Bats are natural reservoirs of zoonotic viruses, including Marburg virus (MARV, naturally transmitted by Egyptian rousette bats; Rousettus aegyptiacus) and Bombali ebolavirus (BOMV, recently isolated from Angolan free-tailed bats; Mops condylurus). Their ability to host highly-pathogenic viruses likely correlates with co-evolved anti-viral immune response mechanisms. How bats achieve...
Vaccines against parasites must elicit immune responses against antigens present in different life cycle stages to provide sufficient immunity against infection. Attenuation of parasites is therefore a promising strategy, since they retain enough virulence to cause subclinical infection as well as metabolic activity to change their antigen composition.
Low energy electron irradiation (LEEI)...
West Nile Virus (WNV), a zoonotic flavivirus transmitted by mosquitoes, mainly causes moderate or no symptoms in infected individuals, however in some cases a neurological course of the infection can be severe or even fatal. To date, no human vaccine against WNV is available. The Envelope protein (E), located at the viral surface, mediates binding to and entry into host cells and is the major...
Wild boars and domestic pigs are the main reservoir hosts for the hepatitis E virus (HEV). Therefore, consumption of raw meat and other animal products pose a serious risk for human HEV infections. So far, the HEV prevalence in domestic pig and wild boar has been determined by RT-PCR and antibody ELISA. To characterize neutralizing properties of porcine anti-HEV serum antibodies, a...
Background. Although preventive approaches are a promising tool to limit antimicrobial resistance (AMR), most pathogens on the WHO AMR priority list still lack a licensed vaccine. The feasibility of clinical studies to approve vaccines against (hospital-acquired and opportunistic) AMR pathogens is a major bottleneck. Hence, one goal of the COMBINE project, part of the IMI AMR Accelerator, is...
Background
Infections with the parasitic roundworm Ascaris suum and the bacterial pathogen Salmonella enterica ssp. enterica ser. Typhimurium are widespread in pigs and both pathogens are highly prevalent zoonotic agents. Interestingly, there is a statistical association between high Ascaris exposure and Salmonella prevalence within a pig herd. The immune response against *A....
