Key Factors That Enable the Pandemic Potential of RNA Viruses and Inter-Species Transmission: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Viruses play a primary role as etiological agents of pandemics worldwide. Although there has been progress in identifying the molecular features of both viruses and hosts, the extent of the impact these and other factors have that contribute to interspecies transmission and their relationship with the emergence of diseases are poorly understood. The objective of this review was to analyze the factors related to the characteristics inherent to RNA viruses accountable for pandemics in the last 20 years which facilitate infection, promote interspecies jump, and assist in the generation of zoonotic infections with pandemic potential. The search resulted in 48 research articles that met the inclusion criteria. Changes adopted by RNA viruses are influenced by environmental and host-related factors, which define their ability to adapt. Population density, host distribution, migration patterns, and the loss of natural habitats, among others, have been associated as factors in the virus-host interaction. This review also included a critical analysis of the Latin American context, considering its diverse and unique social, cultural, and biodiversity characteristics. The scarcity of scientific information is striking, thus, a call to local institutions and governments to invest more resources and efforts to the study of these factors in the region is key.

Keywords: America; RNA virus; virus host interactions; zoonoses.

Figure 1

Countries with a percentage greater than 100% of ecological deficit (red) and countries with ecological reserve (green). The map indicates countries of origin of pandemics caused by RNA-genome viruses that belong to Coronaviridae (blue triangle) and Orthomyxoviridae (yellow circles) families. In the parenthesis are the viruses accountable for pandemics and pictograms represent the host(s) for each one of them. The year refers to the start date of the pandemic. Ecological data for deficit/reserve were taken from: Global Footprint Network, www.footprintnetwork.org (accessed on 7 December 2020).