Lethal New (Adenovirus) Virus in Monkeys Shows Potential to Infect Humans

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.doctorslounge.com/index.php/news/hd/39733

Lethal New Virus in Monkeys Shows Potential to Infect Humans
Last Updated: July 26, 2013.
Study of germ that killed primates in a California colony should spur more vigilance, researchers say


FRIDAY, July 26 (HealthDay News) -- A new and highly lethal type of virus that can spread from monkey to monkey may also be able to spread from monkeys to humans, a new study finds.

This virus is a new type of adenovirus, viruses that commonly affect people and cause colds, flu-like symptoms and sometimes even death...

...The findings, published July 24 in the online journal PLoS One, prove that the new virus can infect and cause disease in different primate species, said team leader Dr. Charles Chiu, director of the Viral Diagnostics and Discovery Center at the University of California, San Francisco...

[Emily]

Re: Lethal New (Adenovirus) Virus in Monkeys Shows Potential to Infect Humans

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%...l.pone.0068558

Experimental Cross-Species Infection of Common Marmosets by Titi Monkey Adenovirus

Abstract

Adenoviruses are DNA viruses that infect a number of vertebrate hosts and are associated with both sporadic and epidemic disease in humans. We previously identified a novel adenovirus, titi monkey adenovirus (TMAdV), as the cause of a fulminant pneumonia outbreak in a colony of titi monkeys (Callicebus cupreus) at a national primate center in 2009. Serological evidence of infection by TMAdV was also found in a human researcher at the facility and household family member, raising concerns for potential cross-species transmission of the virus. Here we present experimental evidence of cross-species TMAdV infection in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Nasal inoculation of a cell cultured-adapted TMAdV strain into three marmosets produced an acute, mild respiratory illness characterized by low-grade fever, reduced activity, anorexia, and sneezing. An increase in virus-specific neutralization antibody titers accompanied the development of clinical signs. Although serially collected nasal swabs were positive for TMAdV for at least 8 days, all 3 infected marmosets spontaneously recovered by day 12 post-inoculation, and persistence of the virus in tissues could not be established. Thus, the pathogenesis of experimental inoculation of TMAdV in common marmosets resembled the mild, self-limiting respiratory infection typically seen in immunocompetent human hosts rather than the rapidly progressive, fatal pneumonia observed in 19 of 23 titi monkeys during the prior 2009 outbreak. These findings further establish the potential for adenovirus cross-species transmission and provide the basis for development of a monkey model useful for assessing the zoonotic potential of adenoviruses.

Citation: Yu G, Yagi S, Carrion R Jr, Chen EC, Liu M, et al. (2013) Experimental Cross-Species Infection of Common Marmosets by Titi Monkey Adenovirus. PLoS ONE 8(7): e68558. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0068558

Editor: Eric J. Kremer, French National Centre for Scientific Research, France

Received: February 4, 2013; Accepted: May 29, 2013; Published: July 24, 2013

Copyright: ? 2013 Yu et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: This work is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for Regional Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases (grants U54-AI057156 and U54-AI57168), NIH Office of Research Infrastructure Programs, grant P51-0D011107 to the California National Primate Research Center, NIH Grant R56-AI089532 (to J.L.P. and C.Y.C.), NIH grant R01-HL105704 (to C.Y.C.), and an Abbott Viral Discovery Award (to C.Y.C.). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: This study was partly funded by an Abbott Viral Discovery Award. Charles Y. Chiu is the director of the UCSF-Abbott Viral Diagnostics and Discovery Center (VDDC) and Guixia Yu is employed by the VDDC. The University of California has also filed a patent application related to TMAdV (US Patent Application 20130034576A1). This does not alter the authors? adherence to all PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

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See earlier thread about human infection in a monkey research setting:

Novel adenovirus jumps from monkey to scientist, causing serious illness