The
Buynaviridae family constitutes a group of single and segmented negative
stranded (SNS) enveloped RNA viruses containing over 350 viruses classified in
five genera, namely Hantavirus, Nairovirus, Orthobunyavirus, Phlebovirus, and
Tospovirus1. This family of viruses infects a wide range of animals
and plants, as well as causing serious disease in humans. The primary vector of
Bunyaviruses are arthropod vectors, with an exception for the Hantavirus genera
which are predominantly spread by rodents and possibly by non-rodent
insectivores.

The mains
characteristics are of this family are: spherical virus particles, 90-100 nm in
diameter and enveloped with glycoprotein surface projections; the virions
contain three unique segments of negative-sense single-stranded RNA in the form
of circular ribonucleoprotein complexes (nucleocapsids) and a transcriptase
enzyme2.

Out of the
five genera of this family, four of them include viruses that causes
devastating haemorrhagic fevers which does not have preventive or therapeutic
measures are not available. These are classified as hazard level 3 or 4
pathogens. In addition, many bunyaviruses are classified as emerging pathogens
due to their recent increased incidence in new hosts and geographical locations.

Recently,
growing interest have been payed to several of these viruses because of the
ongoing spread of their vectors, notably the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever
virus (CCHFV) which is transmitted by the Hyalomma tick and the Aedes, Culex
and Anopheles mosquitoes, which are important vectors for the Rift Valley fever
virus (RVFV). All these vectors are migrating and our found in more Northern
regions of Europe, possibly due to the global changes in climate3.
These two viruses are a real threat that must not be neglected as the
consequences of RVF and CCHF are dramatic, both for human and animal health.

There are
still some gaps in the diagnosis for these two diseases: there are still no vaccines
available for CCHFV nor commercial kits for serology in animals available for
CCHFV and effective vaccines and treatments are still not freely available for
protecting humans and livestock from RVFV.

This project will focus on the detection of zoonotic viruses of the
Order Bunyaviridae, such as the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV)
and the Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV).