Stealth virus epidemic in the Mohave Valley. I. Initial report of virus isolation

Enhancing the Alternative Cellular Energy (ACE) Pathway with KELEA Activated Water as Therapy for Infectious Diseases

Many infectious diseases have yet to be conquered by modern medicine. This is generally attributed to both a failure of the immune system and the lack of an effective anti-microbial pharmaceutical. Infections can be regarded as a competitive process between the microbe and the host for cellular energy-generated resources. Cells obtain energy not only from the metabolism of food but also from the alternative cellular energy (ACE) pathway. This pathway utilizes an environmental force termed as KELEA (kinetic energy limiting electrostatic attraction), which provides an added kinetic/chemical energy to the body's fluids. The ACE pathway can be enhanced through the use of KELEA activated water, which is currently available under different names from several sources. Enhancing the body's ACE pathway, including the use of a wearable waterceutical ™, provides a novel means of potentially increasing the body's resistance against all infectious diseases.

A metagenomic comparison of endemic viruses from broiler chickens with runting-stunting syndrome and from normal birds

Runting-stunting syndrome (RSS) in broiler chickens is an enteric disease that causes significant economic losses to poultry producers worldwide due to elevated feed conversion ratios, decreased body weight during growth, and excessive culling. Of specific interest are the viral agents associated with RSS which have been difficult to fully characterize to date. Past research into the aetiology of RSS has implicated a wide variety of RNA and DNA viruses however, to date, no individual virus has been identified as the main agent of RSS and the current opinion is that it may be caused by a community of viruses, collectively known as the virome. This paper attempts to characterize the viral pathogens associated with 2–3-week-old RSS-affected and unaffected broiler chickens using next-generation sequencing and comparative metagenomics. Analysis of the viromes identified a total of 20 DNA and RNA viral families, along with 2 unidentified categories, comprised of 31 distinct viral genera and 7 unclassified genera. The most abundant viral families identified in this study were the Astroviridae, Caliciviridae, Picornaviridae, Parvoviridae, Coronaviridae, Siphoviridae, and Myoviridae. This study has identified historically significant viruses associated with the disease such as chicken astrovirus, avian nephritis virus, chicken parvovirus, and chicken calicivirus along with relatively novel viruses such as chicken megrivirus and sicinivirus 1 and will help expand the knowledge related to enteric disease in broiler chickens, provide insights into the viral constituents of a healthy avian gut, and identify a variety of enteric viruses and viral communities appropriate for further study.

Complex intracellular inclusions in the brain of a child with a stealth virus encephalopathy

Unusual pigmented intracellular inclusions are commonly seen in cultures obtained from patients infected with stealth viruses. Some of these structures may potentially provide a source of chemical energy for the infected cells to help compensate for the apparent damage to the cells' mitochondria. They have accordingly been termed alternative cellular energy pigments (ACE pigments). In keeping with this suggestion, the present paper illustrates the diversity of extraneous materials present in vacuolated, mitochondria-damaged cells seen in the brain biopsy of a child with a stealth-virus-associated encephalopathy. Many of the intracellular inclusions show highly ordered structuring, while others have a more amorphous appearance. These structures may provide a target for energy-based therapeutic intervention in stealth-virus-infected patients.

Stealth virus culture pigments: a potential source of cellular energy

The cytopathic effect (CPE) induced in human MRC-5 fibroblasts by blood mononuclear cells of patients infected with stealth-adapted viruses is characterized by the formation of clusters of foamy vacuolated cells that commonly become heavily pigmented. The pigmented material coalesces into discrete structures of varying shapes and sizes, including solid particles, flat ribbons, and long, thin threads. Pigmented material can also be observed in long-term culture supernatants, sometimes accompanied by solid and needle-shaped lipid-like crystals. Accumulation of the pigmented material correlates with lessening of the CPE and outgrowth of normal appearing cells from cell clusters. The CPE can be rapidly reactivated by replacing the culture supernatant with fresh culture medium. Conversely, reactivation can be partially prevented by the addition of particulate pigmented material to fresh culture medium. The pigmented material displays striking luminescence and autofluorescence. Occasional particles are ferromagnetic. Varying percentages of different minerals are identifiable in the particles using energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. Metabolic studies indicate the particles can have reducing (electron donating) capacity and can liberate gas. These findings, along with the extended survival of viable cells in unfed virus-infected cultures, suggest that the pigments are a potential source of cellular energy. The presence of light and magnetic-sensitive alternative cellular energy (ACE) pigments has opened new approaches for the potential therapy of stealth virus-infected patients.

