Nipah virus (NiV) is an emerging pathogen that causes encephalitis and a high mortality rate in infected subjects. This systematic review aimed to comprehensively analyze the global epidemiology and research advancements of NiV to identify the key knowledge gaps in the literature. Articles searched using literature databases, namely PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct yielded 5,596 articles. After article screening, 97 articles were included in this systematic review, comprising 41 epidemiological studies and 56 research developments on NiV. The majority of the NiV epidemiological studies were conducted in Bangladesh, reflecting the country\'s significant burden of NiV outbreaks. The initial NiV outbreak was identified in Malaysia in 1998, with subsequent outbreaks reported in Bangladesh, India, and the Philippines. Transmission routes vary by country, primarily through pigs in Malaysia, consumption of date palm juice in Bangladesh, and human-to-human in India. However, the availability of NiV genome sequences remains limited, particularly from Malaysia and India. Mortality rates also vary according to the country, exceeding 70% in Bangladesh, India, and the Philippines, and less than 40% in Malaysia. Understanding these differences in mortality rate among countries is crucial for informing NiV epidemiology and enhancing outbreak prevention and management strategies. In terms of research developments, the majority of studies focused on vaccine development, followed by phylogenetic analysis and antiviral research. While many vaccines and antivirals have demonstrated complete protection in animal models, only two vaccines have progressed to clinical trials. Phylogenetic analyses have revealed distinct clades between NiV Malaysia, NiV Bangladesh, and NiV India, with proposals to classify NiV India as a separate strain from NiV Bangladesh. Taken together, comprehensive OneHealth approaches integrating disease surveillance and research are imperative for future NiV studies. Expanding the dataset of NiV genome sequences, particularly from Malaysia, Bangladesh, and India will be pivotal. These research efforts are essential for advancing our understanding of NiV pathogenicity and for developing robust diagnostic assays, vaccines and therapeutics necessary for effective preparedness and response to future NiV outbreaks.

UNASSIGNED: Surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been proven to increase the proportion of tumors detected at early stages and the chance of receiving curative therapies, reducing mortality by about 30%.
UNASSIGNED: Current recommendations consist of a semi-annual abdominal ultrasound with or without serum alpha-fetoprotein measurement in patients with cirrhosis and specific subgroups of populations with chronic viral hepatitis. Antiviral therapies, such as nucleot(s)ide analogs that efficiently suppress the replication of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and direct-acting antiviral drugs able to eliminate the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in >90% of patients, have radically changed the outcomes of viral liver disease and decreased, but not eliminated, the risk of HCC in both cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients. HCC risk is a key starting point for implementing a cost-effective surveillance and should also guide the decision-making process concerning its modality. As the global number of effectively treated viral patients continues to rise, there is a pressing need to identify those for whom the benefit-to-harm ratio of surveillance is favorable and to determine how to conduct cost-effective screening on such patients.
UNASSIGNED: This article addresses this topic and attempts to determine which patients should continue HCC surveillance after HBV suppression or HCV eradication, based on cost-effectiveness principles and the fact that HCC risk declines over time. We also formulate a proposal for a surveillance algorithm that switches the use of surveillance for HCC from the \"one-size-fits-all\" approach to individualized programs based on oncologic risk (precision surveillance).

