Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) transmission in temperate Australia has underscored a critical need to characterise transmission pathways and identify probable hosts of infection within the country. This systematic review consolidates existing research on the vertebrate hosts of JEV that are known to exist in Australia. Specifically, we aim to identify probable species for JEV transmission, their potential role as either a spillover or maintenance host and identify critical knowledge gaps. Data were extracted from studies involving experimental infection, seroprevalence, and virus isolation and were available for 22 vertebrate species known to reside in Australia. A host competence score was calculated to assess the potential for a given species to infect JEV vectors and to quantity their possible role in JEV transmission. Based on the host competence score and ecology of each species, we find ardeid birds, feral pigs, and flying foxes have potential as maintenance hosts for JEV in the Australian context. We also note that brushtail possums and domestic pigs have potential as spillover hosts under certain outbreak conditions. However, evidence to confirm these roles in localized transmission or outbreaks is sparse, emphasizing the need for further targeted research. This review provides a foundation for future investigations into JEV transmission in Australia, advocating for enhanced surveillance and standardized research methodologies to better understand and mitigate the virus\'s impact.

A new Ebola outbreak is currently ongoing in the Democratic Republic of Congo, after the most severe outbreak in West Africa in 2014-2016 was controlled. Ebola outbreaks are usually a significant cause of death among pregnant women. The clinical presentation of Ebola Virus infection in pregnancy often mimics common pregnancy related bleeding complications or febrile conditions common in pregnancy. The large amount of body fluids discharged during the management of these conditions make pregnancy a highly risky intervention for nosocomial infection transmission, especially to health workers. In this review, we discuss the Ebola virus, its pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis and the current supportive intensive medical and obstetric- specific practices to ensure safe management of Ebola positive pregnant women. We present how Ebola may be managed in highly resourced settings where experience is limited in the management of pregnancy complicated by Ebola infection and how wherever these patients are managed, postpartum contraceptive support is necessary because of lingering concerns about sexual transmission. Wider issues highlighted by the Ebola outbreaks included the demonstration of how weak health systems from prolonged lack of investment, in the face of highly infectious diseases like Ebola Virus infection, can pose a risk to the global community, bringing sharply into focus the need for essential collaboration between national health departments and international health organizations such as the World Health Organization.

SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause severe pneumonia (COVID-19). There is evidence that patients with comorbidities are at higher risk of a severe disease course. The role of immunosuppression in the disease course is not clear. In the present report, we first describe two cases of persisting SARS-CoV-2 viraemia with fatal outcome in patients after rituximab therapy.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is usually transmitted by faecal-oral route. Recent reports have documented HEV viraemia in donated blood units and HEV transmission through blood transfusion. This systematic review summarizes the available data on prevalence of HEV viraemia in blood donors.
METHODS: Electronic databases were searched on 17 December 2018 to identify full-text English papers reporting original data on prevalence of HEV RNA in donated blood units. Two authors independently extracted the relevant data, which were pooled using simple aggregation as well as a random-effects meta-analysis; heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 method.
RESULTS: In all, 59 data sets from 28 countries were identified. The available data showed marked heterogeneity. Of a total of 2 127 832 units studied, 561 (263·6 [95% confidence intervals = 242·7-286·4] per million units) tested positive for HEV RNA. On random-effects meta-analysis, the pooled prevalence was 60·9 [6·7-155·4] per million units. In the viraemic units, HEV RNA titre varied by nearly one million-fold, and most had genotype 3 HEV. The prevalence was higher in blood units with anti-HEV antibodies or elevated alanine aminotransferase. Only nearly one-fourth of viraemic units had anti-HEV antibodies.
CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of HEV viraemia among healthy blood donors is low, though the available data had limited geographical representation and marked heterogeneity. There is a need for further data on HEV viraemia in blood donors from areas with non-3 HEV genotype preponderance.

OBJECTIVE: The local prevalence of HPgV-1 has been reported from different countries worldwide, but the global prevalence of HPgV-1 remains unknown. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to gather data from the literature to estimate the prevalence of HPgV-1 in healthy volunteer blood donors in the world.
METHODS: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus and Google Scholar databases for records up to January 2019 and included studies reporting HPgV-1 virus prevalence amongst healthy volunteer blood donors based on the detection of HPgV-1 RNA.
RESULTS: In all, we included 79 studies for the systematic review and 63 for the meta-analysis. Based on the random effect meta-analysis of 35 468 volunteer blood donors, we found the global prevalence of HPgV-1 to be 3·1% (95% CI, 2·4-4·1). The pooled prevalences of HPgV-1 were 1·7% (95% CI, 1·1-2·6) in North America, 9·1% (95% CI, 6·4-12·7) in South America, 2·3% (95% CI, 2%, 2·8) in Europe and 2·4% (95% CI, 1·4-4) in Asia. Subgroup analyses based on age, gender or risk factors were not possible.
CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 3 in 100 blood donations worldwide are positive for HPgV-1 increasing the risk of infection from transfusion of their components to subsequent recipients. Further research on virus pathogenicity is required before recommending routine screening of HPgV-1 for healthy volunteer blood donors.