Article
Microbiology
Daniel Lang, Lidia Chitimia-Dobler, Malena Bestehorn-Willmann, Alexander Lindau, Marco Drehmann, Gabriele Stroppel, Helga Hengge, Ute Mackenstedt, Klaus Kaier, Gerhard Dobler, Johannes Borde
Summary: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is an important viral tick-borne infection in Europe and Asia. The emergence of TBE in new areas, such as the Ravensburg district in southern Germany, has been analyzed to identify the natural foci of the causative TBE virus (TBEV). Through genetic characterization and phylogenetic analysis, several distinct TBEV lineages were identified, suggesting the continuous spread of these virus strains over a certain distance.
Article
Microbiology
Arnoldas Pautienius, Austeja Armonaite, Evelina Simkute, Ruta Zagrabskaite, Jurate Buitkuviene, Russell Alpizar-Jara, Juozas Grigas, Indre Zakiene, Dainius Zienius, Algirdas Salomskas, Arunas Stankevicius
Summary: A comprehensive study in Lithuania revealed a high prevalence of TBEV infection in horses, with susceptibility varying by breed, providing important evidence for using horses as sentinel species for detailed epidemiological mapping and tick surveillance studies.
Article
Virology
Arnoldas Pautienius, Gytis Dudas, Evelina Simkute, Juozas Grigas, Indre Zakiene, Algimantas Paulauskas, Austeja Armonaite, Dainius Zienius, Evaldas Slyzius, Arunas Stankevicius
Summary: Testing milk samples can be a valuable tool for investigating the spatial distribution of TBEV at a higher resolution and lower cost, as shown by this study. The geographical distribution of TBEV in milk samples correlated with the incidence of TBE in humans in 2019, indicating its potential as a reliable surveillance strategy.
Editorial Material
Medicine, General & Internal
Carmen Adella Sirbu, Constantin Stefani, Marian Mitrica, Gabriela Simona Toma, Aurelian Emil Ranetti, Any Docu-Axelerad, Aida Mihaela Manole, Ion Stefan
Summary: Some neurotropic viruses can cause specific lesions in deep structures, such as the basal ganglia and thalamus, leading to different types of epileptic seizures. This case report describes a 25-year-old male who presented with altered consciousness, agitation, and seizures after traveling to Turkey and Egypt. The diagnosis of tick-borne encephalitis was supported by cerebrospinal fluid analysis, electroencephalography, magnetic resonance imaging showing hyper signal in the basal ganglia, and IgM antibodies. The patient's seizures improved over time and the MRI images returned to almost normal, without seizure recurrence after reducing antiepileptic doses.
Article
Immunology
Ewa Bojkiewicz, Kacper Toczylowski, Sambor Grygorczuk, Beata Zelazowska-Rutkowska, Justyna Dunaj, Agnieszka Zebrowska, Piotr Czupryna, Anna Moniuszko-Malinowska, Artur Sulik
Summary: In Poland, the vaccination rate for tick-borne encephalitis is low, despite a high incidence of severe infections. A study found that many people have asymptomatic infections and have different attitudes towards the vaccine.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Dominic Adam Worku
Summary: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a viral disease prevalent in large parts of Europe and Asia, characterized by neurological symptoms that can range from mild to severe, and it often leads to long-term morbidity. The pathogenesis of TBE is not fully understood, but factors such as ticks, viral strains, host immune response, and age may contribute to the disease phenotype. The incidence of TBE is increasing and its epidemiology is changing due to global warming.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Donatella Panatto, Alexander Domnich, Daniela Amicizia, Paolo Reggio, Raffaella Iantomasi
Summary: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a locally endemic disease in Europe, with an increasing incidence. Various factors contribute to this, including social, ecological, and technological factors. Vaccination is the main method for prevention and control, but the uptake of vaccines in endemic areas is low. Cost-effectiveness assessments have shown the effectiveness of TBE vaccination, but many endemic countries, including Italy, have not conducted such assessments. Increasing awareness and vaccine coverage is crucial in reducing the burden of the disease.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Artem N. Bondaryuk, Nina V. Kulakova, Olga I. Belykh, Yurij S. Bukin
