Zoonoses and haemorrhagic fever

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Zoonotic Diseases
• Public Health

Background:

• Hemorrhagic fevers are caused by negative-stranded RNA viruses from three families: Arenaviridae, Bunyaviridae, and Filoviridae.
• Transmission often involves close contact with infected vertebrate vectors, typically rodents for arenaviruses and bunyaviruses.
• Filovirus vectors remain unknown, though simian hosts and contaminated cell cultures are potential sources.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the public health risks associated with zoonotic virus families causing hemorrhagic fevers.
• To emphasize the importance of identifying and screening for hazardous viruses in animal populations.
• To advocate for improved diagnostic technologies for virus detection in biological products.

Main Methods:

• Review of known virus families causing hemorrhagic fever (Arenaviridae, Bunyaviridae, Filoviridae).
• Analysis of transmission routes and host species, including rodents and primates.
• Discussion of advancements in virus differentiation and screening technologies.

Main Results:

• Arenaviruses and bunyaviruses commonly transmit from rodents, causing diseases like hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).
• Hantaan virus, a bunyavirus, has caused numerous laboratory-acquired infections.
• Enhanced viral differentiation technologies reveal a high prevalence of potentially hazardous HFRS and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) viruses in feral rodents.

Conclusions:

• Zoonotic hemorrhagic fever viruses pose significant risks, particularly through occupational exposure in laboratory settings.
• Screening feral rodent and simian populations for these viruses is crucial.
• Implementing screening methods before preparing cell cultures for biological products can enhance human safety.