J. P. Woodall

Bio: J. P. Woodall is an academic researcher from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. The author has contributed to research in topics: ProMED-mail & Yellow fever. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 40 publications receiving 994 citations.

Twelve isolations of zika virus from aedes (stegomyia) africanus (theobald) taken in and above a uganda forest.

Abstract: In continuation of a series of studies of arboreal mosquitos as virus vectors in Uganda, 12 strains of Zika virus and one strain of another Group B arbovirus were isolated between November 1961 and June 1963 from pools of Aedes (Stegomyia) africanus caught on a 120-foot (365-m) tower in Zika forest For five strains it is known at what height the mosquitos were caught: one was from mosquitos taken at ground level, and the other four were from mosquitos taken in or above the upper canopy after sunset No small mammal trapped in the forest either on the ground or in the trees showed serum antibody for Zika virus These findings suggest that in Zika forest, A (S) africanus becomes infected from a virus reservoir that is probably not among the small animals tested and that infected mosquitos are liable to be spread widely beyond the forest by convection currents above the tree-tops in the first two or three hours after sunset

O'nyong-nyong fever: An epidemic virus disease in East Africa VIII. Virus isolations from anopheles mosquitoes

Abstract: Mosquitoes and bed-bugs were collected in 1959–1960 from places in Uganda and Kenya affected by the o'nyong-nyong epidemic. Tests indicated that 39 of 144 pools containing 5,784 Anopheles funestus , and 15 of 206 pools of 6,933 A. gambiae contained o'nyong-nyong (ONN) virus. No isolation was made from 60 pools containing 1,837 culicine mosquitoes of at least 15 species, or from 13 pools of more than 1,561 bed-bugs. Infected A. funestus and A. gambiae caught in the field maintained ONN virus for at least 20 and 13 days respectively, but limited transmission trials with monkeys and infant mice, through these mosquitoes, were unsuccessful. Transmission was, however, obtained with laboratory-infected mosquitoes of both species. The findings strongly support the conclusions of previous studies in the field that A. funestus was the vector of ONN virus, and that A. gambiae was also involved.

Evaluation of ProMED-mail as an electronic early warning system for emerging animal diseases: 1996 to 2004.

Abstract: Objective—To identify emerging animal and zoonotic diseases and associated geographic distribution, disease agents, animal hosts, and seasonality of reporting in the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED)-mail electronic early warning system. Design—Retrospective study. Sample Population—10,490 disease reports. Procedures—Descriptive statistics were collated for all animal disease reports appearing on the ProMED-mail system from January 1, 1996, to December 31, 2004. Results—Approximately 30% of reports concerned events in the United States; reports were next most common in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Russia, and China. Rabies, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and anthrax were reported consistently over the study period, whereas avian influenza, Ebola virus, and Hantavirus infection were reported frequently in approximately half of the study years. Reports concerning viral agents composed more than half of the postings. Humans affected by zoonotic disease accounted for a third of th...

Genetic and Serologic Properties of Zika Virus Associated with an Epidemic, Yap State, Micronesia, 2007

Abstract: Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus first isolated in Uganda from a sentinel monkey in 1947. Mosquito and sentinel animal surveillance studies have demonstrated that ZIKV is endemic to Africa and Southeast Asia, yet reported human cases are rare, with <10 cases reported in the literature. In June 2007, an epidemic of fever and rash associated with ZIKV was detected in Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia. We report the genetic and serologic properties of the ZIKV associated with this epidemic.

