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Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a bunyavirus causing severe hemorrhagic fever disease in humans, with high mortality rates. The requirement of a high-containment laboratory and the lack of an animal model hampered the study of the immune response and protection of vaccine candidates. Using the recently developed interferon alpha receptor knockout (IFNAR−/−) mouse model, which replicates human disease, we investigated the immunogenicity and protection of two novel CCHFV vaccine candidates: a DNA vaccine encoding a ubiquitin-linked version of CCHFV Gc, Gn, and N and one using transcriptionally competent virus-like particles (tc-VLPs). In contrast to most studies that focus on neutralizing antibodies, we measured both humoral and cellular immune responses. We demonstrated a clear and 100% efficient preventive immunity against lethal CCHFV challenge with the DNA vaccine. Interestingly, there was no correlation with the neutralizing antibody titers alone, which were higher in the tc-VLP-vaccinated mice. However, the animals with a lower neutralizing titer, but a dominant cell-mediated Th1 response and a balanced Th2 response, resisted the CCHFV challenge. Moreover, we found that in challenged mice with a Th1 response (immunized by DNA/DNA and boosted by tc-VLPs), the immune response changed to Th2 at day 9 postchallenge. In addition, we were able to identify new linear B-cell epitope regions that are highly conserved between CCHFV strains. Altogether, our results suggest that a predominantly Th1-type immune response provides the most efficient protective immunity against CCHFV challenge. However, we cannot exclude the importance of the neutralizing antibodies as the surviving immunized mice exhibited substantial amounts of them.IMPORTANCE Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is responsible for hemorrhagic diseases in humans, with a high mortality rate. There is no FDA-approved vaccine, and there are still gaps in our knowledge of the immune responses to infection. The recently developed mouse models mimic human CCHF disease and are useful to study the immunogenicity and the protection by vaccine candidates. Our study shows that mice vaccinated with a specific DNA vaccine were fully protected. Importantly, we show that neutralizing antibodies are not sufficient for protection against CCHFV challenge but that an extra Th1-specific cellular response is required. Moreover, we describe the identification of five conserved B-cell epitopes, of which only one was previously known, that could be of great importance for the development of diagnostics tools and the improvement of vaccine candidates.

During spring and autumn 2001, we screened 13,260 migrating birds at Ottenby Bird Observatory, Sweden, and found 3.4% were infested with ticks. Four birds, each a different passerine species, carried tickborne encephalitis virus (TBEV)–infected ticks (Ixodes ricinus). Migrating birds may play a role in the geographic dispersal of TBEV-infected ticks.

BackgroundDengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease that has become more prevalent in the last few decades. Most patients are viremic when they present with symptoms, and early diagnosis of dengue is important in preventing severe clinical complications associated with this disease and also represents a key factor in differential diagnosis. Here, we designed and validated a hydrolysis-probe-based one-step real-time RT-PCR assay that targets the genomes of dengue virus serotypes 1–4.Methodology/Principal FindingsThe primers and probe used in our RT-PCR assay were designed to target the 3′ untranslated region of all complete genome sequences of dengue virus available in GenBank (n = 3,305). Performance of the assay was evaluated using in vitro transcribed RNA, laboratory-adapted virus strains, external control panels, and clinical specimens. The linear dynamic range was found to be 104–1011 GCE/mL, and the detection limit was between 6.0×102 and 1.1×103 GCE/mL depending on target sequence. The assay did not cross-react with human RNA, nor did it produce false-positive results for other human pathogenic flaviviruses or clinically important etiological agents of febrile illnesses. We used clinical serum samples obtained from returning travelers with dengue-compatible symptomatology (n = 163) to evaluate the diagnostic relevance of our assay, and laboratory diagnosis performed by the RT-PCR assay had 100% positive agreement with diagnosis performed by NS1 antigen detection. In a retrospective evaluation including 60 archived serum samples collected from confirmed dengue cases 1–9 days after disease onset, the RT-PCR assay detected viral RNA up to 9 days after appearance of symptoms.Conclusions/SignificanceThe validation of the RT-PCR assay presented here indicates that this technique can be a reliable diagnostic tool, and hence we suggest that it be introduced as the method of choice during the first 5 days of dengue symptoms.

Information on the replication of viral haemorrhagic fever viruses is not readily available and has never been analysed in a comparative approach. Here, we compared the cell culture growth characteristics of haemorrhagic fever viruses (HFV), of the Arenaviridae, Filoviridae, Bunyaviridae, and Flavivridae virus families by performing quantitative analysis of cell culture supernatants by (i) electron microscopy for the quantification of virus particles, (ii) quantitative real time PCR for the quantification of genomes, and (iii) determination of focus forming units by coating fluorescent antibodies to infected cell monolayers for the quantification of virus infectivity.The comparative analysis revealed that filovirus and RVFV replication results in a surplus of genomes but varying degrees of packaging efficiency and infectious particles. More efficient replication and packaging was observed for Lassa virus, and Dengue virus resulting in a better yield of infectious particles while, YFV turned out to be most efficient with only 4 particles inducing one FFU. For Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) a surplus of empty shells was observed with only one in 24 particles equipped with a genome. The complete particles turned out to be extraordinarily infectious.