Summary: The study evaluated the temporal signal and substitution rate of different subtypes of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). The analysis showed that the TBEV Siberian subtype lacked temporal structure and could not be used for substitution rate estimation without other TBEV subtypes. The common clade of TBEV had the lowest substitution rate among tick-borne flaviviruses, and the European subtype had the lowest rate within the common clade.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Dace Zavadska, Zane Freimane, Guntis Karelis, Ineta Ermina, Lisa R. Harper, Cody Bender, Pingping Zhang, Frederick J. Angulo, Wilhelm Erber, Antra Bormane, Evija Gutmane, Zane A. Litauniece, Jevgenijs Tihonovs, Aija Griskevica, Harish Madhava, Luis Jodar
Summary: This study examined the effectiveness of Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) vaccines in Latvia. The findings showed that TBE vaccines were highly effective in preventing TBE cases, hospitalizations, moderate/severe disease, and prolonged hospitalization. Vaccine uptake and compliance should be increased in Latvia and other endemic regions.
CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2023)
Article
Virology
Penghui Li, Chen Yao, Ting Wang, Tong Wu, Wenfu Yi, Yue Zheng, Yuanjiu Miao, Jianhong Sun, Zhongyuan Tan, Yan Liu, Xiaowei Zhang, Hanzhong Wang, Zhenhua Zheng
Summary: Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), a pathogenic virus causing CNS diseases in humans, is increasingly becoming a public health threat. An infectious cDNA clone of TBEV has been successfully constructed in China, utilizing a beta-globin intron to improve genome stability and efficiently producing infectious progeny viruses in mammalian cells. This clone can be used to study genetic determinants of TBEV virulence and pathogenesis, as well as develop countermeasures against the virus.
Article
Virology
Evelina Simkute, Arnoldas Pautienius, Juozas Grigas, Paulina Urbute, Arunas Stankevicius
Summary: This study investigated the prevalence rate of TBEV in dogs living in a highly endemic region of Lithuania and evaluated the main risk factors for severe disease course and death. The results demonstrated that TBEV is a common and clinically important pathogen in dogs.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Malgorzata Kwasnik, Jerzy Rola, Wojciech Rozek
Summary: Tick-borne encephalitis virus is considered one of the most important tick-borne viral diseases in Europe and Asia. In recent years, there has been an increase in cases and the geographical range of the disease. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis is rising in more than half of European countries. The virus is transmitted between ticks, animals, and humans, with ticks and small mammals playing a role in maintaining the virus in nature. Prevention through vaccination and protection against tick bites is crucial.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Virology
Jielin Tang, Muqing Fu, Chonghui Xu, Bao Xue, Anqi Zhou, Sijie Chen, He Zhao, Yuan Zhou, Jizheng Chen, Qi Yang, Xinwen Chen
Summary: A novel strategy of using VLPs as vaccine against TBEV was developed and showed promising results in mice, including the ability to generate cross-reactive antibodies and provide protection against TBEV infection and pathology.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elizaveta Starodubova, Ksenia Tuchynskaya, Yulia Kuzmenko, Anastasia Latanova, Vera Tutyaeva, Vadim Karpov, Galina Karganova
Summary: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a zoonotic disease that can cause severe neurological complications or death. In this study, the nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) of the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) was investigated as a genetic determinant of TBE pathogenicity. The NS1 proteins of three TBEV strains belonging to different subtypes were found to have varying levels of accumulation and secretion in mouse cells. The NS1 proteins were also able to induce cytokine production and the profile of cytokines differed between the strains. These findings highlight the role of NS1 diversity in TBEV pathogenesis.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Eirini Mylonaki, Michael Seiberl, Neil Jones, Heike Bernhard, Ferdinand Otto, Georg Pilz, Eugen Trinka, Peter Wipfler
Summary: Tick-borne encephalitis is a common viral disease transmitted by ticks in Middle-East Europe and North Asia. This case report from Austria highlights the importance of considering tick-borne encephalitis in the differential diagnosis of febrile diseases and the potential transmission through unpasteurized dairy products.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Serhat Vahip Okar, Can Ebru Bekircan-Kurt, Sabri Hacioglu, Sevim Erdem-Oezdamar, Aykut Oezkul, Koray Erguenay
Summary: This prospective study identified Toscana virus as a potential cause of GBS, with some patients showing rare clinical symptoms of symptomatic Toscana virus infections.
