Neutralizing Antibodies to Influenza HA and Their Use and Identification

The effectiveness of current influenza vaccines varies by strain and season, in part because influenza viruses continuously evolve to evade human immune responses. While the majority of seasonal influenza infections cause relatively mild symptoms, each year influenza virus infections result in over 500,000 hospitalizations in the United States and Europe. Current standard of care for individuals hospitalized with uncomplicated influenza infection is administration of neuraminidase inhibitors.

Micro-Dose Calibrator for Pre-clinical Radiotracer Assays

Molecular imaging is a disease-specific targeting modality that promises much more accurate diagnoses of serious diseases such as cancer and infections. Agents are being continually developed with a view to clinical translation, with several such therapies requiring measurement of very small doses. Currently, there is no way of accurately measuring small amounts of radioactivity used in many pre-clinical tracer studies, as on-the-market commercial dose calibrators measure at too high a dose range, typically at 10-1000 µCi and higher.

Monoclonal Antibody that Detects a Subclass of Dog IgG—for Diagnostic and Research Applications

CDC and collaborating researchers have developed a new monoclonal antibody that recognizes canine IgG (likely IgG4 subclass). This anti-dog IgG reagent could be used to detect antibody reactions to a variety of antigens and has potential use in a wide variety of diagnostic or research applications.

Monoclonal Antibodies for Detection of Rabies Virus Antigen and Confirmatory Rabies Diagnosis

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), rabies causes greater than 59,000 deaths every year in over 150 countries as of 2017. A rapid and reliable diagnostic test for rabies is critical for prophylaxis considerations in humans bitten by animals as well as for basic surveillance and animal rabies control programs. The World Organization of Animal Health (OIE) and WHO Expert Committee on Rabies recently approved the direct rapid immunohistochemical test (DRIT) for rabies diagnostics.

Stable Human Cell Lines Expressing Flavivirus Virus-Like Particles (VLPs) for Vaccine, Biologics, and Diagnostic Development

Flaviviruses such as Zika virus, dengue virus, West Nile virus, yellow fever virus, and Japanese encephalitis virus cause widespread illness and death throughout the world. Typically, flaviviruses get transmitted through the bite of infected mosquitoes and ticks.

Fluorescent Primer(s) Creation for Nucleic Acid Detection and Amplification

CDC researchers have developed technology that consists of a simple and inexpensive technique for creating fluorescent labeled primers for nucleic acid amplification. Fluorescent chemical-labeled probes and primers are extensively used in clinical and research laboratories for rapid, real-time detection and identification of microbes and genetic sequences. During nucleic acid amplification, the "UniFluor" primer is incorporated into newly synthesized double stranded DNA.

Photoinduced Electron Transfer Fluorescent Primer for Nucleic Acid Amplification

CDC scientists have developed a rapid and cost-efficient method for generating fluorescently labeled primers for PCR and real-time PCR. At present, fluorescent primers are useful for detecting and identifying microbes and specific nucleic acid sequences, amplifying nucleic acids for pyro-sequencing, determining the levels of gene expression, and many other uses. However, problems exist with current techniques used to create fluorescent primers. For one, labeling is not one hundred percent efficient, leading to inaccurate results.

High-throughput assay for detection of rabies neutralizing antibodies

According to 2010-2014 World Health Organization (WHO) research, dog-transmitted human rabies was present or suspected in 150 countries and territories worldwide. Domestic dogs were the most common reservoir of the rabies virus in these countries, and more than 99% of human deaths were caused by dog-transmitted rabies. Rabies is 100% preventable in dogs with appropriate administration of vaccines.

Antibodies for Rabies Post-exposure Prophylaxis or Antiviral Therapy of Clinical Rabies

Lyssaviruses are single-stranded RNA viruses that cause rabies and rabies-like diseases in mammals. According to the World Health Organization, human rabies caused by the classical rabies virus continues to be almost 100% fatal once clinical symptoms of rabies appear, with no specific treatment available anywhere in the world.

Assay for Early Diagnosis of Anthrax Using Monoclonal Antibodies Against Anthrax Toxin

Anthrax is a serious infectious disease caused by bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax-contaminated spores can be found naturally in soil and they commonly affect domestic and wild animals around the world. Although rare in the United States, people can get sick with anthrax if they come in contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products.