Host phylogenetic distance drives trends in virus virulence and transmissibility across the animal-human interface.

ABSTRACT: Historically, efforts to assess 'zoonotic risk' have focused mainly on quantifying the potential for cross-species emergence of viruses from animal hosts. However, viruses clearly differ in relative burden, both in terms of morbidity and mortality (virulence) incurred and the capacity for sustained human-to-human transmission. Extending previously published databases, we delineated host and viral traits predictive of human mortality associated with viral spillover, viral capacity to transmit between humans following spillover and the probability of a given virus being zoonotic. We demonstrate that increasing host phylogenetic distance from humans positively correlates with human mortality but negatively correlates with human transmissibility, suggesting that the virulence induced by viruse

SUBMITTER: Guth S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6711300 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature