Investigation of caliciviruses and astroviruses in Gabonese rodents: A possible influence of national and international trade on the spread of enteric viruses.

Infect Genet Evol

Unité de Recherche en Écologie de la Santé (URES), Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF), Franceville, BP 769, Gabon; Département d'Anthropologie, Université de Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK.

Published: August 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • - Caliciviruses and astroviruses are major causes of non-bacterial foodborne illnesses and gastroenteritis in humans, with rodents being key hosts for these viruses and many zoonotic pathogens that can affect humans.
  • - A study screened 245 rodent intestine samples for these viruses, finding no caliciviruses but detecting astroviruses in 18 samples, specifically from the Rattus rattus species.
  • - Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the detected astroviruses are closely related to strains found in Gabon, Kenya, and Asia, indicating that transportation methods may promote the spread of these viruses through rodent populations.

Article Abstract

Caliciviruses (Caliciviridae) and astroviruses (Astroviridae) are among the leading cause of non-bacterial foodborne disease and gastroenteritis in human. These non-enveloped RNA viruses infect a wide range of vertebrate species including rodents. Rodents are among the most important hosts of infectious diseases globally and are responsible for over 80 zoonotic pathogens that affect humans. Therefore, screening pathogens in rodents will be is necessary to prevent cross-species transmission to prevent zoonotic outbreaks. In the present study, we screened caliciviruses and astroviruses in order to describe their diversity and whether they harbor strains that can infect humans. RNA was then extracted from intestine samples of 245 rodents and retrotranscribed in cDNA to screen caliciviruses and astroviruses by PCRs. All the samples tested negative for caliciviruses and while astroviruses were detected in 18 (7.3%) samples of Rattus rattus species. Phylogenetic analyses based on the RdRp gene showed that all the sequences belonged to Mamastrovirus genus in which they were genetically related to R. rattus related AstVs previously detected in Gabon or in Rattus spp. AstV from Kenya and Asia. These findings suggested that transportation such as land and railway, as well national and international trade, are likely to facilitate spread of AstVs by the dissemination of rodents.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2024.105607DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

caliciviruses astroviruses
16
national international
8
international trade
8
rodents
6
astroviruses
5
investigation caliciviruses
4
astroviruses gabonese
4
gabonese rodents
4
rodents influence
4
influence national
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!