BACKGROUND: Whether treatment during acute COVID-19 results in protective efficacy against long COVID incidence remains unclear.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between acute COVID-19 treatments of antivirals, corticosteroids, and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and long COVID incidence, and their effects in different populations and individual symptoms.
METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
METHODS: Searches were conducted up to January 29, 2024 in PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, and Embase.
METHODS: Articles that reported long COVID incidence post-acute COVID with a follow-up of at least 30 days with no language restrictions.
METHODS: Patients with a COVID-19 diagnosis history.
METHODS: Patients treated with antivirals, corticosteroids or mAbs.
UNASSIGNED: Quality assessment was based on the Newcastle-Ottawa scale, risk of bias in nonrandomized studies of interventions-I and Cochrane risk of bias tool.
UNASSIGNED: Basic characteristics were documented for each study. Random forest model and meta-regression were used to evaluate the correlation between treatments and long COVID.
RESULTS: Our search identified 2363 records, 32 of which were included in the qualitative synthesis and 25 included into the meta-analysis. Effect size from 14 papers investigating acute COVID-19 antiviral treatment concluded its protective efficacy against long COVID (OR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.48-0.79; p 0.0002); however, corticosteroid (OR, 1.57; 95% CI, 0.80-3.09; p 0.1913), and mAbs treatments (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.56-1.56; p 0.8012) did not generate such effect. Subsequent subgroup analysis revealed that antivirals provided stronger protection in the aged, male, unvaccinated and nondiabetic populations. Furthermore, antivirals effectively reduced 8 out of the 22 analysed long COVID symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis determined that antivirals reduced long COVID incidence across populations and should thus be recommended for acute COVID-19 treatment. There was no relationship between mAbs treatment and long COVID, but studies should be conducted to clarify acute COVID-19 corticosteroids\' potential harmful effects on the post-acute phase of COVID-19.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, researchers have been working tirelessly to discover effective ways to combat coronavirus infection. The use of computational drug repurposing methods and molecular docking has been instrumental in identifying compounds that have the potential to disrupt the binding between the spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 and human ACE2 (hACE2). Moreover, the pseudovirus approach has emerged as a robust technique for investigating the mechanism of virus attachment to cellular receptors and for screening targeted small molecule drugs. Pseudoviruses are viral particles containing envelope proteins, which mediate the virus\'s entry with the same efficiency as that of live viruses but lacking pathogenic genes. Therefore, they represent a safe alternative to screen potential drugs inhibiting viral entry, especially for highly pathogenic enveloped viruses. In this review, we have compiled a list of antiviral plant extracts and natural products that have been extensively studied against enveloped emerging and re-emerging viruses by pseudovirus technology. The review is organized into three parts: (1) construction of pseudoviruses based on different packaging systems and applications; (2) knowledge of emerging and re-emerging viruses; (3) natural products active against pseudovirus-mediated entry. One of the most crucial stages in the life cycle of a virus is its penetration into host cells. Therefore, the discovery of viral entry inhibitors represents a promising therapeutic option in fighting against emerging viruses.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to reveal the efficacy and safety of antivirals in patients with Ramsay Hunt syndrome.
METHODS: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Ichushi-Web, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Published randomized controlled trials and observational studies, which compared antivirals versus placebo/no treatment for Ramsay Hunt syndrome, were included in the meta-analysis. The primary outcome was non-recovery at the end of the study follow-up. Data was analyzed using Review Manager Software, and pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95 % CI were calculated.
RESULTS: Two randomized controlled trials and 7 cohort studies met the eligible criteria, and 474 individuals were included in the meta-analysis. The OR of antivirals for non-recovery was 0.68 (95 % CI 0.37-1.27, p = 0.22). In subgroup analysis, the OR were 0.48 (95 % CI 0.15-1.61, p = 0.24) in patients with antivirals monotherapy and 0.73 (95 % CI 0.34-1.57, p = 0.42) in patients treated with combination therapy of antivirals and systematic corticosteroid.
CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review first shows the effectiveness of antivirals. Further study is needed to confirm the efficacy of antivirals.

Monkeypox virus (MPXV) is the etiological agent of monkeypox (mpox), a zoonotic disease. MPXV is endemic in the forested regions of West and Central Africa, but the virus has recently spread globally, causing outbreaks in multiple non-endemic countries. In this paper, we review the characteristics of the virus, including its ecology, genomics, infection biology, and evolution. We estimate by phylogenomic molecular clock that the B.1 lineage responsible for the 2022 mpox outbreaks has been in circulation since 2016. We interrogate the host-virus interactions that modulate the virus infection biology, signal transduction, pathogenesis, and host immune responses. We highlight the changing pathophysiology and epidemiology of MPXV and summarize recent advances in the prevention and treatment of mpox. In addition, this review identifies knowledge gaps with respect to the virus and the disease, suggests future research directions to address the knowledge gaps, and proposes a One Health approach as an effective strategy to prevent current and future epidemics of mpox.

The rapid availability of effective antiviral treatments would be beneficial during the early phases of a pandemic, as they could reduce viral loads and control serious infections until antigenic vaccines become widely available. One promising alternative therapy to combat pandemics is nanotechnology, which has the potential to inhibit a wide variety of viruses, including the influenza virus. This review summarizes the recent progress using gold, copper, silver, silicone, zinc and selenium nanoparticles, since these materials have shown remarkable antiviral capacity against influenza A virus.

