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0:00
Hello. My name is H.
Rogier Van Doorn,
I work as a Clinical
Virologist at
the Oxford University
Clinical Research Unit
in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
My areas of interest
are influenza and
foot and mouth disease
in pathogen discovery.
In this talk, I will discuss
pathogen discovery in
the respiratory tract.
0:17
I will briefly talk about
respiratory infections in
general and the pathogens
associated with them.
I will discuss the
rules for establishing
a link between a
pathogen or a sequence
and disease as they have been
applied since the
late 19th century
and the required
adaptations to make
them applicable in a
molecular era too.
I will give an overview of
pathogens exclusively viruses
that have been discovered using
molecular techniques
in this millennium.
I will discuss the
peculiarities of
respiratory tract samples
and the consequences for
pathogen discovery attempts and
discuss some of the technologies
that are being used
for pathogen detection
or discovery in
various settings.
I advise you to also
have a look at the
Henry Stewart talks
from Ron Fouchier on
emerging respiratory viruses and
from Ian Lipkin on novel approaches to viral
diagnosis as these inevitably overlap with mine.
1:06
Acute respiratory infections are
the most frequently
occurring illness
in all age groups globally.
Infection is usually limited
to the upper
respiratory tract and
presents as a mild and
self-limiting illness
like the common cold.
A small percentage
can progress to
a lower respiratory
tract infection
as bronchiolitis or pneumonia.
Annually, 450 million cases
of pneumonia are recorded,
of whom 4.2 million die.
Young children and the elderly
are at an increased risk,
especially in
developing countries.
The most important
etiologic agents of severe,
lower respiratory illnesses
are bacteria like
Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus
influenzae type B and viruses,
as respiratory syncytial
virus and influenza virus.
Bacteria are the main
cause of pneumonia,
especially in adults and
generally have a higher
case fatality rate.
Viruses are the
predominant cause of
bronchiolitis and episodic
wheeze exacerbation
in children and of
uncomplicated upper respiratory
tract infections in general.
Apart from the usual suspects as
pneumococcus, Haemophilus
influenza viruses,
and RSV, there is a myriad of
pathogens that have
been associated
with respiratory infections.
Among these are mostly
endemic human pathogens,
to a lesser extent
environmental or
zoonotic pathogens
and pathogens that are
exclusively related to
certain geographic areas
or to severely compromise
of the immune system.
Although many viruses have
been added to the list of
common endemic pathogens
in the last few years,
there may still be
endemic pathogens
that we haven't discovered yet.
On top of that,
novel viruses are
continuously emerging in the
animal reservoir and may
cause anything from isolated
sporadic infections
to pandemics of severe disease.
This slide shows the etiology
