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Life (Basel, Switzerland) Jan 2023Orf, or ecthyma contagiosum, is a zoonosis caused by Parapoxvirus that infects sheep and goats. Human transmission typically occurs in persons in contact with the...
BACKGROUND
Orf, or ecthyma contagiosum, is a zoonosis caused by Parapoxvirus that infects sheep and goats. Human transmission typically occurs in persons in contact with the infected animals or contaminated fomites and environment. In humans, it generally occurs as solitary or multiple skin lesions on the hands or fingers. Involvement of the head region has rarely been reported.
CASE PRESENTATION
We report an unusual case with multiple orf lesions on the scalp of a middle-aged woman, along with a review of previously reported Orf cases on the head region.
CONCLUSIONS
Although Orf infection rarely happens on the head region, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cases with relevant animal exposure.
PubMed: 36836716
DOI: 10.3390/life13020358 -
Infection, Genetics and Evolution :... Apr 2023In 2016, the first orf virus, a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) virus of the genus parapoxvirus, from a muskox was isolated on Victoria Island, Nunavut (NU), Canada. We used...
In 2016, the first orf virus, a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) virus of the genus parapoxvirus, from a muskox was isolated on Victoria Island, Nunavut (NU), Canada. We used deep sequencing on DNA extracted from orf virus-positive tissues from wild muskoxen from locations on Victoria Island and the adjacent mainland. Orf virus sequence reads derived from four samples were nearly identical. The consensus sequences generated from pooled reads of MxOV comprises of a large contiguous sequence (contig) of 131,759 bp and a smaller right terminal contig of 3552 bp, containing all coding sequences identified as Parapoxvirus. Individual gene comparisons reveal that MxOV shares genetic characteristics with reference strains from both sheep and goat origin. Recombination analysis using Bootscan, MAXCHI, GENECONV, CHIMAERA, SISCAN, and RDP algorithms within the RDP4 software predicted recombination events in two virulence factors, and a large 3000 bp segment of the MxOV genome. Partial B2L nucleotide sequences from strains around the world and other North American isolates were compared to MxOV using MUSCLE alignments and RAxML phylogenetic trees. MxOV was identical to our previously characterized isolate, and shared similarity with orf virus isolated from sheep and goats. The phylogenetic grouping of partial B2L nucleotide sequences did not follow the sample geographic distribution. More full genomes of orf virus, or at least full B2L gene squences, in wildlife are needed especially in North America to better understand the epidemiology of the disease in muskoxen.
Topics: Sheep; Animals; Phylogeny; Canada; Ruminants; Orf virus; Communicable Diseases; Goats; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
PubMed: 36775047
DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2023.105414 -
Nature Communications Jan 2023The advantage of oncolytic viruses (OV) in cancer therapy is their dual effect of directly killing tumours while prompting anti-tumour immune response. Oncolytic...
The advantage of oncolytic viruses (OV) in cancer therapy is their dual effect of directly killing tumours while prompting anti-tumour immune response. Oncolytic parapoxvirus ovis (ORFV) and other OVs are thought to induce apoptosis, but apoptosis, being the immunogenically inert compared to other types of cell death, does not explain the highly inflamed microenvironment in OV-challenged tumors. Here we show that ORFV and its recombinant therapeutic derivatives are able to trigger tumor cell pyroptosis via Gasdermin E (GSDME). This effect is especially prominent in GSDME-low tumor cells, in which ORFV-challenge pre-stabilizes GSDME by decreasing its ubiquitination and subsequently initiates pyroptosis. Consistently, GSDME depletion reduces the proportion of intratumoral cytotoxic T lymphocytes, pyroptotic cell death and the success of tumor ORFV virotherapy. In vivo, the OV preferentially accumulates in the tumour upon systemic delivery and elicits pyroptotic tumor killing. Consequentially, ORFV sensitizes immunologically 'cold' tumors to checkpoint blockade. This study thus highlights the critical role of GSDME-mediated pyroptosis in oncolytic ORFV-based antitumor immunity and identifies combinatorial cancer therapy strategies.
Topics: Humans; Gasdermins; Neoplasms; Oncolytic Virotherapy; Oncolytic Viruses; Parapoxvirus; Pyroptosis; Tumor Microenvironment
PubMed: 36641456
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-35917-2 -
Veterinaria Italiana Dec 2022The orf virus (ORFV) is an epitheliotropic virus causing a highly contagious skin disease mainly in sheep and goats. Several diagnostics including molecular tools like...
The orf virus (ORFV) is an epitheliotropic virus causing a highly contagious skin disease mainly in sheep and goats. Several diagnostics including molecular tools like Loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay are available to detect ORFV in affected species. However, the carry-over contamination associated with LAMP as open tube format prevents the assay applicability as point of care test in field diagnostic settings. In this study, the B2L gene based LAMP assay was optimized in a closed tube format using hydroxynaphthol blue (HNB) and calcein as pre-addition dyes and it has shown a clear positive and negative signal at 60 °C using 4 and 5 mM concentrations of MgSO4 respectively for these dyes. Optimitimzed assay that could reveal the result within one hour is highly specific and senstive with a limit of detection at 12.5 femtogram of viral genomic DNA or ~85 virus genome equivalent. This improved method prevented the cross-contamination of future LAMP reactions in the laboratory without compromising diagnostic sensitivity (100%) and specificity (100%) when compared to open tube system. This closed tube LAMP method has potential to act as a simple visual detection assay for the rapid and specific diagnosis of ORFV in sheep and goats.
