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Rising Strengths Hong Kong SAR in Bioinformatics.

ABSTRACT: Hong Kong's bioinformatics sector is attaining new heights in combination with its economic boom and the predominance of the working-age group in its population. Factors such as a knowledge-based and free-market economy have contributed towards a prominent position on the world map of bioinformatics. In this review, we have considered the educational measures, landmark research activities and the achievements of bioinformatics companies and the role of the Hong Kong government in the establishment of bioinformatics as strength. However, several hurdles remain. New government policies will assist computational biologists to overcome these hurdles and further raise the profile of the field. There is a high expectation that bioinformatics in Hong Kong will be a promising area for the next generation.

SUBMITTER: Chakraborty C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7091071 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Rising Strengths Hong Kong SAR in Bioinformatics.

Chakraborty Chiranjib C George Priya Doss C C Zhu Hailong H Agoramoorthy Govindasamy G

Interdisciplinary sciences, computational life sciences 20160309 2

Hong Kong's bioinformatics sector is attaining new heights in combination with its economic boom and the predominance of the working-age group in its population. Factors such as a knowledge-based and free-market economy have contributed towards a prominent position on the world map of bioinformatics. In this review, we have considered the educational measures, landmark research activities and the achievements of bioinformatics companies and the role of the Hong Kong government in the establishme ...[more]

PMID: 26961385

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Project description:In 2014, the Centre for Health Protection in Hong Kong introduced screening for influenza C virus (ICV) as part of its routine surveillance for infectious agents in specimens collected from patients presenting with symptoms of respiratory viral infection, including influenza-like illness (ILI). A retrospective analysis of ICV detections up to week 26 of 2019 revealed persistent low-level circulation, with two outbreaks having occurred in the winters of 2015 to 2016 and 2017 to 2018. These outbreaks occurred at the same time as, and were dwarfed by, seasonal epidemics of influenza types A and B. Gene sequencing studies on stored ICV-positive clinical specimens from the two outbreaks have shown that the hemagglutinin-esterase (HE) genes of the viruses fall into two of the six recognized genetic lineages (represented by C/Kanagawa/1/76 and C/São Paulo/378/82), with there being significant genetic drift compared to earlier circulating viruses within both lineages. The location of a number of encoded amino acid substitutions in hemagglutinin-esterase fusion (HEF) glycoproteins suggests that antigenic drift may also have occurred. Observations of ICV outbreaks in other countries, with some of the infections being associated with severe disease, indicates that ICV infection has the potential to have significant clinical and health care impacts in humans.IMPORTANCE Influenza C virus infection of humans is common, and reinfection can occur throughout life. While symptoms are generally mild, severe disease cases have been reported, but knowledge of the virus is limited, as little systematic surveillance for influenza C virus is conducted and the virus cannot be studied by classical virologic methods because it cannot be readily isolated in laboratories. A combination of systematic surveillance in Hong Kong SAR, China, and new gene sequencing methods has been used in this study to assess influenza C virus evolution and provides evidence for a 2-year cycle of disease outbreaks. The results of studies like that reported here are key to developing an understanding of the impact of influenza C virus infection in humans and how virus evolution might be associated with epidemics.

Project description:From 2014 to week 07/2020 the Centre for Health Protection in Hong Kong conducted screening for influenza C virus (ICV). A retrospective analysis of ICV detections to week 26/2019 revealed persistent low-level circulation with outbreaks occurring biennially in the winters of 2015 to 2016 and 2017 to 2018 (R. S. Daniels et al., J Virol 94:e01051-20, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.01051-20). Here, we report on an outbreak occurring in 2019 to 2020, reinforcing the observation of biennial seasonality in Hong Kong. All three outbreaks occurred in similar time frames, were subsequently dwarfed by seasonal epidemics of influenza types A and B, and were caused by similar proportions of C/Kanagawa/1/76 (K)-lineage and C/São Paulo/378/82 S1- and S2-sublineage viruses. Ongoing genetic drift was observed in all genes, with some evidence of amino acid substitution in the hemagglutinin-esterase-fusion (HEF) glycoprotein possibly associated with antigenic drift. A total of 61 ICV genomes covering the three outbreaks were analyzed for reassortment, and 9 different reassortant constellations were identified, 1 K-lineage, 4 S1-sublineage, and 4 S2-sublineage, with 6 of these being identified first in the 2019-1920 outbreak (2 S2-lineage and 4 S1-lineage). The roles that virus interference/enhancement, ICV persistent infection, genome evolution, and reassortment might play in the observed seasonality of ICV in Hong Kong are discussed. IMPORTANCE Influenza C virus (ICV) infection of humans is common, with the great majority of people being infected during childhood, though reinfection can occur throughout life. While infection normally results in "cold-like" symptoms, severe disease cases have been reported in recent years. However, knowledge of ICV is limited due to poor systematic surveillance and an inability to propagate the virus in large amounts in the laboratory. Following recent systematic surveillance in Hong Kong SAR, China, and direct ICV gene sequencing from clinical specimens, a 2-year cycle of disease outbreaks (epidemics) has been identified, with gene mixing playing a significant role in ICV evolution. Studies like those reported here are key to developing an understanding of the impact of influenza C virus infection in humans, notably where comorbidities exist and severe respiratory disease can develop.

Dataset Information

Rising Strengths Hong Kong SAR in Bioinformatics.

Publications

Rising Strengths Hong Kong SAR in Bioinformatics.

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