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Background: Canine coronavirus (CCoV), canine rotavirus (CRV), canine parvovirus (CPV), and canine distemper virus (CDV) cause gastroenteritis in dogs, and co-infections of these pathogens are common in China. In particular, CCoV and CRV are confirmed to have important zoonotic potential and cause public health issues. It is difficult to diagnose these diseases based only on clinical manifestations and pathological damage. Methods: In this study, four pairs of specific primers and probes targeting the CCoV M, CRV VP7, CPV VP2, and CDV N genes were designed. The reaction conditions, including the primer and probe concentrations, annealing temperatures, and reaction cycles, were optimized for the development of a quadruplex RT-qPCR for the detection of CCoV, CRV, CPV, and CDV. The assay was used to test 1028 clinical samples to validate its application. Results: A quadruplex RT-qPCR was successfully established for the differential detection of CCoV, CRV, CPV, and CDV, with good specificity, high sensitivity, and excellent repeatability. The assay could specifically detect CCoV, CRV, CPV, and CDV without cross-reactivity with the other canine viruses tested. It showed high sensitivity with limits of detection (LOD) of 1.1 × 102 copies/reaction for all four plasmid constructs. It showed excellent repeatability, with 0.05–0.90% intra-assay variation and 0.02–0.94% inter-assay variation. The 1028 clinical samples were tested using the quadruplex RT-qPCR and a reported reference RT-qPCR. The positivity rates of CCoV, CRV, CPV, and CDV were 9.53%, 0.97%, 25.68%, and 5.06% using the developed assay, and 9.05%, 0.88%, 25.68%, and 4.86% using the reference assay, with agreements higher than 99.32%. Conclusion: The results indicated that a rapid and accurate quadruplex RT-qPCR was developed for the detection and differentiation of CCoV, CRV, CPV, and CDV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents an analysis of the epidemiological trends of parvovirus B19 (B19V) in Israel from 2010 to 2023, with particular emphasis on the outbreak in 2023. The analysis utilized molecular diagnostic data from individual patients obtained at the Central Virology Laboratory. Between 2010 and 2022, 8.5% of PCR-tested samples were positive for B19V, whereas in 2023, this percentage surged to 31% of PCR-tested samples. Throughout the study period, annual cycles consistently peaked in early spring/summer, with the most recent prominent outbreak occurring in 2016. Predominantly, diagnoses were made in children and women aged 20–39. Despite the notable surge in 2023, over 80% of positive cases continued to be observed in children and young women, with a decrease in cases during winter months. Furthermore, genotype 1a of the virus remained the predominant strain circulating during the outbreak. In light of these circumstances, consideration should be given to implementing screening measures, particularly among high-risk groups such as pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viruses frequently contain overlapping genes, which encode functionally unrelated proteins from the same DNA or RNA region but in different reading frames. Yet, overlapping genes are often overlooked during genome annotation, in particular in DNA viruses. Here we looked for the presence of overlapping genes likely to encode a functional protein in human parvovirus B19 (genus Erythroparvovirus), using an experimentally validated software, Synplot2. Synplot2 detected an open reading frame, X, conserved in all erythroparvoviruses, which overlaps the VP1 capsid gene and is under highly significant selection pressure. In a related virus, human parvovirus 4 (genus Tetraparvovirus), Synplot2 also detected an open reading frame under highly significant selection pressure, ARF1, which overlaps the VP1 gene and is conserved in all tetraparvoviruses. These findings provide compelling evidence that the X and ARF1 proteins must be expressed and functional. X and ARF1 have the exact same location (they overlap the region of the VP1 gene encoding the phospholipase A2 domain), are both in the same frame (+1) with respect to the VP1 frame, and encode proteins with similar predicted properties, including a central transmembrane region. Further studies will be needed to determine whether they have a common origin and similar function. X and ARF1 are probably translated either from a polycistronic mRNA by a non-canonical mechanism, or from an unmapped monocistronic mRNA. Finally, we also discovered proteins predicted to be expressed from a frame overlapping VP1 in other species related to parvovirus B19: porcine parvovirus 2 (Z protein) and bovine parvovirus 3 (X-like protein). