Deadly new pig virus could pose threat to humans, researchers say ( sources ,- internate calection )

Deadly new pig virus could pose threat to humans, researchers say

 CBS NEWS

Researchers say they have identified a new pig virus that could be a threat to humans. The virus was able to find its way into laboratory-cultured cells of people and other species, a discovery that raises concerns about how a potential outbreak could affect humans.

CBS Pittsburgh station KDKA reports researchers at The Ohio State University and Utrecht Universityin the Netherlands collaborated to better understand the new virus, identified as porcine deltacoronavirus. Their study appears online in the journal PNAS.

Scientists say the virus was first discovered in pigs in China in 2012 but it was not associated with disease. It was first detected in the United States in 2014 during a diarrhea outbreak in Ohio pigs and has since been detected in other countries, as well.

Pigs infected with the virus can experience acute diarrhea and vomiting that may be fatal.

"We're very concerned about emerging coronaviruses and worry about the harm they can do to animals and their potential to jump to humans," said Linda Saif, an investigator in Ohio State's Food Animal Health Research Program at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.

There have been no human cases of illness documented from the virus. But scientists are concerned because of the virus' similarity to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) -- two other viral diseases that originated in animals and went on to kill people.

Saif says for now, porcine deltacoronavirus has only affected human cell cultures in a laboratory setting -- no actual people got sick. The virus was also able to bind to receptors in cells from cats and chickens.

Scientists say the next step is working to understand the virus and its potential for human infection, and looking for antibodies in the blood that would serve as evidence that the pig virus has previously infected people.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. 

Could New Pig Virus Pose Threat to People?

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, May 16, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- A new virus found in pigs may pose a threat to people, new research suggests.

Researchers found the virus was able to infect cultured human cells and cells of other species in a lab. The discovery is raising concerns about a potentially dangerous outbreak in the United States.

The pig virus, known as Porcine deltacoronavirus, was first identified in China in 2012. It was found in pigs but it was not associated with disease.

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Two years later, it was discovered in the United States during an outbreak of diarrhea among pigs in Ohio. Since then, it's been detected in other countries. Young pigs infected with the virus develop severe diarrhea and vomiting that can be deadly.

To date, no human cases of the disease have been reported. But scientists are worried that the virus could infect people due to its similarity to the viruses responsible for the outbreaks of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome).

"Before it was found in pigs -- including in the Ohio outbreak -- it had only been found in various birds," said the study's senior author, Linda Saif, a professor of veterinary preventive medicine who's with Ohio State University's Food Animal Health Research Program. "We're very concerned about emerging coronaviruses and worry about the harm they can do to animals and their potential to jump to humans."

The ability of a virus to jump between species depends on its ability to find receptors on the cells of people or animals, explained the study's lead researcher, Scott Kenney.

"A receptor is like a lock in the door. If the virus can pick the lock, it can get into the cell and potentially infect the host," said Kenney in a university news release. He's an assistant professor of veterinary preventive medicine at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.

To investigate the pig virus' potential to jump to other species, researchers at Ohio State and Utrecht University in the Netherlands honed in on a particular cellular receptor called aminopeptidase N.

The study, published online this week in the journal PNAS, showed the virus could bind to the receptor in human cells, and to cells from cats and chickens.

However, these were cells cultured in a lab setting.

The researchers added that their findings don't prove that the pig virus can cause disease in other species. "But that's something we obviously want to know," Saif said.

The team plans to continue its investigation, looking for antibodies in human blood that would indicate that the pig virus may have already infected people. 

Could New Pig Virus Pose Threat to People?

lab worker

En Español

WEDNESDAY, May 16, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- A new virus found in pigs may pose a threat to people, new research suggests.

Researchers found the virus was able to infect cultured human cells and cells of other species in a lab. The discovery is raising concerns about a potentially dangerous outbreak in the United States.

The pig virus, known as Porcine deltacoronavirus, was first identified in China in 2012. It was found in pigs but it was not associated with disease.

Two years later, it was discovered in the United States during an outbreak of diarrhea among pigs in Ohio. Since then, it's been detected in other countries. Young pigs infected with the virus develop severe diarrhea and vomiting that can be deadly.

To date, no human cases of the disease have been reported. But scientists are worried that the virus could infect people due to its similarity to the viruses responsible for the outbreaks of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome).

"Before it was found in pigs -- including in the Ohio outbreak -- it had only been found in various birds," said the study's senior author, Linda Saif, a professor of veterinary preventive medicine who's with Ohio State University's Food Animal Health Research Program. "We're very concerned about emerging coronaviruses and worry about the harm they can do to animals and their potential to jump to humans."

The ability of a virus to jump between species depends on its ability to find receptors on the cells of people or animals, explained the study's lead researcher, Scott Kenney.

"A receptor is like a lock in the door. If the virus can pick the lock, it can get into the cell and potentially infect the host," said Kenney in a university news release. He's an assistant professor of veterinary preventive medicine at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.

To investigate the pig virus' potential to jump to other species, researchers at Ohio State and Utrecht University in the Netherlands honed in on a particular cellular receptor called aminopeptidase N.

The study, published online this week in the journal PNAS, showed the virus could bind to the receptor in human cells, and to cells from cats and chickens.

However, these were cells cultured in a lab setting.

The researchers added that their findings don't prove that the pig virus can cause disease in other species. "But that's something we obviously want to know," Saif said.

The team plans to continue its investigation, looking for antibodies in human blood that would indicate that the pig virus may have already infected people.

"We now know for sure that [the pig virus] can bind to and enter cells of humans and birds," Saif said. "Our next step is to look at susceptibility -- can sick pigs transmit their virus to chickens, or vice versa, and to humans?"

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more information on how diseases spread between animals and people.

SOURCE: Ohio State University, news release, May 15, 2018

-- Mary Elizabeth Dallas

Last Updated: May 16, 2018

Copyright © 2018 HealthDay. 

"We now know for sure that [the pig virus] can bind to and enter cells of humans and birds," Saif said. "Our next step is to look at susceptibility -- can sick pigs transmit their virus to chickens, or vice versa, and to humans?"

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