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Review
. 2010 Jan 27;140(3-4):266-70.
doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2009.06.020. Epub 2009 Jun 21.

Herpesviruses--a zoonotic threat?

B Karsten Tischer  1 , Nikolaus Osterrieder
Affiliations
Review

Herpesviruses--a zoonotic threat?

B Karsten Tischer et al. Vet Microbiol. .

Abstract

Herpesviruses are highly host specific and share a long synchronous evolution with their hosts. Only in rare cases, species barriers fall and allow animal to human or human to animal transmission. Among the zoonotic herpesviruses, Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1 is the most significant and can be transmitted from macaques to human. Conversely, Human herpesvirus 1 is capable of causing severe disease in primates. Besides those two examples, there are several herpesviruses with a certainly limited or only suspected ability to cross species barriers. Those include Saimiriine herpesvirus 2, Phocid herpesvirus 2, Equid herpesvirus 1, Epstein-Barr Virus, Marek's disease virus, and Pseudorabies virus. Concerning xenotransplantations, porcine gammaherpesviruses must be considered as a zoonotic threat.

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