Microbes and infection
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Microbes and infection · Feb 2015
ReviewEbola virus disease: a highly fatal infectious disease reemerging in West Africa.
Ebolavirus can cause a highly fatal and panic-generating human disease which may jump from bats to other mammals and human. High viral loads in body fluids allow efficient transmission by contact. Lack of effective antivirals, vaccines and public health infrastructures in parts of Africa make it difficult to health workers to contain the outbreak.
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Microbes and infection · Feb 2015
ReviewDevelopment of therapeutics for treatment of Ebola virus infection.
Ebola virus infection can cause Ebola virus disease (EVD). Patients usually show severe symptoms, and the fatality rate can reach up to 90%. No licensed medicine is available. In this review, development of therapeutics for treatment of Ebola virus infection and EVD will be discussed.
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Microbes and infection · Feb 2015
ReviewGenetic tuning of avian influenza A (H7N9) virus promotes viral fitness within different species.
Since their emergence in eastern China, novel influenza A (H7N9) viruses have been continuously circulating in poultry and causing human infections and death. We have proposed a "genetic tuning" mechanism for the genesis and evolution of the novel H7N9 virus during interspecies transmission.
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Microbes and infection · Feb 2015
ReviewDevelopment of vaccines for prevention of Ebola virus infection.
Ebola virus infection causes severe hemorrhagic fevers with high fatality rates up to 90% in humans, for which no effective treatment is currently available. The ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa that has caused over 14,000 human infections and over 5000 deaths underscores its serious threat to the public health. ⋯ This review aims to summarize the advancement of different strategies for Ebola vaccine development with a focus on the discussion of their protective efficacies and possible limitations. In addition, the development of animal models for efficacy evaluation of Ebola vaccines and the mechanism of immune protection against Ebola virus infection are also discussed.