Abstract
Foamy viruses (FVs) are the only exogenous retrovirus to date known to infect neotropical primates (NPs). In the last decade, an increasing number of strains have been completely or partially sequenced, and molecular evolution analyses have identified an ancient co-speciation with their hosts. In this review, the improvement of diagnostic techniques that allowed the determination of a more accurate prevalence of simian FVs (SFVs) in captive and free-living NPs is discussed. Determination of DNA viral load in American primates indicates that oral tissues are the viral replicative site and that buccal swab collection can be an alternative to diagnose SFV infection in NPs. Finally, the transmission potential of NP SFVs to primate workers in zoos and primate centers of the Americas is examined.
Highlights
Spumaretroviruses are complex, exogenous retroviruses in the Spumaretrovirinae subfamily known to infect different mammalian orders, such as nonhuman primates (NHPs), felines, bovines and equines [1]
The common ancestor of the Primates order is estimated to have originated about 60–80 million years ago (MYA) based on evidence of small mammals adapted to live in trees and with the oldest fossil found in Africa [5]
Decades later in 2013, a large study examined 332 neotropical primates (NPs) samples from 15 genera using molecular testing to detect 192-bp pol NP simian FVs (SFVs) sequences in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), including—for the first time—samples collected from wild monkeys [23]
Summary
Programa de Oncovirologia, Instituto Nacional de Câncer, Riod e Janeiro, RJ 20231-050, RJ, Brazil. Received: 30 September 2019; Accepted: 18 October 2019; Published: 20 October 2019
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