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This study aimed to identify the causative agent of mass mortality in wild and captive birds in southwest Germany and to gather insights into the phylogenetic relationship and spatial distribution of the pathogen. Since June 2011, 223 dead birds were collected and tested for the presence of viral pathogens. Usutu virus (USUV) RNA was detected by real-time RT-PCR in 86 birds representing 6 species. The virus was isolated in cell culture from the heart of 18 Blackbirds (Turdus merula). USUV-specific antigen was demonstrated by immunohistochemistry in brain, heart, liver, and lung of infected Blackbirds. The complete polyprotein coding sequence was obtained by deep sequencing of liver and spleen samples of a dead Blackbird from Mannheim (BH65/11-02-03). Phylogenetic analysis of the German USUV strain BH65/11-02-03 revealed a close relationship with strain Vienna that caused mass mortality among birds in Austria in 2001. Wild birds from lowland river valleys in southwest Germany were mainly affected by USUV, but also birds kept in aviaries. Our data suggest that after the initial detection of USUV in German mosquitoes in 2010, the virus spread in 2011 and caused epizootics among wild and captive birds in southwest Germany. The data also indicate an increased risk of USUV infections in humans in Germany.

Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic illness that first came into the limelight as a clinical entity in 1969 when it was discovered in Northern Nigeria, is now found in other West African countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Togo, and the Benin Republic. Over the years, the disease, which is primarily transmitted from contact with infected mastomys rodents to humans, has the capability of secondary human-to-human transmission with significant morbidity and mortality, especially in healthcare settings. The disease is typically characterized by seasonal outbreaks, which peak during the dry season months of December to March. Lassa fever significantly impacts public health and the socioeconomic life of people in affected communities. In Nigeria, the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response Strategy (IDSR), along with other medical countermeasures, have been employed to curtail the impact of the disease in endemic regions of Nigeria and other West Africa countries. The one-health approach to combat the disease is a promising strategy. This, along with the hope of a safe and effective vaccine, is a ray of hope on the horizon for public health authorities in Nigeria and other West African countries that the battle against Lassa fever might indeed end sooner than later.

Lassa fever (LF), a zoonotic illness, represents a public health burden in West African countries where the Lassa virus (LASV) circulates among rodents. Human exposure hinges significantly on LASV ecology, which is in turn shaped by various parameters such as weather seasonality and even virus and rodent-host genetics. Furthermore, human behaviour, despite playing a key role in the zoonotic nature of the disease, critically affects either the spread or control of human-to-human transmission. Previous estimations on LF burden date from the 80s and it is unclear how the population expansion and the improvement on diagnostics and surveillance methods have affected such predictions. Although recent data have contributed to the awareness of epidemics, the real impact of LF in West African communities will only be possible with the intensification of interdisciplinary efforts in research and public health approaches. This review discusses the causes and consequences of LF from a One Health perspective, and how the application of this concept can improve the surveillance and control of this disease in West Africa.

ObjectivesSevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), was officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. The disease has overtime shown rapidly changing clinical courses, with severe forms of COVID-19 now being reported in children, and a significant proportion being asymptomatic, but the disease burden among children is yet unknown in Esan Central Local Government Area. This project aimed to bridge this gap in knowledge by determining the prevalence and clinical presentations of SARS-Cov-2 infections in children.MethodsIt was a cross sectional analytical study which involved 118 children and 42 parents, recruited from the Paediatric Outpatient Clinic of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH). Blood and pharyngeal samples were collected and tested for antibodies and viral antigens, using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay and Reverse-Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction, respectively. Data were analyzed with the SPSS version 23.0 and level of significance was taken as < 0.05.ResultsThe prevalence of COVID-19 was 47.5% and 37% of children were asymptomatic, while 67% were symptomatic. Fever was the commonest symptom reported among the symptomatic group, followed by cough. There was a highly significant positive relationship between parental COVID-19 status and the children’s COVID-19 status.ConclusionThe prevalence of COVID-19 among children seen in ISTH is high, and a significant proportion is asymptomatic. This has implications in community spread, and active case surveillance and contact tracing is suggested.ReferencesAdedeji IA, Abdu YM, Bashir MF, Adamu AS, Gwarzo GD, Yaro BS, Musa AA, Hassan ZI, Maigoro AM, Jibrin YB. Profile of children with covid-19 infection: A cross sectional study from north-east nigeria. Pan African Medical Journal 2020;35(Suppl 2):1–9. Akande OW, Elimian KO, Igumbor E, Dunkwu L, Kaduru C, Olopha OO, Ohanu DO, Nwozor L, Agogo E, Aruna O, Balogun MS, Aderinola O, Ahumibe A, Arinze C, Badaru SO, Nwachukwu W, Dada AO, Erameh C, Hamza K, … Ihekweazu C. Epidemiological comparison of the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, February 2020-April 2021. BMJ Global Health 2021;6(11):1–14.Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Interim Guidelines for COVID-19 Antibody Testing. Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2020;1–8. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/lab/resources/antibody-tests-guidelines.html [Accessed march 8, 2021]Debiasi RL, Delaney M. Symptomatic and asymptomatic viral shedding in pediatric patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): Under the Surface. JAMA Pediatrics 2021;175(1):16–18.

