This Week in Virology TWiV 1301: Lost in giant virus translation
Mar 1, 2026
They discuss LCMV seroprevalence in pregnant women and newborns, testing methods, maternal-to-cord antibody transfer, and public health precautions to reduce rodent exposure. They also cover giant DNA viruses that encode a functional translation initiation complex, structural and genetic evidence for viral translation factors, and how those proteins drive late viral protein synthesis and impact particle assembly.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
LCMV Seroprevalence Among Pregnant Women
- LCMV causes severe congenital disease despite often mild adult infection.
- Philadelphia serosurvey found 2.4–2.7% IgG prevalence in pregnant women with no IgM positives and maternal IgG transferred to cord blood.
Pet Shop Mice Often Carry LCMV
- Angela warns pet-shop mice and hamsters commonly carry LCMV and are barred from many animal facilities.
- She noted labs use pet-shop mice as 'dirty' models and won't allow them into animal facilities due to high infection rates.
Be Cautious Using Deprivation Index To Predict Mouse Exposure
- Consider neighborhood deprivation indices cautiously when predicting rodent exposure risk.
- The study assumed higher deprivation meant more rodents, but Vincent and others noted mouse presence can be independent of socioeconomic status.
