February 2018
Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal
Highlights: Emerging Infectious Diseases,Vol. 24, No. 2, February 2018
Important Note: Not all articles that EID publishes represent work done at CDC or by CDC staff. In your stories, please clarify whether a study was conducted by CDC (“a CDC study”) or by another institution (“a study published by CDC in the EID journal”). Opinions expressed by authors contributing to EID do not necessarily reflect the opinions of CDC or the institutions with which the authors are affiliated. EID requests that, when possible, you include a live link to the actual journal article in your stories. Once the embargo lifts, this month’s articles will be found in the Ahead of Print section of the EID website at https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/ahead-of-print.
The articles of interest summarized below will appear in the February 2018 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, CDC’s monthly peer-reviewed public health journal. The February issue features articles on zoonoses (i.e., diseases that are directly transmitted from vertebrate animals to humans).
The articles are embargoed until January 10, 2018, at noon eastern time.
1. Adenovirus Type 4 Respiratory Infections among Civilian Adults, Northeastern United States, 2011–2015, Adriana E. Kajon et al.
Human adenovirus type 4 (HAdV-4) was first identified in the early 1950s and historically has been associated with outbreaks of acute respiratory illness among military recruit training facilities. Although an effective HAdV-4 vaccine is available, its use among US military recruits was discontinued for 15 years, which led to a resurgence of outbreaks that prompted the US Department of Defense to reinstate the vaccine in November 2011. Because of the absence of HAdV surveillance in nonmilitary settings, the prevalence and impact of HAdV infections among the US civilian population is largely unknown. An unusual number of cases of HAdV-4 respiratory infection identified among civilian adults in the northeastern United States caught the attention of a group of researchers, who then analyzed the molecular characteristics of 36 HAdV-4 strains isolated from a selection of those cases. Given the severity of disease observed in some of the cases in their study, the investigators concluded that the HAdV-4 vaccine currently licensed only for military use should also be considered as a potentially valuable resource for preventing disease in susceptible populations living in closed communities, such as college settings, summer camps, and long-term care facilities.
Contact: Adriana E. Kajon, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico; (505)-348-9159 or akajon@lrri.org.
2. Macacine Herpesvirus 1 Antibody Prevalence and DNA Shedding among Invasive Rhesus Macaques, Silver Springs State Park, Florida, USA, Samantha M. Wisely et al.
Rhesus macaques are the most frequently used nonhuman primate species in biomedical research. In laboratory settings, rhesus macaques are considered an occupational health threat because they harbor macacine herpesvirus 1 (McHV-1), also known as herpes B virus. Although McHV-1 infection does not produce clinical illness in macaques, about 70% of infections in people are fatal if not treated with antiviral medications. Transmission has typically occurred through exposure to macaque bodily fluids as a result of bites and scratches. Outside of the laboratory setting, little is known about the risk for transmission or the incidence of human disease resulting from McHV-1 exposure. No human deaths have been reported from contracting McHV-1 from free-ranging macaques, suggesting the risk for transmission from these animals is low; however, there has been little research on the subject. During 2015–2016, researchers collected saliva and fecal samples from the free-ranging rhesus macaques of Silver Springs State Park, a popular public park in central Florida, United States, to determine the risk for transmission of the virus to people. The researchers concluded that these free-ranging macaques can shed the virus, putting people at risk for exposure to this potentially fatal pathogen. In light of their findings, the researchers recommend that management plans be put in place to limit transmission of McHV-1 from these macaques.
Contact: Samantha M. Wisely, University of Florida, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation; (352)-846-0645 or wisely@ufl.edu.
