Viral zoonoses

Risk and predisposing factors for viral zoonoses abound in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region with significant public health implications. For several decades, there have been several reports on the emergence and re-emergence of arbovirus infections. The lifetime burden of arboviral diseases in developing countries is still poorly understood. Studies indicate significant healthcare disruptions and economic losses attributed to the viruses in resource-poor communities marked by impairment in the performance of daily activities...

BACKGROUND: Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is a viral zoonosis that can cause severe haemorrhagic fevers in humans and high mortality rates and abortions in livestock. On 10 December 2020, the Uganda Ministry of Health was notified of the death of a 25-year-old male who tested RVF-positive by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) at the Uganda Virus Research Institute. We investigated to determine the scope of the outbreak, identify exposure factors, and institute control measures...

BACKGROUND: Zoonoses are diseases and infections that can be transmitted naturally between animals and humans. Direct and indirect contact of humans with wildlife occur during hunting activities, when diseased wildlife is found and treated, and in shared fields, forests, parks, gardens, and homes. Zoonoses can only be understood and controlled when ecosystems, animals, and humans are considered holistically. OBJECTIVE: This paper presents important zoonotic pathogens that are currently present in wild mammals as reservoirs in Germany...

The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is one of the most common species of wild Canidae and is relatively abundant in Iran. Foxes (Vulpes spp.) transmit many zoonotic diseases, the most important of which are visceral leishmaniasis, rabies, hydatidosis, toxocariasis, and trichinellosis. In this study, visceral leishmaniasis, rabies, ectoparasites, canine gastrointestinal helminths, dermatophytosis, distemper, parvovirus infection, and heartworm infections were evaluated among live-trapped and rescued foxes injured by traffic road accidents referred to the teaching hospital of Kerman, Iran, veterinary faculty...

BACKGROUND: Wastewater pathogen monitoring is useful for surveillance of enteric pathogens. Information about the presence of Paslahepevirus balayani (HEV) and emergent Rocahepevirus ratti (RHEV) in untreated water and their correlation with clinical cases is scarce. Aim To longitudinally monitor HEV and RHEV in wastewater and to evaluate their possible correlation with human cases. METHODS: This study was carried out in the city of Cordoba (southern Spain) from March 2021 to March 2023...

The available data indicate that the human world population will constantly grow in the subsequent decades. This constant increase in the number of people on the Earth will lead to growth in food demand, especially in food of high nutritional value. Therefore, it is expected that the world livestock population will also increase. Such a phenomenon enhances the risk of transmitting pathogens to humans. As pig production is one of the most significant branches of the world's livestock production, zoonoses of porcine origins seem to be of particular importance...

In Singapore, 10 captive lions tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by real-time PCR. Genomic analyses of nanopore sequencing confirmed human-to-animal transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant. Viral genomes from the lions and zookeeper shared a unique spike protein substitution, S:A1016V. Widespread SARS-CoV-2 transmission among humans can increase the likelihood of anthroponosis.

Sewage surveillance provides useful epidemiologic and public health information on viral infections at the population level. We detected monkeypox virus DNA from sewage samples covering 85% of the population in Santiago Metropolitan Region Chile. We also isolated infective viruses from those samples. Wastewater surveillance could complement clinical surveillance for monkeypox virus.

Background: Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) is a rare mosquito-borne illness exhibiting rapid neurological deterioration and permanent damage. Despite its >30% mortality and >60% long-term neurological damage, EEEV has no approved antiviral medication or vaccination. This report uniquely aims to describe a rare case of EEEV and provide a current literature review of therapeutic and preventative options from the clinical perspective to guide clinicians and public health workers, along with informing them about its impact and current knowledge gaps...

Rat hepevirus is an emerging zoonotic pathogen associated with human hepatitis and distantly related to the hepatitis E virus. By using broadly reactive primers for hepevirus, we detected viral RNA in 68/155 (43.9%) of sewage specimens collected from 14 wastewater treatment plants serving about half of the population of Abruzzo, Italy. On sequence analysis, the 68 strains showed 79.0%-91.6% identities to reference sequences of rodent and human origin, segregating in different genetic groups with a clear geographic/wastewater treatment plant (WWTP)-related pattern...

Utilization of human ACE2 allowed several bat coronaviruses (CoVs), including the causative agent of COVID-19, to infect humans directly or via intermediate hosts. However, the determinants of species-specific differences in ACE2 usage and the frequency of the ability of animal CoVs to use human ACE2 are poorly understood. Here we applied VSV pseudoviruses to analyze the ability of Spike proteins from 26 human or animal CoVs to use ACE2 receptors across nine reservoir, potential intermediate and human hosts...

