West Nile virus : Time to wear Mosquito repellent

West Nile virus (WNV) activity reported to CDC, by state — United States, 2015 (as of 28 July 2015)

West Nile virus (WNV) is most commonly transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. You can reduce your risk of being infected with WNV by using insect repellent and wearing protective clothing to prevent mosquito bites. There are no medications to treat or vaccines to prevent WNV infection. Fortunately, most people infected with WNV will have no symptoms. About 1 in 5 people who are infected will develop a fever with other symptoms. Less than 1% of infected people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, neurologic illness.

State	Neuro-invasive	Fever	Total	Deaths	WNV +Blood Donors
Alabama	1	0	1	0	0
Arizona	3	2	5	0	10
California	1	0	1	1	2
Colorado	1	0	1	0	0
Delaware	0	1	1	0	0
Kansas	0	2	2	0	1
Louisiana	3	0	3	0	4
Mississippi	0	2	2	0	0
Montana	1	0	1	0	0
Nebraska	0	3	3	0	4
Nevada	0	0	0	0	2
New Mexico	1	0	1	0	0
Oklahoma	2	3	5	0	0
North Dakota	0	1	1	0	0
South Dakota	0	4	4	0	1
Tennessee	0	0	0	0	1
Texas	1	3	4	0	2
Virginia	1	0	1	0	0
Washington	0	1	1	0	1
Wyoming	0	1	1	0	0
Totals	15	23	38	1	28

Health Research: Changing the Color of Light ♦ Changing the Color of Light ♦ Fighting mosquito resistance to insecticides ♦ Clues to turning genes off

Changing the Color of Light Researchers have developed a method that could improve medical imaging and cancer treatments and increase the efficiency of commercial solar cells by 25 to 30 percent.

Gene-sequence swap using CRISPR to cure hemophilia For the first time, chromosomal defects responsible for hemophilia have been corrected in patient-specific iPSCs using CRISPR-Cas9 nucleases. Hemophilia A occurs in about 1 in 5,000 male births and almost half of severe cases are caused by identified "chromosomal inversions." In a chromosomal inversion, the order of the base pairs on the chromosome are reversed so the gene doesn't express properly and the sufferer lacks the blood coagulation factor VIII (F8) gene, which causes blood to clot in healthy people.

Fighting mosquito resistance to insecticides Controlling mosquitoes that carry human diseases is a global health challenge as their ability to resist insecticides now threatens efforts to prevent epidemics. Scientists have identified new genetic markers for mosquito resistance to insecticides, which could improve its detection in the field.

Simple flip of genetic switch determines aging or longevity in animals When does aging really begin? Scientists now have a molecular clue. In a study of the roundworm C. elegans, they found that adult cells abruptly begin their downhill slide when an animal reaches reproductive maturity. A genetic switch starts the aging process by turning off cell stress responses that protect the cell by keeping important proteins folded and functional. Germline stem cells throw the switch in early adulthood, after the animal starts to reproduce, ensuring its line will live on.

Clues to turning genes off Scientists have unraveled how an important plant protein, known as TOPLESS, interacts with other molecules responsible for turning genes off. The findings in plants provide a general model across species for this type of gene silencing, which is linked to several vital biological functions in humans.

Health News :FDA posts Blue Bell inspection reports ♦ Salmonella linked sushi now totals 53 cases in 9 states ♦ Control of robotic arm using thoughts alone

FDA posts Blue Bell inspection reports 2007-2014 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday posted four additional inspection reports of Blue Bell Creameries facilities from 2007-2012. The four join recent FDA inspection reports of three Blue Bell plants performed before and after the company’s total product recall.

Salmonella cases linked to raw tuna sushi now totals 53 cases in 9 states According to updates posted Thursday by both the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there are now 53 people in 9 states infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L Ten of those sickened have been hospitalized.

Control of robotic arm using thoughts alone Through a clinical collaboration between Caltech, Keck Medicine of USC and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, a 34-year-old paralyzed man is the first person in the world to have a neural prosthetic device implanted in a region of the brain where intentions are made, giving him the ability to perform a fluid hand-shaking gesture, drink a beverage, and even play 'rock, paper, scissors,' using a robotic arm

Mosquito sex-determining gene could help fight dengue fever A gene responsible for sex determination in mosquitoes that can transmit yellow fever, dengue, and chikungunya viruses has been identified. Only female mosquitoes bite because they need blood for developing eggs, and researchers believe that a higher ratio of males could reduce disease transmission.

Why you need one vaccine for measles and many for the flu While the influenza virus mutates constantly and requires a yearly shot that offers a certain percentage of protection, old reliable measles needs only a two-dose vaccine during childhood for lifelong immunity. A new study has an explanation: The surface proteins that the measles virus uses to enter cells are ineffective if they suffer any mutation, meaning that any changes to the virus come at a major cost.

Chikungunya risk to travelers to Caribbean, Central and South America

Travelers to area remain at risk through fall and winter

Fall in the United States means residents in most of the country will see fewer mosquitoes and less risk of the diseases they spread. However, the chikungunya outbreak in Caribbean and Central and South American countries continues to spread with no sign of slowing down. Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are warning that the painful mosquito-borne disease will likely continue to infect travelers to the region during the rest of this year and beyond.