ACTA NEUROLOGICA BELGICA
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Y. Ozbel, G. Oguz, S. K. Arserim, O. Erisoz Kasap, B. Karaoglu, A. Yilmaz, N. Emanet, F. Gunay, S. Hacioglu, M. C. Demirok, S. Toz, B. Alten, M. Nalcaci, A. Ozkul, K. Ergunay
MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Koray Ergunay, Ender Dincer, Sirri Kar, Nergis Emanet, Deniz Yalcinkaya, Pelin Fatos Polat Dincer, Annika Brinkmann, Sabri Hacioglu, Andreas Nitsche, Aykut Ozkul, Yvonne-Marie Linton
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2020)
Article
Virology
Katalin Foldes, Touraj Aligholipour Farzani, Koray Ergunay, Aykut Ozkul
Article
Virology
Annika Brinkmann, Steven Uddin, Eva Krause, Rebecca Surtees, Ender Dincer, Sirri Kar, Sabri Hacioglu, Aykut Ozkul, Koray Ergunay, Andreas Nitsche
Summary: The SISPA + nanopore sequencing method successfully screened viruses in ticks, generating data comparable to NGS and providing an effective tool for broad-range virus detection.
Article
Virology
Jens H. Kuhn, Scott Adkins, Bernard R. Agwanda, Rim Al Kubrusli, Sergey V. Alkhovsky, Gaya K. Amarasinghe, Tatjana Avsic-Zupanc, Maria A. Ayllon, Justin Bahl, Anne Balkema-Buschmann, Matthew J. Ballinger, Christopher F. Basler, Sina Bavari, Martin Beer, Nicolas Bejerman, Andrew J. Bennett, Dennis A. Bente, Eric Bergeron, Brian H. Bird, Carol D. Blair, Kim R. Blasdell, Dag-Ragnar Blystad, Jamie Bojko, Wayne B. Borth, Steven Bradfute, Rachel Breyta, Thomas Briese, Paul A. Brown, Judith K. Brown, Ursula J. Buchholz, Michael J. Buchmeier, Alexander Bukreyev, Felicity Burt, Carmen Buettner, Charles H. Calisher, Mengji Cao, Inmaculada Casas, Kartik Chandran, Remi N. Charrel, Qi Cheng, Yuya Chiaki, Marco Chiapello, Il-Ryong Choi, Marina Ciuffo, J. Christopher S. Clegg, Ian Crozier, Elena Dal Bo, Juan Carlos de la Torre, Xavier de Lamballerie, Rik L. de Swart, Humberto Debat, Nolwenn M. Dheilly, Emiliano Di Cicco, Nicholas Di Paola, Francesco Di Serio, Ralf G. Dietzgen, Michele Digiaro, Olga Dolnik, Michael A. Drebot, J. Felix Drexler, William G. Dundon, W. Paul Duprex, Ralf Durrwald, John M. Dye, Andrew J. Easton, Hideki Ebihara, Toufic Elbeaino, Koray Ergunay, Hugh W. Ferguson, Anthony R. Fooks, Marco Forgia, Pierre B. H. Formenty, Jana Franova, Juliana Freitas-Astua, Jingjing Fu, Stephanie Fuerl, Selma Gago-Zachert, George Fu Gao, Maria Laura Garcia, Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, Aura R. Garrison, Thomas Gaskin, Jean-Paul J. Gonzalez, Anthony Griffiths, Tony L. Goldberg, Martin H. Groschup, Stephan Guenther, Roy A. Hall, John Hammond, Tong Han, Jussi Hepojoki, Roger Hewson, Jiang Hong, Ni Hong, Seiji Hongo, Masayuki Horie, John S. Hu, Tao Hu, Holly R. Hughes, Florian Huettner, Timothy H. Hyndman, M. Ilyas, Risto