Analysis of 179 new Ebola virus sequences from patient samples collected in Guinea between March 2014 and January 2015 shows how different lineages evolved and spread in West Africa. Ebola virus lineage evolution Miles Carroll and colleagues report describe the genetic evolution of Ebola virus circulating in West Africa, based on 179 new virus sequences from patient samples collected in Guinea between March 2014 and January 2015. Their analysis shows how different lineages evolved and spread in West Africa between Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. West Africa is currently witnessing the most extensive Ebola virus (EBOV) outbreak so far recorded 1 , 2 , 3 . Until now, there have been 27,013 reported cases and 11,134 deaths. The origin of the virus is thought to have been a zoonotic transmission from a bat to a two-year-old boy in December 2013 (ref. 2 ). From this index case the virus was spread by human-to-human contact throughout Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. However, the origin of the particular virus in each country and time of transmission is not known and currently relies on epidemiological analysis, which may be unreliable owing to the difficulties of obtaining patient information. Here we trace the genetic evolution of EBOV in the current outbreak that has resulted in multiple lineages. Deep sequencing of 179 patient samples processed by the European Mobile Laboratory, the first diagnostics unit to be deployed to the epicentre of the outbreak in Guinea, reveals an epidemiological and evolutionary history of the epidemic from March 2014 to January 2015. Analysis of EBOV genome evolution has also benefited from a similar sequencing effort of patient samples from Sierra Leone. Our results confirm that the EBOV from Guinea moved into Sierra Leone, most likely in April or early May. The viruses of the Guinea/Sierra Leone lineage mixed around June/July 2014. Viral sequences covering August, September and October 2014 indicate that this lineage evolved independently within Guinea. These data can be used in conjunction with epidemiological information to test retrospectively the effectiveness of control measures, and provides an unprecedented window into the evolution of an ongoing viral haemorrhagic fever outbreak.

Containment limited the 2014 Nigerian Ebola virus (EBOV) disease outbreak to 20 reported cases and 8 fatalities. We present here clinical data and contact information for at least 19 case patients, and full-length EBOV genome sequences for 12 of the 20. The detailed contact data permits nearly complete reconstruction of the transmission tree for the outbreak. The EBOV genomic data are consistent with that tree. It confirms that there was a single source for the Nigerian infections, shows that the Nigerian EBOV lineage nests within a lineage previously seen in Liberia but is genetically distinct from it, and supports the conclusion that transmission from Nigeria to elsewhere did not occur.

Lassa fever is an acute, severe, often fatal, febrile illness; estimated to affect about 100,000 persons per year in West Africa. It is caused by Lassa virus, a single-stranded RNA virus which belongs to the virus family Arenaviridae. In Nigeria, the current epidemiological situation is less clear as there has been no active surveillance system in place. A hospital-based study was conducted in Edo State, South-South Nigeria where outbreaks has been frequently reported. This study was from November, 2005 to December, 2008 and it was to investigate the epidemiology and clinical presentation of Lassa fever. Blood collected from patients clinically suspected to have Lassa fever were tested for Lassa virus ribonucleic acid (RNA) by Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Also, although there is great diversity of Lassa virus in Nigeria, only one full-length L RNA sequence and five S RNA sequences are known. To fill this gap, S and L RNA of six Lassa virus strains isolated from different areas of Nigeria were completely sequenced. These six and a large number of novel partial sequences were subjected to phylogenetic analysis. Lassa fever was laboratory confirmed in 62 (23.2%) of the 267 patients. Of these 267 patients, 103 (38.6%) were female, 160 (60.0%) were male and the sex of 4 (1.4%) was not recorded. However Lassa fever was found in 37 (59.7%) male and 25 (40.3%) female. The mean age for positive patients was 31.1 years (the youngest patient with Lassa fever was one year, 3 months old and the oldest was 70 years old). Geographically, patients were seen from the three senatorial districts of the state with the highest number of laboratory confirmed cases from the central senatorial district. Of the 62 positive patients, 41 (66%) patients were seen in the dry season and 21 (34%) in the rainy season. A wide spectrum of clinical manifestations was observed in patients with Lassa fever. They ranged from fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, sore throat, cough, malaise, chest pain, diarrhoea, muscle pain, back pain, stiff neck, haemorrhage (bleeding), jaundice, oedema, conjunctivitis and convulsion. Bleeding was observed in 12 (19%) of the patients with acute Lassa fever and deafness occurred in 2 (3%) of them. Clinical presentations between those with Lassa fever and other febrile illnesses were essentially indistinguishable. Thirty-five (56%) of the 62 positive patients recovered and were discharged from the hospital, 18 (29%) died and 1 (1.6%) was referred to another hospital and the outcome of 8 (12.9%) was not recorded. The overall case-fatality rate for those with Lassa fever was 24.2%. Lassa fever is still largely widespread in Edo State but still typically difficult to distinguish clinically; and it is feared that this picture might be the same for other regions of Nigeria. This study suggests that there is still significant genetic variation among Lassa virus strains and this has enormous implications for molecular diagnosis especially with an antigen-based serology and the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), which has been extensively shown in previous studies to be sensitive. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a predominance of lineage II and III strains, existence of a previously un-described sub-lineage in Nigeria, and directional spread of virus in the southern part of the country. The novel sequences will aid in the design of molecular detection assays for Lassa virus.