Biosafety and Health最新文献

{"title":"Advances and perspectives for animal models of chikungunya virus infection","authors":"Meng Zou,&nbsp;Zhihui Zheng,&nbsp;Wei Wang,&nbsp;Hongqi Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.09.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.09.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the global warming, the expansion of transportation networks, a tremendous increase in international travel and exchange, and the ongoing evolution of viruses, chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has spread beyond its African origins and achieved global distribution, posing a significant threat to public health worldwide. Under such circumstances, animal models serve as indispensable tools for elucidating CHIKV pathogenesis and developing antiviral strategies. The currently established animal models of CHIKV infection can recapitulate various aspects of the clinical disease at different levels of complexity. However, each model possesses distinct advantages and limitations, rendering them suitable for rather specific research applications. Furthermore, the clinical realities of CHIKV infection in patients with comorbidities or coinfections with other viruses, coupled with emerging initiatives to reduce animal model reliance, present substantial challenges for the future development and application of these models. This review summarizes the natural history and susceptible host of CHIKV, recent advances in understanding the pathogenesis and animal model development, and prospects for animal models of CHIKV infection. The aim is to provide a reference for the selection, utilization, and development of appropriate animal models for CHIKV research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":36178,"journal":{"name":"Biosafety and Health","volume":"7 6","pages":"Pages 357-368"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145808494","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Harnessing a high-quality Salmonella genome catalog to combat antimicrobial resistance and inform outbreak responses","authors":"Beiwen Zheng ,&nbsp;Yi Liu ,&nbsp;Yonghong Xiao","doi":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.09.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.09.009","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36178,"journal":{"name":"Biosafety and Health","volume":"7 6","pages":"Pages 345-347"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145808520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sustained circulation of Aedes albopictus-derived novel almendraviruses in the urban parks","authors":"Xi Zhang ,&nbsp;Chengyu Liu ,&nbsp;Yang Han ,&nbsp;Junying She ,&nbsp;Wanqi Wu ,&nbsp;Lili Wang ,&nbsp;Jingdong Song ,&nbsp;George F. Gao ,&nbsp;Ziqian Xu ,&nbsp;Hao Liang ,&nbsp;Jun Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.10.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.10.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The <em>Rhabdoviridae</em> family comprises a diverse range of negative-sense single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) viruses, including significant human and mammalian viruses transmitted by various arthropod species. Herein, using <em>Aedes albopictus</em> (<em>Ae. albopictus</em>) samples collected in two urban parks during 2023 and 2024, through metagenomics sequencing, 16 sequences were identified as putative novel viruses, showing closest homology to insect-specific viruses, mycoviruses, or plant-associated viruses. Notably, two novel viruses, Aedes albopictus almendravirus GCCDC15 (Aealb-AlmV GCCDC15) and Aedes albopictus almendravirus GCCDC16 (Aealb-AlmV GCCDC16) were identified and successfully isolated. Both of these viruses belong to the genus <em>Almendravirus</em> within the <em>Rhabdoviridae</em> family. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Aealb-AlmV GCCDC15 and GCCDC16 are distantly related to Coot Bay virus (the United States of America, 2013) and Menghai rhabdovirus (Yunnan Province, China, 2017). The genetic distances between these two viruses and their most similar viruses are marked by 59.85 % and 87.20 % of amino acid identity in the L protein, respectively, supporting their classification as two new species in the <em>Rhabdoviridae</em> family. Cytopathic effects and rod-like virions were observed in mosquito cells (C6/36) after inoculating with supernatants from the <em>Ae. albopictus</em> samples. To investigate the natural distribution and persistence of the novel almendraviruses, we conducted a specific reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) screening of <em>Ae. albopictus</em> mosquitoes collected from two urban parks across different time points. The assays confirmed the presence of both Aealb-AlmV GCCDC15 and GCCDC16 in mosquito populations. Critically, these viruses were detected repeatedly over successive sampling periods and in mosquitoes from geographically distinct sites within the urban environment. In summary, our study delineates the virome characteristics of <em>Aedes</em> mosquitoes in the urban ecosystem and successfully isolated two novel rhabdoviruses. The recurrent detection provides clear evidence for the sustained circulation of <em>Ae. albopictus</em>-derived almendraviruses in urban parks, highlighting their ongoing transmission and establishment in these habitats.