Epidemic Alphaviruses: Ecology, Emergence and Outbreaks

Abstract

Over the past century, the emergence/reemergence of arthropod-borne zoonotic agents has been a growing public health concern. In particular, agents from the genus Alphavirus pose a significant risk to both animal and human health. Human alphaviral disease presents with either arthritogenic or encephalitic manifestations and is associated with significant morbidity and/or mortality. Unfortunately, there are presently no vaccines or antiviral measures approved for human use. The present review examines the ecology, epidemiology, disease, past outbreaks, and potential to cause contemporary outbreaks for several alphavirus pathogens.

Keywords: Alphavirus; enzootic; epizootic; mosquitoes; outbreaks; togaviridae.

Figure 1

Alphavirus outbreak timeline. History of human alphavirus infections based on first reported human infection (Above) and important human outbreaks (Below) for each virus.