Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus that is emerging as a global threat because of the highly debilitating nature of the associated disease and unprecedented magnitude of its spread. Chikungunya originated in Africa and has since spread across the entire globe causing large numbers of epidemics that have infected millions of people in Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Europe, the Americas, and Pacific Islands. Phylogenetic analysis has identified four different genotypes of CHIKV: Asian, West African, East/Central/South African (ECSA), and Indian Ocean Lineage (IOL). In the absence of well-designed epidemiological studies, the aim of this review article was to summarize the global epidemiology of CHIKV and to provide baseline data for future research on the treatment, prevention, and control of this life-threatening disease.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most predominant malignancies with high fatality rate. This deadly cancer is rising at an alarming rate because it is quite resistant to radio- and chemotherapy. Different epigenetic mechanisms such as histone modifications, DNA methylation, chromatin remodeling, and expression of noncoding RNAs drive the cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, initiation, progression, and development of HCC. These epigenetic alterations because of potential reversibility open way towards the development of biomarkers and therapeutics. The contribution of these epigenetic changes to HCC development has not been thoroughly explored yet. Further research on HCC epigenetics is necessary to better understand novel molecular-targeted HCC treatment and prevention. This review highlights latest research progress and current updates regarding epigenetics of HCC, biomarker discovery, and future preventive and therapeutic strategies to combat the increasing risk of HCC.

Artificially boosting body's immune response is one of the most exciting, effective and promising advancements in the treatment of cancers. Cancer immunotherapeutics consist of variety of treatment approaches such as cytokine therapy, adoptive T-cell transfer therapy, and antibodies that stimulate innate and adoptive immune responses. In addition to this, development of HPV vaccine has paved way toward the development of other cancer vaccines. Checkpoint blockade inhibitors, for example, anti-programmed cell death protein 1 and anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy and monoclonal antibodies are emerging as other major breakthroughs that are highly effective against cancer. This review addresses the current status of immunotherapeutic strategies against cancer and provides baseline data for future research.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is rapidly spreading across the America and its devastating outcomes for pregnant women and infants have driven this previously ignored pathogen into the limelight. Clinical manifestations are fever, joint pain or rash and conjunctivitis. Emergence of ZIKV started with a first outbreak in the Pacific area in 2007, a second large outbreak occurred in the Pacific in 2013/2014 and subsequently the virus spread in other Pacific islands. Threat of explosive global pandemic and severe clinical complications linked with the more immediate and recurrent epidemics necessitate the development of an effective vaccine. Several vaccine platforms such as DNA vaccine, recombinant subunit vaccine, ZIKV purified inactivated vaccine, and chimeric vaccines have shown potent efficacy in vitro and in vivo trials. Moreover, number of drugs such as Sofosbuvir, BCX4450, NITD008 and 7-DMA are ready to enter phase I clinical trial because of proven anti-ZIKV activity. Monoclonal based antibodies offer promise as an intervention effective for use in pregnant women. In this review, we describe the advances in research on ZIKV such as research strategies for the development of antiviral drugs & vaccines, molecular evolution, epidemiology emergence, neurological complications and other teratogenic outcomes as well as pathogenesis.

Poliomyelitis has been eliminated from all countries of the world except Pakistan and Afghanistan. One of the major reasons is the stigmas associated with the polio vaccine that has been repetitively discussed in literature, and governments of both the countries are already making serious efforts to control this public health challenge, but till this moment, the state officials have not introduced any surveillance strategy for the security of polio workers in National Emergency Action Plan (NEAP) for Polio Eradication. This report highlights the issue of targeted killing and terrorism attacks on polio vaccinators in Pakistan and also devises a surveillance strategy to provide security to polio workers at immediate possible because the current chaos in Afghanistan will ultimately lead to more terrorist attacks on polio vaccinators.