Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 27, 2025
An In vitro Model to Study Immune Responses of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells to Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection
Published on: December 10, 2013
Natural infection of pangolins with human respiratory syncytial viruses
Run-Ze Ye1, Teng-Cheng Que2, Luo-Yuan Xia1
1State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, P.R. China; Institute of EcoHealth, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, Shandong, P.R. China.
Insights
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infects Malayan pangolins, showing high genomic similarity to human strains. This suggests a potential for human-to-wildlife transmission of this common respiratory virus.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Zoonotic Diseases
- Wildlife Health
Background:
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of severe respiratory illness in young children and the elderly.
- RSV primarily circulates in human populations, with limited evidence of natural spillover into other species.
- Previous studies showed experimental infections in various mammals, but not natural circulation.
Discussion:
- This study identified Malayan pangolins naturally infected with RSV.
- Pangolin RSV strains exhibited 99.4-99.8% genomic identity to contemporary human RSV-A (ON1) and RSV-B (BA) genotypes.
- Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the close relationship between pangolin and human RSV strains.
Key Insights:
- Malayan pangolins are a novel host for respiratory syncytial virus.
- The high genomic similarity strongly indicates recent human-to-pangolin transmission.
- This finding highlights the risk of zoonotic transmission of RSV to vulnerable wildlife populations.
Outlook:
- Further research is needed to understand the implications of RSV in pangolin populations.
- Monitoring wildlife for RSV is crucial for early detection of potential spillover events.
- This discovery underscores the importance of One Health approaches to infectious disease surveillance.
Abstract:
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an enveloped non-segmented negative sense RNA virus that belongs to Orthopneumovirus genus of the Pneumoviridae family in the order Mononegavirales. The virus is the leading cause of severe respiratory disease in children under two years of age and is responsible for substantial disease burden in infants and elder people in both developed and developing countries1,2. RSV is only known to circulate among humans, though it was first isolated from chimpanzees3. The virus can experimentally infect mice, rats, cotton rats, ferrets, and hamsters, but does not naturally circulate in these animal populations4. We found that Malayan pangolins (Manis javanica) were naturally infected with RSVs that have 99.4-99.8% genomic identity with strains circulating in humans. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that five RSVs in pangolins were RSV-A ON1 and seven were RSV-B BA genotypes, both of which are currently prevalent in humans worldwide. These findings suggest that humans might transmit their viruses to endangered wildlife.
Related Concept Videos
00:57Viral Recombination
01:30Pneumonia I: Introduction
Risk Factors
Various factors influence the likelihood of developing pneumonia. Age plays a crucial role, with infants, children under two, and individuals over 65 at increased risk due to their...
00:36Viral Mutations
01:29Pneumonia II: Pathophysiology