Table 2.

 Clinically significant viral zoonoses

Pathogen	Comments
Borna disease virus	Subject of continuing debate on its potential role in human neuropsychiatric disorders [35]
California serogroup viruses	California encephalitis, Jamestown Canyon, Keystone, La Crosse, Snowshoe hare and Trivittatus viruses—in total causing 60–80 cases annually in the USA [8]
Chikungunya virus	Primates serve as the reservoir in between human outbreaks, when human‐to‐human vector‐mediated transmission occurs. Repeated outbreaks with hundreds of thousands of cases in recent years in the Indian Ocean and Africa, particularly Kenya, Reunion, and India [36]. The situation is similar for Mayaro virus, which has recently re‐emerged in South America
Cowpox virus	Of historical significance, illustrating an adverse, beneficial effect of zoonoses. Orf is also a zoonosis
Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever virus	Emerging/re‐emerging in eastern Europe, the Balkans, and Turkey, with evidence of a spread west, raising concerns for European epidemiology [37]. Still a significant issue in Central Asia and, partly, in sub‐Saharan Africa; in the latter, the similar Dugbe virus may account for a few cases
Ebolavirus	Zoonotic in true spirit, as wildlife serves as the virus reservoir between outbreaks and the trigger of outbreaks. Most recent outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2008; Ebola Reston variant in Philippines with different behaviour regarding human infection
Hantaviruses	Andes and Laguna Negra viruses cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in South America. Sin Nombre virus (and, to a lesser extent, Bayou virus) cause HPS in the USA: more than 500 cases have been recorded by the CDC, the majority of them in the southwestern USA, 36% of them fatal. Puumala, Dobrava and Saaremaa viruses cause haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Europe: the vast majority of documented cases arise in Finland [38]. Hantaan virus causes HFRS in Russia and East Asia (where Seoul and Amur viruses are also implicated)
Hendra virus	Limited to Australia and with minimal numbers of cases and fatalities (four), but a novel emerging pathogen with significant environmental correlations. A similar natural history and epidemiology applies to Menangle virus. Also of importance only for Australia are Murray Valley encephalitis and Kunjin viruses, which rarely induce clinical disease
Hepatitis E virus	Zoonotic reservoir of the disease; may not be implicated directly in outbreaks. Isolated cases of direct transmission by ingestion of deer or wild‐boar meat [39]
Influenza viruses	The principal zoonotic aspects of influenza are the role of animal hosts as substrates for the development of novel strains, and their role in the introduction of these strains into human pathology. Avian H5N1 influenza is a typical zoonotic infection, requiring close contact with infected animal hosts: at present, after the 2004 outbreak, novel cases with a high fatality ratio are reported randomly from Indonesia, Egypt, Vietnam, and China. The novel H1N1 influenza virus pandemic stopped being zoonotic after human‐to‐human transmission emerged as the cause of the pandemic. The single non‐human host for each of influenza B virus and influenza C virus play a minimal role regarding human disease
Japanese encephalitis virus	Tens of thousands of annual cases reported in East and Southeast Asia. Slow expansion to Western Pacific may highlight risks and significant mortality in future years
Kyasanur forest disease virus	There are 100–500 cases annually in India. Relative of the novel Alkhumra virus in Saudi Arabia
Lassa virus	Other Arenaviridae causing localized viral haemorrhagic fevers are Guanarito virus (Venezuela), Machupo virus (Bolivia), Sabia virus (Brazil), Junin virus (Argentina), and the recently emerging Lujo virus (southern Africa)
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus	Extensive seropositivity in studies indicates potential overestimation of morbidity. An emerging infection through pet mice
Marburg virus	The 2004–2005 Angola outbreak resulted in 329/374 fatalities. Two cases, one fatal, were imported into the USA and The Netherlands from Uganda in recent times
Monkeypox virus	Mostly notorious for the multistate outbreak in the USA in 2003, traced back to an imported primate from Africa
Nipah virus	Human‐to‐human transmission important for outbreaks; however, zoonotic origin (bats) and reservoir (pigs). Limited cases with major mortality ratio reported particularly from Bangladesh
Omsk haemorrhagic fever virus	Localized epidemiology; of interest is its recent switch to direct, non‐vector‐mediated, transmission from rodents to humans [40]
Oropouche virus	Re‐emerging in Brazil in recent years [41]. Sloths are the main hosts; vector‐borne, clinically similar to dengue
Rabies and lyssaviruses	Extremely rare in Europe, the few existing cases typically imported, extremely rare in the USA [8, 15]. More than 20 000 deaths annually in India [42]. Major mortality foci are also China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. Lyssaviruses include Duvenhage virus (Africa, bat‐related cases), Mokola virus (Africa), and Australian and European bat lyssaviruses
Rift Valley fever virus	Ongoing (2010) outbreak in South Africa, recent outbreaks in Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania, with hundreds of cases and varying mortality ratio (23–45%). Outbreak in Yemen and Saudi Arabia in 2000 with similar morbidity and mortality toll
Ross River virus	Present in Oceania—more than 5600 cases recorded in 2008 [43]. Potential for chronic symptom induction is under investigation. Barmah Forest virus causes similar disease; more than 2000 cases were reported in 2008
SARS coronavirus	Zoonotic in origin, not in subsequent outbreak dynamics
Sindbis virus	Traditionally linked with Egypt, it was nevertheless demonstrated as an outbreak cause in Finland (Pogosta disease) [44]
Tick‐borne encephalitis	More than 5000 cases reported in Europe in 2007 [45], the majority from Russia, and central–northern Europe. Incidence on the rise, possibly owing to climate changes
Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus	Outbreaks in Venezuela and Colombia in the mid‐1990s with tens of thousands of cases but minimal mortality (<0.2%)
West Nile virus (WNV)	The most characteristic example of a zoonotically sustained massive outbreak, WNV movement through North America in the last decade has resulted in sustained presence in the community: 689 cases were reported in the USA in 2008 [8]. Furthermore, the ongoing WNV outbreak in Greece, with 34/261 deaths [46], demonstrates the trend of the virus to move to Europe, following the previous outbreaks in Romania and Russia
Yellow fever virus	The WHO estimates that there are more than 200 000 annual cases worldwide, with 30 000 deaths—the ongoing vaccination campaign is one of the most ambitious global public health programmes. Both the sylvatic and intermediate cycles of disease transmission are zoonotic in character
Zika virus	Micronesia outbreak of minimal morbidity