Skip to Content
800-533-8762
  • Careers
  • Newsroom
  • Health Care Professionals
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
UPMC
  • Find a Doctor
  • Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
      Allergy & Immunology Behavioral & Mental Health Cancer Ear, Nose & Throat Endocrinology Gastroenterology Heart & Vascular Imaging Neurosciences Orthopaedics
      Physical Rehabilitation Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Primary Care Senior Services Sports Medicine Telemedicine Transplant Surgery Walk-In Care Weight Management Women’s Health
      See all Services
    • Services by Region
    • Find a UPMC health care facility close to you quickly by browsing by region.
      UPMC in Western Pa. Western Pa. and New York
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Services
  • Locations
    • Locations by Type
    • Locations by Type
      UPMC hospitals
      Hospitals
      Physical Therapy
      Physical Therapy
      Urgent care
      Walk-In Care
      UPMC Outpatient Centers
      Outpatient Centers
      UPMC Imaging Services
      Imaging
      Community Health Centers
      Community Health Centers
      See All Locations
    • Locations by Region
    • Locations by Region
      UPMC in Southwest Pa. Southwest Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Northwest Pa and Ny. Northwest Pa. & Western N.Y.
      UPMC in West Central Pa. West Central Pa.
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Locations
  • Patients & Visitors
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
      Patients and Visitors Resources Pay a Bill Classes & Events Medical Records Health Library Patient Information
      Patient Portals Privacy Information Shared Decision Making Traveling Patients Visitor Information
      Man uses mobile phone
      Pay a Bill
      Nurse reviews medical chart
      Request Medical Records
  • Patient Portals
  • Find Covid-19 updates
  • Schedule an appointment
  • Request medical records
  • Pay a bill
  • Learn about financial assistance
  • Find classes & events
  • Send a patient an eCard
  • Make a donation
  • Volunteer
  • Read HealthBeat blog
  • Explore UPMC Careers
Skip to Content
UPMC
  • Patient Portals
  • For Patients & Visitors
    • Find a Doctor
    • Locations
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Pay a Bill
    • Services
    • More
      • Medical Records
      • Financial Assistance
      • Classes & Events
      • HealthBeat Blog
      • Health Library
  • About UPMC
    • Why UPMC
    • Facts & Stats
    • Supply Chain Management
    • Community Commitment
    • More
      • Financials
      • Support UPMC
      • UPMC Apps
      • UPMC Enterprises
      • UPMC International
  • For Health Care Professionals
    • Physician Information
    • Resources
    • Education & Training
    • Departments
    • Credentialing
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Newsroom
  • UPMC >
  • Media Relations >
  • News Releases >
  • 071422 brainattackingviruses
Media Relations
News Releases
Central Pa. News
North Central Pa. News
Contact Us
Experts
Community-Focused News
Media Kits
Media RSS
Media Relations
News Releases
Central Pa. News
North Central Pa. News
Contact Us
Experts
Community-Focused News
Media Kits
Media RSS

Pitt Researchers Develop Better Model to Study Brain-Attacking Viruses

For Journalists

Anastasia (Ana) Gorelova
Senior Manager, Science Writing
412-647-9966
gorelovaa@upmc.edu

Allison Hydzik
Director, Science and Research
412-647-9975
hydzikam@upmc.edu

Want to Make an Appointment or Need Patient Information?
Contact UPMC at

1-800-533-8762.

Go to Find a Doctor to search for a UPMC doctor.

2021 PITT HS horizon

7/14/2022

PITTSBURGH – A new mouse model identified by virologists from the University of Pittsburgh might revolutionize development of therapies targeting brain inflammation caused by Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV). 

As the first mouse model that faithfully mimics brain damage caused by severe RVFV infection, it will permit the study of disease mechanisms in detail and provide an opportunity to conduct high-throughput preclinical testing of next-generation drugs, enabling development of therapies for a virus that is present throughout Africa. The study was published today in PLOS Pathogens. 

AnitaMcElroy“Rift Valley Fever can sweep across villages causing devastating consequences, but there are no drugs or vaccines that we can offer to people,” said senior author Anita McElroy, M.D., Ph.D., virologist and pediatric infectious diseases physician at Pitt’s School of Medicine and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. “Before IV acyclovir became available in the 1990s, the outcome of herpes simplex virus encephalitis in newborns was horrible. But acyclovir turned that trend on its heel, and we would love to have the same success with RVFV encephalitis.” 

