How Andes virus may use saliva to spread between people (IMAGE)
Caption
(1) Andes virus (ANDV) infects the secretory cells of human salivary glands and is shed into saliva. (2) Natural antimicrobials in saliva (histatins, lactoferrin, lysozyme, and SLPI) inactivate Puumala and Hantaan viruses, but ANDV resists them and remains infectious. Salivary mucins MUC5B and MUC7 may help protect the oral surface, and salivary secretory IgA rises sharply in infected patients. (3) Together, these findings offer a biological explanation for why ANDV, alone among hantaviruses, can spread from person to person through deep kissing and close contact in households and healthcare settings. Steps 1 and 2 are based on experimental data; step 3 is a plausible mechanism supported by epidemiological association, not proof that saliva is the route of transmission.
Credit
Anil, Vishnupriya K. Sweety, Aman Pratap Singh/Infectious Diseases & Immunity
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