Blog

Divergent poxvirus identified in a non-native black rat from Madagascar

Virology. 2026 Jun 30;623:111021. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2026.111021. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Non-native rodents serve as bridges between anthropogenic and natural landscapes. They have expanded across the planet alongside humans while bringing competition, predation, and pathogens, such as poxviruses, to naïve ecosystems. Although rodents serve as reservoirs for multiple zoonotic poxviruses, limited research has focused on … Read more

Angiostrongylus cantonensis Rat Lungworm Detected in Rats, Madagascar, 2022-2023

Emerg Infect Dis. 2026 Jul;32(7):1188-1192. doi: 10.3201/eid3207.260142. ABSTRACT Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the rat lungworm, is a zoonotic parasite that causes eosinophilic meningitis in humans; the parasite is maintained in rat definitive hosts and transmitted through gastropod intermediate hosts. We report A. cantonensis prevalence and mitochondrial genome from oral swab specimens from rats in Madagascar, supporting swabs … Read more

Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Combined With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Comprehensive Single-Arm Meta-Analysis Approach

Am J Clin Oncol. 2026 Jun 22. doi: 10.1097/COC.0000000000001341. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVES: In locally advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are the frontline regimen, but the benefit of stereotactic body radiation (SBRT) in combination is unclear. Given randomized evidence for survival benefit with SBRT plus sorafenib, we performed a systematic … Read more

Novel avian papillomaviruses identified in a south polar skua sampled on Ross Island, Antarctica

Arch Virol. 2026 Jun 16;171(7):213. doi: 10.1007/s00705-026-06671-9. ABSTRACT Papillomaviruses are small circular DNA viruses that infect epithelial cells of their hosts. Avian papillomaviruses are poorly sampled/documented compared to those infecting humans. We used a viral metagenomic approach to identify viruses from the oral swab taken from a deceased south polar skua (Stercorarius maccormicki) found at … Read more

Four lineages of adenoviruses identified in raptors sampled in Spain

Virology. 2026 Jun 7;623:110990. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2026.110990. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Adenoviruses infect a wide range of vertebrate species from fish to humans, including an especially large number of avian species. This study utilized viral metagenomic workflow coupled with targeted PCR to identify and characterize adenoviruses from cloacal swabs collected from 50 black kites (Milvus … Read more

Diverse anelloviruses identified in wild geladas (Theropithecus gelada)

Arch Virol. 2026 Jun 4;171(7):199. doi: 10.1007/s00705-026-06651-z. ABSTRACT Anelloviruses are circular single stranded DNA viruses that are highly prevalent among humans and other mammal and avian hosts, with persistent infections enduring throughout the lifespan without causing disease. Investigating these viruses in non-human primate hosts can offer a phylogenetic perspective on anellovirus-primate evolutionary dynamics, and studying … Read more

Genomic Diversity of Vaginal Lactobacillus crispatus Prophages from South African Women

Viruses. 2026 Apr 30;18(5):519. doi: 10.3390/v18050519. ABSTRACT Lactobacillus crispatus is widely associated with optimal sexual and reproductive health outcomes. While L. crispatus genomes commonly harbor prophages, little is known about their genomic diversity and potential inducibility by clinically relevant compounds. We induced and characterized four bacteriophages from four L. crispatus strains isolated from vaginal secretions … Read more

Mammal-infecting DNA viruses identified in lemurs and rodents in Madagascar mirror the evolutionary history of their hosts

Microb Genom. 2026 May;12(5). doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.001728. ABSTRACT Given that some DNA viruses have been found to exhibit virus-host co-evolution and establish lifelong infection, mammals with unique evolutionary histories in island ecosystems likely host exceptionally diverse viruses. Madagascar is inhabited by endemic non-human primate and rodent lineages interacting with expansive populations of introduced non-native rodents across … Read more

ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Anelloviridae 2026

J Gen Virol. 2026 Mar;107(3):002222. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.002222. ABSTRACT The family Anelloviridae includes viruses with circular, negative-sense, ssDNA genomes of 1.7-3.9 kb. Anelloviruses form non-enveloped icosahedral virions constructed of the ORF1 protein, which adopts the single jelly-roll structural fold. Anelloviruses have been isolated from a broad range of birds and mammals, including humans, but are not … Read more

Host-anellovirus interactions in an island ecosystem: non-human primates and rodents in Madagascar harbour diverse, rich anellovirus populations

Microb Genom. 2026 Apr;12(4):001681. doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.001681. ABSTRACT Anelloviruses are circular, negative-sense single-stranded DNA viruses that have remarkable diversity and ubiquity across mammals. However, few studies have attempted to determine anellovirus diversity and dynamics across a biodiverse landscape. Madagascar offers a unique opportunity to study anellovirus diversity, with speciose, endemic mammalian lineages that have evolved in … Read more