Highly pathogenic avian influenza A H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b virus has caused outbreaks in dairy cattle and cases in humans in the United States. Here, the authors assess levels of pre-existing cross-react...

Infection with diverse RNA viruses can generate defective viral genomes (DVGs) that, while unable to support productive virus infection on their own, appear to play a crucial role in determining infection outcome. In light of this apparent biological importance, there is an urgent need to better understand the sequence characteristics of individual DVGs and the molecular mechanisms that regulate their formation to study their biological functions. We have now characterized several DVGs that are highly enriched during infection with the arenavirus Tacaribe virus. Functional analysis of a subset of these DVGs showed length-dependent competition for the viral RNA synthesis machinery, while detailed sequence analysis revealed that DVG formation involves either regions of sequence identity within the genome or the presence of specific nucleotide sequences. Understanding these mechanisms opens up the possibility to leverage DVG generation in support of antiviral and/or vaccine attenuation approaches.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) lacks approved virus-specific antiviral therapies, and off-label treatments with ribavirin and pegylated interferon are limited by toxicity and emerging resistance mutants. This study identifies reactive oxygen species (ROS) promotion mediated by the FDA-approved drug auranofin and D-amino acid oxidase as an effective antiviral strategy against multiple genotypes of HEV, including two globally relevant human-associated genotypes and a ribavirin treatment failure-associated HEV mutant. The observed synergistic anti-HEV activity in vitro for combined treatment with both auranofin and ribavirin suggests a potential clinically effective combinational therapeutic approach. ROS promotion through auranofin or other means represents an underexplored antiviral strategy with potential for broad-spectrum activity against a range of viral diseases.

Programmed cell death is an essential host response to viral infection, but whether infected macrophages undergo inflammatory or non-inflammatory forms of death has important consequences for disease progression. In this study, we found that influenza A virus infection induces a modification of microtubules known as detyrosination, which stabilizes their structure. This change was driven by the host enzyme vasohibin-1 through activation of the inflammasome, a key signaling complex that normally promotes inflammatory cell death. Remarkably, enhanced detyrosination shifted dying cells away from inflammatory membrane rupture toward apoptosis, an immunologically silent cell death pathway that preserves membrane integrity. Our findings identify microtubule detyrosination as a stress-induced host response during influenza A virus infection, highlighting a novel mechanism by which cytoskeletal modification influences the outcome of infection.

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), the causative agent of bovine viral diarrhea-mucosal disease, is a major global threat to cattle health. BVDV employs sophisticated strategies to evade host defense...

South Carolina officials report 8 new cases in the state's growing measles outbreak.

As of September 15, 2024, the COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in more than 776 million confirmed cases and seven million deaths worldwide [1]. While most patients recovered from the acute phase of COVI...

A daily pill can prevent the crippling disease, but its maker won’t bring it to market

npj Vaccines - Cross-herpesvirus immunity of the cytomegalovirus gB/MF59 vaccine response

Vaccination of Finnish at-risk occupational groups with a clade 2.3.4.4b H5N8 influenza vaccine induced robust antibody and T-cell responses, supporting its potential to provide protection against cur...

In this Review, the authors summarize the potential role of emerging viruses in autoimmune rheumatic diseases (AIRDs). They describe the association between viruses and AIRD flare ups, the putative me...

There are still only a few studies on the proteomics of giant viruses. Research published to date has revealed the presence of several proteins involved in processes such as transcription (including RNA polymerase subunits, helicases, and transcription factors), DNA topology regulation (e.g., topoisomerases), and metabolic pathways (e.g., enzymes that help the virus cope with host oxidative stress). Proteomic studies of giant viruses are important, as understanding the role of these proteins can provide information about viral biology, host-virus interactions, and viral evolution. Here, we present, for the first time to our knowledge, a proteomic analysis of a cedratvirus, highlighting unique and shared features with pithovirus, a relative.

This study highlights the importance of monitoring Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in dromedary camels, which are the main animal source of this virus that can occasionally inf...

SARS-CoV-2 is recognized not only for its acute effects and links with cardiovascular events but also for its ability to cause long COVID syndrome, which is now a major concern particularly since its ...

During the summer of 2020, West Nile virus (WNV) caused an important outbreak in south-western Spain, with the highest impact on humans in the country up to that time, resulting in 77 clinical cases (...

Pediatricians say panel’s decision will create confusion and access issues, and condemn ‘parody of public health’

Between July and October 2025, among the total 117 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 strains characterised in Catalonia, 20% to 100% per week were carrying the NA:S247N substitution. The mutation, conferring reduced susceptibility to oseltamivir, was phenotypically confirmed (IC50 between 0.82 and 1.63 nM, compared to median IC50 of 0.3 nM for susceptible strains). An increased proportion of S247N variants was also observed in sequence data (10,944 sequences) from other parts of Spain and five of 35 submitting countries across Europe.

Author summary Flaviviridae viruses—including JEV, CSFV, and HCV—deploy intricate molecular strategies to subvert host innate immune surveillance and establish chronic infections, representing signifi...