Agrima Bhatt, Rajasthan University
The history of human civilization has shown evidence in the recent past that pandemics are no longer a threat for the future, with much more accessibility to hosts and ease for transfer, pandemics are creating a travesty sooner rather than later. At the end of December 2019 was the onset of coronavirus, on 20 January 2020 WHO declared it as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). When we turn back the pages of our history books, among the 6 worst pandemics of past years, 5 of them are contracted through the transmission of the virus. This list includes HIV which has an estimated 38,000 new infections occurring each year in the US.
In the year 1918-1919, the influenza pandemic with a high transmission rate and severe mortality cases spread around the world and was known as “The Spanish Flu” caused by an H1N1 type virus, having an avian origin. According to the CDC, it spread the infection to over 500 million people and was responsible for the deaths of 50 million people worldwide. Since the early times, viruses have been a constant presence in the history of pandemics.
VIRUS – Is it Alive or Dead?
In the 1930s, Stanley and others first discovered TMV (Tobacco mosaic virus) structure and established that the genetic material is encapsulated with a protein structure. After further experimentation, scientists found out the virus could infect hosts by inserting the genetic material inside the host’s body. The virus uses the cell machinery of the host to multiply itself and remains inactive without it.
According to recent estimations, less than 1% of mammalian viral variety has been detected to date. University’s Institute of Infection, Veterinary, and Ecological Sciences have stated that the host range of a virus is a key indicator of whether it is zoonotic and hence poses a risk to people. SARS-CoV-2 has recently been discovered to have a broad host range, which may have assisted its spread to humans. However, human understanding of most viruses’ host ranges is still limited.
Machine-learning predict virus-mammal associations
At present in science, the amount of known human viruses and those found in wild primates are vastly different.
To help lessen the knowledge gap between viruses and mammals (or other hosts), scientists from The University of Liverpool have created a new machine based on a framework of machine learning which can predict unknown relationships between viruses and mammals. In the same way that bats and rodents are crucial hosts for zoonotic viruses, wild ruminants play a significant role in the maintenance and spread of viruses that afflict ruminant cattle. According to their results, coronavirus, which was thought to be emerging from bat species, can give rise to more infectious zoonotic viruses. Scientists are currently expanding the approach to anticipate ticks’ and insects’ potential to transmit viruses to birds and mammals, which will allow laboratory-based vector-competence research to be prioritized globally which will help minimize future outbreaks of vector-borne diseases.
With the help of such technology, future outbreaks can be controlled by identifying unknown hosts of viruses which can be varied from domesticated mammals to avian living beings.
Also read: Nanodecoys from special lung cells can kill SARS-CoV2
References:
- Wardeh, M., Blagrove, M.S.C., Sharkey, K.J. et al. Divide-and-conquer: machine-learning integrates mammalian and viral traits with network features to predict virus-mammal associations. Nat Commun 12, 3954 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24085-w
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