral Proteins of Nipah VirusB. Sun, Lijia Jia, Biling Liang et al. · 2018 · Virologica Sinica · cited 76 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
Nipah virus (NiV), a zoonotic paramyxovirus belonging to the genus Henipavirus, is classified as a Biosafety Level-4 pathogen based on its high pathogenicity in humans and the lack of available vaccines or therapeutics. Since its initial emergence in 1998 in Malaysia, this virus has become a great threat to domestic animals and humans. Sporadic outbreaks and person-to-person transmission over the past two decades have resulted in hundreds of human fatalities. Epidemiological surveys have shown that NiV is distributed in Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific Ocean, and is transmitted by its natural reservoir, Pteropid bats. Numerous efforts have been made to analyze viral protein function and s…
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There was a simultaneous outbreak of the zoonotic Nipah henipavirus in Wuhan - 4 out of 5 patients have the virus in Jinyintan Hospital , along with SARS-Cov2, in their metagenome - which seems to have resolved by itselfS. Chakraborty · 2020 · cited 1 time · Not summarized yet
Abstract
‘Nipah virus is a biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) pathogen that causes severe respiratory illness and encephalitis in humans’ [1] that orginates in bats [2]. It was first isolated in Malaysia and Singapore in 1999 - ‘late September 1998 and by mid-June 1999, more than 265 encephalitis cases, including 105 deaths, had been reported in Malaysia, and 11 cases of encephalitis or respiratory illness with one death had been reported in Singapore’ [3]. It keeps recurring in Bangladesh [4]. There was a 2018 outbreak in Kerala, India [5]. There seems to have been a simultaneous outbreak in Wuhan during Covid19 - which never got reported, and apparently resolved by itself.Metagenome from the bronchoalveolar…
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Isolation and Full-Genome Characterization of Nipah Viruses from Bats, BangladeshD. Anderson, Ariful Islam, G. Crameri et al. · 2019 · Emerging Infectious Diseases · cited 56 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
Despite molecular and serologic evidence of Nipah virus in bats from various locations, attempts to isolate live virus have been largely unsuccessful. We report isolation and full-genome characterization of 10 Nipah virus isolates from Pteropus medius bats sampled in Bangladesh during 2013 and 2014.
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Nipah virus dynamics in bats and implications for spillover to humansJ. Epstein, S. Anthony, A. Islam et al. · 2020 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · cited 235 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
Significance Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic virus and World Health Organization (WHO) priority pathogen that causes near-annual outbreaks in Bangladesh and India with >75% mortality. This work advances our understanding of transmission of NiV in its natural bat reservoir by analyzing data from a 6-y multidisciplinary study of serology, viral phylogenetics, bat ecology, and immunology. We show that outbreaks in Pteropus bats are driven by increased population density, loss of immunity over time, and viral recrudescence, resulting in multiyear interepizootic periods. Incidence is low, but bats carry NiV across Bangladesh and can shed virus at any time of year, highlighting the importance of r…
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Rapid and Specific Detection of All Known Nipah virus Strains’ Sequences With Reverse Transcription-Loop-Mediated Isothermal AmplificationLi-Ping Ma, Zhen Chen, W. Guan et al. · 2019 · Frontiers in Microbiology · cited 34 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic virus and can be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people. NiV is classified as a Biosafety Level 4 agent, not only because of its relatively high case fatality rate, but also because there is no vaccine or other medical countermeasures and it appears to be transmitted by fomites/particulates. The development of rapid detection assay for NiV is of great importance because no effective field test is currently available. In this study, an isothermal (65°C) reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) method was developed, targeting the nucleocapsid protein (N) gene, for the rapid detection of NiV, and was compare…
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A neutralization test for specific detection of Nipah virus antibodies using pseudotyped vesicular stomatitis virus expressing green fluorescent proteinYoshihiro Kaku, Akira Noguchi, Glenn A. Marsh et al. · 2009 · Journal of Virological Methods · cited 71 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
Nipah virus (NiV) is a new zoonotic paramyxovirus that emerged in 1998 and is now classified in the genus Henipavirus along with the closely related Hendra virus (HeV). NiV is highly pathogenic in several vertebrate species including humans, and the lack of available vaccines or specific treatment restricts it to biosafety level 4 (BSL4) containment. A serum neutralization test was developed for measuring NiV neutralizing antibodies under BSL2 conditions using a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) and bearing the F and G proteins of NiV (VSV–NiV–GFP). The neutralization titers were obtained by counting GFP-expressing cells or by measuring f…
