Publications

monoclonal antibodies to kunjin and kokobera viruses.	five monoclonal antibodies (moab) were produced to the envelope (e) protein of kunjin (kun) virus. three of these were specific for the kun/west nile complex, and two reacted with epitopes that were common to the flavivirus family. these moab defined at least four distinct epitopes on the e protein of kun virus. eight moab were also produced to unidentified proteins of kokobera (kok) virus. seven were specific for kok, while the remaining antibody cross-reacted with stratford virus and an unregi ...	1991	1651286
sucrose density gradient centrifugation and cross-flow filtration methods for the production of arbovirus antigens inactivated by binary ethylenimine.	sucrose density gradient centrifugation and cross-flow filtration methods have been developed and standardised for the safe and reproducible production of inactivated arbovirus antigens which are appropriate for use in diagnostic serological applications.	2004	14720306
development of immunoglobulin m capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to differentiate human flavivirus infections occurring in australia.	we report the development of a flavivirus immunoglobulin m (igm) capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (mac-elisa) which improves the determination of an infecting flavivirus serotype over that by current serological methods. a panel of 165 igm-positive sera from flavivirus patients with specific diagnostic results was tested by the flavivirus mac-elisa using a panel of 10 antigens. for 134 of these sera (81.2%), the highest reactivity was demonstrated against the infecting virus, which was ...	2005	15753249
universal primers that amplify rna from all three flavivirus subgroups.	species within the flavivirus genus pose public health problems around the world. increasing cases of dengue and japanese encephalitis virus in asia, frequent outbreaks of yellow fever virus in africa and south america, and the ongoing spread of west nile virus throughout the americas, show the geographical burden of flavivirus diseases. flavivirus infections are often indistinct from and confused with other febrile illnesses. here we review the specificity of published primers, and describe a n ...	2008	18218114
structure and functionality in flavivirus ns-proteins: perspectives for drug design.	flaviviridae are small enveloped viruses hosting a positive-sense single-stranded rna genome. besides yellow fever virus, a landmark case in the history of virology, members of the flavivirus genus, such as west nile virus and dengue virus, are increasingly gaining attention due to their re-emergence and incidence in different areas of the world. additional environmental and demographic considerations suggest that novel or known flaviviruses will continue to emerge in the future. nevertheless, u ...	2010	19945487
west nile virus (kunjin subtype) disease in the northern territory of australia--a case of encephalitis and review of all reported cases.	west nile virus kunjin subtype (wnv/kunv) is enzootic across the tropical north of australia, with epizootic spread into other jurisdictions. the clinical spectrum of illness in humans is poorly described. we report a clinical case of wnv/kunv encephalitis and performed a retrospective chart audit of all cases of wnv/kunv notified in the northern territory from 1992 to 2010. thirteen cases of wnv/kunv disease were identified; case notes were available for 10 of these presentations. six of these ...	2011	22049056
development of monoclonal antibodies to west nile virus and their application in immunohistochemistry.	west nile virus (wnv) is endemic throughout africa, eurasia, america, and australia and has important implications for avian, horse, and human health. in these regions, dead birds are monitored for the presence of wnv through immunohistochemistry (ihc) and pcr. however, a number of the tools for ihc are inadequate owing to their cross-reactivity to other japanese encephalitis serogroup viruses. here we have established eight monoclonal antibodies (mabs) to wnv. four of them bound to the envelope ...	2012	22993408
genetic divergence among members of the kokobera group of flaviviruses supports their separation into distinct species.	the kokobera virus group comprises mosquito-borne flaviviruses that cluster together phylogenetically. these viruses are unique to australia and papua new guinea, and have been associated with a mild polyarticular disease in humans. recent isolation of genetically diverse viruses within this group has prompted analysis of their genetic and phenotypic relationships. phylogenetic analysis based on complete orf, the envelope gene or the ns5/3' untranslated region supported the separation of the gro ...	2013	23426358
natural exposure of horses to mosquito-borne flaviviruses in south-east queensland, australia.	in 2011 an unprecedented epidemic of equine encephalitis occurred in south-eastern (se) australia following heavy rainfall and severe flooding in the preceding 2-4 months. less than 6% of the documented cases occurred in queensland, prompting the question of pre-existing immunity in queensland horses. a small-scale serological survey was conducted on horses residing in one of the severely flood-affected areas of se-queensland. using a flavivirus-specific blocking-elisa we found that 63% (39/62) ...	2013	24048209