A virus that mosquitos transmit between animals and people, RVFV is endemic to the African continent and belongs to a family of viruses identified by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) workgroup on pandemic preparedness as likely to give rise to future pandemics.  

Unlike other mosquito-borne infectious diseases such as malaria, RVFV can be spread by many species of mosquitos, expanding its potential to sweep across large distances and reach many hosts. Some blood sample surveys suggest that by adulthood, up to 50% of Africans living in endemic areas have been exposed to the virus in their lifetime. Even though the overall mortality rate of RVFV infection is relatively low, estimated between 1% to 3%, this virus causes major economic and public health impacts across Africa. 

RVFV is spread by mosquitos from infected animals, especially livestock, eventually finding its way into people. Because the virus can also spread via bodily fluids across mucous membranes and through skin cuts and abrasions, farmers and butchers are particularly vulnerable to infection. 

Once the virus infects a human, it can spread into the liver and the brain and cause hepatitis, encephalitis or both. Yet, despite the virus’s economic and human toll, a vaccine for RVFV has not been made commercially available, and efforts to develop an effective therapy have historically been stymied by the lack of an appropriate preclinical model.  

Unlike humans, whose genetic diversity likely explains why some people develop mild disease and some succumb to liver failure or brain damage, common strains of mice injected with RVFV tend to die from liver disease. mcelroy rvfv 2

To address this challenge and map out genetic differences that dictate how the infection presents itself in the body, McElroy and colleagues sought to identify a genetically diverse but stable mouse model by testing mice with different genetic backgrounds and measuring their susceptibility to RVFV infection. One strain, labeled CC057/Unc, consistently developed late-onset encephalitis and had a high viral load in the brain without developing severe acute hepatitis, making it particularly suitable to study the neurological form of the RVFV disease. 

“It is impossible to study how RVFV causes brain disease if the animals die of liver failure,” said McElroy. “This new model is a critical step on the quest to figure out why some people who get infected with the virus recover and others die and how we can best help them.” 

Additional authors of the paper include Haley Cartwright, Ph.D., Dominique Barbeau, M.S., Joshua Doyle, M.D., Ph.D., and Ed Klein, Ph.D., all of Pitt; and Mark Heise, Ph.D., and Martin Ferris, Ph.D., both of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

 
This study was funded by the RK Mellon Institute for Pediatric Research, Pediatric Infectious Disease Society Stanley and Susan Plotkin and Sanofi Pasteur Fellowship Award, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (CAMS 1013362.01). 


PHOTO INFO: (click image(s) for high-res version(s))

Left photo:

CREDIT: Anita McElroy

CAPTION: Anita McElroy, M.D., Ph.D.

Right photo:

CREDIT: Anita McElroy, adapted from Cartwright et al., 2022

CAPTION: Rift Valley Fever Virus in the brain. Rift Valley Fever Virus (brown) is spread throughout the brain tissue (left) but not in the liver (right) of infected mice.

UPMC
200 Lothrop Street Pittsburgh, PA 15213

412-647-8762 800-533-8762

Patients And Visitors
  • Find a Doctor
  • Locations
  • Pay a Bill
  • Patient & Visitor Resources
  • Disabilities Resource Center
  • Services
  • Medical Records
  • No Surprises Act
  • Price Transparency
  • Financial Assistance
  • Classes & Events
  • Health Library
Health Care Professionals
  • Physician Information
  • Resources
  • Education & Training
  • Departments
  • Credentialing
Newsroom
  • Newsroom Home
  • Inside Life Changing Medicine Blog
  • News Releases
About
  • Why UPMC
  • Facts & Stats
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Community Commitment
  • Financials
  • Supporting UPMC
  • HealthBeat Blog
  • UPMC Apps
  • UPMC Enterprises
  • UPMC Health Plan
  • UPMC International
  • Nondiscrimination Policy
Life changing is...
Follow UPMC
  • Contact Us
  • Website/Email Terms of Use
  • Medical Advice Disclaimer
  • Privacy Information
  • Active Privacy Alerts
  • Sitemap
© 2025 UPMC I Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Supplemental content provided by Healthwise, Incorporated. To learn more, visit healthwise.org
Find Care
Providers
Video Visit
Portal Login

Chat Keywords List

  • cancel or exit: Stops your conversation
  • start over: Restarts your current scenario
  • help: Shows what this bot can do
  • terms: Shows terms of use and privacy statement
  • feedback: Give us feedback
Continue
Chat with UPMC
RESTART
MENU
CLOSE