Special Issue "Ecology of Virus Emergence from Wildilfe"

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Viruses".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Paola De Benedictis
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Legnaro, Italy
Interests: zoonosis; mammals; host-jump; RNA viruses; One-Health
Prof. Dr. Wanda Markotter
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Director Centre for Viral Zoonoses/ DST-NRF South African Research Chair, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Interests: zoonosis; African bats; RNA viruses; surveillance
Dr. Stefania Leopardi
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Legnaro, Italy
Interests: zoonosis; bats; spillover; emerging; ecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last few decades, several viral pathogens have emerged from the wildlife reservoir, with domestic species often acting as amplification or bridge hosts towards human infections.

Among wildlife, rodents and bats have been increasingly investigated for their potential role as natural hosts for emerging pathogens, with the use of conventional molecular approaches gradually replaced by second and third generation sequencing technologies. Nonetheless, predicting the next pandemic threat was far beyond our reach.

Understanding the molecular mechanisms and the ecological and anthropological factors leading to the host jump of a viral pathogen from a wild animal reservoir is key to prevent and minimise the public and animal health risks associated.

This Special Issue seeks all types of manuscripts (i.e., reviews, studies and short communications) on the ecology and the spillover dynamics of viruses with zoonotic or epizootic potential. This includes the expansion of the geographic spread and/or the host spectrum, the viral–host (co)evolution and the description of the pathogenic potential for a reservoir or a spillover host.

Dr. Paola De Benedictis
Prof. Dr. Wanda Markotter
Dr. Stefania Leopardi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • wildlife
  • spillover
  • host spectrum
  • evolution
  • pathogenesis
  • emergence
  • amplification host
  • viral maintenance

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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Article
Persistence of Multiple Paramyxoviruses in a Closed Captive Colony of Fruit Bats (Eidolon helvum)
Viruses 2021, 13(8), 1659; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13081659 - 20 Aug 2021
Viewed by 393
Abstract
Bats have been identified as the natural hosts of several emerging zoonotic viruses, including paramyxoviruses, such as Hendra and Nipah viruses, that can cause fatal disease in humans. Recently, African fruit bats with populations that roost in or near urban areas have been [...] Read more.
Bats have been identified as the natural hosts of several emerging zoonotic viruses, including paramyxoviruses, such as Hendra and Nipah viruses, that can cause fatal disease in humans. Recently, African fruit bats with populations that roost in or near urban areas have been shown to harbour a great diversity of paramyxoviruses, posing potential spillover risks to public health. Understanding the circulation of these viruses in their reservoir populations is essential to predict and prevent future emerging diseases. Here, we identify a high incidence of multiple paramyxoviruses in urine samples collected from a closed captive colony of circa 115 straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum). The sequences detected have high nucleotide identities with those derived from free ranging African fruit bats and form phylogenetic clusters with the Henipavirus genus, Pararubulavirus genus and other unclassified paramyxoviruses. As this colony had been closed for 5 years prior to this study, these results indicate that within-host paramyxoviral persistence underlies the role of bats as reservoirs of these viruses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Virus Emergence from Wildilfe)
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Article
Longitudinal Secretion of Paramyxovirus RNA in the Urine of Straw-Coloured Fruit Bats (Eidolon helvum)
Viruses 2021, 13(8), 1654; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13081654 - 20 Aug 2021
Viewed by 352
Abstract
The straw-coloured fruit bat (Eidolon helvum) is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa and is widely hunted for bushmeat. It is known to harbour a range of paramyxoviruses, including rubuloviruses and henipaviruses, but the zoonotic potential of these is unknown. We previously found [...] Read more.
The straw-coloured fruit bat (Eidolon helvum) is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa and is widely hunted for bushmeat. It is known to harbour a range of paramyxoviruses, including rubuloviruses and henipaviruses, but the zoonotic potential of these is unknown. We previously found a diversity of paramyxoviruses within a small, captive colony of E. helvum after it had been closed to contact with other bats for 5 years. In this study, we used under-roost urine collection to further investigate the paramyxovirus diversity and ecology in this colony, which had been closed to the outside for 10 years at the time of sampling. By sampling urine weekly throughout an entire year, we investigated possible seasonal patterns of shedding of virus or viral RNA. Using a generic paramyxovirus L-gene PCR, we detected eight distinct paramyxovirus RNA sequences. Six distinct sequences were detected using a Henipavirus-specific PCR that targeted a different region of the L-gene. Sequence detection had a bi-annual pattern, with the greatest peak in July, although different RNA sequences appeared to have different shedding patterns. No significant associations were detected between sequence detection and birthing season, environmental temperature or humidity, and no signs of illness were detected in any of the bats in the colony during the period of sample collection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Virus Emergence from Wildilfe)
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Communication
Retrospective Enhanced Bat Lyssavirus Surveillance in Germany between 2018–2020
Viruses 2021, 13(8), 1538; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13081538 - 03 Aug 2021
Viewed by 475
Abstract
Lyssaviruses are the causative agents for rabies, a zoonotic and fatal disease. Bats are the ancestral reservoir host for lyssaviruses, and at least three different lyssaviruses have been found in bats from Germany. Across Europe, novel lyssaviruses were identified in bats recently and [...] Read more.
Lyssaviruses are the causative agents for rabies, a zoonotic and fatal disease. Bats are the ancestral reservoir host for lyssaviruses, and at least three different lyssaviruses have been found in bats from Germany. Across Europe, novel lyssaviruses were identified in bats recently and occasional spillover infections in other mammals and human cases highlight their public health relevance. Here, we report the results from an enhanced passive bat rabies surveillance that encompasses samples without human contact that would not be tested under routine conditions. To this end, 1236 bat brain samples obtained between 2018 and 2020 were screened for lyssaviruses via several RT-qPCR assays. European bat lyssavirus type 1 (EBLV-1) was dominant, with 15 positives exclusively found in serotine bats (Eptesicus serotinus) from northern Germany. Additionally, when an archived set of bat samples that had tested negative for rabies by the FAT were screened in the process of assay validation, four samples tested EBLV-1 positive, including two detected in Pipistrellus pipistrellus. Subsequent phylogenetic analysis of 17 full genomes assigned all except one of these viruses to the A1 cluster of the EBLV-1a sub-lineage. Furthermore, we report here another Bokeloh bat lyssavirus (BBLV) infection in a Natterer’s bat (Myotis nattereri) found in Lower Saxony, the tenth reported case of this novel bat lyssavirus. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Virus Emergence from Wildilfe)
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Review