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":36178,"journal":{"name":"Biosafety and Health","volume":"7 6","pages":"Pages 369-376"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145808522","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An explainable artificial intelligence framework reveals mutations associated with drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis","authors":"Hui Cen ,&nbsp;Peng Zhang ,&nbsp;Yunchao Ling ,&nbsp;Guoping Zhao ,&nbsp;Guoqing Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.11.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.11.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the mechanisms of drug resistance in <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</em> (MTB) is essential for the rapid detection of resistance and for guiding effective treatment, ultimately contributing to reducing the global burden of tuberculosis (TB). Under anti-TB drugs pressure, MTB continues to accumulate resistance loci. The current repertoire of known resistance-associated mutations requires further refinement, necessitating efficient methods for the timely identification of potential resistance sites. Here, we introduce xAI-MTBDR, an explainable artificial intelligence framework designed to identify potential resistance-associated mutations and predict drug resistance in MTB. It outperforms state-of-the-art methods in predicting drug resistance for all first-line drugs, and scoring each mutation’s contribution to resistance. By leveraging public whole-genome sequencing data from nearly 40,000 MTB isolates, the framework identified 788 candidate resistance-related mutations and revealed 27 potential resistance markers, several of which are positioned closer to their respective drugs in protein structures than known resistance mutations, suggesting a potentially more direct role in mediating resistance. Furthermore, these scores enabled the framework to efficiently subgroup isolates with different resistance mechanisms and reflect varying levels of resistance. The framework serves as a valuable tool for accurate detection of drug-resistant MTB and offers new insights into its underlying mechanisms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":36178,"journal":{"name":"Biosafety and Health","volume":"7 6","pages":"Pages 384-394"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145808525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Attribution of super-spreaders to the COVID-19 outbreak","authors":"Rui Wang,&nbsp;Jianping Huang,&nbsp;Xinbo Lian,&nbsp;Yingjie Zhao,&nbsp;Shujuan Hu,&nbsp;Beidou Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.09.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.09.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The explosive growth during the early stages and the sustained transmission in the later phases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may be closely linked to superspreading events (SSEs), yet in-depth research into their specific mechanisms and quantitative effects remains limited. This study, based on data from 4,519 COVID-19 cases across eight regions in China, reconstructed transmission chains and quantified key parameters such as the basic reproduction number (<em>R</em>₀) and dispersion parameter (<em>k</em>), revealing a high degree of heterogeneity in COVID-19 transmission. The results showed that the majority of COVID-19 cases were mild, with female cases in some regions being significantly older than males. Epidemic curves were highly similar in geographically proximal areas, with the longest transmission chain reaching nine generations. The transmission parameters revealed a serial interval of 1.27–4.71 days, <em>R</em>₀ ranging from 0.87 to 2.65, and <em>k</em> values between 0.50–2.04, demonstrating that super-spreaders serve as critical drivers of epidemic spread. We found that 1.35 % of cases identified as super-spreaders directly responsible for 40.09 % of secondary cases. Occupationally, students and catering staff were identified as high-risk groups for super-spreading. Geographically, household or community transmission served as the main driver of SSEs in six regions, while school-based transmission dominated in one region. These findings provide crucial scientific evidence for advancing our understanding of COVID-19 transmission dynamics and informing precision prevention strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":36178,"journal":{"name":"Biosafety and Health","volume":"7 6","pages":"Pages 395-402"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145808526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chikungunya virus: Current situation and future challenges","authors":"Teng Zhao ,&nbsp;Teng Chen ,&nbsp;Jie Zhang ,&nbsp;Chunxiao Li ,&nbsp;Chengfeng Qin","doi":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.10.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.10.