Enteric viruses replicate in salivary glands and infect through saliva.

ABSTRACT: Enteric viruses like norovirus, rotavirus and astrovirus have long been accepted as spreading in the population through fecal-oral transmission: viruses are shed into feces from one host and enter the oral cavity of another, bypassing salivary glands (SGs) and reaching the intestines to replicate, be shed in feces and repeat the transmission cycle¹. Yet there are viruses (for example, rabies) that infect the SGs^2,3, making the oral cavity one site of replication and saliva one conduit of transmission. Here we report that enteric viruses productively and persistently infect SGs, reaching titres comparable to those in the intestines. We demonstrate that enteric viruses get released into the saliva, identifying a second route of viral transmission. This is particularly s

SUBMITTER: Ghosh S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9243862 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature