Ebola Viral Disease Outbreak-2014: Implications and Pitfalls

Acharya, Mahip

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2014.00263

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The social dimension of Ebola and the lethal nature of the disease could partially explain why there is not currently research focused in the patient and the observed reductionist and military orientation of Ebola research. Ebola R&D is not an attractive business to the pharmaceutical industry because its too expensive and there is not a large enough market [ 9 , 10 ]. However, Ebola is still considered a threat to the national security of United States ant therefore Ebola research is powered with public funds through the US army [ 65 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, in spite of the first outbreak in 1979 [ 7 ], nowadays there are not approved vaccines or drugs to help the affected population [ 8 ]. This lack of approved vaccines and drugs evidences that innovation on Ebola has not been considered an attractive enough business for the pharmaceutical industry [ 9 , 10 ]. Finally, the third characteristic is that some authors have suggested a racial stigmatization against Sub-Saharan African-ancestry people as potential vectors of Ebola [ 11 - 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hegemonic structure of basic, clinical and patented knowledge on Ebola research: a US army reductionist initiative

Fajardo-Ortiz

Ortega-Sánchez-de-Tagle

Castaño

2015

J Transl Med

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BackgroundEbola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola) is still a highly lethal infectious disease long affecting mainly neglected populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, this disease is now considered a potential worldwide threat. In this paper, we present an approach to understand how the basic, clinical and patent knowledge on Ebola is organized and intercommunicated and what leading factor could be shaping the evolution of the knowledge translation process for this disease.MethodologyA combination of citation network analysis; analysis of Medical heading Subject (MeSH) and Gene Ontology (GO) terms, and quantitative content analysis for patents and scientific literature, aimed to map the organization of Ebola research was carried out.ResultsWe found six putative research fronts (i.e. clusters of high interconnected papers). Three research fronts are basic research on Ebola virus structural proteins: glycoprotein, VP40 and VP35, respectively. There is a fourth research front of basic research papers on pathogenesis, which is the organizing hub of Ebola research. A fifth research front is pre-clinical research focused on vaccines and glycoproteins. Finally, a clinical-epidemiology research front related to the disease outbreaks was identified. The network structure of patent families shows that the dominant design is the use of Ebola virus proteins as targets of vaccines and other immunological treatments. Therefore, patents network organization resembles the organization of the scientific literature. Specifically, the knowledge on Ebola would flow from higher (clinical-epidemiology) to intermediated (cellular-tissular pathogenesis) to lower (molecular interactions) levels of organization.ConclusionOur results suggest a strong reductionist approach for Ebola research probably influenced by the lethality of the disease. On the other hand, the ownership profile of the patent families network and the main researches relationship with the United State Army suggest a strong involvement of this military institution in Ebola research.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hegemonic structure of basic, clinical and patented knowledge on Ebola research: a US army reductionist initiative

Fajardo-Ortiz

Ortega-Sánchez-de-Tagle

Castaño

2015

J Transl Med

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“…This requires the strengthening and use of the six health system building blocks as elements in the implementation of public health DRR, preparedness, response and post-disaster recovery interventions at the individual, community, and formal health sector levels (Table 1 ). Apart from weak health systems, poor status of the social determinants such as poverty, lack of good housing, inadequate access to good nutrition, clean water, improved sanitation, education, and social protection could reduce individual and community resilience and increase the risk of disasters (Figure 1 ) ( 2 , 30 ). Thus optimal social determinants of health and resilient communities are also required for mitigating the public health risks and impacts of disasters ( 2 , 31 ).…”

Section: Resilient Health Systems Communities and Social Determinanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilient Health System As Conceptual Framework for Strengthening Public Health Disaster Risk Management: An African Viewpoint

Olu¹

2017

Front. Public Health

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“…Therefore, work with filoviruses is restricted to biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) facilities. The recent EBOV outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia demonstrated the potential of filoviruses to cause massive and prolonged outbreaks with high lethality rates (3).…”

Section: Importancementioning

confidence: 99%

A Single Amino Acid Change in the Marburg Virus Matrix Protein VP40 Provides a Replicative Advantage in a Species-Specific Manner

Koehler

Kolesnikova

Welzel

et al. 2016

J Virol

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Marburg virus (MARV) induces severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates but only transient nonlethal disease in rodents. However, sequential passages of MARV in rodents boosts infection leading to lethal disease. Guinea pig-adapted MARV contains one mutation in the viral matrix protein VP40 at position 184 (VP40 D184N ). The contribution of the D184N mutation to the efficacy of replication in a new host is unknown. In the present study, we demonstrated that recombinant MARV containing the D184N mutation in VP40 [rMARV VP40(D184N) ] grew to higher titers than wild-type recombinant MARV (rMARV WT ) in guinea pig cells. Moreover, rMARV VP40(D184N) displayed higher infectivity in guinea pig cells. Comparative analysis of VP40 functions indicated that neither the interferon (IFN)-antagonistic function nor the membrane binding capabilities of VP40 were affected by the D184N mutation. However, the production of VP40-induced virus-like particles (VLPs) and the recruitment of other viral proteins to the budding site was improved by the D184N mutation in guinea pig cells, which resulted in the higher infectivity of VP40 D184N -induced infectious VLPs (iVLPs) compared to that of VP40-induced iVLPs. In addition, the function of VP40 in suppressing viral RNA synthesis was influenced by the D184N mutation specifically in guinea pig cells, thus allowing greater rates of transcription and replication. Our results showed that the improved viral fitness of rMARV VP40(D184N) in guinea pig cells was due to the better viral assembly function of VP40 D184N and its lower inhibitory effect on viral transcription and replication rather than modulation of the VP40-mediated suppression of IFN signaling. IMPORTANCEThe increased virulence achieved by virus passaging in a new host was accompanied by mutations in the viral genome. Analyzing how these mutations affect the functions of viral proteins and the ability of the virus to grow within new host cells helps in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms increasing virulence. Using a reverse genetics approach, we demonstrated that a single mutation in MARV VP40 detected in a guinea pig-adapted MARV provided a replicative advantage of rMARV VP40(D184N) in guinea pig cells. Our studies show that this replicative advantage of rMARV VP40 D184N was based on the improved functions of VP40 in iVLP assembly and in the regulation of transcription and replication rather than on the ability of VP40 to combat the host innate immunity. F iloviruses, including Ebolaviruses (EBOV) and Marburg virus (MARV), are enveloped, nonsegmented, negative-strand RNA viruses (1). These viruses are known to cause severe fevers in humans and nonhuman primates, with case fatality rates of up to 90% (2). Although several antivirals and vaccines currently are being tested in clinical studies, none of them are licensed for human use. Therefore, work with filoviruses is restricted to biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) facilities. The recent EBOV outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia demonstrated the ...

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Ebola Viral Disease Outbreak-2014: Implications and Pitfalls

Cited by 7 publications

References 12 publications

Hegemonic structure of basic, clinical and patented knowledge on Ebola research: a US army reductionist initiative

Hegemonic structure of basic, clinical and patented knowledge on Ebola research: a US army reductionist initiative

Resilient Health System As Conceptual Framework for Strengthening Public Health Disaster Risk Management: An African Viewpoint

A Single Amino Acid Change in the Marburg Virus Matrix Protein VP40 Provides a Replicative Advantage in a Species-Specific Manner

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