key: cord-007843-yqdqm4rh authors: Shader, Richard I. title: Zoonotic Viruses: The Mysterious Leap From Animals to Man date: 2018-07-26 journal: Clin Ther DOI: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2018.06.016 sha: doc_id: 7843 cord_uid: yqdqm4rh nan Valley, chikungunya, and Ross River fevers and Western equine, Eastern equine, Japanese, La Crosse, and St Louis encephalitis. Mosquito-borne viruses are often labeled as arboviruses, a category that also includes tick-borne viruses. Another virus carrier is the fruit bat. I remember walking through a beautiful park in Melbourne Australia on the way to Captain Cook's cottage. I was startled by the sight of huge black creatures hanging from trees that arched over the walkway. The racket they made when they all flew away was memorable. They were Australian fruit bats. From a park guide, I learned that there are 13 varieties of Australian fruit bats, popularly known as flying foxes because their ears and faces are foxlike. Fruit bats belong to the family Pteropodidae. They are hosts for both Nipah and Hendra viruses, which can cause disease in various animals and humans. Nipah and Hendra viruses are both members of the Paramyxoviridae family; neither virus is known to cause disease in their host bats. Nipah also infects pigs. Fruit bats inhabit many other regions and countries, including Africa, China, India, and Malaysia. Coronaviruses infect humans, other mammals, and birds. 6 Certain human coronaviruses are involved in the human to human transmission of some cases of the common cold. Some coronaviruses are zoonotic, infecting both their hosts and humans and other mammals. Examples include severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The latter infections have been recognized only for the last several decades; it is possible that they have been around much longer but not identified as such. SARS is now definitively linked to bats. 7 Certain influenza viruses (H5N1, H7N9) can infect birds, chickens, ducks, and other wild and domesticated birds. Called bird flu, these viruses can be transmitted to humans who come in contact with the droppings and saliva of infected birds. In rare instances, human disease has resulted from eating undercooked eggs or poultry. Similarly, although infrequent, the H1N1 influenza virus can be transmitted from infected pigs to humans, hence its common name of swine flu. Questions remain about these cases because some infected persons with SARS and MERS never came into contact with pigs. 8 Even more uncommon is for a virus to be transmitted from an infected human to an animal. Two reports I read suggest that humans infected their pets (cats, dogs, ferrets) with the H1N1 virus. 9, 10 From what I could learn, however, the possibility that the animals and humans were independently infected from common sources has not been ruled out. In theory, infected humans could transmit the rabies virus to animals; no cases have been documented. 11 A NEW ANTIVIRAL AGENT Sheahan and colleagues 12 have reported that a novel antiviral, previously shown to be active against the acellular Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus), is also active against the coronaviruses SARS and MERS. Developed and named Remdesivir (GS-5734) by Gilead Sciences, it is a nucleotide analog prodrug. Gilead also studied it for Marburg virus. Ebola and Marburg are filoviruses. Results from other investigations suggest it may be effective against bat viruses and other viruses, such as respiratory syncytial virus and Lassa fever virus. [12] [13] [14] Remdesivir is not currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration; however, some countries have authorized premarketing compassionate use. For this issue of Clinical Therapeutics, our Infectious Diseases Topic Editor Dr Ravi Jhaveri has assembled a collection of articles entitled "Hot Topics in Viral Diseases." The collection highlights recent controversies in vaccine licensure and recommendation, as well as advances in antiviral therapies for herpesvirus, hepatitis B and C, respiratory syncytial virus, and influenza, with an emphasis on pediatric patients. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] In closing, I wish to congratulate Ravi on his promotion and change of venue. He is moving from the University of North Carolina to Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, where he will become professor of pediatrics and associate chief of infectious diseases at Lurie Children's Hospital. Richard I. Shader, MD Polio has not returned to Venezuela, WHO says Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Enterovirus and Parechovirus surveillance -United States Host range of poliovirus is restricted to simians because of a rapid sequence change of the poliovirus receptor gene during evolution Origins of HIV and the AIDS pandemic. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med Emerging zoonotic viral diseases Bats are natural reservoirs for SARS-like coronaviruses Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. H1N1 flu. The 2009 H1N1 Pandemic: Summary Highlights The health implications influenza virus infection has for pets PetMed Can you really give your dog or cat the flu Exposure to the virus Broad-spectrum antiviral GS-5734 inhibits both epidemic and zoonotic coronaviruses Coronavirus susceptibility to the antiviral remdesivir (GS-5734) is mediated by the viral polymerase and the proofreading exoribonuclease. mBio GS-5734 and its parent nucleoside analog inhibit Filo-, Pneumo-, and Paramyxoviruses Hot topics in viral infections A review of therapeutics in clinical development for respiratory syncytial virus and influenza in children Elimination of vertical transmission of hepatitis B in Africa: a review of available tools and new opportunities Antiviral therapies for herpesviruses: current agents and new directions Unique challenges of hepatitis C in infants, children, and adolescents Hepatitis C management simplification from test to cure: a framework for primary care providers Live attenuated influenza vaccine: is past performance a guarantee of future results? Discrepancies between US Food and Drug Administration vaccine licensure indications and Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations: provider knowledge and attitudes Number 8 of Clinical Therapeutics. To view the previous Update, see the articles below: Jhaveri R. Vaccines Collins MH, Metz SW. Progress and Works in Progress: Update on Flavivirus Vaccine Development Cortes