Topics: Animals; Sheep; Orf virus; Goats; Sensitivity and Specificity; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques; Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; Coloring Agents
PubMed: 36586114
DOI: 10.12834/VetIt.2426.15340.2 -
Vaccines Dec 2022Equine influenza virus (EIV) is responsible for recurring outbreaks that are detrimental to the equine industry. Vaccination is key for prevention, but the effectiveness...
Equine influenza virus (EIV) is responsible for recurring outbreaks that are detrimental to the equine industry. Vaccination is key for prevention, but the effectiveness and duration of protection provided by existing vaccines is often insufficient. In order to improve vaccine efficacy, we evaluated the benefit of immune stimulation with inactivated Parapoxvirus ovis (iPPVO) on the antibody response induced by a vaccine boost against EIV. A whole inactivated ISCOMatrix-adjuvanted equine influenza vaccine was administered alone ( = 10) or combined with iPPVO injections at D0, D2 and D4 post vaccination ( = 10) to adult horses that required a vaccine boost 6 months after the last immunization, as now recommended by the WOAH. Antibody levels were measured with the single radial haemolysis (SRH) assay at 1, 3 and 6 months post-vaccination. Results revealed that horses that received iPPVO had higher antibody levels than the control group injected with the EI vaccine alone. Although the vaccine used contains only a clade 1 and European lineage strain, the increase in protective antibodies was also observed against a clade 2 strain. Thus, immune stimulation with iPPVO, a substance already marketed as an immunostimulant, could be used to improve vaccination protocols in horses and potentially other species.
PubMed: 36560549
DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10122139 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2022Currently, it is believed that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an airborne virus, and virus-containing aerosol particles have been found...
Currently, it is believed that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an airborne virus, and virus-containing aerosol particles have been found concurrent with the onset of COVID-19, which may contribute to the noncontact transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Exploring agents to block SARS-CoV-2 transmission is of great importance to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we found that inactivated (iORFV), a kind of immunomodulator, could compress the proportion of small particle aerosols exhaled by Syrian golden hamsters. Notably, the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA-containing aerosol particles was significantly reduced by iORFV in the early stages after viral inoculation. Importantly, smaller aerosol particles (<4.7 μm) that carry infectious viruses were completely cleared by iORFV. Consistently, iORFV treatment completely blocked viral noncontact (aerosol) transmission. In summary, iORFV may become a repurposed agent for the prevention and control of COVID-19 by affecting viral aerosol exhalation and subsequent viral transmission.
PubMed: 36532502
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1086627 -
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Feb 2023Orf virus (ORFV), a Parapoxvirus in Poxviridae, infects sheep and goats resulting in contagious pustular dermatitis. ORFV is regarded as a promising viral vector...
Orf virus (ORFV), a Parapoxvirus in Poxviridae, infects sheep and goats resulting in contagious pustular dermatitis. ORFV is regarded as a promising viral vector candidate for vaccine development and oncolytic virotherapy. Owing to their potential clinical application, safety concerns have become increasingly important. Deletion of either the OV132 (encoding vascular endothelial growth factor, VEGF) or OV112 (encoding the chemokine binding protein, CBP) genes reduced ORFV infectivity, which has been independently demonstrated in the NZ2 and NZ7 strains, respectively. This study revealed that the VEGF and CBP gene sequences of the local strain (TW/Hoping) shared a similarity of 47.01% with NZ2 and 90.56% with NZ7. Due to the high sequence divergence of these two immunoregulatory genes among orf viral strains, their contribution to the pathogenicity of Taiwanese ORFV isolates was comparatively characterized. Initially, two ORFV recombinants were generated, in which either the VEGF or CBP gene was deleted and replaced with the reporter gene EGFP. In vitro assays indicated that both the VEGF-deletion mutant ORFV-VEGFΔ-EGFP and the CBP deletion mutant ORFV-CBPΔ-EGFP were attenuated in cells. In particular, ORFV-VEGFΔ-EGFP significantly reduced plaque size and virus yield compared to ORFV-CBPΔ-EGFP and the wild-type control. Similarly, in vivo analysis revealed no virus yield in the goat skin biopsy infected by ORFV-VEGFΔ-EGFP, and significantly reduced the virus yield of ORFV-CBPΔ-EGFP relative to the wild-type control. These results confirmed the loss of virulence of both deletion mutants in the Hoping strain, whereas the VEGF-deletion mutant was more attenuated than the CBP deletion strain in both cell and goat models. KEY POINTS: • VEGF and CBP genes are crucial in ORFV pathogenesis in the TW/Hoping strain • The VEGF-deletion mutant virus was severely attenuated in both cell culture and animal models • Deletion mutant viruses are advantageous vectors for the development of vaccines and therapeutic regimens.
