Melaka virus (MELV) is a bat-borne virus. It was first isolated in a human in Melaka, Malaysia in 2006. A bat reservoir was suspected because traceback analysis revealed that the patient had been exposed to a bat prior to the onset of infection. Melaka virus causes a non-fatal respiratory tract illness in humans.Chua KB, Crameri G, Hyatt A, Yu M, Tompang MR, Rosli J, McEachern J, Crameri S, Kumarasamy V, Eaton BT, Wang LF. 2007. A previously unknown reovirus of bat origin is associated with an acute respiratory disease in humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 104 (27): 11424-11429.Chua KB, Voon K, Yu M, Keniscope C, Rasid KA, Wang LF. 2011. Investigation of a potential zoonotic transmission of orthoreovirus associated with acute influenza-like illness in an adult patient. PLoS ONE. 6(10): e25434.
Virology Melaka virus is a nonenveloped, segmented, double-stranded RNA virus. Having a segmented genome facilitates reassortment. Melaka is a fusogenic virus which enhances virulence in its ability to carry out cell-cell fusion.Day JM. The diversity of the orthoreoviruses: molecular taxonomy and phylogenetic divides. Infect Genet Evol. 2009;9:390–400. DOI PubMedKnipe DM, Howley PM, eds. Orthoreoviruses and their replication. Fields virology, 5th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007. p. 1854–915.
Transmission Transmission is believed to be human to human through droplet respiration. The patient was the sole member of his family to be exposed to the bat, yet three members of his family became ill with the virus.
See also Orphan virus Xi River virus Cell-cell fusogens
References
External links MicrobiologyBytes - Reoviruses Viralzone: Orthoreovirus