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Pre-symptomatic diagnosis and treatment of filovirus diseases
Filoviruses are virulent human pathogens which cause severe illness with high case fatality rates and for which there are no available FDA-approved vaccines or therapeutics. Diagnostic tools including antibody- and molecular-based assays, mass spectrometry, and next-generation sequencing are continu...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2015
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4335271/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25750638 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00108 |
Sumario: | Filoviruses are virulent human pathogens which cause severe illness with high case fatality rates and for which there are no available FDA-approved vaccines or therapeutics. Diagnostic tools including antibody- and molecular-based assays, mass spectrometry, and next-generation sequencing are continually under development. Assays using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have become the mainstay for the detection of filoviruses in outbreak settings. In many cases, real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR allows for the detection of filoviruses to be carried out with minimal manipulation and equipment and can provide results in less than 2 h. In cases of novel, highly diverse filoviruses, random-primed pyrosequencing approaches have proved useful. Ideally, diagnostic tests would allow for diagnosis of filovirus infection as early as possible after infection, either before symptoms begin, in the event of a known exposure or epidemiologic outbreak, or post-symptomatically. If tests could provide an early definitive diagnosis, then this information may be used to inform the choice of possible therapeutics. Several exciting new candidate therapeutics have been described recently; molecules that have therapeutic activity when administered to animal models of infection several days post-exposure, once signs of disease have begun. The latest data for candidate nucleoside analogs, small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules, phosphorodiamidate (PMO) molecules, as well as antibody and blood-product therapeutics and therapeutic vaccines are discussed. For filovirus researchers and government agencies interested in making treatments available for a nation’s defense as well as its general public, having the right diagnostic tools to identify filovirus infections, as well as a panel of available therapeutics for treatment when needed, is a high priority. Additional research in both areas is required for ultimate success, but significant progress is being made to reach these goals. |
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