Background: Assessing the potential for mosquitoes to transmit medically important arboviruses is essential for understanding their threat to human populations. Currently, vector competence studies are typically performed by collecting saliva using a glass capillary tube system which involves sacrificing the mosquito at the time of saliva collection allowing only a single data point. These techniques also require handling infected mosquitoes and glass capillaries, constituting a safety risk. Materials and Methods: To improve the efficiency and safety of assessing vector competence, a novel containment and saliva collection approach for individually housed mosquitoes was developed...

Background: West Nile virus (WNV) infection is a viral disease caused by arboviruses. It can cause epidemics of febrile diseases and meningoencephalitis, especially at the end of the summer season. In this study, we aimed to determine the risk factors of WNV encephalitis with a case-control study of the patients followed in our clinic. Materials and Methods: Among the patients who applied to our hospital with sudden onset fever, headache, myalgia, nausea, vomiting, maculopapular rash, viral meningitis, or encephalitis findings in late summer and early autumn, those diagnosed with positive WNV PCR and antibody tests were defined as WNV cases...

INTRODUCTION: Paslahepevirus balayani (Hepatitis E virus; HEV) is an emerging virus that poses as a public health threat. The virus is now reported to be the leading cause of acute viral hepatitis, with a unique impact on African settings. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors for HEV infection in three cohorts (animal handlers, villagers, and students). METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out on a total of 752 subjects from southwestern Nigeria...

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the most common cause of acute viral hepatitis worldwide. In 2018-2022, we investigated the presence of HEV RNA in 1233 stool samples collected in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, including humans (16), Tibetan pigs (624), yaks (312), sheep (267), and dogs (14). HEV RNA was only detected in Tibetan pig faecal samples (18.27%, 114/624). To perform molecular characterization of HEV strains in Tibetan pigs, we obtained 21 complete HEV genome sequences between 2018 and 2022. Sequence comparisons showed that 21 HEV strains from Tibetan pigs shared the mean nucleotide identities with the reference HEV strains ranging between 82...

The African Region reports the heaviest burden of public health emergencies globally. This paper presents an exploratory analysis of public health events data collected the past 22 years in the WHO Africa region, to explore patterns and trends that can inform public health strategies, policy changes and develop appropriate tools to improve disease surveillance, preparedness and response to public health emergencies. A suite of exploratory data analysis methods combining time series analysis, summary statistics, temporal visualisations, geographic information system (GIS) mapping, trend analysis and statistical tests were used to derive patterns and trends from the data...

INTRODUCTION: Bats are important providers of ecosystem services such as pollination, seed dispersal, and insect control but also act as natural reservoirs for virulent zoonotic viruses. Bats host multiple viruses that cause life-threatening pathology in other animals and humans but, themselves, experience limited pathological disease from infection. Despite bats' importance as reservoirs for several zoonotic viruses, we know little about the broader viral diversity that they host. Bat virus surveillance efforts are challenged by difficulties of field capture and the limited scope of targeted PCR- or ELISA-based molecular and serological detection...

BackgroundWest Nile virus (WNV) is a flavivirus with an enzootic cycle between birds and mosquitoes; humans and horses are incidental dead-end hosts. In 2020, the largest outbreak of West Nile virus infection in the Iberian Peninsula occurred, with 141 clusters in horses and 77 human cases.AimWe analysed which drivers influence spillover from the cycle to humans and equines and identified areas at risk for WNV transmission.MethodsBased on data on WNV cases in horses and humans in 2020 in Portugal and Spain, we developed logistic regression models using environmental and anthropic variables to highlight risk areas...

Background: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease caused by Dabie bandavirus , which belongs to the genus Bandavirus , family Phenuiviridae , and order Bunyavirales. It has been found in tick species, various animals, and humans. The aim of this study was to detect RNA of antigens and antibodies against SFTS virus (SFTSV) among poultry such as chickens, ducks, and wild geese from five provinces in the Republic of Korea (ROK). Materials and Methods: A one-step reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR and nested PCR were performed after viral RNA extraction...

This article highlights the discovery of a new virus lurking in bats in Yunnan province of China. The virus shows phylogenetic and genomic similarity to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, which was the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus, named Bat SARS-like virus BtSY2, along with four other viruses, has been named a "virus of concern." Recombination events in the viral genome due to coinfection by multiple viruses in related animal hosts can lead to disease emergence, a process that has repeated itself innumerable times throughout history and has given rise to some major viral pandemics...