Poxviruses are subjected to extraordinarily high levels of genetic recombination during infection, although the enzymes catalyzing these reactions have never been identified. However, it is clear that virus-encoded DNA polymerases play some unknown yet critical role in virus recombination. Using a novel, antiviral-drug-based strategy to dissect recombination and replication reactions, we now sh...

Nearly all cervical cancers are associated with the high-risk subtypes of human papillomavirus (HPV) expressing the E6 and E7 oncoproteins. The E6 and E7 oncoproteins reduce cellular levels of the p53 and the retinoblastoma (pRb) tumor suppressors, respectively, and represent an important component of the malignant phenotype. Several groups have shown that treatment with cidofovir suppresses le...

Extreme climatic conditions may alter historic host-pathogen relationships and synchronize the temporal and spatial convergence of multiple infectious agents, triggering epidemics with far greater mortality than those due to single pathogens. Here we present the first data to clearly illustrate how climate extremes can promote a complex interplay between epidemic and endemic pathogens that are ...

Two canine distemper virus (CDV) vaccine types are currently commercially available: modified-live virus (MLV) vaccines and a canarypox recombinant CDV (rCDV) vaccine (Recombitek, Merial). This study compared the ability of the rCDV vaccine and MLV vaccines to significantly enhance (boost) the antibody response of previously immunized adult and juvenile dogs. A significant (fourfold or greater)...

To rapidly distinguish Canine distemper virus (CDV), canine parvovirus (CPV), and canine kobuvirus (CaKoV) in practice, a one-step multiplex PCR/RT-PCR assay was developed, with detection limits of 102.1 TCID50 for CDV, 101.9 TCID50 for CPV and 103 copies for CaKoV. This method did not amplify nonspecific DNA or RNA from other canine viruses. Therefore, the assay provides a sensitive tool for t...

Paramyxovirinae envelope glycoproteins constitute a premier model to dissect how specific and dynamic interactions in multisubunit membrane protein complexes can control deep-seated conformational rearrangements. However, individual residues that determine reciprocal specificity of the viral attachment and fusion (F) proteins have not been identified. We have developed an assay based on a pair ...

Cidofovir (CDV) is an effective drug against viruses of the Orthopoxviridae family and is active in vitro against variola virus, the cause of smallpox. However, CDV-resistant poxviruses can be generated by repeated in vitro passage in the presence of suboptimal concentrations of CDV. To determine if mutations in the E9L polymerase gene could confer resistance to this nucleoside analog, this gen...

background: canine distemper (cd) is a lethal systemicdisease affecting a wide variety of terrestrial carnivores.objectives: this study was performed to survey epidemiologicaland molecular characteristics of the canine distemper virus(cdv) strains circulating in iran. methods: in this study, 19cdv-suspected unvaccinated dogs from northeast and center ofiran were analyzed for presence of cdv nuc...

BACKGROUND Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a major pathogen of dogs and wild carnivores worldwide. In Switzerland, distemper in domestic dogs is rarely reported. In recent years, the import of dogs from Eastern Europe to Switzerland has steadily increased. In the present study, we describe a distemper outbreak in 15 rescue dogs that were imported from Hungary to Switzerland by an animal welfare...

Canine distemper virus (CDV) infection of ferrets causes an acute systemic disease involving multiple organ systems, including the respiratory tract, lymphoid system, and central nervous system (CNS). We have tested candidate CDV vaccines incorporating the fusion (F) and hemagglutinin (HA) proteins in the highly attenuated NYVAC strain of vaccinia virus and in the ALVAC strain of canarypox viru...