ARCHIVED - Infectious Diseases News Brief - March 16, 2012

 

Canada Communicable Disease Report
CCDR Weekly

Primates Protected From Ebola, Marburg Viruses By Post-Exposure Antibody Treatment

Army scientists have demonstrated, for the first time, that antibody-based therapies can successfully protect monkeys from the deadly Ebola and Marburg viruses. In addition, the animals were fully protected even when treatment was administered two days post-infection, an accomplishment unmatched by any experimental therapy for these viruses to date. The filoviruses, Ebola and Marburg, cause hemorrhagic fever with human case fatality rates as high as 90 percent. They are a global health concern and are considered potential biological threat agents. Currently there are no available vaccines or therapies approved for use in humans, making the development of such products a high priority. In the first study, monkeys infected with Marburg virus were treated with antibody 15 to 30 minutes post-exposure, with additional treatments on days 4 and 8. The animals were completely protected, with no signs of disease or detectable levels of virus in their bloodstreams. Furthermore, all the monkeys generated an immune response to Marburg virus and survived subsequent re-challenge with the virus. In the next set of studies, monkeys were infected with either Ebola or Marburg virus and treatments were delayed 48 hours, with additional treatments on days 4 and 8 post-exposure. The delayed treatments protected both sets of animals from challenge. In each group, two of the three animals had no clinical signs of illness following treatment, with the third developing mild symptoms followed by full recovery. For nearly a decade, the filovirus research community has disregarded antibody-based therapies due to numerous failed attempts to protect monkeys against filovirus challenge.

Source: Medical News Today 15 March 2012

Mycoplasma Genitalium Bacterial STD Leads To Potential HIV

According to a study conducted by researchers at RTI International and published in the March 13 issue of AIDS, African women who are infected with a common sexually transmitted bacterial infection called Mycoplasma genitalium are two times more likely to acquire HIV infection. M. genitalium is a small parasitic bacterium STD, first identified in 1980. The infection causes inflammatory conditions of the reproductive tract and genitals (urethritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, and cervicitis.) Individuals may be infected with M. genitalium for years without displaying any symptoms. A simple course of antibiotics are a successful cure for M. genitalium. In order to evaluate the effects of M. genitalium on HIV risk, the researchers examined data from a larger study of HIV acquisition among young women in Uganda and Zimbabwe. The researchers compared 190 women who became infected with HIV during follow-up to women of a comparable age and risk who were not infected with HIV. The team examined women in both groups for the presence of M. genitalium, which was assessed as a risk factor for HIV infection. The researchers found that in initial samples when all participants were HIV free, approximately 15% of women who later developed HIV were infected with M. genitalium compared with 6.5% in women who did not develop the disease. Furthermore, the team found that M. genitalium was more prevalent that other bacterial sexually transmitted diseases, such as chlamydia and gonorrhea. After adjusting for other factors, such as certain other STDs, the team discovered that participants with M. genitalium at the start of the study were two times more likely to acquire HIV. According to the researchers, M. genitalium was responsible for approximately 9% of all HIV infections occurring in the study. Although, other factors, such as having a partner with HIV risk factors, or the presence of herpes simplex virus 2 (the virus that causes genital herpes), were more strongly linked to HIV risk.

Source: Medical News Today 13 March 2012

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