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The 2014-2016 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa was the largest in history, causing more than 28,000 suspected, probable, and confirmed infections and more than 11,000 deaths across nine countries. CDC scientists designed nucleic acid primers and probes which can be used in a sensitive test for detecting all known strains of Ebola virus (species Zaire ebolavirus) including the 2014/2015 strain that emerged in West Africa and the more recent strain that caused an EVD outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2017.

As of March 2017, 64 countries and territories had travel notices for active Zika virus transmissions. CDC developed the Trioplex rRT-PCR test to detect evidence of Zika virus infection and aid in differentiating this infection from dengue and chikungunya virus infections, all of which are spread by the same types of Aedes species mosquitoes and cause similar illness.

Currently available identification methods for antigen-specific antibodies require live pathogens, antisera (that are only available for a limited number of species), and species-specific secondary antibodies (also a limited resource). Thus, detection or surveillance of pathogens in wild avian species or zoo animals, for example, is complex and cumbersome.

Mosquito-transmitted dengue virus is one of the leading causes of illness in the tropics and subtropics. There is currently no vaccine available and a number of DENV diagnostic and research applications depend on the production of large amounts of these viruses. However, due to the slow growing nature of DENVs these protocols are very time-consuming.

Following primary dengue virus (DENV) infection, non-structural protein 1 (NS1), a dengue-specific glycoprotein, is present in blood and is easily detected by various assays. However, for any infection thereafter (secondary infection), bioavailability of the glycoprotein greatly reduces sensitivity of DENV detection. Since secondary DENV infection is a risk factor for developing hemorrhagic fever, there is increasing need for more sensitive detection at this stage.

CDC researchers have developed a potent immunogenic enhancer polypeptide useful for improving flavivirus vaccines. Flaviviruses such as dengue virus (1, 2, 3 and 4), Japanese encephalitis virus, Murray Valley encephalitis virus, St. Louis encephalitis virus, yellow fever virus and tick-borne encephalitis virus are a great burden on public health. This technology describes an identified CD4+ T cell epitope occurring within the E-glycoprotein of West Nile virus and methods of using this polypeptide to increase vaccine immunogenicity in monovalent vaccines.

CDC researchers have identified and characterized discrete flavivirus cross-reactive epitopes useful for improving serodiagnosis and vaccination of flaviviruses, such as dengue virus, yellow fever virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, West Nile virus and the tick-borne encephalitis viruses.

CDC researchers have developed a bead-based nucleic acid assay for serotyping members of the Salmonella genus; this assay will identify serotypes for approximately 95% of all human-obtained Salmonella isolates in the United States.

This CDC-developed technology entails novel compositions and methods related to the diagnosis of Lyme disease. Lyme disease, caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium, is the most common tick-borne infectious disease in the US and Europe. Diagnosis of Lyme disease is particularly challenging as symptoms often appear long after exposure. At present, the only FDA-approved diagnostic for Lyme disease involves patient blood tests for particular antibodies; these include an ELISA to measure patient antibody levels and a Western blot assay to detect antibodies specific to B.

This CDC-developed invention relates to dengue vaccines that have been specifically developed for improved efficacy and directed immune response to avoid antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) safety issues that, theoretically, may be associated with dengue vaccines and vaccinations. Dengue viral infection typically causes a debilitating but non-lethal illness in hosts.