In February 2019, following the annual taxon ratification vote, the order Bunyavirales was amended by creation of two new families, four new subfamilies, 11 new genera and 77 new species, merging of two species, and deletion of one species. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the order Bunyavirales now accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV).

Pestiviruses are highly variable RNA viruses. A growing number of novel pestiviruses has been discovered in domestic and wild species in the last two decades. Recently, a novel atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV) linked with the development of congenital tremor (CT) in neonatal pigs was described in Europe and the Americas. Here, the first Asian APPV complete polyprotein coding sequence was assembled from serum samples from newborn piglets affected with CT in Southern China, and termed APPV_GD. 14 organ samples from affected piglets were analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) to investigate the tissue tropism of APPV, and 135 serum samples from pigs from 10 farms were used for identifying APPV in adult pigs. The highest genome loads were found in submaxillary lymph nodes, and PCR-based detection showed that APPV genomes were present in seven samples from five farms. A phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the full-length genomes of the pestiviruses, and APPV_GD appeared on a new branch with another newly discovered APPV. Nucleotide identity analysis demonstrated that APPV_GD shared the highest nucleotide sequence identity with a German APPV. Bayesian inference was performed using 25 partial sequences of the APPV NS5B gene (528 bp) isolated from four countries in recent years. According to this analysis, the most recent common ancestor (tMRCA) of the current APPV strains might have emerged in Germany and then diversified and spread to Asia, the Americas, and other countries in Europe. However, the result of bayesian inference could change when more APPV strains are isolated in the future. The present study is the first to report APPV in China and infers the origin and dissemination of the current strains of the virus.

No abstract

A second follow-up of 27,011 diagnostic X-ray workers in China revealed a 21% greater incidence of cancer than expected based on the experience of 25,782 physicians who did not routinely use X-rays (RR = 1.21; 95% Cl: 1.08 to 1.35). This risk is lower than the 50% excess reported previously and reflects, in part, the reduced risk among workers first employed after 1965, when hospital exposures to radiation probably were lower than in earlier years. The X-ray workers were employed between 1950 and 1985 and followed for an average of 16.1 years. Significantly elevated risks were seen for leukemia (RR = 2.4, n = 34 cases), and cancers of the esophagus (RR = 5.2, n = 19), liver (RR = 1.8, n = 65), and skin (RR = 2.8, n = 9). Cancers of the breast (RR = 1.5, n = 20), thyroid (RR = 1.7, n = 8), and bone (RR = 7.6, n = 4) also occurred more often than expected. Non-significant deficits were observed for cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx (RR = 0.6, n = 16), colon and rectum (RR = 0.8, n = 20), stomach (RR = 0.8, n = 36), and lung (RR = 0.9, n = 45). Excess risks for leukemia and esophageal cancer were seen among men but not among women. The RR for leukemia was higher for X-ray workers who began employment before 1970 than for those who started more recently and also for those who were young when employment began. The patterns of risk associated with duration of work, and with age and calendar time of initial employment, suggest that the excesses of leukemia and skin cancer, and, possibly, cancers of the breast and thyroid, were due to occupational exposure to X-rays. However, there was little evidence that radiation contributed to the increased occurrences of liver or esophageal cancers.

Cancer incidence among 27,011 diagnostic x-ray workers was compared to that of 25,782 other medical specialists employed between 1950 and 1980 in China. X-ray workers had a 50% higher risk of developing cancer than the other specialists [relative risk (RR) = 1.5; 95% CI = 1.3-1.7]. Leukemia was strongly linked to radiation work (RR = 3.5, n = 30). Cancers of the breast (RR = 1.4, n = 11), thyroid (RR = 2.1, n = 7), and skin (RR = 1.5, n = 6) were increased among x-ray workers employed for 10 or more years. High risks of cancers of the esophagus (RR = 3.5, n = 15) and liver (RR = 2.4, n = 48) were not consistent with a radiation effect since risk did not vary by duration of employment. This finding suggested that some differences might exist between groups of hospital workers in social class, alcohol intake, dietary habits, and other risk factors. No excess lung cancer (RR = 0.9, n = 22) or multiple myeloma (n = 0) was observed. Significant excesses of leukemia and cancers of the breast and thyroid occurred among x-ray workers first employed prior to 1960 when radiation exposures in China were high. In fact, it was not uncommon for employees to be given time off from x-ray work because their wbc count was severely depressed. These data indicated that repeated exposure to x-rays over many years can increase the risk of leukemia and several other tumors but apparently not that of lung cancer.

African swine fever (ASF), caused by the African swine fever virus (ASFV), is a major epidemic disease endangering the swine industry. Although a number of vaccine candidates have been reported, none are commercially available yet. To explore the effect of unknown genes on the biological characteristics of ASFV and the possibility of a gene-deleted isolate as a vaccine candidate, the strain SY18ΔL7-11, with deletions of L7L–L11L genes from ASFV SY18, was constructed, and its biological properties were analyzed. The results show that deletion of genes L7L-L11L did not affect replication of the virus in vitro. Virulence of SY18△L7-11 was significantly reduced, as 11 of the 12 pigs survived for 28 days after intramuscular inoculation with a low dose (103 TCID50) or a high dose (106 TCID50) of SY18ΔL7-11. All 11 surviving pigs were completely protected against challenge with the parental ASFV SY18 on 28 days postinoculation (dpi). Transient fever and/or irregularly low levels of genomic DNA in the blood were monitored in some pigs after inoculation. No ASF clinical signs or viremia were monitored after challenge. Antibodies to ASFV were induced in all pigs from 14 to 21 days postinoculation. IFN-γ was detected in most of the inoculated pigs, which is usually inhibited in ASFV-infected pigs. Overall, the results demonstrate that SY18ΔL7-11 is a candidate for further constructing safer vaccine(s), with better joint deletions of other gene(s) related to virulence.

No abstract

 Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research.  You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain  You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.