Based on:
Ecker DJ, Sampath R, Willett P, Wyatt JR, Samant V, Massire C, Hall TA, Hari K, McNeil JA, Büchen-Osmond C, Budowle B. The Microbial Rosetta Stone Database: A compilation of global and emerging infectious microorganisms and bioterrorist threat agents BMC Microbiol. 2005; 5: 19.
- Arenaviridae
- New World arenaviruses: Guanarito virus, Junin virus, Machupo virus, Sabia virus
- Old World arenaviruses: Lassa virus, Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus
- Paramyxoviridae
- Rubulavirus: Mumps virus, Human parainfluenza virus 2,4
- Respirovirus: Human parainfluenza virus 1,3
- Pneumovirus: Human respiratory syncytial virus
- Moribillivirus: Measles virus
- Filoviridae
- Marburgvirus
- Ebolavirus
- Bornaoviridae: Borna Disease Virus
- Rhabdoviridae: Rabies Virus
- Orthomyxoviridae: Influenza Viruses
- Bunyaviridae
- Nairovirus: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus
- Hantaviruses: Hantaan virus, Seoul virus, Puumala virus, Sin Nombre virus, Bayou virus
- Orthobunyavirus: California encephalitis virus (La Crosse virus)
- Phlebovirus: Rift Valley fever virus
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viruses – ssRNA viruses – ssRNA negative-strand viruses –
Arenaviridae
New World arenaviruses
| Transmission | Importance | Disease description | Selected literature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arenaviridae – Arenavirus – New world arenaviruses – Guanarito virus Acronym: GTOV |
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| Transmission to humans occurs through direct contact with infected rodents, including bites, or through inhalation of infectious rodent excreta and secreta. Distributed in Venezuela. | NIAID Category A Priority Pathogen; HHS Select Agent; Emergent Infectious Agent; Zoonotic Agent | Causes Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever. Principal symptoms include fever, malaise, headache, arthralgia, sore throat, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, convulsions, and a variety of hemorrhagic manifestations. | de Manzione N et al. (Clin Infect Dis. 1998);
Cajimat MN, Fulhorst CF. (Virus Res. 2004); “Guanarito virus” |
| Arenaviridae – Arenavirus – New world arenaviruses – Junin virus Acronym: JUNV |
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| Transmission to humans occurs through direct contact with infected rodents (Calomys musculinus), including bites, or through inhalation of infectious rodent excreta and secreta. Distributed in Argentina. | NIAID Category A Priority Pathogen; HHS Select Agent; Potential Biological Weapon; Zoonotic Agent; High Potential Bioengeneering | Causes Argentinian hemorrhagic fever. The disease is characterized by congestion, edema, generalized lymphadenopathy and hemorrhagic necrosis and is sometimes fatal. | Carballal G et al. (Eur J Epidemiol. 1988);
“Junin virus”[Majr] |
| Arenaviridae – Arenavirus – New world arenaviruses – Machupo virus Acronym: MACV |
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| Transmission to humans occurs through direct contact with infected rodents, including bites, or through inhalation of infectious rodent excreta and secreta. Distributed in Bolivia. | NIAID Category A Priority Pathogen; HHS Select Agent; Potential Biological Weapon; Zoonotic Agent | Causes Bolivian hemorrhagic fever. The disease is characterized by congestion, edema, conjunctivitis, depression, anorexia; and on later stages, neurological disorders, and coma. | Cajimat MN et al. (Virus Res. 2009);
Eddy GA et al. (Bull World Health Organ. 1975); “Machupo virus” |
| Arenaviridae – Arenavirus – New world arenaviruses – Sabia virus | |||
| Transmission to humans occurs through direct contact with infected rodents, including bites, or through inhalation of infectious rodent excreta and secreta. Distributed in Brazil. | Emergent Infectious Agent; HHS Select Agent; Zoonotic Agent | Causes Brazilian hemorrhagic fever. The disease is characterized by congestion, conjunctivitis, depression, anorexia and other symptoms characteristic for hemorrhagic fever disease. | Lisieux T et al. (Lancet. 1994);
“Sabia virus” |
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Old World arenaviruses
| Transmission | Importance | Disease description | Selected literature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arenaviridae – Arenavirus – Old world arenaviruses – Lassa virus | |||
| Transmission to humans occurs through direct contact with infected rodents (natural host is mouse Mastomys natalensis), including bites, or through inhalation of infectious rodent excreta and secreta. Distributed in West Africa. | NIAID Category A Priority Pathogen; HHS Select Agent; Emergent Infectious Agent; Zoonotic Agent; Potential Biological Weapon; High Potential For Bioengeneering | Causes Lassa fever, a disease characterized by by fever, muscle aches, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and, chest and abdominal pain. | Walker DH et al. (Am J Pathol. 1982);