Jalkanen, Daohong Jiang, Gilda B. Jonson, Sandra Junglen, Fujio Kadono, Karia H. Kaukinen, Michael Kawate, Boris Klempa, Jonas Klingstrom, Gary Kobinger, Igor Koloniuk, Hideki Kondo, Eugene V. Koonin, Mart Krupovic, Kenji Kubota, Gael Kurath, Lies Laenen, Amy J. Lambert, Stanley L. Langevin, Benhur Lee, Elliot J. Lefkowitz, Eric M. Leroy, Shaorong Li, Longhui Li, Jianrong Li, Huazhen Liu, Igor S. Lukashevich, Pie Maes, William Marciel de Souza, Marco Marklewitz, Sergio H. Marshall, Shin-Yi L. Marzano, Sebastien Massart, John W. McCauley, Michael Melzer, Nicole Mielke-Ehret, Kristina M. Miller, Tobi J. Ming, Ali Mirazimi, Gideon J. Mordecai, Hans-Peter Muehlbach, Elke Muehlberger, Rayapati Naidu, Tomohide Natsuaki, Jose A. Navarro, Sergey V. Netesov, Gabriele Neumann, Norbert Nowotny, Marcio R. T. Nunes, Alejandro Olmedo-Velarde, Gustavo Palacios, Vicente Pallas, Bernadett Palyi, Anna Papa, Sofia Paraskevopoulou, Adam C. Park, Colin R. Parrish, David A. Patterson, Alex Pauvolid-Correa, Janusz T. Paweska, Susan Payne, Carlotta Peracchio, Daniel R. Perez, Thomas S. Postler, Liying Qi, Sheli R. Radoshitzky, Renato O. Resende, Carina A. Reyes, Bertus K. Rima, Gabriel Robles Luna, Victor Romanowski, Paul Rota, Dennis Rubbenstroth, Luisa Rubino, Jonathan A. Runstadler, Sead Sabanadzovic, Amadou Alpha Sall, Maria S. Salvato, Rosemary Sang, Takahide Sasaya, Angela D. Schulze, Martin Schwemmle, Mang Shi, Xiaohong Shi, Zhengli Shi, Yoshifumi Shimomoto, Yukio Shirako, Stuart G. Siddell, Peter Simmonds, Manuela Sironi, Guy Smagghe, Sophie Smither, Jin-Won Song, Kirsten Spann, Jessica R. Spengler, Mark D. Stenglein, David M. Stone, Jari Sugano, Curtis A. Suttle, Amy Tabata, Ayato Takada, Shigeharu Takeuchi, David P. Tchouassi, Amy Teffer, Robert B. Tesh, Natalie J. Thornburg, Yasuhiro Tomitaka, Keizo Tomonaga, Noel Tordo, Baldwyn Torto, Jonathan S. Towner, Shinya Tsuda, Changchun Tu, Massimo Turina, Ioannis E. Tzanetakis, Janice Uchida, Tomio Usugi, Anna Maria Vaira, Marta Vallino, Bernadette van den Hoogen, Arvind Varsani, Nikos Vasilakis, Martin Verbeek, Susanne von Bargen, Jiro Wada, Victoria Wahl, Peter J. Walker, Lin-Fa Wang, Guoping Wang, Yanxiang Wang, Yaqin Wang, Muhammad Waqas, Taiyun Wei, Shaohua Wen, Anna E. Whitfield, John V. Williams, Yuri I. Wolf, Jiangxiang Wu, Lei Xu, Hironobu Yanagisawa, Caixia Yang, Zuokun Yang, F. Murilo Zerbini, Lifeng Zhai, Yong-Zhen Zhang, Song Zhang, Jinguo Zhang, Zhe Zhang, Xueping Zhou
Summary: In March 2021, the phylum Negarnaviricota was amended and expanded by four families, three subfamilies, 42 genera, and 200 species. Additionally, 39 species were renamed or moved, and seven species were abolished. This article presents the updated taxonomy of Negarnaviricota accepted by the ICTV.
