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Review
. 2017 Dec 15;58(3):343-358.
doi: 10.1093/ilar/ilx026.

Are RNA Viruses Candidate Agents for the Next Global Pandemic? A Review

R Carrasco-Hernandez  1 , Rodrigo Jácome  2 , Yolanda López Vidal  3 , Samuel Ponce de León  4
Affiliations
Review

Are RNA Viruses Candidate Agents for the Next Global Pandemic? A Review

R Carrasco-Hernandez et al. ILAR J. .

Abstract

Pathogenic RNA viruses are potentially the most important group involved in zoonotic disease transmission, and they represent a challenge for global disease control. Their biological diversity and rapid adaptive rates have proved to be difficult to overcome and to anticipate by modern medical technology. Also, the anthropogenic change of natural ecosystems and the continuous population growth are driving increased rates of interspecies contacts and the interchange of pathogens that can develop into global pandemics. The combination of molecular, epidemiological, and ecological knowledge of RNA viruses is therefore essential towards the proper control of these emergent pathogens. This review outlines, throughout different levels of complexity, the problems posed by RNA viral diseases, covering some of the molecular mechanisms allowing them to adapt to new host species-and to novel pharmaceutical developments-up to the known ecological processes involved in zoonotic transmission.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Genome size against substitution rate of DNA and RNA viruses. Genome size is given as the number of bases for single-stranded genomes, and as base pairs for double-stranded. Viruses and their corresponding abbreviations and references are as follows: RNA viruses: Dengue 2 virus (DENV; Afreen et al. 2016); Zika virus (ZIKV; Fajardo et al. 2016); Ebola virus (EBOV; Hoenen et al. 2015); Chikungunya virus (CHKV; Cherian et al. 2009); Influenza virus A (H1N1) (IVA (H1N1); Klein et al. 2014); Influenza virus A (H5N1) (IVA (H5N1); Cattoli et al. 2011); SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV; Lau et al. 2010); MERS-coronavirus (MERS-CoV; Zhang et al. 2016); West Nile virus (WNV; Añez et al. 2013). DNA viruses: Herpes virus McGeoch and Gatherer (2005); Human papillomavirus 16 (Zehender et al. 2016); BK polyomavirus (Chen et al. 2004). Corresponding type of genome is indicated: + or − = positive or negative sense; ss = single stranded; ds = double stranded. Corresponding family is also indicated, shaded areas are for viruses within the same family.
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