II Flashcards
EBOLA VIROLOGY
- single-stranded negative sense RNA genome
- Virus genome is 19 kb long and encodes seven structural and one non-structural protein
- enveloped virus
- Filoviridae family: alluding to the filamentous morphology of filovirions
EBOLA TRANSMISSION
- Ebola disease spreads only by direct contact with the blood or other body fluids and respiratory droplets of a person who has developed symptoms of the disease
- airborne transmissions in NHPs and from pigs to NHPs has been observed
- Most people spread the virus through blood, feces and vomit
- shown to infect domestic animals without causing severe disease
- Communicability: CANNOT BE SPREAD PRIOR to onset of symptoms
EBOLA STRUCTURE
Virions are cylindrical/tubular and contain virally encoded glycoproteins (GP) projecting from the lipid bilayer surface
- at the center of the virion structure is the nucleocapsid, which is composed of a series of viral proteins attached to an 19 kb linear, negative-sense RNA
- nucleocapsid: The core structure of a virus, consisting of nucleic acid surrounded by a coat of protein
- the RNA is helically wound and complexed with the NP
- The 3′ terminus is not polyadenylated and the 5′ end is not capped.
EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE
- The virus begins its attack by attaching to host receptors through the glycoprotein (GP) and is endocytosed into the host cell.
- To penetrate the cell, the viral membrane fuses with vesicle membrane, and the nucleocapsid is released into the cytoplasm.
- The Ebola virus infects mainly the capillary endothelium and several types of immune cells.
- EBOV infection starts with immune cells like monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells (DC) in lymphoid tissues
- infected immune cells spread the virus throughout the body through the bloodstream and lymphatic system
- once established inside body, ebola virus targets liver and adrenal glands & the liver tissue is destroyed, effecting the production of proteins that help blood to clot
- damage to adrenal gland (which sit atop the kidneys) harm the bodies production of steroids which are necessary to control the bodies blood pressure
- Infection progresses to infect liver KUPFFER & Parencymal cells
- results in coagulation dysfunction
- pokes holes in small blood vessels–>lining of blood vessels become more permeable, leading to dehydration, low blood pressure, shock; people will hemmorage and develop internal & external bleeding
- most deadly part is dramatic overreaction of the immune system–>cytokine storm which often kills people
EBOLA SYMPTOMS
- incubation period of 21 days
- early clinical symptoms: FEVER (>101.5), chills, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting
- late clinical symptoms: bleeding from mouth and rectum, bleeding from eyes, ears, and nose, and organ failure
- symptoms of impaired kidney & liver function
- 50-90% fatality rate
- cause of death is multiple organ failure
- patients are often killed not by the virus itself, but by the overreaction of their immune system to the infection.
Kupffer cells & Parenchymal cells
- Kupffer cells are specialized macrophages located in the liver
- PARENCHYMAL: 70–85% of the liver volume is occupied by parenchymal hepatocytes. The parenchyma are the functional parts of an organ in the body.
EBOLA EPIDEMIOLOGY: Fist Occurrence
- first identified in 1976 during the EBOV Zaire outbreak (Zaire species of ebolavirus)
- mostly endemic to tropical Africa but also found in southeast Asia
EBOLA EPIDEMIOLOGY: Natural Reservoir
- African Green Bats
- Non-Human Primates (NHPs)
- five different human and NHP species have been identified
EBOV Enzootic Cycle
New evidence strongly implicates bats as the reservoir hosts for ebolavirus, though the means of local enzootic maintenance and transmission of the virus within bat populations remain unknown
EBOV EPIZOOTIC CYCLE
Epizootics caused by ebolaviruses appear sporadically, producing high morality among non-human primates and may precede human outbreaks
- epidemics caused by ebolaviruses produce acute disease among humans, with the exception of Reston virus which does not produce detectable disease in humans
- little is known about how the virus first passes to humans, triggering waves of human-to-human transmission, and an epidemic
Epizootic
- In epizoology, an epizootic is a disease event in a nonhuman animal population, analogous to an epidemic in humans.
- it is based upon the number of new cases in a given animal population, during a given period, and must be judged to be a rate that substantially exceeds what is expected based on recent experience (i.e. a sharp elevation in the incidence rate).
Enzootic
- Common diseases that occur at a constant but relatively high rate in the population are said to be “enzootic” (cf. the epidemiological meaning of “endemic” for human diseases).
- In epizoology, an infection is said to be “enzootic” in a population when the infection is maintained in the population without the need for external inputs
EBOLA 2014-2015 OUTBREAK
- first reported in Guinea March 21, 2014
- Spread to six West African Countries
- Guinea, Liberia & Sierra Leone were the most affected
- Imported cases and incidents with Healthcare workers in US, Spain, and the UK
- EBOV Zaire species
- was the worst Ebola outbreak in history
- The most severely affected countries, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, have very weak health systems, lack human and infrastructural resources, and have only recently emerged from long periods of conflict and instability.
- around 30,000 cases, and 12,000 deaths
- as of march 27th, 2016–>Liberia & Sierra Leone have recorded NO CASES for more than 42 days
- A cluster of new EVD cases were recently reported in Guinea
EVD CURRENT STATUS
- No licensed vaccines or cure for Ebola
- experimental therapies: whole blood/plasma transfusion, fluids given through IV, Zmapp, Antiviral drugs
- public health measures: quarantine infected individuals, contact monitoring to break chain of transmission
ZMapp
- ZMapp is an experimental biopharmaceutical drug comprising three chimeric monoclonal antibodies under development as a treatment for Ebola virus disease.
