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Der Internist Nov 2019Human rhinoviruses (RV) belong to the Picornaviridae and are divided into three species: rhinovirus A, B and C. As causative viruses of upper airway infections... (Review)
Review
Human rhinoviruses (RV) belong to the Picornaviridae and are divided into three species: rhinovirus A, B and C. As causative viruses of upper airway infections (common cold), they possess enormous epidemiological and clinical importance. Furthermore, rhinoviruses are significant pathogens of acute exacerbations of chronic airway diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Their role as a cofactor in the development of pneumonia and their relevance in critically ill patients is still unclear and the focus of current research. Due to the unspecific clinical symptoms, diagnosis is difficult. Laboratory detection is sophisticated and a distinction between clinically relevant infection and contamination not always possible. Specific therapeutic antiviral strategies against rhinovirus infection do not exist as yet and, due to the large variety of subtypes, the development of vaccines remains a considerable challenge.
Topics: Antiviral Agents; Asthma; Disease Progression; Humans; Picornaviridae Infections; Pneumonia; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive; Respiratory Tract Infections; Rhinitis; Rhinovirus
PubMed: 31463521
DOI: 10.1007/s00108-019-00672-4 -
Journal of Virology Sep 2019The influence of living in small remote villages on the diversity of viruses in the nasal mucosa was investigated in three Colombian villages with very different levels...
The influence of living in small remote villages on the diversity of viruses in the nasal mucosa was investigated in three Colombian villages with very different levels of geographic isolation. Metagenomic analysis was used to characterize viral nucleic acids in nasal swabs from 63 apparently healthy young children. Sequences from human virus members of the families , , , , , , and were detected in decreasing proportions of children. The number of papillomavirus infections detected was greater among Hispanic children most exposed to outside contacts, while anellovirus infections were more common in the isolated indigenous villages. The diversity of the other human viruses detected did not differ among the villages. Closely related variants of rhinovirus A or B were identified in 2 to 4 children from each village, reflecting ongoing transmission clusters. Genomes of viruses not currently known to infect humans, including members of the families , , , and and circular Rep-encoding single-stranded DNA (CRESS-DNA) virus, were also detected in nasal swabs, possibly reflecting environmental contamination from insect, fungal, or unknown sources. Despite the high levels of geographic and cultural isolation, the overall diversity of human viruses in the nasal passages of children was not reduced in highly isolated indigenous villages, indicating ongoing exposure to globally circulating viruses. Extreme geographic and cultural isolation can still be found in some indigenous South American villages. Such isolation may be expected to limit the introduction of otherwise common and widely distributed viruses. Very small population sizes may also result in rapid local viral extinction due to a lack of seronegative subjects to maintain transmission chains for rapidly cleared viruses. We compared the viruses in the nasal passages of young children in three villages with increasing levels of geographic isolation. We found that isolation did not reduce the overall diversity of viral infections. Multiple infections with nearly identical rhinoviruses could be detected within each village, likely reflecting recent viral introductions and transmission clusters among epidemiologically linked members of these very small communities. We conclude that, despite their geographic isolation, remote indigenous villages show evidence of ongoing exposure to globally circulating viruses.
Topics: Biodiversity; Child; Child, Preschool; Colombia; Female; Humans; Indigenous Peoples; Male; Metagenomics; Nose; Phylogeny; Phylogeography; Viruses
PubMed: 31189707
DOI: 10.1128/JVI.00681-19