Leading scientists have issued an urgent warning that two little-known animal viruses could 'easily' spark the next pandemic if they jump to humans. The alert comes as the US battles a severe winter illness season, with influenza sickening around 20 million people and killing more than 11,000 since October, according to federal data.
In a new review published in January in a CDC-backed paper, researchers warned that influenza D – a virus that mainly infects cattle – and canine coronavirus, a highly contagious virus found in dogs, have the potential to mutate and spread among humans. Neither virus is known to circulate widely in people, but both spread easily in animals and are poorly monitored, meaning mutations that allow human-to-human transmission could go undetected.
Dr John Lednicky, a research professor at the University of Florida and co-author of the paper, said: 'Our review of the literature indicates these two viruses pose respiratory disease threats to humans, yet little has been done to respond to or prevent infection. If these viruses evolve the capacity to easily transmit person to person, they may be able to cause epidemics or pandemics since most people won't have immunity to them.'
Influenza D virus (IDV) was first identified in US pigs in 2011 and has since been detected in cattle, chickens, deer, giraffes and even kangaroos. Previous studies found antibodies to influenza D in up to 97 per cent of cattle workers in Colorado and Florida, indicating widespread exposure. Canine coronavirus (CCoV), unrelated to SARS-CoV-2, is highly infectious among dogs and has been isolated from a US medical worker who fell ill after travelling to Haiti, as well as in a child with pneumonia in Malaysia and other respiratory patients in Thailand, Vietnam and Arkansas.
The researchers warned that without stronger surveillance, improved testing and vaccine development, both viruses could quietly gain the ability to spread between humans. 'Our knowledge of these viruses is limited,' they wrote. 'Even so, the available evidence suggests they pose a major threat to public health.'
