Revue scientifique et technique
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Rev. - Off. Int. Epizoot. · Aug 2004
ReviewAnimal coronaviruses: what can they teach us about the severe acute respiratory syndrome?
In 2002, a new coronavirus (CoV) emerged in the People's Republic of China, associated with a severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and mortality in humans. The epidemic rapidly spread throughout the world before being contained in 2003, although sporadic cases occurred thereafter in Asia. The virus is thought to be of zoonotic origin from a wild animal reservoir (Himalayan palm civets [Paguma larvata] are suspected), but the definitive host is unknown. ⋯ This review focuses on the comparative pathogenesis of CoV infections, including the factors that accentuate CoV respiratory disease, with emphasis on livestock and poultry. The goal is to provide insights into CoV transmission and disease mechanisms that could potentially be applicable to SARS, highlighting the contributions of veterinary scientists to this area of study. Such examples illustrate the need for communication and collaboration between the veterinary and medical communities to understand and control emerging zoonotic diseases of the 21st Century.
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Rev. - Off. Int. Epizoot. · Aug 2004
ReviewThe role of wildlife in emerging and re-emerging zoonoses.
There are huge numbers of wild animals distributed throughout the world and the diversity of wildlife species is immense. Each landscape and habitat has a kaleidoscope of niches supporting an enormous variety of vertebrate and invertebrate species, and each species or taxon supports an even more impressive array of macro- and micro-parasites. Infectious pathogens that originate in wild animals have become increasingly important throughout the world in recent decades, as they have had substantial impacts on human health, agricultural production, wildlife-based economies and wildlife conservation. ⋯ These zoonotic diseases from wild animal sources all have trends that are rising sharply upwards. In this paper, the authors discuss the causal factors associated with the emergence or re-emergence of these zoonoses, and highlight a selection to provide a composite view of their range, variety and origins. However, most of these diseases are covered in more detail in dedicated papers elsewhere in this Review.