In vitro characterization of the antiviral activity of fucoidan from Cladosiphon okamuranus against Newcastle Disease Virus

Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) causes a serious infectious disease in birds that results in severe losses in the worldwide poultry industry. Despite vaccination, NDV outbreaks have increased the necessity of alternative prevention and control measures. Several recent studies focused on antiviral compounds obtained from natural resources. Many extracts from marine organisms have been isolated and tested for pharmacological purposes, and their antiviral activity has been demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide present in the cell wall matrix of brown algae that has been demonstrated to inhibit certain enveloped viruses with low toxicity. This study evaluated the potential antiviral activity and the mechanism of action of fucoidan from Cladosiphon okamuranus against NDV in the Vero cell line

Antiadhesive activity of poly-hydroxy butyrate biopolymer from a marine Brevibacterium casei MSI04 against shrimp pathogenic vibrios

Vibrio pathogens are causative agents of mid-culture outbreaks, and early mortality syndrome and secondary aetiology of most dreadful viral outbreaks in shrimp aquaculture. Among the pathogenic vibrios group, Vibrio alginolyticus and V. harveyi are considered as the most significant ones in the grow-out ponds of giant black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon in India. Use of antibiotics was banned in many countries due to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains and accumulation of residual antibiotics in harvested shrimp. There is an urgent need to consider the use of alternative antibiotics for the control of vibriosis in shrimp aquaculture. Biofilm formation is a pathogenic and/or establishment mechanism of Vibrio spp. This study aims to develop novel safe antibiofilm and/ or antiadhesive process using PHB to contain vibrios outbreaks in shrimp aquaculture.

Ebola virus disease 2014

Ebola virus disease was irst described in 1976 originating from the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since then, Ebola virus has become an important public health threat in Africa, and now it is of great concern worldwide due to the recent outbreaks (9216 cases with 4555 deaths up to October 20th, 2014), and it is so far the largest and deadliest recorded in history. Five Ebola virus species have been identiied (including Zaire, Sudan, Ivory Coast, Reston, and Bundibugyo Ebola virus), and four of them have proved to be highly pathogenic for both human and non-human primates, causing viral hemorrhagic fever with case fatality rates of up to 90%, for which no approved therapeutics or vaccines are currently available. Ebola virus infections are characterized by immune suppression and a systemic inlammatory response that causes impairment of the vascular, coagulation, and immune systems, leading to multiorgan failure and shock, and thus, in some ways, resembling septic shock. The major affected countries, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, and Nigeria, have been struggling to contain and to mitigate the outbreak. Gene sequencing of the 2014 virus (2014WA) outbreak has demonstrated 98% homology with the Zaire Ebola virus, with a 49% case fatality ratio across the affected countries. In this review the characteristics of the viruses, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and the cases reported in health care workers (HCW) are described, as well as a summary of outbreaks of the virus since its discovery, including these last two outbreaks in Africa.