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A team of scientists in China has uncovered previously unknown viruses in rodents, potentially posing a risk of transmission to humans and thereby contributing to the potential for a future pandemic.
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College made this discovery while analyzing 682 anal and throat swab samples taken from 341 rodents in Hainan Province, China, between 2017 and 2021. Among these findings, detailed in the journal Virologica Sinica, the publishing outlet of the Chinese Society for Microbiology, are viruses classified under 22 different families, including arenavirus, coronavirus, astrovirus, pestivirus, parvovirus, and papillomavirus. According to the researchers, these pathogens exhibit a significant likelihood of infecting humans if they were to breach the species barrier.
The scientists have called for further research on these viruses to ascertain their potential effects on human health. Among the noteworthy viruses identified, a new coronavirus named CoV-HMU-1 belongs to the betacoronavirus category, which encompasses Covid-19.
Additionally, several novel pathogens were found within other virus groups, including two new pestiviruses related to yellow fever and dengue, a new astrovirus (a family known for causing gastrointestinal infections), two new parvoviruses (which can induce flu-like symptoms), and two new papillomaviruses (a family that can lead to genital warts and cancer in humans).
The study also unveiled new pestiviruses and parvoviruses in Edwards’s long-tailed giant rat and the Sikkim rat species—organisms not previously associated with these types of pathogens.
The researchers noted in their paper, “The results expand our understanding of viral taxonomy and host range, suggesting the existence of highly diverse, undiscovered viruses that have evolved independently in their distinct wildlife hosts in remote areas. If these viruses breach the host barrier, they pose a significant risk of zoonotic transmission. The pathogenicity and potential impact of these novel viruses on humans and animals should be thoroughly assessed in future studies.”