- transfect tobacco plants with immunoglobulin genes of interest; collect antibody product and test in animals
- ZMapp contains neutralizing antibodies that provide passive immunity to the virus by directly and specifically reacting with it in a “lock and key” fashion
- protects against Zaire and other EBOV species
- Reversion of advanced EVD in NHP 3, 4 and 5 days post EBOV exposure; when Zmapp is given 3, 4, or 5 days post EBOV infection in NHPs, there is 100% survival
HOW DOES EBOLA EVADE THE IMMUNE SYSTEM?
- Antibody-Dependent Enhancement (ADE)–>Via activation of the classical complement pathway to increase host receptor interaction, but prevents downstream activities of the classical complement pathway
- Overexpression of EBOV glycoprotein (GP)–>GP can sterically shield its own epitopes at the cell surface. EBOV GP forms a glycan shield with the ability to BLOCK antibody binding and disrupt protein function at the cell surface; allows evasion of host humoral and cellular immune response
- Infects and hinders macrophage and DC functions early on
- Coats its nucleocapsid with host cell’s membrane materials
- VP35 blocks production of interferon, one of the main regulators of the innate immune system. This branch of the immune system specializes in fighting viruses.
ANTIBODY-DEPENDENT ENHANCEMENT (ADE)
Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) occurs when non-neutralizing antiviral proteins facilitate virus entry into host cells, leading to increased infectivity in the cells.
*It is thought that by binding to but not neutralizing the virus, these antibodies cause it to behave as a “trojan horse”, where it is delivered into the wrong compartment of dendritic cells that have ingested the virus for destruction. Once inside the white blood cell, the virus replicates undetected, eventually generating very high virus titers which cause severe disease.
EBOLA VACCINES IN DEVELOPMENT
- Most of the experimental vaccines target EBOV GP
- Current approaches include: DNA based vaccine development, replicating and non-replicating vectors, adjuvant systems, humanized monoclonal antibodies
Chimpanzee-Derived Adenoviral (ChAd) EBOV Vaccine
- Developed by US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and GlaxoSmithKline(GSK)
- Contains antigenic materials from Zaire and Sudan strains
- Human trials began in Maryland U.S.A
- The highest test dose produced the most Abs
- Hallmark anti-GP titers and antigen specific T cell response observed
- CD4+ T cells did not correlate with efficacy
- No known adverse reactions
Why not use human adenovirus vector for EBOLA and instead use Chimp adenovirus?
Previous evidence has supported that human-derived adenoviral vectors expressing EBOV GP can confer acute protection against EBOV; however, the issue of pre-existing immunity against a prevalent human inoculant, such as adenoviruses, has plagued future development of similar vaccine platforms. As a result, efforts towards improved, non-parenteral administration (i.e., oral and nasal delivery) and alternative non-human viral vectors have been required to assess the viability of adenoviral vaccines.
*EBOV GP based vaccine platform utilizing chimpanzee-derived adenoviral (ChAd) serotypes, potentially circumventing concerns of pre-existing vector immunity
Recombinant Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV-EBOV)
- Developed by Public Health Agency of Canada, licensed to Merck
- rVSV-ZEBOV is a recombinant vector vaccine based on the vesicular stomatitits virus (VSV); it expresses glycoproteins of the Zaire ebola strain
- VSV-EBOV expresses GPs of Zaire EBOV
- Single intramuscular dose was sufficient to induce complete protective response in NHPs
- Safety trials were stopped briefly due to report of joint pains among healthy volunteers
- The genetic flexibility of VSV has allowed the development of rVSVs that express foreign viral proteins to high levels
EVD Ring Vaccine
*Vaccinate ring of people around infected individual
Vaccinate all participants
Different groups receive vaccine at different time points
No placebo!
*Phase III clinical study, using a trial design called “ring vaccination”. In addition to providing reassurance that the vaccine is safe for humans, the trial also aims to demonstrate that the vaccine can effectively prevent Ebola virus disease. This evidence will facilitate introduction of the vaccine on a large scale, supplementing other measures to prevent Ebola virus disease.
What is the scientific basis for ring vaccination?
The ring vaccination strategy is based on the approach used in the 1970s to eradicate smallpox. The implementation of this strategy involves the identification of a newly diagnosed and laboratory-confirmed case of Ebola virus disease — “patient zero” — and the tracing of people who have been in contact with that patient. These people and their contacts — often family members, neighbours, colleagues, and friends of the patient — will constitute the “ring”, generally made up of 50 to 100 individuals. The individuals in the ring are vaccinated, if they give their consent. The rings are selected at random for immediate or delayed vaccination (after 21 days). Ring vaccination has two objectives: (i) to test whether the vaccine protects people who have been in contact with an Ebola patient and (ii) to ensure that by vaccinating people in the “ring” a buffer zone — or protective ring — is created around “patient zero” to prevent the spread of infection.
*Phase III clinical study
Economic Cost of EVD
- Job cuts meant to decrease the spread of Ebola in office environment
- EVD related death of breadwinners
- The three most affected countries rely heavily on tourism and ‘beach bar’ revenues