Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS): Threats Posed by the Virus (WSJ video)

An Indiana patient with the first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) reported in the U.S. is stable. But the MERS virus has proved deadly elsewhere. What kind of threat does the virus present? Columbia University's Dr. W. Ian Lipkin discusses with the WSJ:



MERS was first identified in June 2012. Arabian camels were recently identified as the source of the respiratory virus. To date, there have been 401 confirmed cases of MERS in 12 countries, but all the cases originated in 6 countries in the Arabian Peninsula. More than 100 people have died.

New research has confirmed that camels can transmit the deadly MERS virus to people. Virologists at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, found that the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome viruses in camels and people in the same geographical region are almost genetically identical.

MERS is closely related to the SARS virus, which arose in China and killed 800 people worldwide in 2002 and 2003. "While the SARS coronavirus probably crossed the species barrier only once by passing from bats to humans, we may presume that the MERS coronavirus is being constantly transmitted from camels to humans", said the researchers.

References:

MERS Can Be Transmitted From Camel to Human, Study Confirms – WebMD http://buff.ly/1s5Gw8h

FDA: Rotarix rotavirus vaccine contains DNA from a "harmless" pig virus and should not be used

GlaxoSmithKline confirmed that the pig virus, porcine circovirus type 1 or PCV-1, has been in the vaccine since it was developed.

75% of U.S. doctors prescribe the three-dose RotaTeq vaccine, made by Merck, which was approved in 2006.

Electron micrograph of Rotaviruses. Image source: Wikipedia, Environmental Protection Agency, public domain.

Rotavirus-related diarrhea used to cause 70,000 hospitalizations per year in the U.S. before the introduction of the vaccines. The first vaccine against the virus called RotaShield was withdrawn from the market due to reports of an intestinal blockage (intussusception) associated with its use.

References:
Pig Virus DNA Found in Rotavirus Vaccine. WebMD.

Image source: GSKsource.com.

Now There’s Pig Virus DNA in Merck’s Rotavirus Vaccine, Too. WSJ, 2010.

Updated: 05/06/2010

Back and forth: Study fails to show link previously found between virus and chronic fatigue syndrome

A UK study analysing samples from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome has found no evidence of a link with a retrovirus (XMRV). The virus was first described in 2006.

Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis, often report that their condition—a mix of symptoms including extreme fatigue—began after an otherwise normal viral infection.

The xenotropic murine leukaemia virus-related virus (XMRV) was found in 67% of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome in a study reported last year (Science 2009,326:585-9).


The Gift of Time is a short film about the doctors who discovered the XMRV virus and the breakthru potential for prostate cancer.

References:

Study fails to show link previously found between virus and chronic fatigue syndrome. BMJ 2010;340:c1033.

Hepatitis delta virus

From a recent review in The Lancet:

Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is a small, defective RNA virus that can infect only individuals who have hepatitis B virus (HBV). More than 15 million people are co-infected worldwide.

There are 8 genotypes of HDV. The hepatitis D virion is composed of a coat of HBV envelope proteins surrounding the nucleocapsid.

The nucleocapsid consists of:

- a single-stranded, circular RNA genome
- delta antigen, viral protein

HDV suppresses HBV replication but also causes severe liver disease with rapid progression to cirrhosis and hepatic decompensation (liver failure).

The range of clinical presentation is wide, varying from mild disease to fulminant liver failure.

Treatment of HDV is with pegylated interferon alfa; however, response rates are poor.

Better understanding of the molecular structure of HDV may lead to new therapeutic targets for this most severe form of chronic viral hepatitis.

References:

Hepatitis delta virus. Sarah A Hughes MBBCh, Heiner Wedemeyer MD, Dr Phillip M Harrison MD. The Lancet, Volume 378, Issue 9785, Pages 73 - 85, 2 July 2011.