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Review
Overview of Bat and Wildlife Coronavirus Surveillance in Africa: A Framework for Global Investigations
Viruses 2021, 13(5), 936; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13050936 - 18 May 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1051
Abstract
The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had devastating health and socio-economic impacts. Human activities, especially at the wildlife interphase, are at the core of forces driving the emergence of new viral agents. Global surveillance activities have identified bats as the natural [...] Read more.
The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had devastating health and socio-economic impacts. Human activities, especially at the wildlife interphase, are at the core of forces driving the emergence of new viral agents. Global surveillance activities have identified bats as the natural hosts of diverse coronaviruses, with other domestic and wildlife animal species possibly acting as intermediate or spillover hosts. The African continent is confronted by several factors that challenge prevention and response to novel disease emergences, such as high species diversity, inadequate health systems, and drastic social and ecosystem changes. We reviewed published animal coronavirus surveillance studies conducted in Africa, specifically summarizing surveillance approaches, species numbers tested, and findings. Far more surveillance has been initiated among bat populations than other wildlife and domestic animals, with nearly 26,000 bat individuals tested. Though coronaviruses have been identified from approximately 7% of the total bats tested, surveillance among other animals identified coronaviruses in less than 1%. In addition to a large undescribed diversity, sequences related to four of the seven human coronaviruses have been reported from African bats. The review highlights research gaps and the disparity in surveillance efforts between different animal groups (particularly potential spillover hosts) and concludes with proposed strategies for improved future biosurveillance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Virus Emergence from Wildilfe)
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Other

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Perspective
Setting the Terms for Zoonotic Diseases: Effective Communication for Research, Conservation, and Public Policy
Viruses 2021, 13(7), 1356; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13071356 - 13 Jul 2021
Viewed by 2408
Abstract
Many of the world’s most pressing issues, such as the emergence of zoonotic diseases, can only be addressed through interdisciplinary research. However, the findings of interdisciplinary research are susceptible to miscommunication among both professional and non-professional audiences due to differences in training, language, [...] Read more.
Many of the world’s most pressing issues, such as the emergence of zoonotic diseases, can only be addressed through interdisciplinary research. However, the findings of interdisciplinary research are susceptible to miscommunication among both professional and non-professional audiences due to differences in training, language, experience, and understanding. Such miscommunication contributes to the misunderstanding of key concepts or processes and hinders the development of effective research agendas and public policy. These misunderstandings can also provoke unnecessary fear in the public and have devastating effects for wildlife conservation. For example, inaccurate communication and subsequent misunderstanding of the potential associations between certain bats and zoonoses has led to persecution of diverse bats worldwide and even government calls to cull them. Here, we identify four types of miscommunication driven by the use of terminology regarding bats and the emergence of zoonotic diseases that we have categorized based on their root causes: (1) incorrect or overly broad use of terms; (2) terms that have unstable usage within a discipline, or different usages among disciplines; (3) terms that are used correctly but spark incorrect inferences about biological processes or significance in the audience; (4) incorrect inference drawn from the evidence presented. We illustrate each type of miscommunication with commonly misused or misinterpreted terms, providing a definition, caveats and common misconceptions, and suggest alternatives as appropriate. While we focus on terms specific to bats and disease ecology, we present a more general framework for addressing miscommunication that can be applied to other topics and disciplines to facilitate more effective research, problem-solving, and public policy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Virus Emergence from Wildilfe)
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