Disinfection is an essential measure for interrupting human norovirus (HuNoV) transmission, but it is difficult to evaluate the efficacy of disinfectants due to the absence of a practicable cell culture system for these viruses. The purpose of this study was to screen sodium hypochlorite and ethanol for efficacy against Norwalk virus (NV) and expand the studies to evaluate the efficacy of antibacterial liquid soap and alcohol-based hand sanitizer for the inactivation of NV on human finger pads. Samples were tested by real-time reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) both with and without a prior RNase treatment. In suspension assay, sodium hypochlorite concentrations of >160 ppm effectively eliminated RT-qPCR detection signal, while ethanol, regardless of concentration, was relatively ineffective, giving at most a 0.5 log 10 reduction in genomic copies of NV cDNA. Using the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard finger pad method and a modification thereof (with rubbing), we observed the greatest reduction in genomic copies of NV cDNA with the antibacterial liquid soap treatment (0.67 to 1.20 log 10 reduction) and water rinse only (0.58 to 1.58 log 10 reduction). The alcohol-based hand sanitizer was relatively ineffective, reducing the genomic copies of NV cDNA by only 0.14 to 0.34 log 10 compared to baseline. Although the concentrations of genomic copies of NV cDNA were consistently lower on finger pad eluates pretreated with RNase compared to those without prior RNase treatment, these differences were not statistically significant. Despite the promise of alcohol-based sanitizers for the control of pathogen transmission, they may be relatively ineffective against the HuNoV, reinforcing the need to develop and evaluate new products against this important group of viruses.Human noroviruses (HuNoV) are the leading cause of acute nonbacterial gastroenteritis (11, 21). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that approximately 23 million people suffer from HuNoV gastroenteritis each year. Indeed, 81% of outbreaks of nonbacterial gastroenteritis are caused by this agent (7,8). These viruses may contaminate food, water, hands, and inanimate surfaces and are readily transmitted by contact with contaminated objects, by consumption of fecally contaminated food or water, or between people. In particular, hands are thought to be a principal vehicle for HuNoV transmission. Although many different hand hygiene agents are available, these generally do not have specific virucidal claims against the HuNoV. Two widely used types of hand hygiene products are antibacterial liquid soaps and alcohol-based hand sanitizers.Little is known about the effectiveness of hand hygiene agents in reducing HuNoV on contaminated hands. One reason for this is that the HuNoV cannot be routinely cultured in vitro, a factor that complicates evaluation of the efficacy of disinfection strategies. As an alternative, investigators have used cultivable surrogates such as feline calicivirus (FCV) and murin...

Summary Background To shorten the course of direct-acting antiviral agents for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, we examined the antiviral efficacy and safety of 3 weeks of response-guided therapy with an NS3 protease inhibitor and dual NS5A inhibitor–NS5B nucleotide analogue. Methods In this open-label, phase 2a, single centre study, Chinese patients with chronic HCV genotype 1b infection without cirrhosis were randomly allocated by a computer program to one of three treatment groups (sofosbuvir, ledipasvir, and asunaprevir; sofosbuvir, daclatasvir, and simeprevir; or sofosbuvir, daclatasvir, and asunaprevir) until six patients in each group (1:1:1) achieved an ultrarapid virological response (plasma HCV RNA <500 IU/mL by day 2, measured by COBAS TaqMan HCV test, version 2.0). Patients with an ultrarapid virological response received 3 weeks of therapy. Patients who did not achieve an ultrarapid response were switched to sofosbuvir and ledipasvir for either 8 weeks or 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with a sustained virological response at 12 weeks (SVR12) after treatment completion, analysed in the intention-to-treat population. All patients who achieved an ultrarapid virological response were included in the safety analysis. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02470858. Findings Between April 5, 2015, and April 15, 2015, 26 eligible patients were recruited. 12 patients were assigned to sofosbuvir, ledipasvir, and asunaprevir; six to sofosbuvir, daclatasvir, and simeprevir; and eight to sofosbuvir, daclatasvir, and asunaprevir. Six patients in each group achieved an ultrarapid virological response (18 [69%]). All patients with an ultrarapid virological response who were given 3 weeks of triple therapy achieved SVR12. The most common adverse events were fatigue (one [17%] of six patients receiving sofosbuvir, ledipasvir, and asunaprevir; one [17%] of six patients receiving sofosbuvir, daclatasvir, and simeprevir; and two [33%] of six patients receiving sofosbuvir, daclatasvir, and asunaprevir) and headache (one [17%] patient in each group). No patients experienced any serious adverse events. Interpretation In this proof-of-concept study, all patients with chronic HCV without cirrhosis who achieved an ultrarapid virological response on triple direct-acting antiviral regimens by day 2 and received 3 weeks of treatment were cured, with excellent tolerability. By shortening the duration of therapy from the currently recommended 12 weeks to 3 weeks, we could drastically reduce the cost of therapy and the rate of adverse events. Further large-scale studies should be done to confirm our findings. Funding Center for AIDS Research, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Energy, National Center for Research Resources and the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs, Cheng Si-Yuan (China-International) Hepatitis Research Foundation, and Humanity and Health Medical Group.

