When zoonosis mimics autoimmunity: arenavirus spillover, gut dysbiosis, and the case for community-level early warning systems

Description

Ahmad Sanan, Maryam Tanveer, Syeda Tayyaba Batool, and Said Hamid Sadat write about rodent-borne viruses that can look like autoimmune disease. Arenaviruses spill from rodents into people, mostly in poor and unstable settings. They are known for fever, bleeding, and nerve illness. The writers argue their effects on immunity can also mimic rheumatic disease.

In areas where these viruses circulate, exposure stories are often missed at the clinic. That gap lets infections be read as the body's own immune attack. The gut's microbes add a further twist, since they tune how strongly the immune system reacts to viruses. The letter calls for early warning systems rooted in local communities. Catching spillover early, they argue, beats untangling it later in the clinic.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13236371