Topics: Animals; Ecthyma, Contagious; Goats; Orf virus; Sheep; Skin; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; Genes, Viral
PubMed: 36484827
DOI: 10.1007/s00253-022-12323-0 -
Microorganisms Sep 2022Sheeppox (SPP), goatpox (GTP), and lumpy skin disease (LSD) are economically significant pox diseases of ruminants, caused by sheeppox virus (SPPV), goatpox virus...
Sheeppox (SPP), goatpox (GTP), and lumpy skin disease (LSD) are economically significant pox diseases of ruminants, caused by sheeppox virus (SPPV), goatpox virus (GTPV), and lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), respectively. SPPV and GTPV can infect both sheep and goats, while LSDV mainly affects cattle. The recent emergence of LSD in Asia and Europe and the repeated incursions of SPP in Greece, Bulgaria, and Russia highlight how these diseases can spread outside their endemic regions, stressing the urgent need to develop high-throughput serological surveillance tools. We expressed and tested two recombinant truncated proteins, the capripoxvirus homologs of the vaccinia virus C-type lectin-like protein A34 and the EEV glycoprotein A36, as antigens for an indirect ELISA (iELISA) to detect anti-capripoxvirus antibodies. Since A34 outperformed A36 by showing no cross-reactivity to anti-parapoxvirus antibodies, we optimized an A34 iELISA using two different working conditions, one for LSD in cattle and one for SPP/GTP in sheep and goats. Both displayed sound sensitivities and specificities: 98.81% and 98.72%, respectively, for the LSD iELISA, and 97.68% and 95.35%, respectively, for the SPP/GTP iELISA, and did not cross-react with anti-parapoxvirus antibodies of cattle, sheep, and goats. These assays could facilitate the implementation of capripox control programs through serosurveillance and the screening of animals for trade.
PubMed: 36296232
DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10101956 -
Archives of Razi Institute Apr 2022Camel contagious ecthyma (CCE) is an infectious disease caused by the Paravox virus (PPV) of the family . Due to the importance of the camel breeding industry in...
Camel contagious ecthyma (CCE) is an infectious disease caused by the Paravox virus (PPV) of the family . Due to the importance of the camel breeding industry in tropical and subtropical regions, the present study aimed to isolate the causative agent of camel contagious ecthyma (CCE) using cell culture and molecular confirmation of virus isolate. A total of 210 camels aged 6 months to 4 years were selected from different districts in Wasit province (Iraq) from August 2017 to April 2019. These animals, which included 117 females and 93 males, displayed signs of papules, blisters, pustules, and scabs on the skin. To isolate the CCE virus, primary and secondary cell cultivation was performed using the lamb testis (LT) cells. The findings pointed out that there were cytopathic effects during the second passage of the virus, characterized by rounding and cells aggregation after 72 h. Furthermore, there were dramatic changes, including sloughing off and detachment from the surface of the monolayer, in monolayer cells after 48-72 h. The titration values of the isolated Orf virus in LT cells were obtained at 10 TCI50 /0.05 and 10 TCID 50 / 0.05 ml in the third and fourth passages, respectively. As expected, the of affected camels was amplified from a skin biopsy DNA sample to produce nearly 594 base pairs. In conclusion, the results of the current study focused on epidemiological and virological characteristics of CCE in Wasit province; moreover, the virus was confirmed by a specific gene called the .
Topics: Male; Female; Sheep; Animals; Orf virus; Ecthyma, Contagious; Camelus; Iraq; Skin; Sheep Diseases
PubMed: 36284963
DOI: 10.22092/ARI.2021.356862.1933 -
Revista Argentina de Microbiologia 2023Contagious Ecthyma (CE) is a severe exanthematous dermatitis caused by the Orf virus (ORFV) that mainly affects domestic small ruminants such as sheep and goats. It is a...
Contagious Ecthyma (CE) is a severe exanthematous dermatitis caused by the Orf virus (ORFV) that mainly affects domestic small ruminants such as sheep and goats. It is a worldwide-distributed occupational zoonosis, particularly infecting those in close contact with animals or animal products such as shepherds, farmers and veterinarians, among others. In the present work, we report the first human CE case confirmed in Argentina. A phylogenetic analysis based on four gene sequences of the isolated strain responsible for the disease showed that this isolate grouped with other ORFV sequences that caused reported CE cases in sheep from the same Argentine province. We also sequenced a sample from a Chilean human case reported in 2017, whose phylogenetic analysis showed that it groups together with other Argentine isolates from locations close to the border with Chile.
Topics: Female; Humans; Animals; Sheep; Ecthyma, Contagious; Orf virus; Phylogeny; Argentina; Goats; Chile
PubMed: 36184365
DOI: 10.1016/j.ram.2022.07.002