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to estimate the serological status and dynamic changes in the prevalence of Parvovirus B19 (PVB19) antibodies within the general population residing in the northern part of the Republic of Serbia (Province of Vojvodina) during a 16-year period. Serum samples were analyzed for Human PVB19-specific IgM and IgG antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Throughout the study period, the overall seroprevalence was 49.51%. Approximately 10% of patients exhibited a serologic profile positive for PVB19 IgM antibodies. Notably, seroprevalence varied significantly, ranging from 9.12% in the pediatric cohort (ages 1–4 years) to 65.50% in the adult demographic (40–59 years old). Seroprevalence was higher (51.88%) among women compared to men (42.50%). Immunologically naive pregnant women in the age groups 26–36 and 36–45 years had 45% (OR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.31–1.00) and 52% (OR = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.24–0.94) lower odds of having negative IgM and IgG compared to those in age group 16–25 years old. Improved knowledge of the epidemiology of PVB19 may assist clinicians in the differential diagnosis of PVB19 clinical manifestations. The PVB19 detection is particularly important for monitoring individuals in risk groups such as women of reproductive age, medical staff, patients with hematological disorders, and those with immunodeficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parvovirus B19, a member of the Parvoviridae family, is a human pathogenic virus. It can be transmitted by respiratory secretions, hand-to-mouth contact, blood transfusion, or transplacental transmission. Most patients are asymptomatic or present with mild symptoms such as erythema infectiosum, especially in children. In rare cases, moderate-to-severe symptoms may occur, affecting blood cells and other systems, resulting in anemia, thrombocytopenia, and neutropenia. Non-immune pregnant women are at risk for fetal infection by parvovirus B19, with greater complications if transmission occurs in the first or second trimester. Infected fetuses may not show any abnormalities in most cases, but in more severe cases, there may be severe fetal anemia, hydrops, and even pregnancy loss. Maternal diagnosis of intrauterine parvovirus B19 infection includes IgG and IgM antibody testing. For fetal diagnosis, PCR is performed through amniocentesis. In addition to diagnosing the infection, it is important to monitor the peak of systolic velocity of the middle cerebral artery (PVS-MCA) Doppler to assess the presence of fetal anemia. There is no vaccine for parvovirus B19, and fetal management focuses on detecting moderate/severe anemia by fetal PVS-MCA Doppler, which, if diagnosed, should be treated with intrauterine transfusion by cordocentesis. Prevention focuses on reducing exposure in high-risk populations, particularly pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Microorganisms suspended in the air are considered one of the main challenges leading to chicken respiratory diseases despite continuous production management and environmental prevention improvements. Traditional feeding modes have some disadvantages, with high density and poor ventilation; therefore, they provide good conditions for microorganisms to survive. The complex composition of microorganisms in the chicken house environment is unknown, especially regarding viruses. However, few works have paid attention to the microbial community structure and its potential risks to animal and human health. The environmental conditions of chicken houses play an important role in the growth and development of these animals. The chicken house is an essential place for the formation of microbial aerosols. Microbial aerosol pollution and transmission can affect human and animal health. In this work, we continuously monitored fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the chicken house environment for four weeks and studied the microbial community structure in the aerosols of the chicken house environment through metagenomic sequencing. Our results found that bacteria, fungi, viruses, and archaea were the main components of PM2.5 in the chicken house environment, accounting for 89.80%, 1.08%, 2.06%, and 0.49%, respectively. Conditional pathogens are a type of bacteria that poses significant harm to animals themselves and to farm workers. We screened ten common conditional pathogens and found that Staphylococcus had the highest relative abundance, while Clostridium contained the most microbial species, up to 456. Basidiomycetes and Ascomycota in fungi showed dramatic changes in relative abundance, and other indexes showed no significant difference. Virulence factors (VF) are also a class of molecules produced by pathogenic microbes that can cause host diseases. The top five virulence factors were found in four groups: FbpABC, HitABC, colibactin, acinetobactin, and capsule, many of which are used for the iron uptake system. In the PM2.5 samples, eight avian viruses were the most significant discoveries, namely Fowl aviadovirus E, Fowl aviadovirus D, Avian leukosis virus, Avian endogenous retrovirus EAV-HP, Avian dependent parvovirus 1, Fowl adenovus, Fowl aviadovirus B, and Avian sarcoma virus. The above results significantly improve our understanding of the microbial composition of PM2.5 in chicken houses, filling a gap on virus composition; they also indicate a potential threat to poultry and to human health. This work provides an important theoretical basis for animal house environmental monitoring and protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]