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Why do some coronaviruses become pandemic threats when others do not?
Benjamin L Rice1, Justin Lessler2, Clifton McKee3
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America.
Plos Biology
|May 16, 2022
Summary
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has not caused a pandemic despite global spread, unlike SARS-CoV-2. Understanding MERS-CoV
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has demonstrated multiple spillover events across continents.
- Despite widespread transmission, MERS-CoV has not resulted in a pandemic.
- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) rapidly caused a global pandemic with limited prior human circulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the reasons behind MERS-CoV's failure to cause a pandemic.
- To understand the factors influencing a pathogen's pandemic potential.
- To explore the relationship between viral genetic changes and population-level transmission.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics.
- Review of epidemiological data on spillover events and transmission chains.
- Exploration of viral characteristics potentially affecting transmissibility.
Main Results:
- MERS-CoV's limited pandemic impact contrasts sharply with SARS-CoV-2's global spread.
- The precise factors preventing MERS-CoV pandemic emergence remain to be fully elucidated.
- Viral genetic evolution and its scaling to population transmission are critical areas for investigation.
Conclusions:
- Understanding MERS-CoV's non-pandemic nature is crucial for assessing future pandemic risks.
- A comprehensive understanding of viral evolution and transmission is needed.
- Further research into viral genetic determinants of transmissibility is warranted.
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