Abnormal bone marrow (BM) suppression is one of the hallmarks of dengue virus (DENV) infection in patients. Although the etiology remains unclear, direct viral targeting of the BM has been reasoned to be a contributing factor. The present studies were carried out in an effort to determine the potential effect of DENV infection on the cellularity of BM using a previously established nonhuman primate model of DENV-induced coagulopathy. BM aspirates were collected at various times from the infected nonhuman primate and cells were phenotypically defined and isolated using standard flow cytometry (fluorescence-activated cell sorting). These isolated cells were subjected to detection of DENV utilizing quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, electron microscopy, and immunostaining techniques. DENV RNA was detectable by quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in BM specimens and the presence of DENV-like particles within platelet was confirmed by electron microscopy. Enumeration of BM cells revealed a transient surge in cellularity at day 1, followed by a gradual decline from days 2 to 10 post infection. Detailed phenotypic studies showed similar kinetics in the frequencies of CD41+CD61+ cells, regardless of CD34 and CD45 expression. The CD61+ cells were not only the predominant cells that stained for DENV antigen but fluorescence-activated cell sorting–assisted isolation of CD61+ cells from the BM were shown to contain infectious DENV by coculture with Vero cells. These data support the view that intravenous infection of nonhuman primate with DENV leads to direct infection of the BM, which is likely to be a contributing factor for transient cell suppression in the peripheral blood characteristic of acute DENVinfection.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) represents a reemerging global threat to human health. Recent outbreaks across Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean have prompted renewed scientific interest in this mosquito-borne alphavirus. There are currently no vaccines against CHIKV, and treatment has been limited to nonspecific antiviral agents, with suboptimal outcomes. Herein, we have identified ␤-D-N 4 -hydroxycytidine (NHC) as a novel inhibitor of CHIKV. NHC behaves as a pyrimidine ribonucleoside and selectively inhibits CHIKV replication in cell culture.

Dengue Virus (DV) infects between 50 and 100 million people globally, with public health costs totaling in the billions. It is the causative agent of dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS), vector-borne diseases that initially predominated in the tropics. Due to the expansion of its mosquito vector, Aedes spp., DV is increasingly becoming a global problem. Infected individuals may present with a wide spectrum of symptoms, spanning from a mild febrile to a life-threatening illness, which may include thrombocytopenia, leucopenia, hepatomegaly, hemorrhaging, plasma leakage and shock. Deciphering the underlining mechanisms responsible for these symptoms has been hindered by the limited availability of animal models that can induce classic human pathology. Currently, several permissive non-human primate (NHP) species and mouse breeds susceptible to adapted DV strains are available. Though virus replication occurs in these animals, none of them recapitulate the cardinal features of human symptomatology, with disease only occasionally observed in NHPs. Recently our group established a DV serotype 2 intravenous infection model with the Indian rhesus macaque, which reliably produced cutaneous hemorrhages after primary virus exposure. Further manipulation of experimental parameters (virus strain, immune cell expansion, depletion, etc.) can refine this model and expand its relevance to human DF. Future goals include applying this model to elucidate the role of pre-existing immunity upon secondary infection and immunopathogenesis. Of note, virus titers in primates in vivo and in vitro, even with our model, have been consistently 1000-fold lower than those found in humans. We submit that an improved model, capable of demonstrating severe pathogenesis may only be achieved with higher virus loads. Nonetheless, our DV coagulopathy disease model is valuable for the study of select pathomechanisms and testing DV drug and vaccine candidates.