Ogbu O et al. (J Vector Borne Dis. 2007); “Lassa virus”[Majr] |
| Arenaviridae – Arenavirus – Old world arenaviruses – Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus Acronym: LCMV |
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| Transmission to humans occurs through direct contact with infected rodents (house and laboratory mice, guinea pigs, and hamsters with silent infection), including bites, or through inhalation of infectious rodent excreta and secreta. | NIAID Category A Priority Pathogen; Potential Biological Weapon | Causes aseptic meningitis, although it may be associated with systemic organ failure in immunocompromised patients. Also a teratogenic pathogen that causes a severe and often fatal syndrome with hydrocephalus and chorioretinitis. Affected infants suffer from blindness, deafness, mental retardation, and paresis. | Matullo CM et al. (J Virol. 2010);
Ceianu C et al. (Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2008); “Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus”[Majr] |
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Paramyxoviridae
Rubulavirus
| Transmission | Importance | Disease description | Selected literature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mononegavirales – Paramyxoviridae – Paramyxovirinae – Rubulavirus – Mumps virus | |||
| Transmission occurs by droplet infection. | CDC Notifiable Agent; Medically Important Human Pathogen | Affects mainly children. The hallmark of infection is swelling of the parotid gland. Aseptic meningitis and encephalitis are common complications together with orchitis and oophoritis (in adult men and women, respectively); other complications include deafness and pancreatitis. | Saylor LF. (Calif Med. 1969);
Hviid A et al. (Lancet. 2008); “Mumps virus”[Majr] |
| Mononegavirales – Paramyxoviridae – Paramyxovirinae – Rubulavirus – Human parainfluenza virus 2 | |||
| Transmission occurs by droplet infection. Persists for up to 10 hours on nonabsorptive surfaces and up to 4 hours on absorptive surfaces which suggests that fomites can be a possible source of transmission. | Medically Important Human Pathogen | Causes acute laryngotracheitis in children aged 6 months to 3 years (croup). | Henrickson KJ. (Clin Microbiol Rev. 2003);
“Parainfluenza Virus 2, Human”[Majr] “Croup”[Majr] |
| Mononegavirales – Paramyxoviridae – Paramyxovirinae – Rubulavirus – Human parainfluenza virus 4 | |||
| Transmission occurs by droplet infection. Considered common pathogen. Infection frequently remains undiagnosed. | Medically Important Human Pathogen | Causes respiratory tract infections that are usually mild. | Lau SK et al. (J Clin Microbiol. 2005);
Vachon ML et al. (Emerg Infect Dis. 2006); “Parainfluenza Virus 4, Human”[Majr] |
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Respirovirus
| Mononegavirales – Paramyxoviridae – Paramyxovirinae – Respirovirus – Human parainfluenza virus 1 Also called hemadsorption virus 2 (HA2) |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Transmission occurs by droplet infection. Considered common pathogen. | Globally Important Human Pathogen | Causes lower respiratory infections in infants, young children, the immunocompromised, the chronically ill, and the elderly. | Henrickson KJ. (Clin Microbiol Rev. 2003);
“Parainfluenza Virus 1, Human”[Majr] |
| Mononegavirales – Paramyxoviridae – Paramyxovirinae – Respirovirus – Human parainfluenza virus 3 | |||
| Transmission occurs by droplet infection. Considered common pathogen. | Globally Important Human Pathogen | Frequently isolated from small children with pharyngitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia. | Lee MS et al. (Hum Vaccin. 2005);
Henrickson KJ. (Clin Microbiol Rev. 2003); “Parainfluenza Virus 3, Human”[Majr] |
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Pneumovirus
| Mononegavirales – Paramyxoviridae – Pneumovirinae – Pneumovirus – Human respiratory syncytial virus Acronym RSV |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Transmission occurs by droplet infection. A significant association established between allergic conjunctivitis and the presence of RSV in the eye. | Globally Important Human Pathogen | The RSV disease, often loosely called “croup” in children, is characterized by symptoms that are not unlike those of common cold or flu, i.e., wheezing, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, and asthma. RSV continues to be the leading killer among infectious diseases, with an annual death toll of about a million worldwide. | Oshansky CM et al. (Future Microbiol. 2009);
“Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human”[Majr] |
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Morbillivirus
