Discover the Surprising Arrival: An Unprecedented Exotic Virus Unveiled for the First Time
Your domestic feline companion might be introducing more than just playthings into your home. Those little rodent trophies left at your doorstep could conceal uncharted viruses yet to be recognized by scientific community, as recent studies suggest.
In a research article, scientists from Florida uncovered an unidentified microbe inside a deceased rodent that had been caught by one of the researchers' cats. Luckily, this unexpected finding did not affect the cat's health, but the virus's consequences for human beings remain uncertain.
Millions of viruses and other microbes are yet to be cataloged around the world. While most of these organisms pose no threat to humans, some might possess the necessary infrastructure and opportunity to jump species and emerge as a significant issue – such as a spillover event. This latest discovery, made by researchers at the University of Florida, highlights the significance of investigating potential viral hazards in less conventional environments.
The cat responsible for this unusual finding belongs to John Lednicky, a microbiologist from the University of Florida who has been tracking viruses for years. One early May 2021, the cat brought home a fresh kill of a common cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus). This was not an unusual behavior for the cat, but Lednicky decided to examine the unfortunate mouse to check if it carried mule deerpox virus (MDPV), a potentially emerging pathogen in white tailed deer, which he and his team had recently found in the state. Upon bringing the dead rodent to the laboratory, their tests detected a viable virus from the cat's specimen – a virus capable of growing inside certain host cells in the lab. However, it did not appear to be the mule deerpox virus. More sophisticated testing eventually revealed that they had instead identified a previously unknown type of jeilongvirus in the United States.
Jeilongviruses are part of the extensive paramyxovirus family, which includes viruses that can make humans sick, such as those responsible for measles and mumps. These viruses have been detected on various continents, including Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. They primarily infect rodents, but some can also affect other species, such as bats and cats. The research team's early findings suggest that their discovered virus is unlike any other seen up to now. In the lab, they discovered that it could infect human and other primate cells just as easily as it could infect rodent cells – a sign that it has the potential for spillover.
The researchers named their newly discovered microbe the Gainesville rodent jeilong virus 1 (GRJV1). They published their findings on GRJV1 in the journal Pathogens last month.
"Millions of viruses are predicted to exist that haven't been isolated yet. This one is of great interest because it appears to be a 'generalist', able to affect cells from different types of animals including humans," Lednicky told Gizmodo.
The threat that GRJV1 poses to humans at this moment is likely low. Even if it can infect humans outside the lab, humans rarely come into close contact with potential rodent vectors these days. However, less common rodent-borne diseases like hantaviruses occasionally cause human outbreaks.
It's also possible that GRJV1 has been making people sick without being detected for some time. While doctors usually test for common culprits like influenza or RSV when people present flu-like symptoms, GRJV1 may have gone unnoticed.
Additional research is needed to better understand how GRJV1 interacts with its rodent hosts and other potential animal species. It is essential to find out if GRJV1 causes sickness in rodents, and whether it can or has already jumped across species to humans. While most spillover events occur without consequence, there are times when a pathogen manages to cross the species barrier and establish itself as a newly established human disease, such as the recent monkeypox outbreak.
Lednicky hopes to study GRJV1 further, starting with animal studies and then investigating if any human populations carry antibodies that indicate past infection. However, the resources required to investigate potential threats like GRJV1 are often scarce.
"The problem we encounter is lack of funding. For example, the NIH no longer funds many 'surveillance' studies. And when a new pathogen is found, funding agencies tend to fund work only for those which have caused outbreaks in humans. For researchers like me, the best option would be to receive unrestricted private funding, or of course, dedicated funding from the state or from the federal government." - John Lednicky
In the end, Pepper's adventure left him unharmed, and he continues to be an active rodent hunter. But perhaps he's a more cautious scientist than we give him credit for.
"Feline evolution has driven them towards consuming rodents, which likely makes them resistant to most sicknesses they carry as a result," Lednicky pointed out. "It's intriguing to note that Pepper usually only consumes the rodent's front section. The organs like kidneys, spleen, and intestines often remain untouched by him. Whether this behavior is instinctual or not, I'm unsure. However, some of the dangerously rodent-borne diseases are known to reside in exactly these ignored organs."
The discovery of the Gainesville rodent jeilong virus 1 (GRJV1) by John Lednicky's team highlights the importance of investigating potential viral hazards in less conventional environments, as technology and advancements in scientific research allow us to delve deeper into the world of microbes and viruses, potentially uncovering threats to human health in the future.
As we continue to unchart territories in science and technology, it becomes crucial to allocate sufficient resources for researching unknown viruses like GRJV1, as they could pose a hidden risk to human health, even if their effects are currently not fully understood.
