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INFECTIOUS DISEASE

Wildlife surveillance for emergent disease

Nature Microbiology volume 5, pages 885–886 (2020)Cite this article

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Monkeypox, a zoonotic disease that is marked in humans by a smallpox-like rash, may present as a rash-less respiratory disease in wild chimpanzees.

Poxviruses constitute a large family of viruses that infect a broad variety of vertebrates and insects to produce mild to severe clinical outcomes. The epidemics caused by variola virus — the etiological agent of smallpox and one of the few poxviruses that infects humans — serve as a stark reminder that any specific virus group may harbour unpleasant to highly consequential human pathogens. In this issue of Nature Microbiology, a longitudinal analysis of behavioural and health data in a wild chimpanzee community reveals the epizootiology and clinical presentation of the zoonotic pathogen monkeypox virus (MPXV), which shows us that long-known viruses can cause new disease manifestations1. This is an important remainder of the importance of virus surveillance.

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Fig. 1: Monkeypox outbreaks.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part through a Laulima Government Solutions, LLC prime contract with the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under contract no. HHSN272201800013C. J.H.K. performed this work as an employee of Tunnell Government Services (TGS), a subcontractor of Laulima Government Solutions, LLC.

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  1. Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD, USA

    Jens H. Kuhn

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  1. Jens H. Kuhn
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Correspondence to Jens H. Kuhn.

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Kuhn, J.H. Wildlife surveillance for emergent disease. Nat Microbiol 5, 885–886 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-020-0747-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-020-0747-4

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