Author: Graham Casey MSc
SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus that emerged rapidly and caused devastating effects worldwide. Understanding principles of virus emergence is necessary to adequately prepare for future pandemics. It is also important to understand and appreciate public health and human behavioural responses to outbreaks. Examining specific emerging zoonotic viruses can provide insight into general trends in viral emergence. In this narrative review, three emerging viruses and one potentially emerging human virus are discussed with comparisons to the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Their emergence is framed within a five-stage model for emerging infectious diseases described previously. Ebola virus, Nipah virus, monkeypox virus, and canine distemper virus are used as examples of emerging and potentially emerging viral zoonoses. These viruses are described in order to develop a better understanding of the breadth of existing emerging viruses, the means by which they emerge into human populations, and of how human behaviour shapes the course of their emergence.
Keywords: viral emergence, zoonoses, ebolavirus, henipaviruses, poxviruses