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) continues to cause substantial health and economic burdens, and its target of elimination may not be reached in 2030 without further efforts in diagnostics, non-pharmaceutical prevention measures, vaccination, and treatment. Current therapeutic options in chronic HBV, based on interferons and/or nucleos(t)ide analogs, suppress the virus replication but do not eliminate the pathogen and suffer from several constraints. This paper reviews the progress on biotechnological approaches in functional and definitive HBV treatments, including gene-editing tools, i.e., zinc-finger proteins, transcription activator-like effector nucleases, and CRISPR/Cas9, as well as therapeutics based on RNA interference. The advantages and challenges of these approaches are also discussed. Although the safety and efficacy of gene-editing tools in HBV therapies are yet to be demonstrated, they show promise for the revitalization of a much-needed advance in the field and offer viral eradication. Particular hopes are related to CRISPR/Cas9; however, therapeutics employing this system are yet to enter the clinical testing phases. In contrast, a number of candidates based on RNA interference, intending to confer a functional cure, have already been introduced to human studies. However, larger and longer trials are required to assess their efficacy and safety. Considering that prevention is always superior to treatment, it is essential to pursue global efforts in HBV vaccination.

The goals of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) antiviral therapy early in the pandemic were to prevent severe disease, hospitalization, and death. As these outcomes have become infrequent in the age of widespread population immunity, the objectives have shifted. For the general population, COVID-19-directed antiviral therapy should decrease symptom severity and duration and minimize infectiousness, and for immunocompromised individuals, antiviral therapy should reduce severe outcomes and persistent infection. The increased recognition of virologic rebound following ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir (NMV/r) and the lack of randomized controlled trial data showing benefit of antiviral therapy for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection for standard-risk, vaccinated individuals remain major knowledge gaps. Here, we review data for selected antiviral agents and immunomodulators currently available or in late-stage clinical trials for use in outpatients. We do not review antibody products, convalescent plasma, systemic corticosteroids, IL-6 inhibitors, Janus kinase inhibitors, or agents that lack Food and Drug Administration approval or emergency use authorization or are not appropriate for outpatients.

BACKGROUND: Clinical evidence suggests that pregnant women are more vulnerable to COVID-19, since they are at increased risk for disease progression and for obstetric complications, such as premature labor, miscarriage, preeclampsia, cesarean delivery, fetal growth restriction and perinatal death. Despite this evidence, pregnant women are often excluded from clinical trials, resulting in limited knowledge on COVID-19 management. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to provide better evidence on the efficacy and safety of available COVID-19 treatment in pregnant women.
METHODS: Four authors searched major electronic databases from inception until 1 st November-2022 for controlled trials/observational studies, investigating outcomes after the administration of anti-SARS-CoV-2 treatments in pregnant women affected by COVID-19. The analyses investigated the cumulative incidence of delivery and maternal outcomes in pregnant women, comparing those taking active medication vs standard care. Risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Statistical significance was assessed using the random effects model and inverse-variance method. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted in accordance with the updated 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The protocol has been registered in Prospero (number registration: CRD42023397445).
RESULTS: From initially 937 non duplicate records, we assessed the full texts of 40 articles, finally including ten studies. In six studies, including 1627 patients, the use of casirivimab/imdevimab (CAS/IMD), remdesivir, and IFN-alpha 2b significantly decreased the need of cesarean section ((RR = 0.665; 95%CI: 0.491-0.899; p = 0.008; I 2 = 19.5%;) (Table 1, (Fig. 1). Treatments did not decrease the risk of preterm delivery, admission to neonatal ICU, or stillbirth/perinatal loss (p-values > 0.50 for all these outcomes) and did not prevent the progression of disease towards severe degrees (k = 8; 2,374 pregnant women; RR = 0.778; 95%CI: 0.550-1.099; p = 0.15; I 2 = 0%). Moreover, the use of medications during pregnancy did not modify the incidence of maternal death in two studies (Table 2).
CONCLUSIONS: To our analysis, CAS/IMD, remdesivir, and IFN alpha 2b reduced the number of cesarean sections but demonstrated no effect on disease progression and other obstetric and COVID-19 related outcomes. The inability to evaluate the influence of viral load on illness development in pregnant women was attributed to lack of data. In our systematic review, no major side effects were reported. Though, it is essential for the medical community to focus more on clinical trials and less on episodic case reports and case series, with standardization of fetal and maternal outcomes.