Virus Ecology Dimensions

The capacity to emerge and threaten human populations is the basis of our virus dimension analysis, based on:

• Reservoir Timestamps, virus lifetime

• Virus-Environment Staging, conditions of virus emergence

• Virus-Host Staging, conditions of threat exposure

• Virus Plasticity, ease of transformation into new hosts

• Virus-prey factors, attraction to prey

• Ambient transmission routes, microbiotically, ecologically or induced artificially from human activity

• Overall virulence towards identified host

• The nature of Persistence and Related Activity Dimensions 

Examples of genomes, virus families and virus names of human outbreak viruses

Adapted from Woolhouse, Mark EJ, et al. "Assessing the epidemic potential of RNA and DNA viruses." Emerging infectious diseases 22.12 (2016): 2037):

Single-stranded RNA (ambisense) 

Arenaviruses 

Guanarito, Junin, Lassa, Lujo, Machupo, Sabia, Dandenong,* lymphocytic choriomeningitis*

Bunyaviruses 

Andes, Bwamba, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Oropouche, Rift Valley, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome 

Single-stranded RNA (positive sense) 

Flaviviruses 

Japanese encephalitis,Usutu, West Nile

Coronaviruses 

Middle East respiratory syndrome 

Togaviruses 

Barmah Forest, o’nyong-nyong, Ross River, Semliki Forest, Venezuelan equine encephalitis 

Single-stranded RNA (negative sense) 

Filoviruses 

Bundibugyo Ebola, Lake Victoria Marburg, Sudan Ebola Paramyxoviruses Nipah 

Rhabdoviruses 

Bas-Congo, rabies* 

Double-stranded RNA 

Reoviruses Nelson Bay, Colorado tick fever* 

Double-stranded DNA 

Adenoviruses 

Titi monkey 

Herpesviruses 

Macacine herpesvirus 1 

Polyomaviruses 

Simian virus 40 

Poxviruses 

Monkeypox, Orf, vaccinia