Chemokine receptor-related genetic sequences in an african green monkey simian cytomegalovirus-derived stealth virus

The US28 gene of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) codes a cell surface receptor for both beta chemokine and fractalkine molecules. This receptor facilitates HCMV-induced cell fusion and virus dissemination and influences susceptibility to infection with other viruses, including the human immunodeficiency virus. Five adjacent but divergent open reading frames that potentially code for molecules related to the US28 protein of HCMV are present in an African green monkey simian cytomegalovirus-derived stealth virus. This finding implies a role for chemokines in the pathogenicity of at least some stealth-adapted viruses. It may also help explain the apparent therapeutic benefit achieved in certain stealth virus-infected patients treated with agents that downregulate chemokine production.

Bacteria-related sequences in a simian cytomegalovirus-derived stealth virus culture

Extensive sequencing of cloned DNA isolated from the culture of an African green monkey simian cytomegalovirus-derived stealth virus has identified multiple regions of highly significant homology to various bacterial genes. The apparent acquisition of bacterial sequences extends the potential role of stealth viruses as natural vectors in the transfer of genetic information. The findings highlight the dynamic interface between viral and bacterial genomes and the potential of this interaction in the emergence and spread of novel pathogens. The term viteria is proposed for microorganisms that contain both eukaryotic-viral and prokaryotic-bacterial genetic sequences.

Stealth adaptation of an African green monkey simian cytomegalovirus

DNA extracted from cultures of a cytopathic virus isolated from a patient with chronic fatigue syndrome was cloned into pBluescript plasmid. The nucleotide sequences of the plasmid inserts were analyzed using the BlastN and BlastX programs of the National Center for Biotechnology Information. In confirmation of earlier studies, many of the sequences show partial homology to various regions within the genome of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). The matching regions were unevenly distributed throughout the HCMV genome. No matches were seen with either the UL55 or the UL83 genes, which provide the major antigenic targets for anti-HCMV cytotoxic T-cell-mediated immunity. This finding is consistent with the notion that certain viruses can avoid immune elimination by deleting genes required for effective antigenic recognition by the cellular immune system. The term "stealth" has been applied to such viruses. Comparisons were also made between the sequences of the stealth virus and the limited sequence data available on cytomegaloviruses from rhesus monkeys and from African green monkeys. These comparisons unequivocally establish that the virus was derived from an African green monkey simian cytomegalovirus.

Melanoma growth stimulatory activity (MGSA/GRO-alpha) chemokine genes incorporated into an African green monkey simian cytomegalovirus-derived stealth virus

DNA isolated from the culture of an African green monkey simian cytomegalovirus (SCMV)-derived stealth virus has been cloned. A region of the virus that contains genes coding proteins homologous to the UL141, UL144, and UL145 proteins of human cytomegalovirus has recombined with cellular sequences encoding several distinct copies of the melanoma growth stimulatory activity (MGSA/GRO-alpha) chemokine gene. This finding illustrates the capacity of stealth viruses to capture, amplify, and mutate genes with potential oncogenic activity. The lack of introns in the assimilated cellular genes indicates a role for reverse transcription in the assembly of stealth viruses.

Stealth virus epidemic in the Mohave Valley: severe vacuolating encephalopathy in a child presenting with a behavioral disorder

An infectious illness, attributed to atypically structured cytopathic "stealth" viruses, occurred in 1996 in the Mohave Valley region of the United States. A stealth virus-infected child from this region has developed a severe noninflammatory, vacuolating (spongiform) en cephalopathy. The illness initially presented as a behavioral problem without overt neurological signs. Extensive investigations, including repeated magnetic resonance imaging, two brain biopsies, and stealth virus cultures, have helped define the disease process occurring in this child. Significant clinical benefit with apparent retardation of disease progression occurred during a 6-week course of ganciclovir therapy. The potential contributing role of stealth virus infections in children presenting with behavioral problems needs to be addressed.