OmniVira

Literature detail

An emerging human eye disease is associated with aquatic virus zoonotic infection.

Shuang Liu1,2,3,4,5 Die Hu6,7,8 Tingting Xu1,2,3,4,5 Jia Yin6,7 Xinmiao Shan6,7 Jitao Xia1,2,3,4,5 Zhaoxi Wang1,2,3,4 Ruidong Xu1,2,3,4 Chong Wang1,2,3,4 Danielle E Anderson9,10 Peipei Wu6,7 Qianwen Bu6,7 Xiuzhen Liu11 Yingjie Liu12 Wenjie Tan13 Ting Wang7,14 Can Zhao7,14 Hai Zhu15 Lin-Fa Wang16,17 Lixin Xie18,19 Xiaojing Pan20,21 Qingli Zhang1,2,3,22,23
Affiliations 23 institutions
  1. State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Biobreeding and Sustainable Goods
  2. Key Laboratory of Maricultural Organism Disease Control, Ministry of Agriculture
  3. Qingdao Key Laboratory of Mariculture Epidemiology and Biosecurity
  4. Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, China.
  5. Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Laoshan Laboratory, Qingdao, China.
  6. Eye Institute of Shandong First Medical University, Qingdao Eye Hospital of Shandong first Medical University, Qingdao, China.
  7. State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base, Shandong Key Laboratory of Eye Disease, School of Ophthalmology, Shandong First Medical University, Qingdao, China.
  8. Medical Department of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
  9. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
  10. Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
  11. Medical Research Center, Binzhou Medical University Hospital, Binzhou, China.
  12. Shenzhen Institute, Ocean University of China, Shenzhen, China.
  13. MHC Key Laboratory of Biosafety, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing, China.
  14. Eye Institute of Shandong First Medical University, Eye Hospital of Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Eye Hospital), Jinan, China.
  15. Department of Urology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Qingdao, China.
  16. Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore. [email protected].
  17. SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute, Singapore, Singapore. [email protected].
  18. Eye Institute of Shandong First Medical University, Qingdao Eye Hospital of Shandong first Medical University, Qingdao, China. [email protected].
  19. State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base, Shandong Key Laboratory of Eye Disease, School of Ophthalmology, Shandong First Medical University, Qingdao, China. [email protected].
  20. Eye Institute of Shandong First Medical University, Qingdao Eye Hospital of Shandong first Medical University, Qingdao, China. [email protected].
  21. State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base, Shandong Key Laboratory of Eye Disease, School of Ophthalmology, Shandong First Medical University, Qingdao, China. [email protected].
  22. Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, China. [email protected].
  23. Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Laoshan Laboratory, Qingdao, China. [email protected].
PMID 41888595 2026 Nat Microbiol eng ppublish
PubMed DOI Browse context

Article

Publication summary

Climate change and human activities have increased the risk of virus spillover from wildlife, posing a threat to human health. A human ocular disease called persistent ocular hypertensive viral anterior uveitis (POH-VAU) has recently emerged; however, the cause is unclear. Here we report that POH-VAU is associated with covert mortality nodavirus (CMNV) of aquatic origin. CMNV is prevalent in farmed and wild aquatic animals worldwide. We confirmed CMNV infection in ocular tissues and seroconversion in 70 patients with POH-VAU. An exposure survey and analysis of logistic regression models revealed that CMNV exposure frequency, number of severe exposures and exposure severity were associated with an increased risk of POH-VAU. Epidemiological data indicate that frequent unprotected processing of aquatic animals and consumption of raw aquatic animals were commonly reported exposure events, collectively accounting for 71.4% of investigated cases. Challenge tests revealed that CMNV can cause elevated intraocular pressure and pathological damage to ocular tissues in mice and can infect mammalian cells in vitro. This study reveals that an aquatic animal virus is associated with an emerging human disease.

Aquatic Organisms Communicable Diseases, Emerging RNA Virus Infections Viral Zoonoses Zoonoses Adult Aged Animals Eye Female Humans Male Mice Middle Aged

Structured evidence records

Evidence records

4 total
Host Range Experiment 2 records
Host Range Experiment Extraction confidence 0.88
Key finding

Covert mortality nodavirus experimentally infected mice, causing ocular pathology, and was able to infect mammalian cells in vitro.

Virus
Nodaviridae
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

Challenge tests revealed that CMNV can cause elevated intraocular pressure and pathological damage to ocular tissues in mice and can infect mammalian cells in vitro.

Method
challenge test; experimental infection
Sample type
ocular tissues
Experimental system
in vivo animal experiment
Host Range Experiment Extraction confidence 0.88
Key finding

Covert mortality nodavirus was able to infect mammalian cells in vitro, indicating susceptibility beyond aquatic hosts.

Virus
Nodaviridae
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

Challenge tests revealed that CMNV ... can infect mammalian cells in vitro.

Method
cell infection assay
Experimental system
in vitro cell culture
Serological Evidence 1 records
Serological Evidence Extraction confidence 0.90
Key finding

Seroconversion to covert mortality nodavirus of aquatic origin was detected in 70 human patients with persistent ocular hypertensive viral anterior uveitis, indicating zoonotic exposure linked to aquatic animal contact.

Virus
Nodaviridae
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

We confirmed CMNV infection in ocular tissues and seroconversion in 70 patients with POH-VAU. Epidemiological data indicate that frequent unprotected processing of aquatic animals and consumption of raw aquatic animals were commonly reported exposure events.

Sample type
serum
Spillover Event 1 records
Spillover Event Extraction confidence 0.95
Key finding

Human infection with covert mortality nodavirus of aquatic origin was confirmed in patients with persistent ocular hypertensive viral anterior uveitis, indicating an aquatic animal-to-human spillover event.

Virus
Nodaviridae
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

Here we report that POH-VAU is associated with covert mortality nodavirus (CMNV) of aquatic origin. CMNV is prevalent in farmed and wild aquatic animals worldwide. We confirmed CMNV infection in ocular tissues and seroconversion in 70 patients with POH-VAU. Epidemiological data indicate that frequent unprotected processing of aquatic animals and consumption of raw aquatic animals were commonly reported exposure events.

Method
serological testing; exposure survey; challenge tests
Study design
epidemiological investigation
Transmission direction
animal-to-human