Highly Diverse Morbillivirus-Related Paramyxoviruses in Wild Fauna of the Southwestern Indian Ocean Islands: Evidence of Exchange between Introduced and Endemic Small Mammals

Abstract

Identification of the infectious agents that circulate within wild animal reservoirs is essential for several reasons: (i) infectious disease outbreaks often originate from wild fauna; (ii) anthropological expansion increases the risk of contact between human and animal populations and, as a result, the risk of disease emergence; (iii) evaluation of pathogen reservoirs helps in elaborating preventive measures to limit the risk of disease emergence. Many paramyxoviruses for which bats and rodents serve as major reservoirs have demonstrated their potential to cause disease in humans and animals. In the context of the biodiversity hot spot of southwestern Indian Ocean islands and their rich endemic fauna, we show that highly diverse UMRVs exchange between various endemic animal species, and their dissemination likely is facilitated by the introduced Rattus rattus. Hence, many members of the Paramyxoviridae appear well adapted for the study of the viral phylodynamics that may be associated with disease emergence.