Cardioviruses comprise a genus of picornaviruses that cause severe illnesses in rodents, but little is known about the prevalence, diversity, or spectrum of disease of such agents among humans. A single cardiovirus isolate, Saffold virus, was cultured in 1981 in stool from an infant with fever. Here, we describe the identification of a group of human cardioviruses that have been cloned directly from patient specimens, the first of which was detected using a pan-viral microarray in respiratory secretions from a child with influenza-like illness. Phylogenetic analysis of the nearly complete viral genome (

Background: Diarrhea kills 2 million children worldwide each year, yet an etiological agent is not found in approximately 30-50% of cases. Picornaviral genera such as enterovirus, kobuvirus, cosavirus, parechovirus, hepatovirus, teschovirus, and cardiovirus have all been found in human and animal diarrhea. Modern technologies, especially deep sequencing, allow rapid, high-throughput screening of clinical samples such as stool for new infectious agents associated with human disease.

In northern California homes, exposure to gastroenteritis in an H. pylori–infected contact markedly increased H. pylori infection.

Triclosan and triclocarban are commonly used commercial microbicides found in toothpastes and soaps. It is unknown what effects these chemicals have on the human microbiome or on endocrine function. From this randomized crossover study, it appears that routine personal care use of triclosan and triclocarban neither exerts a major influence on microbial communities in the gut and mouth nor alters markers of endocrine function in humans.

Cardioviruses (e.g., Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus [TMEV]) are members of the Picornaviridae family that cause myocarditis and encephalitis in rodents. Recently, several studies have identified human cardioviruses, including Saffold virus (SAFV) and a related virus named human TMEV-like cardiovirus (HTCV). At least eight cardiovirus genotypes are now recognized, with SAFV and most strains of HTCV belonging to genotypes 1 and 2, respectively; genotype 2 strains are the most common in the population. Although a genotype 3 cardiovirus has recently been cultured (SAFV-3), the genotype 1 and 2 cardioviruses have been difficult to propagate in vitro, hindering efforts to understand their seroprevalence and pathogenicity. Here we present the isolation and characterization of a genotype 2 human cardiovirus (HTCV-UC6). Notably, successful cultivation of HTCV-UC6 from stool required the addition of cytokine-blocking antibodies to interrupt downstream antiviral pathways. Unlike SAFV-3, HTCV-UC6 exhibited slow replication kinetics and demonstrated only a moderate cytopathic effect. Serologic assays revealed that 91% of U.S. adults carry antibodies to the genotype 2 cardioviruses, of which 80% generate neutralizing antibodies, in agreement with previous data showing that cardiovirus infection is widespread in humans. We also demonstrate an acute cardiovirus seroconversion event in a child with diarrhea and vomiting, thus reporting for the first time evidence linking cardiovirus infection to diarrheal disease in humans.

Contrary to the original hypothesis, high rather than low serum ghrelin was associated with protection against esophageal adenocarcinoma but only among overweight subjects.

In 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration banned the use of specific microbicides in some household and personal wash products due to concerns that these chemicals might induce antibiotic resistance or disrupt human microbial communities. Triclosan and triclocarban (referred to as TCs) are the most common antimicrobials in household and personal care products, but the extent to which TC exposure perturbs microbial communities in humans, particularly during infant development, was unknown. We conducted a randomized intervention of TC‐containing household and personal care products during the first year following birth to characterize whether TC exposure from wash products perturbs microbial communities in mothers and their infants. Longitudinal survey of the gut microbiota using 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing showed that TC exposure from wash products did not induce global reconstruction or loss of microbial diversity of either infant or maternal gut microbiotas. Broadly antibiotic‐resistant species from the phylum Proteobacteria, however, were enriched in stool samples from mothers in TC households after the introduction of triclosan‐containing toothpaste. When compared by urinary triclosan level, agnostic to treatment arm, infants with higher triclosan levels also showed an enrichment of Proteobacteria species. Despite the minimal effects of TC exposure from wash products on the gut microbial community of infants and adults, detected taxonomic differences highlight the need for consumer safety testing of antimicrobial self‐care products on the human microbiome and on antibiotic resistance.

Emerging research supports that triclosan (TCS), an antimicrobial agent found in thousands of consumer products, exacerbates colitis and colitis-associated colorectal tumorigenesis in animal models. While the intestinal toxicities of TCS require the presence of gut microbiota, the molecular mechanisms involved have not been defined. Here we show that intestinal commensal microbes mediate metabolic activation of TCS in the colon and drive its gut toxicology. Using a range of in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo approaches, we identify specific microbial β-glucuronidase (GUS) enzymes involved and pinpoint molecular motifs required to metabolically activate TCS in the gut. Finally, we show that targeted inhibition of bacterial GUS enzymes abolishes the colitis-promoting effects of TCS, supporting an essential role of specific microbial proteins in TCS toxicity. Together, our results define a mechanism by which intestinal microbes contribute to the metabolic activation and gut toxicity of TCS, and highlight the importance of considering the contributions of the gut microbiota in evaluating the toxic potential of environmental chemicals.