Common Themes in Zoonotic Spillover and Disease Emergence: Lessons Learned from Bat- and Rodent-Borne RNA Viruses

Overview

Journal Viruses

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Microbiology

Date 2021 Aug 28

PMID 34452374

Citations 17

Authors

Evan P Williams

Briana M Spruill-Harrell

Mariah K Taylor

Jasper Lee

Ashley V Nywening

Zemin Yang

Jacob H Nichols

Jeremy V Camp

Robert D Owen

Colleen B Jonsson

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Rodents (order Rodentia), followed by bats (order Chiroptera), comprise the largest percentage of living mammals on earth. Thus, it is not surprising that these two orders account for many of the reservoirs of the zoonotic RNA viruses discovered to date. The spillover of these viruses from wildlife to human do not typically result in pandemics but rather geographically confined outbreaks of human infection and disease. While limited geographically, these viruses cause thousands of cases of human disease each year. In this review, we focus on three questions regarding zoonotic viruses that originate in bats and rodents. First, what biological strategies have evolved that allow RNA viruses to reside in bats and rodents? Second, what are the environmental and ecological causes that drive viral spillover? Third, how does virus spillover occur from bats and rodents to humans?

Citing Articles

Bat Rhabdoviruses: occurrence, detection and challenges in Africa.

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Zoonotic Bacteria and Vector-Borne Protozoa in Troglophilus Bat Colonies in Sicily (Southern Italy): A Biomolecular Survey.

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Spillover: Mechanisms, Genetic Barriers, and the Role of Reservoirs in Emerging Pathogens.

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PMID: 39597581 PMC: 11596118. DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12112191.

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