ARCHIVES OF VIROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Koray Ergunay, Mucahit Kaya, Muhittin Serdar, Yakut Akyon, Engin Yilmaz
Summary: This study assessed the genome diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in Turkey and found a significant increase in nucleotide variations during the pandemic. The most frequent variations included D614G and P323L. The majority of genomes belonged in the SARS-CoV-2 haplogroup A, and no evidence of recombination was found. Variants B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1 were detected, with a statistically significant increase in the prevalence of B.1.1.7 over time.
TURKISH JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMISTRY-TURK BIYOKIMYA DERGISI
(2021)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Ceylan Polat, Koray Ergunay
Summary: The host immune system plays a crucial role in the clinical course and prognosis of COVID-19, with high neutralizing antibodies and a balanced T cell response being key for optimal immunity. Innate and mucosal defenses also contribute significantly, and immunological memory is maintained for long periods.
WORLD JOURNAL OF CLINICAL CASES
(2021)
Correction
Virology
Jens H. Kuhn, Scott Adkins, Bernard R. Agwanda, Rim Al Kubrusli, Sergey V. Alkhovsky, Gaya K. Amarasinghe, Tatjana Avsic-Zupanc, Maria A. Ayllon, Justin Bahl, Anne Balkema-Buschmann, Matthew J. Ballinger, Christopher F. Basler, Sina Bavari, Martin Beer, Nicolas Bejerman, Andrew J. Bennett, Dennis A. Bente, Eric Bergeron, Brian H. Bird, Carol D. Blair, Kim R. Blasdell, Dag-Ragnar Blystad, Jamie Bojko, Wayne B. Borth, Steven Bradfute, Rachel Breyta, Thomas Briese, Paul A. Brown, Judith K. Brown, Ursula J. Buchholz, Michael J. Buchmeier, Alexander Bukreyev, Felicity Burt, Carmen Buettner, Charles H. Calisher, Mengji Cao, Inmaculada Casas, Kartik Chandran, Remi N. Charrel, Qi Cheng, Yuya Chiaki, Marco Chiapello, Il-Ryong Choi, Marina Ciuffo, J. Christopher S. Clegg, Ian Crozier, Elena Dal Bo, Juan Carlos de la Torre, Xavier de Lamballerie, Rik L. de Swart, Humberto Debat, Nolwenn M. Dheilly, Emiliano Di Cicco, Nicholas Di Paola, Francesco Di Serio, Ralf G. Dietzgen, Michele Digiaro, Olga Dolnik, Michael A. Drebot, J. Felix Drexler, William G. Dundon, W. Paul Duprex, Ralf Durrwald, John M. Dye, Andrew J. Easton, Hideki Ebihara, Toufic Elbeaino, Koray Ergunay, Hugh W. Ferguson, Anthony R. Fooks, Marco Forgia, Pierre B. H. Formenty, Jana Franova, Juliana Freitas-Astua, Jingjing Fu, Stephanie Furl, Selma Gago-Zachert, George Fu Gao, Maria Laura Garcia, Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, Aura R. Garrison, Thomas Gaskin, Jean-Paul J. Gonzalez, Anthony Griffiths, Tony L. Goldberg, Martin H. Groschup, Stephan Guenther, Roy A. Hall, John Hammond, Tong Han, Jussi Hepojoki, Roger Hewson, Jiang Hong, Ni Hong, Seiji Hongo, Masayuki Horie, John S. Hu, Tao Hu, Holly R. Hughes, Florian Huettner, Timothy H. Hyndman, M. Ilyas, Risto Jalkanen, Daohong Jiang, Gilda B. Jonson, Sandra Junglen, Fujio Kadono, Karia H. Kaukinen, Michael Kawate, Boris Klempa, Jonas Klingstrom, Gary Kobinger, Igor Koloniuk, Hideki