Research

Research News
20 Feb 2020
SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load in Upper Respiratory Specimens of Infected Patients
Malik Peiris, Co-Director at HKU-Pasteur, published in The New England Journal Of Medicine on SARS-CoV-2 viral load in upper respiratory specimens of infected patients:
>>> Link to the online publication
The findings provided in this publication are in concordance with reports that transmission may occur early in the course of infection and suggest that case detection and isolation may require strategies different from those required for the control of SARS-CoV.
How SARS-CoV-2 viral load correlates with culturable virus needs to be determined. Identification of patients with few or no symptoms and with modest levels of detectable viral RNA in the oropharynx for at least 5 days suggests that we need better data to determine transmission dynamics and inform our screening practices.
13 Feb 2020
[UPDATED] 2019nCov: List of HKU-Pasteur Research Pole’s Papers on Coronaviruses
Coronaviruses have been at the core of our work at HKU-Pasteur Research Pole since the SARS outbreak in 2003:
>>> Download our list of papers <<<

12 Feb 2020
Chris Mok’s New Publication Enlighten Us About Coronaviruses Mutations

12 Feb 2020
Congratulations To Akhee Sabiha Jahan For The Publication Of Her Thesis!
We are very happy to see Akhee Sabiha Jahan's great work published in Cell Reports after years of effort! Under the supervision of Sumana Sanyal, Akhee's work illustrates the role of deubiquitylases during influenza infection and immune response.
Jahan AS, Biquand E, Muñoz-Moreno R, Le Quang A, Mok CK, Wong HH, Teo QW, Valkenburg SA, Chin AWH, Man Poon LL, Te Velthuis A, García-Sastre A, Demeret C, Sanyal S
PMID: 32023470 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.01.015

12 Feb 2020
2019nCoV: Malik Peiris and Leo Poon To Publish On Molecular Diagnosis
Malik Peiris, co-director at HKU-Pasteur and Leo Poon, Division of Public Health Laboratory Sciences (HKU), published on a molecular diagnosis of 2019nCoV with colleagues from the School of Public Health (HKU), the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, the Beijing Research Center for Preventive Medicine and the School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
>>> Molecular Diagnosis of a Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Causing an Outbreak of Pneumonia
Chu DKW, Pan Y, Cheng SMS, Hui KPY, Krishnan P, Liu Y, Ng DYM, Wan CKC, Yang P, Wang Q, Peiris M, Poon LLM.
PMID: 32031583 DOI: 10.1093/clinchem/hvaa029
BACKGROUND: A novel coronavirus of zoonotic origin (2019-nCoV) has recently been identified in patients with acute respiratory disease. This virus is genetically similar to SARS coronavirus and bat SARS-like coronaviruses. The outbreak was initially detected in Wuhan, a major city of China, but has subsequently been detected in other provinces of China. Travel-associated cases have also been reported in a few other countries. Outbreaks in health care workers indicate human-to-human transmission. Molecular tests for rapid detection of this virus are urgently needed for early identification of infected patients.
10 Feb 2020
Assessment of enhanced influenza vaccination finds that FluAd conveys an advantage in mice and older adults
We are very happy to announce the publication of the paper Assessment of enhanced influenza vaccination finds that FluAd conveys an advantage in mice and older adults by Sophie Valkenburg and her team: Niloufar Kavian, postdoctora fellow, Asmaa Hachim, research assistant, Athena PY Li, PhD student and Carolyn A Cohen, PhD student!
They published it in Clinical & Translational Immunology with Leo Poon, Benjamin Cowling and fellow colleagues from the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
In this randomised clinical trial, we showed that enhanced influenza vaccines boost antibody quality in older adults, and showed a particular advantage of adjuvanted vaccines for long‐term high‐avidity and haemagglutinin‐stalk antibodies. This action translated to an increased protection by the same adjuvanted vaccines in mice for reduced viral loads and inflammation as a result of early and enhanced B‐cell recruitment and activation for antibody production. Sophie Valkenburg
Kavian N, Hachim A, Li AP, Cohen CA, Chin AW, Poon LL, Fang VJ, Leung NH, Cowling BJ, Valkenburg SA.
PMID: 32025302 PMCID: PMC6997034 DOI: 10.1002/cti2.1107
06 Feb 2020
2019nCoV: Prof Malik Peiris part of the international effort
.jpg)
05 Feb 2020
2019nCoV: Virus’ factsheet and protective measures

05 Feb 2020
[PROTOCOL] 2019nCoV: Detection of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in suspected human cases by RT-PCR

05 Feb 2020
2019nCoV: The Institut Pasteur International Network At The Forefront
The very nature of the Network makes perfect sense in times like these during global crisis. With close to 23,000 staff from 33 institutions (including 19 WHO collaborating Centres) spread across five continents, the Institut Pasteur International Network is dedicated to the surveillance, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases through biological research, education and public health activities. As a member of the International Network, HKU-Pasteur Research Pole’s research is enriched by the data and material collected by the other Instituts Pasteur throughout Asia.
Leo Poon’s team has developed a sensitive protocol for the molecular detection of the 2019nCoV and has freely distributed reagents across the Pasteur Network and to other labs. We thank him for his generosity and hard work!
05 Feb 2020
2019nCoV: Update on Institut Pasteur’s Work
On January 29, 2020, the Institut Pasteur, which is responsible for monitoring respiratory viruses in France, sequenced the whole genome of the coronavirus known as "2019-nCoV", becoming the first institution in Europe to sequence the virus since the start of the outbreak. The virus was sequenced at the Institut Pasteur's Mutualized Platform for Microbiology (P2M), which performs genome sequencing on bacterial, viral, fungal and parasite strains received by National Reference Centers and World Health Organization Collaborating Centers for the purpose of infectious disease surveillance.
As well as sequencing the whole genome of coronavirus 2019-nCoV, the Institut Pasteur continued to work on the samples taken from the first confirmed cases. The quality of these initial samples enabled rapid cell-culture isolation of the new virus. The Institut Pasteur's scientists now have access to the virus responsible for the infection. The isolation of the virus paves the way for new diagnostic, therapeutic and prophylactic approaches.