July 25, 2013 — Adenoviruses commonly infect humans, causing colds, flu-like symptoms and sometimes even death, but now UC San Francisco researchers have discovered that a new species of adenovirus can spread from primate to primate, and potentially from monkey to human.
UCSF researchers previously identified a new adenovirus in New World titi monkeys that killed most of the monkeys infected during an outbreak in a closed monkey colony in California in 2009. At the time, a research scientist who worked closely with the monkeys and a family member, both of whom were found to have antibodies to the virus, also became ill.
In a new study, which appears July 24 in the online journal PLOS One, UCSF scientists exposed three marmoset monkeys to the same virus. All three developed a mild, "cold-like" respiratory illness and an antibody response to the infection, but were able to eliminate the virus within twelve days.
The results conclusively demonstrate that the new virus is capable of infecting and causing disease across primate species, according to Charles Chiu, MD, PhD, director of the UCSF-Abbott Viral Diagnostics and Discovery Center, and the lead scientist of the new study.
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