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a mosquito-borne <em>alphavirus</em> first identified in Tanzania in 1952, has expanded to more than 100 countries posing increasing global health risks. The 2025 epidemic in Réunion Island and local transmission in Foshan City, Guangdong Province, China, illustrated the growing risk of global dissemination. For primary vectors <em>Aedes aegypti</em> and <em>Aedes albopictus</em>, their behavioral traits (such as daytime biting, skip oviposition, and multiple-host feeding) substantially increased transmission potential and complicate control. Two vaccines, IXCHIQ® (live-attenuated) and VIMKUNYA^TM (virus-like particle), have been licensed in Europe and the United States, and multiple candidates including inactivated, subunit, viral-vectored, and messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines are under development. This review summarized current knowledge on CHIKV virology, epidemiology, evolution, vaccines, and vector control, to provide insights for effective management of this re-emerging arboviral threat.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":36178,"journal":{"name":"Biosafety and Health","volume":"7 6","pages":"Pages 348-356"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145808521","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"TempSnap-Trace: A temporal snapshot-based framework for haplotype network tracing","authors":"Jiajun Liu ,&nbsp;Decheng Li ,&nbsp;Yixue Li ,&nbsp;Tao Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.11.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.11.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To address the challenge of tracking large-scale viral evolutionary history, this study introduces TempSnap-Trace, a novel computational framework designed for this purpose. The methodology processes genomic data to generate variant-featured haplotype strings. Subsequently, the minimum-cost arborescence network (McAN) algorithm is employed to infer phylogenetic relationships, from which weighted temporal snapshot networks are constructed. Core evolutionary nodes are then identified using community detection approach. This method integrates mutation sites, network topology, and directional information to reconstruct backbone evolutionary pathways based on inter-community similarity over time. Compared to community detection methods based on unweighted graphs, this approach increased modularity by 17.4 % and reduced code length by 30.1 %. This approach was validated on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) data, where it successfully identified the French B.1 lineage as a key transmission hub and accurately traced the backbone evolutionary paths of major variants, including Beta (B.1.351) and Zeta (P.2). Its utility was further demonstrated by delineating the evolutionary trajectory of the Mpox IIb B.1 variant. Furthermore, through extensive parallelization and algorithmic optimizations, the framework exhibits exceptional computational efficiency and scalability: in benchmark tests against the viral genome evolutionary analysis system (VENAS) workflow, our end-to-end pipeline demonstrated a 27-fold speedup (55.1 s <em>vs.</em> 1,492.6 s) and successfully processed a massive dataset in 23.6 h that caused VENAS to fail due to memory limitations. These findings validate the utility of TempSnap-Trace for large-scale viral surveillance, highlighting its distinct advantages in cross-border transmission warning and variant origin tracing. The code of TempSnap-Trace is available at <span><span>https://github.com/Jiajun0413/TempSnap-Trace</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":36178,"journal":{"name":"Biosafety and Health","volume":"7 6","pages":"Pages 403-414"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145808519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Clinical characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with chronic hepatitis B during interferon antiviral therapy","authors":"Shiyu Wang ,&nbsp;Ziyu Zhang ,&nbsp;Xinxin Li ,&nbsp;Wen Deng ,&nbsp;Yaqin Zhang ,&nbsp;Weihua Cao ,&nbsp;Xin Wei ,&nbsp;Zixuan Gao ,&nbsp;Linmei Yao ,&nbsp;Shuojie Wang ,&nbsp;Yao Xie ,&nbsp;Minghui Li","doi":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.10.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.10.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To investigate the clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) during interferon antiviral therapy and to explore the correlation between interferon use and COVID-19 infection and clinical indicators in these patients. A retrospective study was conducted on 477 Patient with CHB who visited the Second Hepatology Department of Ditan Hospital from December 2022 to February 2023. Patients were divided into an interferon group and a nucleoside analogue group based on whether they received interferon treatment. COVID-19 infection and fever duration were the primary indicators, while blood routine and liver function were the secondary indicators. Differences in COVID-19 infection rate, fever duration, and related laboratory tests between the two groups were compared. There were 184 patients in the interferon group and 293 patients in the nucleoside analogue group. The COVID-19 infection rate was 73.91 % (136/184) in the interferon group and 92.15 % (270/293) in the nucleoside analogue group, with a statistically significant difference (<em>χ</em>² = 29.67, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001). After COVID-19 infection, the fever duration was shorter in the interferon group than in the nucleoside analogue group, with a statistically significant difference (<em>χ</em>² = 130.15, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that interferon use was an independent influencing factor for COVID-19 (odds ratio = 0.25, 95 % confidence interval: 0.14–0.43, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001). Compared with the nucleoside analogue group, the levels of white blood cells, neutrophils, lymphocytes, platelets, and aminotransferases were significantly different in the interferon group (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). There were no differences between the two groups in creatinine and cardiac enzymes (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05). Interferon therapy can reduce the COVID-19 infection rate in patient with CHB and shorten the fever duration to a certain extent.