Pig Virus Could Be Threat to Humans.

• Position: PORCINE DELTACORONAVIRUS - Brief article

The pig virus Porcine deltacoronavirus readily can find its way into laboratory-cultured cells of people and other species, a discovery that raises concerns about the potential for outbreaks that threaten human and animal health.

P. deltacoronavirus first was identified in 2012 in pigs in China, but it was not associated with disease. It first was detected in the U.S. in 2014 during a diarrhea outbreak in Ohio pigs and has since been detected in various countries. Infected pigs experience acute diarrhea and vomiting. The disease can be fatal. As of yet, no human cases have been documented, but scientists are concerned about the possibility.

"Before it was found in pigs, it had only been found in various birds," says Linda Saif, distinguished university professor of veterinary preventive medicine at Ohio State University, Columbus, and an investigator in the Food Animal Health Research Program at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. "We're very concerned about emerging coronaviruses...