| Mononegavirales – Paramyxoviridae – Paramyxovirinae – Morbillivirus – Measles virus | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Highly contagious. Transmission usually occurs through the cough or sneeze of an infected person. | Globally Important Human Pathogen; CDC Notifiable Agent; Emergent Infectious Agent | Causes an acute disease characterized by high fever, cough, and a maculopapular rash. By infecting lymphoid organs causes temporary and severe immunosuppression and secondary bacterial infections are a major cause of measles-related deaths. | Takeda M. (J Clin Invest. 2008);
“Measles virus”[Majr] |
Filoviridae
Marburgvirus
| Transmission | Importance | Disease description | Selected literature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mononegavirales – Filoviridae – Marburgvirus – Lake Victoria marburgvirus Acronym: MARV |
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| Circulates in rhesus, vervet, and squirrel monkeys, and bats. The virus can be spread to humans through direct contact with body fluids (e.g., blood, saliva, and urine). Transmission also might be possible through contact with contaminated objects where it might survive for several days. | High Potential For Bioengeneering; Zoonotic Agent; Emergent Infectious Agent; Potential Biological Weapon; HHS Select Pathogen; NIAID Category A Priority Pathogen | Can progress within 6-8 days to severe hemorrhagic manifestations. Maculopapular rash might occur, followed by vomiting, chest pain, sore throat, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Symptoms can include jaundice, inflammation of the pancreas, weight loss, delirium, shock, liver failure, massive hemorrhaging, and multi-organ dysfunction. | Towner JS et al. (J Virol. 2006);
“Marburg Virus Disease”[Majr] “Marburgvirus”[Majr] |
Ebolavirus
| Transmission | Importance | Disease description | Selected literature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mononegavirales – Filoviridae – Ebola-like viruses Cote d’Ivoire ebolavirus Reston ebolavirus Sudan ebolavirus Zaire ebolavirus unclassified Ebola-like viruses Acronym: EBOV |
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| Circulates in rhesus, vervet, and squirrel monkeys, and bats. The virus can be spread to humans through direct contact with body fluids (e.g., blood, saliva, and urine). Transmission also might be possible through contact with contaminated objects where it might survive for several days. | High Potential For Bioengeneering; Zoonotic Agent; Emergent Infectious Agent; Potential Biological Weapon; HHS Select Pathogen; NIAID Category A Priority Pathogen | Flu-like symptoms in 2-21 days. Multi-system involvement, including systemic (prostration, lethargy), gastrointestinal, respiratory, vascular and neurologic, follows. Hemorrhagic manifestations include petechiae, ecchymoses, uncontrolled bleeding from venipuncture sites, epistaxis and other mucosal hemorrhages, and postmortem evidence of visceral hemorrhagic effusions. | Ebolavirus: disease, life cycle, health complications, treatment options at MetaPathogen |
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Bornaviridae
| Mononegavirales – Bornaviridae – Bornavirus – Borna disease virus | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural pathogen of horses and sheep. Known to infect several species ranging from birds to primates. The virus is shed with secretions from the respiratory tract, conjunctiva and faeces and is supposed to spread intranasally. Disease occurs in Europe, N. Africa, and the Near East. | Medically Important Human Pathogen; Zoonotic Agent | Causes neurological and behavioral disturbances. The hypothesis that BDV is associated with human illness is controversial. Patients with affective disorders show an enhanced prevalence of Borna disease virus (BDV)-infection. Furthermore, BDV causes latent infection preferably in limbic central nervous structures and is suggested to be causally related to subtypes of affective disorders, especially with melancholic clinical features or bipolarity. | Thakur R et al. (Indian J Med Microbiol. 2009);
Ikuta K et al. (Front Biosci. 2002); “Borna disease virus”[Majr] |
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Rhabdoviridae
| Mononegavirales – Rhabdoviridae – Lyssavirus – Rabies virus | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Transmitted mostly by animal bites through saliva. Raccoons, foxes and bats are important wildlife resrvoir of this virus. | Medically Important Human Pathogen; Zoonotic Agent; CDC Notifiable Agent; NIAID Category C Priority Pathogen | Causes an acute viral encephalitis. Clinical manifestations vary, but the neurological phase often includes increased aggression and the tendency to bite and thereby transmit infection; rapid progression to death is inevitable. Human rabies is nearly 100% fatal if prophylactic measures are not followed shortly after exposure. | Madhusudana SN, Sukumaran SM. (Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2008);
Hampson K et al. (PLoS Biol. 2009); “Rabies virus”[Majr] |