Keeping track of hidden dangers - The short history of the Sabiá virus

Abstract Emerging infectious diseases are a global threat. In countries like Brazil, where biodiversity is high and public health conditions in terms of infrastructure and medical care are often precarious, emerging diseases are particularly worrisome. The lack of monitoring strategies to identify pathogens with the potential to cause outbreaks or epidemics is another problem in Brazil and other developing countries. In this article, we present the history of the Sabiá virus (SABV), a pathogen that was described in the 1990s in Brazil. Several aspects of the biology and ecology of the SABV remain unknown. The SABV has the potential to cause hemorrhagic fever in humans. To date, four cases of human infections have been reported worldwide; two were naturally acquired (both in Brazil), whereas the other two were linked to occupational exposure in the laboratory environment (one in Brazil and one in the USA). In this review, we summarize the basic biological and ecological characteristics of the SABV. This is the first work to gather all available data on the historical aspects involving the cases of SABV infection along with an update on its characteristic features.

摘要 新兴传染病是全球性公共卫生威胁。在巴西这类生物多样性丰富、基础设施与医疗保障层面的公共卫生条件往往较为窘迫的国家，新兴传染病问题尤为令人担忧。缺乏可识别具备暴发或流行潜力病原体的监测策略，是巴西及其他发展中国家面临的另一项公共卫生难题。本文梳理了沙比亚病毒（Sabiá virus, SABV）的研究历史——该病原体于20世纪90年代在巴西被首次报道。目前，沙比亚病毒的多项生物学与生态学特征仍未明确。该病毒具备引发人类出血热的潜在风险。截至目前，全球范围内已报道4例人类感染病例：其中2例为自然感染（均发生于巴西），另外2例则与实验室职业暴露相关（1例发生于巴西，1例发生于美国）。本综述总结了沙比亚病毒的基础生物学与生态学特征。本研究为首项整合所有可获取的沙比亚病毒感染病例相关历史资料，并对其特征进行更新梳理的学术工作。