122-AP-99
EMBARGOED UNTIL 4 P.M. PDT, THURSDAY, OCT. 7, 1999
Contact:Andrew Porterfield
(949) 824-3969
[email protected]
UC IRVINE RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY NEW VIRUS IN BRAINS OF NEW YORK ENCEPHALITIS VICTIMS
Writing in Lancet, Team Says Virus is Related to Australian and African Strains Never Before Seen in Americas
Irvine, Calif., Oct. 7, 1999 -- A new virus related to viral strains never seen in North America or South America has been identified as the cause of an encephalitis outbreak in New York City by a team of researchers from UC Irvine's College of Medicine and the New York State Department of Health.
Dr. Ian Lipkin, director of the Emerging Diseases Laboratory at UCI, and the team found the virus, known as a Kunjin/West Nile-like virus, in the brains of four people who died from the outbreak of encephalitis, a severe inflammation of the brain, that began in August in New York. The researchers' findings appear in the Oct. 9 edition of the journal Lancet.
Lipkin, working with assistant professor Thomas Briese and researcher Xi-Yu Jia, analyzed samples from five brains of encephalitis victims. Four of the brains contained the virus. The researchers then performed tests to determine the exact sequence, or arrangement, of the genetic material of the virus. They concluded that the virus is most closely related to either the Australian Kunjin virus or African West Nile virus and is not another variant called the St. Louis encephalitis virus, as reported earlier. These viruses typically are spread by mosquito bites and can infect birds and other animals as well as humans.
"Based on our current research, we think this is a new variant of a virus we've never seen before in this hemisphere," Lipkin said. "But since these viruses are spread in the same way, measures currently underway to control biting insects should still be effective at preventing the further spread of infection."
Kunjin and West Nile viruses are members of a group of organisms called Japanese encephalitis viruses, which appeared originally in Japan and are spread by mosquitos. Previously, Kunjin had never been known to kill humans, while fatal West Nile virus outbreaks have been reported in Africa, Asia and Europe.
"We may be seeing these outbreaks because the world is becoming a smaller place, due to air travel and increased international trade," Lipkin said. "But viruses also mutate quickly, resulting in a new form of a virus that's been around a long time. Whatever the reason, we could be seeing more outbreaks of viruses that are either recent mutations or are new arrivals to this part of the world."
The researchers are continuing to attempt to determine the exact genetic composition of the virus, which could help in preparing effective vaccines and may help determine where the virus originated and how it made its way to New York.
The UCI researchers developed their findings with the help of Cinnia Huang and Leo J. Grady at the New York State Department of Health.
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