Top 10 Bunyaviridae Facts

1.

Bunyaviruses are classified into five different genera, with

orthobunyaviruses comprising the largest group with over 170 viruses.
2.
Bunyaviruses have a tripartite genome -- the only human viral family to
have three segments in its RNA genome! These segments are denoted as S,
M, and L based upon size.
3.
Each segment of the genome has different functions; L encodes the
RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, S encodes non-structural and
nucleocapsid proteins, and M encodes the glycoproteins.
4.
Bunyaviruses are primarily composed of negative sense segments,
though certain segments in particular genera can be ambisense.
5.
There is no human vaccine for bunyaviruses as of 2015, though
vaccines are being developed for use in animals; this is particularly important
because bunyaviruses actually primarily infect animals, with some "spillover"
into humans.
6.
Bunyaviruses exhibit cap-snatching in order to prime their mRNA
synthesis.
7.
Bunyaviruses consist of many ARBOviruses, which are transmitted by
arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes, sandflies, and ticks among others.
8.
Bunyaviruses are associated with several hemorrhagic fevers and
should be included in the differential diagnosis for these conditions.
9.
Bunyaviruses do not have specific drug treatment regimens, but the
symptoms of infection can be controlled using fluid replenishment and viral
monitoring.
10.
Prevention for bunyaviruses, because so many of them are arthropod
borne, include wearing protective clothing, avoiding high risk areas where
bunyaviruses are endemic, using DEET on equipment to repel insects, and
educating communities about viral transmission.

The Top Ten Facts About Bunyaviridae:

1.
Bunyaviruses are prevalent
throughout the United States, including
Sin Nombre Virus in the Southwest and

California Encephalitis Virus.

2.
Bunyaviruses are almost all
transmitted by arthropods. Hantaviruses
are transmitted in rodent urine, but are
the exception to the rule despite their
infamy.
3.
Hantavirus epidemics in the United
States have been associated with El Nino
rainfall that provide good conditions
for Sigmodon rodent vector proliferation.
4.
Bunyaviridae have mostly negative
sense RNA. Phleboviruses are the
exception, with only 1 segment of three
that is ambisense.
5.
The 3 segments of Bunyaviridae are
identified as L(large), M(medium), and
S(short). S contains the Capsid protein
and a nonstructural protein, M contains
the two envelope proteins, and L contains
the RNA dependent RNA polymerase.
6.
Each segment has its own helical
nucleocapsid. At least one of each L, M
and S must be present in a mature virion
to be infectious, but there can be more
than one of each.
7.

Bunyaviridae exhibit cap-stealing, the

use oligonucleotide caps stolen from host

mRNA as primers in transcription.
8.
Bunyaviridae are associated with
numerous clinical presentations,
including encephalitis, Hantavirus
Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), and
Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome
(HFRS).
9.
The diseases HPS and HFRS are due to
the host cytokine immune response, not
viral induction of cell death.
10. Prevention strategies are essential as
there are no human vaccines, and include
reduction of exposure to arthropod
vectors through DEET or netting. Other
important strategies include immunizing
African livestock and wearing protective
masks when cleaning out rodent infested
areas.

The Bunyaviridae are a very large family of single-strand, enveloped RNA viruses (more than 300
viruses) and consists of five genera of viruses:Orthobunyavirus, Phlebovirus, Nairovirus, Hantavirus,
and Tospovirus(Tospoviruses infect only plants). They are found in and transmitted by arthropods
(e.g. mosquitoes, ticks, sand flies) and rodents, and can occasionally infect humans. Several viruses
of the Bunyaviridae virus family can produce mild to severe disease in human, in animals, and
sometimes in both. This is the base for the requirements of handling some of these viruses in high
containment (Biosafety Level 3 or even Biosafety level 4).

Among the Phleboviruses, Rift Valley fever virus, was first isolated in 1930 as part of a large
outbreak among sheep in East Africa. This virus, transmitted by mosquitoes, is endemic (present) in
nearly all the countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Human isolated cases and large epidemics (domestic
livestock and human) have been described in several countries and even in the Arabic peninsula.
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus, of the Nairovirus genus, was first recognized in the
Crimean peninsula (in the south of present day Ukraine) in an outbreak of hemorrhagic fever among
agricultural workers. The same virus was isolated in 1956 from a single patient in present day
Democratic Republic of Congo in Kenya, leading to the actual naming. Although animal and human
can be infected, only the later develop a disease. The virus is transmitted by tick, but human-tohuman transmission of the virus is very characteristic.
Hantaviruses were first observed in the early 1950's among troops deployed in the Korean conflict.
Eventually named Hantaan virus after the nearby Hantaan River where the human cases occurred,
the field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) was discovered to be the specific rodent host for the virus. The
disease is actually known as Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and described in the
Old World. Following a cluster of cases of severe illness, called Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome
(HPS), in the American southwest in 1993, a newly identified virus, called the Sin Nombre virus, was
isolated. Related viruses, but responsible for the same clinical disease, are described in the New
World (North, Central and South America).