An epidemic of oligoarticular arthritis in children and adults in three connecticut communities

Abstract: An epidemic form of arthritis has been occurring in eastern Connecticut at least since 1972, with the peak incidence of new cases in the summer and early fall. Its identification has been possible because of tight geographic clustering in some areas, and because of a characteristic preceding skin lesion in some patients. The authors studied 51 residents of three contiguous Connecticut communities -- 39 children and 12 adults -- who developed an illness characterized by recurrent attacks of asymmetric swelling and pain in a few large joints, especially the knee. Attacks were usually short (median: 1 week) with much longer intervening periods of complete remission (median: 2.5 months), but some attacks lasted for months. To date the typical patient has had three recurrences, but 16 patients have had none. A median of 4 weeks (range: 1-24) before the onset of arthritis, 13 patients (25%) noted an erythematous papule that developed into an expanding, red, annular lesion, as much as 50 cm in diameter. Only 2 of 159 family members of patients had such a lesion and did not develop arthritis (P less than 0.000001). The overalll prevalence of the arthritis was 4.3 cases per 1,000 residents, but the prevalence among children living on four roads was 1 in 10. Six families had more than 1 affected member. Nine of 20 symptomatic patients had low serum C3 levels, compared to none of 31 asymptomatic patients (P less than 0.005); no patient had iridocyclitis or a positive test for antinuclear antibodies. Neither cultures of synovium and synovial fluid nor serologic tests were positive for agents known to cause arthritis. "Lynne arthritis" is thought to be a previously unrecognized clinical entity, the epidemiology of which suggests transmission by an arthropod vector.

Genome Microevolution of Chikungunya Viruses Causing the Indian Ocean Outbreak

Abstract: A chikungunya virus outbreak of unprecedented magnitude is currently ongoing in Indian Ocean territories. In Reunion Island, this alphavirus has already infected about one-third of the human population. The main clinical symptom of the disease is a painful and invalidating poly-arthralgia. Besides the arthralgic form, 123 patients with a confirmed chikungunya infection have developed severe clinical signs, i.e., neurological signs or fulminant hepatitis.

Biology of Zika Virus Infection in Human Skin Cells

Abstract: Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging arbovirus of the Flaviviridae family, which includes dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, and Japanese encephalitis viruses, that causes a mosquito-borne disease transmitted by the Aedes genus, with recent outbreaks in the South Pacific. Here we examine the importance of human skin in the entry of ZIKV and its contribution to the induction of antiviral immune responses. We show that human dermal fibroblasts, epidermal keratinocytes, and immature dendritic cells are permissive to the most recent ZIKV isolate, responsible for the epidemic in French Polynesia. Several entry and/or adhesion factors, including DC-SIGN, AXL, Tyro3, and, to a lesser extent, TIM-1, permitted ZIKV entry, with a major role for the TAM receptor AXL. The ZIKV permissiveness of human skin fibroblasts was confirmed by the use of a neutralizing antibody and specific RNA silencing. ZIKV induced the transcription of Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), RIG-I, and MDA5, as well as several interferon-stimulated genes, including OAS2, ISG15, and MX1, characterized by strongly enhanced beta interferon gene expression. ZIKV was found to be sensitive to the antiviral effects of both type I and type II interferons. Finally, infection of skin fibroblasts resulted in the formation of autophagosomes, whose presence was associated with enhanced viral replication, as shown by the use of Torin 1, a chemical inducer of autophagy, and the specific autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine. The results presented herein permit us to gain further insight into the biology of ZIKV and to devise strategies aiming to interfere with the pathology caused by this emerging flavivirus. IMPORTANCE Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arbovirus belonging to the Flaviviridae family. Vector-mediated transmission of ZIKV is initiated when a blood-feeding female Aedes mosquito injects the virus into the skin of its mammalian host, followed by infection of permissive cells via specific receptors. Indeed, skin immune cells, including dermal fibroblasts, epidermal keratinocytes, and immature dendritic cells, were all found to be permissive to ZIKV infection. The results also show a major role for the phosphatidylserine receptor AXL as a ZIKV entry receptor and for cellular autophagy in enhancing ZIKV replication in permissive cells. ZIKV replication leads to activation of an antiviral innate immune response and the production of type I interferons in infected cells. Taken together, these results provide the first general insights into the interaction between ZIKV and its mammalian host.