Some Viral Infections of Animals as a Potential Public Health Risk

Abstract

To this day, a large number of viral infections of animals with potential risk for human health have been described. Historically, the influenza virus caused major epidemics and the recombination abilities of avian or human influenza virus strains within the organisms of pigs carry a constant risk of the appearance of new strains. The hazards of this event were recognized during the avian and swine flu epidemics in 2006 and 2009. West Nile virus (WNV) causes disease in humans, birds, and horses, whilst wild and domestic bird species may serve as reservoir hosts from which the virus is transmitted by mosquitoes as vectors. Since WNV circulation has been confirmed in Serbia, much attention is given to the detection of sentinel animals such as cattle, pigs, pigeons, dogs, and goats that could be reliably used to monitor virus circulation. Coronaviruses are known causative agents of many diseases of veterinary importance. The most recent coronavirus epidemic caused by a novel coronavirus named COVID-19 is suspected to be of animal origin. Examinations are currently being performed to find the source of the virus and to establish whether there was a jump over the species barrier. Porcine parvoviruses are actively evolving and diverse viruses some of which are closely related to human parvoviruses. Our preliminary studies show their high prevalence amongst wild boars in Serbia which is of particular interest since wildlife represents a potential reservoir for the spread of genetically altered strains of known viruses.