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Rotaviral infection is the most common gastrointestinal illness of children in the world, affecting both developed and developing economies. There is no specific drug treatment for rotavirus infection. Vaccination and good hygiene are key to prevention.

Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continues to be the leading viral cause of severe acute lower respiratory tract disease in infants and children worldwide. A licensed vaccine or antiviral drug suitable for routine use remains unavailable. This invention relates to the use of murine pneumonia virus (MPV), a virus to which humans normally are not exposed to and that is not cross-protected with RSV, as a vector to express the RSV fusion (F) glycoprotein as an RSV vaccine candidate. The RSV F ORF was codon optimized.

Coronaviruses (CoVs) can cause severe respiratory disease with high fatality rates in humans. The 2002-2003 SARS-CoV epidemic resulted in 8098 cases and 744 deaths, and MERS-CoV, which emerged in 2012, has resulted in 2144 cases and over 750 deaths as of March 2018. Currently, there are no effective prophylactic or therapeutic measures, and because other CoVs are poised to emerge as new human pathogens, there is a need to define a general CoV vaccine solution.

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is a disease caused by infection with viruses from the family Filoviridae, genus Ebolavirus. Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976 in Africa and has since caused numerous outbreaks throughout the continent including the largest outbreak in history in West Africa during 2014-2016. Previously, there were three identified Ebolavirus species which were known to cause disease in humans: Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus); Sudan virus (Sudan ebolavirus); and Tai Forest virus (Tai Forest ebolavirus).

Mutation in gene A34R can regulate the release of progeny virions from the surface of parental cells.

Mycoplasma are a form of bacteria that are commonly found as contaminants in cell cultures. They adversely affect cell line growth rates and viral vaccine production. Mycoplasma contamination is a challenge for the vaccine industry and virology researchers. Current commercial reagents or kits only temporarily inhibit the growth of mycoplasma, but cannot eliminate the contaminants.

Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumonia), bacteria commonly referred to as pneumococcus, are a significant cause of disease resulting in 1.5 million deaths every year worldwide according to the World Health Organization. The major types of pneumococcal disease are pneumonia (lung infection), bacteremia (bloodstream infection), and meningitis (infection of the tissue covering of the brain and spinal cord). Less severe pneumococcal illnesses include ear and sinus infections.

H7N9 influenza viruses are predominately avian (bird) pathogens, however, since 2013, they have infected more than 1500 humans with a mortality rate of nearly 40% in confirmed cases. H7N9 viruses continue to be a threat to public health. Treatment for people infected with H7N9-subtype influenza A (H7N9) commonly includes the use of drugs that inhibit neuraminidase, a protein found on the virus’ surface. However, like other influenza viruses, H7N9 can become resistant to these drugs.

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.

The simultaneous concentration and recovery of microbes in drinking water is important for responding to potential water-related events such as pathogen contamination or bioterrorism and could be a cost-effective technique for routine monitoring of drinking water quality. Scientists at the CDC have combined two techniques, ultrafiltration (UF) and insulator-based dielectrophoresis (iDEP) in series, to achieve significant concentration of microbes and pathogens for analysis.