Biology subjects

Ariën, K. K.

Publications and source records attributed to Ariën, K. K..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Low risk of transmission of prototype and newly emerged Oropouche virus strains by European Culex pipiens, Aedes albopictus, and Anopheles atroparvus mosquitoes

Oropouche virus (OROV) is an emerging arbovirus of growing public health concern, with increasing incidence and geographic spread. Since its discovery in 1955, OROV has caused multiple outbreaks in South and Central America, with a new introduction in Cuba since May 2024. Recent travel-related cases in Europe and the Americas underscore its potential for global dissemination. Assessing vector competence outside endemic regions is critical in the context of global travel and climate change. We evaluated the vector competence of three mosquito species commonly found in Europe--Culex (Cx.) pipiens, Aedes (Ae.) albopictus, and Anopheles (An.) atroparvus--using two OROV strains: the prototype TRVL9760 (1955, Trinidad and Tobago) and a recent isolate OROV-IRCCS-SCDC_1/2024 (2024, imported from Cuba to Italy). Mosquitoes were orally infected and examined at 7- and 14-days post-infection. We assessed infection (body), dissemination (peripheral tissues), and transmission potential (saliva) by measuring infectious virus particles using the gold standard focus-forming assays. Our findings show that Cx. pipiens and An. atroparvus were not susceptible to infection or did not allow transmission with OROV. In Ae. albopictus, low infection rates were observed: 6.7% of mosquitoes showed infection at day 7 with the prototype strain, and 3.1% at day 14 with OROV-IRCCS-SCDC_1/2024. All infected mosquitoes showed viral dissemination, but none had infectious virus in their saliva, indicating low risk for transmission. These results confirm limited vector competence of European mosquito species for OROV and emphasize the importance of continued entomological surveillance to inform future risk assessments.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2021

A high-throughput neutralization assay for yellow fever serodiagnostics

Quick and accurate detection of neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) against yellow fever is essential in serodiagnosis during outbreaks, for surveillance and to evaluate vaccine efficacy in population-wide studies. All this requires serological assays that can process a large number of samples in a highly standardized format. Albeit being laborious, time-consuming and limited in throughput, classical plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) is still considered gold standard for the detection and quantification of nAbs due to its sensitivity and specificity. Here we report the development of an alternative fluorescence-based serological assay (SNTFLUO) with an equally high sensitivity and specificity that is fit for high-throughput testing with the potential for automation. Finally, our novel SNTFLUO was cross-validated in several reference laboratories and against international WHO standards showing its potential to be implemented in clinical use. SNTFLUO assays with similar performance are available for the Japanese encephalitis, Zika and dengue viruses amenable for differential diagnostics. IMPORTANCEFast and accurate detection of neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) against yellow fever virus (YFV) is key in yellow fever serodiagnosis, outbreak surveillance and monitoring of vaccine efficacy. Although classical PRNT still remains gold standard for measuring YFV nAbs, this methodology suffers from inherent limitations such as a low throughput and an overall high labor intensity. We present a novel fluorescence-based serum neutralization test (SNTFLUO) with equally high sensitivity and specificity that is fit for processing large number of samples in a highly standardized manner and has the potential to be implemented in clinical use. In addition, we present SNTFLUO assays with similar performance for Japanese encephalitis, Zika and dengue viruses opening new avenues for differential diagnostics.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2018

Dengue and Chikungunya among Febrile Outpatients in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundPathogens causing acute fever, with the exception of malaria, remain largely unidentified in sub-Saharan Africa, given the local unavailability of diagnostic tests and the broad differential diagnosis.\n\nMethodology/Principal FindingsWe conducted a cross-sectional study including outpatient acute febrile syndromes in both children and adults, between November 2015 and June 2016 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Serological and molecular diagnostic tests for arboviral infections were performed on blood, including PCR and NS1-RDT for acute, and ELISA and IFAT for past infections.\n\nConclusions/SignificanceAmong 342 patients, aged 2 to 68 years, 45.3% tested positive on malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test. However, 87.7% received antimalarial and 64.3% antibacterial treatment. Further investigation among 235 fever cases revealed 19 (8.1%) acute dengue and 2 (0.9%) acute chikungunya infections, with an important proportion of participants already exposed to flaviviridae (possibly dengue) and alphaviridae (possibly chikungunya) in the past, namely 30.2 % and 26.4% respectively. We found no evidence of exposure to Zika nor yellow fever virus.\n\nAuthor SummarySam Proesmans is a medical doctor, currently doing a fellowship in internal medicine at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. He holds a Master of Public Health from Columbia University, New York City, USA. His primary research interest lies in infectious diseases, from a public health point of view and he believes that this study is proof that the differential diagnosis should include arboviral infection, given the hitherto unseen evidence of high arbivirus infection rates in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in that they are mostly misdiagnosed as malaria or bacterial infections.

microbiology↗