A family of viruses that is already endemic in wild African primates is capable of being transmitted to humans, according to research from the University of Colorado Boulder, which advises health authorities to carry out surveillance.
The study by the American institution, published this Friday in the scientific journal Cell, states that although arteriviruses are already considered a critical threat to monkeys, to date no infection has been reported in humans, and the impact that the virus would have It is uncertain. people.
According to the researchers, this family of viruses has caused fatal symptoms similar to those caused by Ebola in some monkeys.
Given the uncertainties about its impact on humans, the authors of the study warn of the need for global public health to be attentive to the evolution of the virus, to avoid another potential pandemic.
“This virus has figured out how to gain access to human cells, multiply and evade some of the important immune mechanisms that we would expect to protect us from an animal virus. This is very rare,” said Sara Sawyer, one of the researchers involved. in the study and professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of Boulder.
The scientist, quoted in a university statement on the publication of the study, recalls that there are thousands of viruses circulating among animals, most of which do not cause symptoms, but in recent decades there has been a growing number of viruses that have been transmitted. to human animals, weakening their immune systems “inexperienced in fighting them”.
The researchers recall the cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2012, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome of Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2003 and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes covid-19, already in 2020
For 15 years, Sara Sawyer’s team has used various laboratory techniques and tissue samples from wild animals around the world to detect which animal viruses may be likely to be transmitted to humans.
For the now published research, the scientists involved in the research focused specifically on arteriviruses, which are also common among pigs and horses.
The study showed that a molecule, or receptor, called CD163, plays a key role in the biology of simian arteriviruses, allowing the virus to invade and infect target cells.
Through a series of laboratory experiments, the researchers found that the virus was also “remarkably adaptable” to the human version of CD163, with the ability to enter human cells and rapidly make copies of itself.
“Like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its precursor, simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), simian arteriviruses also appear to attack immune cells, disabling key defense mechanisms and taking over the immune system. long-term body,” refer to the study’s conclusions. .
While noting that “another pandemic is not imminent,” the researchers advise the global health community to prioritize further study of simian arteriviruses, development of blood antibody tests, and consideration of surveillance of simian arteriviruses. human populations in close contact with the species in question.
“Covid-19 is just the latest in a long series of animal-to-human transmission events, some of which have resulted in global catastrophes,” said Sara Sawyer, for whom knowledge of virus surveillance allows the necessary anticipation in the case. of person-to-person infections.
Source: TSF
