Vincent speaks with Raul and Kostya about the development of novel oral polio vaccine from the Sabin type 2 strain, its deployment in over 600 million children, and whether it can lead to eradication of poliomyelitis.
Vincent speaks with Kostya Chumakov about his career: raised by two virology parents in Moscow, trained in virology by Vadim Agol, then moving to the US FDA where he developed a molecular test for measuring production consistency of oral poliovirus vaccine.
TWiV discusses genetic evidence of susceptible wildlife in SARS-CoV-2 positive samples at the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, polio cases in African linked to a new polio vaccine that was designed to not cause the disease, and structural conservation of hepatitis B virus capsid proteins over millions of years despite a shift from a naked to an enveloped capsid.
TWiV reviews the genetic characterization of a new strain of type 2 oral polio vaccine and its implications for eradication, and how a polymorphism in humans comprising a single amino acid change in an antibody molecule regulates vaccine elicitation of broadly neutralizing antibodies against influenza virus HA.
The TWiVstars reveal the diversity of herpes simplex virus type 2 in a neonatal population, and parallel adaptation of rabbits in three countries to myxoma virus.
Brianne and Vincent tackle two studies that utilize infectious viruses to examine zoonotic potential of Bombali virus, a new ebolavirus from an insectivorous species in Sierra Leone, and a human mumps-like virus from an African flying fox in DRC.
The TWiVologists discuss the finding of a second transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils, and development of new poliovirus strains for the production of inactivated vaccine in the post-eradication era.