Research in brief

Abstract

Section snippets

Effects of Wolbachia on alphaviruses

A study examined effects of transient somatic infection with two Wolbachia bacterial strains—wAlbB and wMel—on Sindbis virus, O’nyong-nyong virus, and Mayaro virus infections in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Researchers infected adult female A aegypti mosquitoes with either 0·1 μL of Wolbachia (10¹⁰ bacteria per mL) or cell lysate control, followed by infection with Sindbis virus or O’nyong-nyong virus after 7 days, or Mayaro virus after 8 days. Sindbis virus infection rates (the proportion of

Extrahepatic hepatitis E virus infection

Infection with hepatitis E virus (HEV) can lead to extrahepatic manifestations, including diseases of the peripheral nervous system such as Bell's palsy and Guillain–Barré syndrome. A cell-culture model study showed that human-specific induced primary neurons (generated from reprogrammed renal epithelial cells) were directly susceptible to HEV infection, particularly those neurons possessing neurites (eg, axons or dendrites). The neurons lacked innate immune responses at 5 days after challenge

Lenacapavir for HIV prevention

In a phase 3 trial in seven countries, HIV-negative cisgender men, transgender individuals, and gender-non-binary individuals were assigned either subcutaneous lenacapavir every 26 weeks (927 mg as two 1·5 mL injections) or daily oral emtricitabine (200 mg)–tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF; 300 mg) tablets, and followed up at weeks 4, 8, and 13, then every 13 weeks. The primary endpoint of new HIV infection occurred in two of 2179 participants in the lenacapavir group (0·10 infections per 100

Hepatitis B transmission during pregnancy

The recommended standard of care to prevent mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) during pregnancy is maternal TDF at gestational week 28, plus a HBV vaccine series and immunoglobulin for the infant at birth. However, HBV immunoglobulin is unavailable in some geographical areas. A randomised trial in China investigated earlier TDF given at gestational week 16 plus HBV vaccination only compared with standard of care in infected pregnant women with viral DNA levels greater than

Avian influenza H5N1 haemagglutinin specificity for human receptors

As of Dec 9, 35 human cases of H5N1 avian influenza have occurred in the USA in 2024 through exposure to infected cattle and birds, including cases of the highly pathogenic clade 2.3.4.4b virus. Although a mismatch in receptor specificity of the influenza haemagglutinin (HA) that binds sialic acid receptors is one of the barriers for transmission of avian viruses to humans, a study of the HA in the virus from the first-reported case of a human infected with H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b in the USA showed