The outbreak, which began last December, had caused an estimated 795,000 chikungunya fever cases in 37 countries and territories in the Western Hemisphere as of the end of October. More than 1,600 travelers returning to the United States with chikungunya fever have been reported (as of Nov. 4, 2014). Before this outbreak, an average of 28 travelers with chikungunya fever returned to the United States each year.

CDC estimates that about 9 million people travel between the United States and Caribbean each year. During fall and winter, people in the United States might not be thinking about mosquitoes as a risk for diseases. So those who will be visiting the Caribbean or Central or South America should be aware of the risk of chikungunya in these areas this fall and winter and remember their insect repellent and other tips for staying safe.

“The beginning of fall means that mosquito problems in the continental United States will be decreasing. However, travelers to areas where the chikungunya outbreak continues are at risk of becoming infected.  It is important that travelers understand these risks and take appropriate actions to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes,” said Roger S. Nasci, Ph.D., chief of CDC’s Arboviral Diseases Branch.

Preventing mosquito bites is the best way to avoid chikungunya and other mosquito-borne illnesses. The mosquitoes that spread chikungunya bite mostly during the daytime. CDC recommends using insect repellent and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants during the day and staying in air-conditioned or well-screened rooms at night. Those using sunscreen should apply insect repellent after sunscreen.

Some travelers may be more likely to get chikungunya, depending on where they travel and the length of their trip. Travelers more likely to have severe disease if they are infected (high-risk groups) include people older than 65 and those with arthritis or serious underlying medical conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, or diabetes. CDC advises travelers in high-risk groups to discuss their travel plans with their health care provider before leaving.

People infected with chikungunya virus typically develop fever and joint pain. Other symptoms can include muscle aches, headaches, joint swelling, or rash. Travelers who return from areas with chikungunya activity and have symptoms of the disease should seek medical care and tell their health care provider about their recent travel.

Infection with chikungunya virus is rarely fatal, but the joint pain seen with chikungunya can often be severe and debilitating. The virus is not spread between people. There is no vaccine and no specific treatment for the infection. Patients recover in about a week, although some people have long-term joint pain. Infection is thought to provide lifelong immunity.

Before taking a trip, travelers can check the latest CDC recommendations at www.cdc.gov/travel (under travel notices) and learn about ongoing chikungunya activity at www.cdc.gov/chikungunya. For more information on preventing mosquito bites, visit:http://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/prevention/index.html.

Experimental Chikungunya Vaccine Induces Robust Antibody Response

An experimental vaccine to prevent the mosquito-borne viral illness chikungunya elicited neutralizing antibodies in all 25 adult volunteers who participated in a recent early-stage clinical trial conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

The most distinctive symptom of chikungunya infection is severe joint pain accompanied by headache and fever. There are currently no vaccines or specific drug treatments for chikungunya. First identified in East Africa in the early 1950s, chikungunya virus caused sporadic illness in Africa and large urban outbreaks in Thailand and India in the 1960s and 1970s. It first appeared in the Western Hemisphere in late 2013.

As of August 8, more than 570,000 confirmed or suspected cases had been reported throughout the Americas. In the continental United States, 484 cases have been reported as of August 5, and the first two locally acquired infections were detected in Florida in mid-July.

“The two species of mosquito that spread chikungunya virus are found in parts of the continental United States, so it may just be a matter of time before this illness gains a foothold here,” said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. “Therefore, it is prudent to begin addressing this emerging public health threat with the development of vaccines, such as this one, which was designed and tested by scientists from the NIAID Vaccine Research Center.”

In 2010, Vaccine Research Center (VRC) scientists and colleagues tested this candidate chikungunya vaccine in nonhuman primates. All of the immunized animals were protected from infection when later exposed to chikungunya virus.

In the newly reported trial, 23 healthy volunteers received three injections (two other volunteers received two injections) of vaccine at one of three different dosages (10, 20 or 40 micrograms) over a 20-week span. Antibody production was measured at multiple time points following each injection. Investigators detected chikungunya neutralizing antibodies in all volunteers following the second injection, with a significant boost of neutralizing antibodies seen following the third injection. Vaccine-induced antibodies persisted in all volunteers, even those who received the lowest dosage, for at least 11 months after the final vaccination, suggesting that the vaccine could provide durable protection against disease.

“The candidate vaccine prompted a robust immunological response in recipients and was very well tolerated,” noted VRC scientist Julie E. Ledgerwood, D.O., principal investigator of the trial. “Notably, the levels of neutralizing antibody produced in response to the experimental vaccine were comparable to those seen in two patients who had recovered from a chikungunya virus infection acquired elsewhere. This observation gives us additional confidence that this vaccine would provide as much protection as natural infection.”

Whereas traditional vaccines are typically made from either killed viruses or from weakened live viruses, the experimental vaccine used in the trial is a different type: a virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine. VLP vaccines contain the outer shell proteins of a virus without any of the material the virus needs to replicate inside cells. VLP vaccines often prompt an immune reaction similar to that of natural, whole virus and have a number of potential advantages over traditional vaccines, said Dr. Ledgerwood. Notably, because no live viruses are used in their manufacture, VLP vaccines do not need to be produced under high-level biocontainment conditions.

This candidate vaccine was delivered without an adjuvant — a substance added to vaccines to improve the immune response — but still prompted a good response, said Dr. Ledgerwood. If the candidate were to be formulated with an adjuvant, she added, it might be possible to achieve similar immune responses at lower vaccine dosages.