Kondo, Eugene V. Koonin, Mart Krupovic, Kenji Kubota, Gael Kurath, Lies Laenen, Amy J. Lambert, Stanley L. Langevin, Benhur Lee, Elliot J. Lefkowitz, Eric M. Leroy, Shaorong Li, Longhui Li, Jianrong Liu, Huazhen Liu, Igor S. Lukashevich, Piet Maes, William Marciel de Souza, Marco Marklewitz, Sergio H. Marshall, Shin-Yi L. Marzano, Sebastien Massart, John W. McCauley, Michael Melzer, Nicole Mielke-Ehret, Kristina M. Miller, Tobi J. Ming, Ali Mirazimi, Gideon J. Mordecai, Hans-Peter Muehlbach, Elke Muehlberger, Rayapati Naidu, Tomohide Natsuaki, Jose A. Navarro, Sergey V. Netesov, Gabriele Neumann, Norbert Nowotny, Marcio R. T. Nunes, Alejandro Olmedo-Velarde, Gustavo Palacios, Vicente Pallas, Bernadett Palyi, Anna Papa, Sofia Paraskevopoulou, Adam C. Park, Colin R. Parrish, David A. Patterson, Alex Pauvolid-Correa, Janusz T. Paweska, Susan Payne, Carlotta Peracchio, Daniel R. Perez, Thomas S. Postler, Liying Qi, Sheli R. Radoshitzky, Renato O. Resende, Carina A. Reyes, Bertus K. Rima, Gabriel Robles Luna, Victor Romanowski, Paul Rota, Dennis Rubbenstroth, Luisa Rubino, Jonathan A. Runstadler, Sead Sabanadzovic, Amadou Alpha Sall, Maria S. Salvato, Rosemary Sang, Takahide Sasaya, Angela D. Schulze, Martin Schwemmle, Mang Shi, Xiaohong Shi, Zhengli Shi, Yoshifumi Shimomoto, Yukio Shirako, Stuart G. Siddell, Peter Simmonds, Manuela Sironi, Guy Smagghe, Sophie Smither, Jin-Won Song, Kirsten Spann, Jessica R. Spengler, Mark D. Stenglein, David M. Stone, Jari Sugano, Curtis A. Suttle, Amy Tabata, Ayato Takada, Shigeharu Takeuchi, David P. Tchouassi, Amy Teffer, Robert B. Tesh, Natalie J. Thornburg, Yasuhiro Tomitaka, Keizo Tomonaga, Noel Tordo, Baldwyn Torto, Jonathan S. Towner, Shinya Tsuda, Changchun Tu, Massimo Turina, Ioannis E. Tzanetakis, Janice Uchida, Tomio Usugi, Anna Maria Vaira, Marta Vallino, Bernadette van den Hoogen, Arvind Varsani, Nikos Vasilakis, Martin Verbeek, Susanne von Bargen, Jiro Wada, Victoria Wahl, Peter J. Walker, Lin-Fa Wang, Guoping Wang, Yanxiang Wang, Yaqin Wang, Muhammad Waqas, Taiyun Wei, Shaohua Wen, Anna E. Whitfield, John V. Williams, Yuri I. Wolf, Jiangxiang Wu, Lei Xu, Hironobu Yanagisawa, Caixia Yang, Zuokun Yang, F. Murilo Zerbini, Lifeng Zhai, Yong-Zhen Zhang, Song Zhang, Jinguo Zhang, Zhe Zhang, Xueping Zhou
ARCHIVES OF VIROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Virology
Koray Ergunay
Summary: Empowered by interdisciplinary collaboration, we now have the tools to identify new viruses, contain future outbreaks and broadly understand natural processes toward a global health.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Ender Dincer, Mehmet Oezkan Timurkan, Bekir Oguz, Ismail Sahindokuyucu, Adem Sahan, Mustafa Ekinci, Ceylan Polat, Koray Erguenay
Summary: This study screened ticks in Anatolia for tick-borne viruses and identified the presence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) Europe 2, Jingmen tick virus (JMTV), and Tacheng tick virus 2 (TcTV-2). These viruses showed ongoing activity and a wider distribution in Anatolia and should be screened as potential etiological agents in human infections associated with tick bites.