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":36178,"journal":{"name":"Biosafety and Health","volume":"7 6","pages":"Pages 377-383"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145808523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Application progress and biosafety challenges of gene editing and synthetic biotechnology in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases","authors":"Zixuan Gao ,&nbsp;Yuanjiao Gao ,&nbsp;Shuojie Wang ,&nbsp;Xinxin Li ,&nbsp;Weihua Cao ,&nbsp;Wen Deng ,&nbsp;Linmei Yao ,&nbsp;Xin Wei ,&nbsp;Ziyu Zhang ,&nbsp;Shiyu Wang ,&nbsp;Yaqin Zhang ,&nbsp;Minghui Li ,&nbsp;Yao Xie","doi":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.09.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.09.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global infectious disease prevention faces escalating challenges due to the continual emergence of novel pathogens and rapid viral mutations. Synthetic biology has revolutionized this field by enabling precise diagnostics, innovative vaccine platforms, and targeted therapeutics, yet it simultaneously raises concerns regarding dual-use potential, biosafety, and ethical governance. This systematic review (2015–2025, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus) focuses on CRISPR-based diagnostics, synthetic vaccines, and engineered probiotics. CRISPR/Cas systems such as DETECTR (Cas12a) and SHERLOCK (Cas13a) demonstrate high sensitivity and rapid pathogen detection (e.g., SARS-CoV-2, Ebola), but their misuse could enhance pathogen virulence or enable bioweapon development. mRNA and viral vector vaccines offer flexible and rapid responses to emerging infections but encounter limitations in molecular stability, delivery system toxicity, and ecological safety. Engineered probiotics, designed as “living therapeutics,” can detect pathogens and modulate immune responses, yet pose potential risks of horizontal gene transfer and host-specific variability. Overall, while synthetic biology provides transformative tools for infectious disease control, it necessitates robust global regulatory frameworks, standardized biosafety practices, and ethical oversight to ensure responsible and sustainable application.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":36178,"journal":{"name":"Biosafety and Health","volume":"7 5","pages":"Pages 312-322"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145374319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating viral inactivation in the liquid waste stream from a viral total nucleic acid extraction kit for safe disposal","authors":"Charles Gan ,&nbsp;Melissa Pitton ,&nbsp;Lea Caduff ,&nbsp;Timothy R. Julian","doi":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.09.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bsheal.2025.09.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Safe laboratory processing requires mitigating risks from the release of pathogens into the environment through generated waste streams. This study evaluated the inactivation kinetics of bacteriophage MS2 as a surrogate for infectious viruses in liquid waste produced from total nucleic acid extractions of wastewater. The goal was to determine a waste handling protocol that ensures sufficient viral infectivity loss (i.e., inactivation) for safe disposal. Liquid waste was generated using a viral total nucleic acid extraction kit (Wizard® Enviro Total Nucleic Acid Kit, Promega, The United States of America) containing guanidinium chloride, isopropanol, ethanol, and other residual reagents. MS2 phage was artificially added into liquid waste, and inactivation was monitored over 24 h using double agar layer plaque assays. A one-phase exponential decay model was applied to estimate the time required for safe disposal, showing MS2 inactivation followed an exponential decay pattern, achieving a predicted 6-log₁₀ reduction at an average of 2.41 h (145 min), with a 95 % confidence interval of 1.34 h (80 min) to 4.05 h (243 min). However, only the 24-hour holding time was observed to significantly exceed the 6-log₁₀ reduction threshold, supporting its recommendation as a conservative and practical holding time after which the waste can be safely disposed of as chemical solvent waste without additional decontamination measures such as autoclaving, as viral infectivity is reduced by at least 6-log₁₀.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":36178,"journal":{"name":"Biosafety and Health","volume":"7 5","pages":"Pages 275-280"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145374318","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}