enhanced arbovirus surveillance with deep sequencing: identification of novel rhabdoviruses and bunyaviruses in australian mosquitoes.	viral metagenomics characterizes known and identifies unknown viruses based on sequence similarities to any previously sequenced viral genomes. a metagenomics approach was used to identify virus sequences in australian mosquitoes causing cytopathic effects in inoculated mammalian cell cultures. sequence comparisons revealed strains of liao ning virus (reovirus, seadornavirus), previously detected only in china, livestock-infecting stretch lagoon virus (reovirus, orbivirus), two novel dimarhabdov ...	2013	24314645
complete coding sequences of three members of the kokobera group of flaviviruses.	the kokobera group of flaviviruses circulates in australia and papua, new guinea, and has been associated with occasional human polyarticular disease. to facilitate future studies to identify virulence determinants, the complete coding regions of the stratford virus, and isolates of the bainyik virus and torres virus were obtained.	2014	25237018
flavidb: a data mining system for knowledge discovery in flaviviruses with direct applications in immunology and vaccinology.	the flavivirus genus is unusually large, comprising more than 70 species, of which more than half are known human pathogens. it includes a set of clinically relevant infectious agents such as dengue, west nile, yellow fever, and japanese encephalitis viruses. although these pathogens have been studied extensively, safe and efficient vaccines lack for the majority of the flaviviruses.	0	25544857
new insights into flavivirus evolution, taxonomy and biogeographic history, extended by analysis of canonical and alternative coding sequences.	to generate the most diverse phylogenetic dataset for the flaviviruses to date, we determined the genomic sequences and phylogenetic relationships of 14 flaviviruses, of which 10 are primarily associated with culex spp. mosquitoes. we analyze these data, in conjunction with a comprehensive collection of flavivirus genomes, to characterize flavivirus evolutionary and biogeographic history in unprecedented detail and breadth. based on the presumed introduction of yellow fever virus into the americ ...	2015	25719412
converting mosquito surveillance to arbovirus surveillance with honey-baited nucleic acid preservation cards.	spatially and temporally accurate information about infectious mosquito distribution allows for pre-emptive public health interventions that can reduce the burden of mosquito-borne infections on human populations. however, the labile nature of arboviruses, the low prevalence of infection in mosquitoes, the expensive labor costs for mosquito identification and sorting, and the specialized equipment required for arbovirus testing can obstruct arbovirus surveillance efforts. the recently developed ...	2015	26186511
ecuador paraiso escondido virus, a new flavivirus isolated from new world sand flies in ecuador, is the first representative of a novel clade in the genus flavivirus.	a new flavivirus, ecuador paraiso escondido virus (epev), named after the village where it was discovered, was isolated from sand flies (psathyromyia abonnenci, formerly lutzomyia abonnenci) that are unique to the new world. this represents the first sand fly-borne flavivirus identified in the new world. epev exhibited a typical flavivirus genome organization. nevertheless, the maximum pairwise amino acid sequence identity with currently recognized flaviviruses was 52.8%. phylogenetic analysis o ...	2015	26355096
seasonal activity, vector relationships and genetic analysis of mosquito-borne stratford virus.	there are many gaps to be filled in our understanding of mosquito-borne viruses, their relationships with vectors and reservoir hosts, and the environmental drivers of seasonal activity. stratford virus (strv) belongs to the genus flavivirus and has been isolated from mosquitoes and infected humans in australia but little is known of its vector and reservoir host associations. a total of 43 isolates of strv from mosquitoes collected in new south wales between 1995 and 2013 was examined to determ ...	2017	28253306
infection of western gray kangaroos (macropus fuliginosus) with australian arboviruses associated with human infection.	more than 75 arboviruses (arthropod-borne viruses) have been identified in australia. while alfuy virus (alfv), barmah forest virus (bfv), edge hill virus (ehv), kokobera virus (kokv), murray valley encephalitis virus (mvev), sindbis virus (sinv), ross river virus (rrv), stratford virus (strv), and west nile virus strain kunjin (kunv) have been associated with human infection, there remains a paucity of data regarding their respective transmission cycles and any potential nonhuman vertebrate hos ...	2020	31556842