Screening for LID Clinical Studies Unit Healthy Volunteer Protocols

Overview

Background: * The Laboratory of Infectious Diseases (LID) Clinical Studies Unit (CSU) enrolls healthy volunteers into clinical studies to study infectious diseases. * Viruses can be highly infectious and contagious. They cause considerable illness in the United States each year and a good example of this is influenza (the flu). The LID CSU performs clinical studies to learn about these viral infections and assist in the development of vaccines and treatments for the infections. These clinical studies include influenza "challenge studies" as well as natural history studies and phase I trials involving vaccines for viruses carried by mosquitos such as Zika or Dengue virus. * In influenza challenge studies studies, doctors expose a person to a flu virus. Then they study the flu through the body's natural healing process. This information will help to find better ways to prevent the flu and may also improve treatments for the flu. * Natural history studies and phase I trials of new vaccines are performed so the researchers can learn how some viral infections occur and if new vaccines are safe and potentially effective in preventing the infections. In some of these studies, participants experience insect bites with special clean (non-infected) insects (such as mosquitos) to better understand the role of insects in these infections. Objectives: \- To screen healthy volunteers for future CSU studies. Eligibility: \- Healthy people between the ages of 18 and 65 Design: * The 3- to 5-hour screening exam includes the following: * Medical history and physical exam * Standard blood tests including pregnancy, Hepatitis B and C, and HIV tests * Standard urine drug testing * Electrocardiogram (ECG) to test heart rhythm and function * Chest x-ray * Eligible volunteers are enrolled in the study for up to 1 year, until they take part in a CSU study or are found to be ineligible to participate. * Volunteers may withdraw from the study pool at any time.

The high morbidity and mortality associated with both pandemic and seasonal influenza and the anticipation for future influenza pandemics puts influenza front and center in infectious disease research. Because the natural history and pathogenesis of human influenza has not been well characterized and cannot be adequately studied in animal models or with current in vitro techniques, important questions about influenza pathogenesis can only be approached through human challenge studies. Previous human challenge studies have addressed some aspects of the natural history by evaluating the timing of viral replication, shedding, clinical symptoms, and innate and adaptive immune responses. Although these studies have provided important information, all but one was performed prior to 1990. Without exception, these studies had limitations due to the scope of the study and/or the scientific techniques available at that time. While initially the protocol was designed to screen participants for influenza challenge studies, we have expanded our scope of research to include emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.The primary goal of this study is to collect and store serum and RNA samples and obtain clinical and laboratory data from volunteers to determine in advance if they are potentially eligible to participate in future clinical studies. To accomplish this objective, up to 5000 participants will be enrolled in this protocol at the NIH Clinical Center clinic or day hospital in order to maintain a pool of participants who have been evaluated and can be screened for future LID Clinical Studies Unit protocols.