Yoshihiro Kawaoka

1 month ago | nejm.org | Yoshihiro Kawaoka |Lindsey R. Baden |Stephen Morrissey

Published March 5, 2025DOI: 10.1056/NEJMe2502267 For permission requests, please contact NEJM Reprints at [email protected] this NEJM Outbreaks Update, Editor-in-Chief Eric Rubin and Deputy Editor Lindsey Baden are joined by veterinarian and virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka to discuss avian influenza and its current impact on chickens, cows, cats, and humans. NotesThis editorial was published on March 5, 2025, at NEJM.org.

Jul 26, 2024 | nature.com | Yoshihiro Kawaoka

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses have occasionally infected humans, often with severe outcomes. Reports of HPAI in dairy cattle and the detection of high titres of the virus in cattle milk in the United States are therefore a cause for concern. Documented human infections linked to cattle infections, though mild, highlight the urgent need for enhanced biosecurity and vigilant monitoring.

Sep 25, 2023 | nature.com | Yixuan Hou |Shiho Chiba |Sarah R. Leist |Rita M. Meganck |Alexandra Schafer |Rhianna E. Lee | +7 more

AbstractThe pathogenic and cross-species transmission potential of SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses (CoVs) remain poorly characterized. Here we recovered a wild-type pangolin (Pg) CoV GD strain including derivatives encoding reporter genes using reverse genetics. In primary human cells, PgCoV replicated efficiently but with reduced fitness and showed less efficient transmission via airborne route compared with SARS-CoV-2 in hamsters.

Apr 17, 2023 | jci.org | Shiv Pillai |Yoshihiro Kawaoka |Patrick Wilson

AbstractThe continued emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and waning vaccine immunity are some of the factors that drive the continuing search for more effective treatment and prevention options for COVID-19. In this issue of the JCI, Changrob, et al. describe an anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike antibody, isolated from a patient, that targets a vulnerable site on the spike protein receptor binding domain when it adopts a configuration called the “up” conformation.

Feb 16, 2023 | dispatchist.com | Yoshihiro Kawaoka

Advocates of such gain of function (GOF) studies say they can help public health experts better understand how viruses might spread and plan for pandemics.(About half were later allowed to continue because the work didn't fit the definition or was deemed essential to public health."Details regarding the decision to approve and fund this work should be made transparent," says Thomas Inglesby, director of Center for Health Security of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in...