Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2016/11/zika-scan-nov-14-2016
Zika Scan for Nov 14, 2016
Zika and chikungunya from one bite; Coinfections and neuro problems
Filed Under:
Zika; Chikungunya; Dengue
[h=3]Study confirms mosquito capacity to transmit Zika, chikungunya at same time[/h] New experiments suggest that mosquitoes can infect humans with Zika and chikungunya viruses in a single bite, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).
Researchers from Colorado State University allowed mosquitoes to feed on blood that contained dengue, chikungunya, or Zika, either alone in combination, according to a ASTMH press release. So far they've found that the insects can secrete enough of Zika and chikungunya in their saliva to transmit both diseases at the same time.
It's not currently clear if the mosquitoes can pass all three diseases at the same time to humans, though an earlier lab study found that Aedes mosquitoes can carry dengue and chikungunya at the same time, which was confirmed by the Colorado State group.
The team raised concerns about the rising opportunities for mosquitoes to encounter more than one of these viruses at a time. Claudia Ruckert, PhD, who presented the study at the meeting, said in the press release, "We need to understand more about what happens in both mosquitoes and people when all of these viruses are circulating in close proximity."
In another key finding from the study, coinfection with chikungunya inhibits Zika infection in Aedes mosquitoes, meaning one virus might outcompete the other in the vector, which affect the epidemiology of cocirculating viruses.
Nov 14 ASTMH abstract
[h=3]Brazil case reports find severe neuro problems for 3 mosquito-borne viruses[/h] Brazilian scientists who studied neurologic complications in hospital patients during a 4-month period in 2015 when Zika, dengue, and chikungunya were circulating found that all three diseases can lead to severe problems, including a rare disorder called Opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia syndrome (OMS), according to another report to be presented this week at the ASTMH annual meeting.
The team described findings from 21 patients who were treated at a facility in the northeastern city of Salvador-Bahia during an unprecedented outbreak involving all three mosquito borne viruses. They said they were very surprised to see the two cases of OMS, also called dancing eyes-dancing feet syndrome, in two unrelated patients in the same hospital at about the same time. However, they said it's difficult to sort out what coinfection combination was to blame: one patient had Zika and dengue, while the other was sick with chikungunya and dengue.
It's possible that OMS was triggered by an autoimmune disorder, similar to the pattern seen in Zika patients who experience Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), the group suggests, noting that they also saw GBS in patients who didn't have Zika, but did have either chikungunya or dengue.
Isadora Siqueira, MD, PhD, with Brazil's Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, said in an ASTMH press release that each of the viruses has the potential to cause a range of neurological complications, some of them severe, and that patients should be monitored for symptoms. "What's very difficult is to determine is whether having a coninfection with two of these viruses increases the risk of neurological problems. We are still looking closely at the case of the patients who was infected with both chikungunya and dengue."
Nov 16 ASTMH abstract
Zika Scan for Nov 14, 2016
Zika and chikungunya from one bite; Coinfections and neuro problems
Filed Under:
Zika; Chikungunya; Dengue
[h=3]Study confirms mosquito capacity to transmit Zika, chikungunya at same time[/h] New experiments suggest that mosquitoes can infect humans with Zika and chikungunya viruses in a single bite, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).
Researchers from Colorado State University allowed mosquitoes to feed on blood that contained dengue, chikungunya, or Zika, either alone in combination, according to a ASTMH press release. So far they've found that the insects can secrete enough of Zika and chikungunya in their saliva to transmit both diseases at the same time.
It's not currently clear if the mosquitoes can pass all three diseases at the same time to humans, though an earlier lab study found that Aedes mosquitoes can carry dengue and chikungunya at the same time, which was confirmed by the Colorado State group.
The team raised concerns about the rising opportunities for mosquitoes to encounter more than one of these viruses at a time. Claudia Ruckert, PhD, who presented the study at the meeting, said in the press release, "We need to understand more about what happens in both mosquitoes and people when all of these viruses are circulating in close proximity."
In another key finding from the study, coinfection with chikungunya inhibits Zika infection in Aedes mosquitoes, meaning one virus might outcompete the other in the vector, which affect the epidemiology of cocirculating viruses.
Nov 14 ASTMH abstract
[h=3]Brazil case reports find severe neuro problems for 3 mosquito-borne viruses[/h] Brazilian scientists who studied neurologic complications in hospital patients during a 4-month period in 2015 when Zika, dengue, and chikungunya were circulating found that all three diseases can lead to severe problems, including a rare disorder called Opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia syndrome (OMS), according to another report to be presented this week at the ASTMH annual meeting.
The team described findings from 21 patients who were treated at a facility in the northeastern city of Salvador-Bahia during an unprecedented outbreak involving all three mosquito borne viruses. They said they were very surprised to see the two cases of OMS, also called dancing eyes-dancing feet syndrome, in two unrelated patients in the same hospital at about the same time. However, they said it's difficult to sort out what coinfection combination was to blame: one patient had Zika and dengue, while the other was sick with chikungunya and dengue.
It's possible that OMS was triggered by an autoimmune disorder, similar to the pattern seen in Zika patients who experience Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), the group suggests, noting that they also saw GBS in patients who didn't have Zika, but did have either chikungunya or dengue.
Isadora Siqueira, MD, PhD, with Brazil's Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, said in an ASTMH press release that each of the viruses has the potential to cause a range of neurological complications, some of them severe, and that patients should be monitored for symptoms. "What's very difficult is to determine is whether having a coninfection with two of these viruses increases the risk of neurological problems. We are still looking closely at the case of the patients who was infected with both chikungunya and dengue."
Nov 16 ASTMH abstract