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Nipah pseudovirus system enables evaluation of vaccines in vitro and in vivo using non-BSL-4 facilitiesJian-Hui Nie, Lin Liu, Qing Wang et al. · 2019 · Emerging Microbes and Infections · cited 49 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
ABSTRACT Because of its high infectivity in humans and the lack of effective vaccines, Nipah virus is classified as a category C agent and handling has to be performed under biosafety level 4 conditions in non-endemic countries, which has hindered the development of vaccines. Based on a highly efficient pseudovirus production system using a modified HIV backbone vector, a pseudovirus-based mouse model has been developed for evaluating the efficacy of Nipah vaccines in biosafety level 2 facilities. For the first time, the correlates of protection have been identified in a mouse model. The limited levels of neutralizing antibodies against immunogens fusion protein (F), glycoprotein (G), and co…
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Nipah Virus InfectionB. Ang, Tchoyoson Lim, L. Wang · 2018 · Journal of Clinical Microbiology · cited 323 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
ABSTRACT Nipah virus, a paramyxovirus related to Hendra virus, first emerged in Malaysia in 1998. Clinical presentation ranges from asymptomatic infection to fatal encephalitis. Malaysia has had no more cases since 1999, but outbreaks continue to occur in Bangladesh and India. In the Malaysia-Singapore outbreak, transmission occurred primarily through contact with pigs, whereas in Bangladesh and India, it is associated with ingestion of contaminated date palm sap and human-to-human transmission. Bats are the main reservoir for this virus, which can cause disease in humans and animals. There are currently no effective therapeutics, and supportive care and prevention are the mainstays of manag…
Prior work it builds on
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Targeted Strategies for Henipavirus TherapeuticsKatharine N. Bossart, J. Bingham, D. Middleton · 2007 · Open Virology Journal · cited 17 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
Hendra and Nipah viruses are related emergent paramyxoviruses that infect and cause disease in animals and humans. Disease manifests as a generalized vasculitis affecting multiple organs, but is the most severe in the respiratory and central nervous systems. The high case fatality and person-to-person transmission associated with the most recent NiV outbreaks, and the recent re-emergence of HeV, emphasize the importance and necessity of effective therapeutics for these novel agents. In recent years henipavirus research has revealed a more complete understanding of pathogenesis and, as a consequence, viable approaches towards vaccines and therapeutics have emerged. All strategies target early…
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CONTAMINATION OR VACCINE RESEARCH? RNA Sequencing data of early COVID-19 patient samples show abnormal presence of vectorized H7N9 hemagglutinin segmentS. Quay, Monali C. Rahalkar, Adrian Jones et al. · 2021 · cited 4 times · Not summarized yet
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Non-SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences identified in clinical samples from COVID-19 infected patients: Evidence for co-infectionsM. Abouelkhair · 2020 · PeerJ · cited 12 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
Background In December 2019, an ongoing outbreak of pneumonia caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2/ 2019-nCoV) infection was initially reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Early in 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a new name for the 2019-nCoV-caused disease: coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and declared COVID-19 to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Cellular co-infection is a critical determinant of viral fitness and infection outcomes and plays a crucial role in shaping the host immune response to infections. Methods In this study, 68 public next-generation sequencing data from SARS-CoV-2 infected patien…
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Unexpected novel Merbecovirus discoveries in agricultural sequencing datasets from Wuhan, ChinaDao-Yu Zhang, Adrian Jones, Yuri Deigin et al. · 2021 · cited 6 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
In this study we document the unexpected discovery of multiple coronaviruses and a BSL-3 pathogen in agricultural cotton and rice sequencing datasets. In particular, we have identified a novel HKU5-related Merbecovirus in a cotton dataset sequenced by the Huazhong Agricultural University in 2017. We have also found an infectious clone sequence containing a novel HKU4-related Merbecovirus related to MERS coronavirus in a rice dataset sequenced by the Huazhong Agricultural University in early 2020. Another HKU5-related Merbecovirus, as well as Japanese encephalitis virus, were identified in a cotton dataset sequenced by the Huazhong Agricultural University in 2018. An HKU3-related Betacoronavi…
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Nipah Virus Envelope-Pseudotyped Lentiviruses Efficiently Target ephrinB2-Positive Stem Cell Populations In Vitro and Bypass the Liver Sink When Administered In VivoKarina Palomares, F. Vigant, B. van Handel et al. · 2012 · Journal of Virology · cited 46 times · Not summarized yet
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