A new virus has been detected in a mouse by a curious cat. The new discovery has prompted local scientists in Florida to question whether it can truly spread in humans. The virus – a type of jeilongvirus called ‘Gainesville rodent jeilongvirus one’ — has been recorded in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America.
It is the first time the virus has been recorded on the American continent, according to a new paper in the journal Pathogens. The virus was discovered by John Lednicky, a research professor at the University of Florida’s College of Public Health and Health Professions, after his cat, Pepper, dropped a mouse at his feet.
The virus — which may be able to jump to humans — was found to be genetically very different from other known jeilongviruses.
“We were not anticipating a virus of this sort, and the discovery reflects the realisation that many viruses that we don’t know about circulate in animals that live in close proximity to humans. And indeed, were we to look, many more would be discovered,” said co-author Emily DeRuyter.
(Image: University Of Florida)
Jeilongviruses belong to the viral family Paramyxoviridae, which includes the human viruses that cause measles and mumps.
Mr Lednicky wondered if the mouse caught by his cat could host mule deerpox, a disease in deer which causes by crusty skin lesions and inflammation of the eyes. When testing the mouse, rather than finding the deerpox, he discovered a new type of jeilongvirus.
Gainesville rodent jeilongvirus one, according to the researchers, appears to infect cells from several different species with the possibility the virus may present a risk to jump from animals to humans.
Mr Lednicky said the virus may be a “great candidate for a spillover event.”
(Image: egh.phhp.ufl.edu)
While there are no confirmed cases of jeilongviruses causing diseases in humans, other virus similar have caused deaths. They include the Nipahvirus, transmitted from bats to humans. However, humans rarely come into contact with the species infected by jeilongviruses.
“Humans can develop severe to fatal illness if they get infected […] but so far, those types of infections remain rare and typically occur only among people who come into contact with rodent waste, often through airborne exposure to rodent urine or fecal material,” DeRuyter said.
The researchers hope to further investigate the potential of Gainesville rodent jeilongvirus one to see if it can infect a wide number of species.
Pepper, thankfully, is unaffected by the virus.
“Cats, in general, evolved to eat rodents, and are not sickened by the viruses carried by rodents, but we have to do tests to see whether the virus affects pets, and humans,” Mr Lednicky added.
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