VECTOR-BORNE AND ZOONOTIC DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Anna Papa, Marco Marklewitz, Sofia Paraskevopoulou, Aura R. Garrison, Sergey Alkhovsky, Tatjana Avsic-Zupanc, Dennis A. Bente, Eric Bergeron, Felicity Burt, Nicholas Di Paola, Koray Ergunay, Roger Hewson, Ali Mirazimi, Amadou Alpha Sall, Jessica R. Spengler, Thomas S. Postler, Gustavo Palacios, Jens H. Kuhn
Summary: Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), the most medically significant member of the bunyaviral family Nairoviridae, has traditionally been grouped into six genotypes. However, the recent decision by the Nairoviridae Study Group of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) re-classified genogroup VI as a distinct virus, Aigai virus (AIGV).
JOURNAL OF GENERAL VIROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Recep E. Ahan, Alireza Hanifehnezhad, Ebru S. Kehribar, Tuba C. Oguzoglu, Katalin Foldes, Cemile E. Ozcelik, Nazlican Filazi, Sidika Oztop, Fahreddin Palaz, Sevgen Onder, Eray U. Bozkurt, Koray Ergunay, Aykut Ozkul, Urartu Ozgur Safak Seker
Summary: The global COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact, with over 180 million people infected and over five million deaths as of January 2022. SARS-CoV-2 has been identified as the primary cause of the infection, and while the number of vaccinated individuals is increasing, there is a high demand for prophylactic drugs to ensure safe social contact. Drug molecules, including griffithsin (GRFT), have shown effectiveness in preventing hospitalization or ICU admissions. GRFT has been demonstrated to block the entry of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, Delta and Omicron, into cells, suggesting its potential in preventing the spread of COVID-19.
ACS INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Parasitology
Tugce Unalan-Altintop, Cavansir Vahabov, Koray Ergunay, Ozgur Kurt, Taylan Kav, Yakut Akyon, Sibel Erguven
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between ulcerative colitis (UC) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with Blastocystis sp. and Dientamoeba fragilis. The results showed that D. fragilis was related to older age, but no significant difference was found between patient groups. Additionally, Blastocystis sp. Subtype 3 was detected in some patients. More research is needed to unveil the pathogenicity of both protists.
Article
Virology
Joseph Kamau, Koray Ergunay, Paul W. Webala, Silvia A. Justi, Brian P. Bourke, Maureen W. Kamau, James Hassell, Mary N. Chege, David K. Mwaura, Cynthia Simiyu, Sospeter Kibiwot, Samson Onyuok, Laura Caicedo-Quiroga, Tao Li, Dawn M. Zimmerman, Yvonne-Marie Linton
Summary: Through metagenome sequencing of bat samples from Kenya, various viruses were detected, with retroviruses being the most prevalent. Bat coronaviruses, astroviruses, and other viruses were also identified. The study highlights the importance of continued monitoring of bats in Kenya to detect potentially zoonotic viruses.