The current monkeypox surge has raised a possibility that makes researchers gulp: The virus could take up permanent residence in wildlife outside of Africa, forming a reservoir that could lead to repeated human outbreaks.
said no pets or wild animals had been infected as of 24 May. But it added that “close collaboration between human and veterinary public health authorities is needed to manage exposed pets and prevent the disease from being transmitted to wildlife.”
But it’s clear that monkeypox can infect many other kinds of animals in the wild and captivity. A 1964 outbreak in a Rotterdam, Netherlands, zoo sickened giant anteaters, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, a gibbon, and a marmoset. Researchers have intentionally infected many lab animals, including rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, and chickens, although the virus doesn’t reliably cause disease in several of them.
But whether a poxvirus can copy itself and, ultimately, persist in a species to create a reservoir depends on how well it fends off the host’s immune attacks. Poxviruses have a relatively large complement of genes, about 200, and roughly half undermine a host’s immune response. “Some viruses run and hide or are stealthy, avoiding direct contact with elements of the immune system,” McFadden says. “Poxviruses by and large stand up and fight.
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