First report on the identification and characterization of mammalian orthoreovirus from sheep in China

Mammalian orthoreovirus (MRV) infects various mammalian species worldwide, including humans, pigs, bats, cattle, ferrets, dogs, cats, and civets (1–9). Various reports of clinical cases of MRV in humans and other mammalian hosts have presented evidence confirming the possibility of interspecies transmission (10, 11). MRV typically presents as asymptomatic or mild respiratory and gastrointestinal infections (12). MRV is capable of inducing neurological symptoms. However, cases with neurological symptoms are less reported than those with gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms. Infection with MRV types 2 and 3 may result in necrotizing encephalopathy and meningitis (13, 14), whereas MRV types 1 and 3 may infect the central nervous system of mice via various pathways (15, 16). Thus, MRV poses a risk of interspecies transmission and can potentially cause severe clinical symptoms. © 2024 Zhao et al.