Experts have discovered a virus living in African monkeys that has the potential to infect humans and may lead to the next pandemic. They have called for prioritizing further studies on the simian hemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV) in monkeys and developing blood antibody tests to detect the disease. Scientists have warned of the pandemic threat, noting that the SHFV, endemic to wild African primates, causes deadly symptoms similar to Ebola in macaques, including internal bleeding and almost kills every primate it infects.
To date, no human cases have been reported, according to American researchers, but the virus is "primed to spread." They said that "the global health community can now avert another pandemic" by developing tests and monitoring the virus. Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have raised the alarm due to "the virus's compatibility with humans."
In a laboratory study, researchers found that the virus could easily bind to a human receptor and replicate itself. Dr. Sarah Swier from the University of Colorado Boulder explained that "this animal virus has figured out how to access human cells, replicate, and evade some important immune mechanisms that we expect to protect us from animal viruses. This is very rare, and we need to pay attention to it."
The simian hemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV) causes fever, fluid retention in body tissues, loss of appetite, and bleeding. The disease is often fatal within about two weeks. It appears to attack immune cells in a manner similar to that of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which originated in a type of chimpanzee in Africa.
Professor Cody Warren, one of the authors, stated, "The similarities between this virus and the simian viruses that led to the HIV pandemic are profound." The researchers focused their work on a family of viruses known as arteriviruses, which are typically spread among pigs and horses but have not been sufficiently studied in non-human primates, particularly on the SHFV, which is an arterivirus causing a deadly disease resembling Ebola virus disease.
A large group of African monkeys carries high amounts of arteriviruses, often without symptoms. Researchers still need to identify the natural host of the simian hemorrhagic fever virus. According to a report published Friday in the scientific journal "Cell," no human infections have been recorded so far. Researchers indicate that the SHFV has caused various lethal outbreaks in captive macaque colonies since the early 1960s.
Viral analysis revealed that a key aspect of the biology of simian arteriviruses is how they target a receptor molecule called "CD163" to attach to and invade monkey cells. The team was surprised to discover in laboratory experiments that the SHFV is remarkably adept at binding to the human version of CD163. Once attached, the virus was able to enter human cells and exploit its position to rapidly replicate itself. Researchers also noted that the SHFV could attack immune cells and disrupt key defense mechanisms, allowing it to long-term dominate the body—much like HIV and its precursors, such as simian immunodeficiency virus.
Professor Warren clarified that "the similarities are profound between this virus and the simian viruses that led to the HIV pandemic."
