Published April 7, 2021 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Is the New Global Threat Biological Warfare or Sustainable Health Security?

  • 1. Department of Medical Microbiology, Gulhane Medical Faculty, University of Health Sciences, Ankara, Turkey.

Description

Özet

Tür düzeyinde tanımlanmış virüslerin sayısı 2019 yılı itibariyle 6590 olup, bu virüslerin yaklaşık yarısı sadece bir veya iki konakçıyı enfekte edebilmektedir. Virüslerin önemli bir bölümünde konakçı aralığı oldukça dar olmasına rağmen, türler arası temas sıklığındaki artış nedeni ile tür bariyeri aşılabilmekte ve virüsler yeni konakçı türlerini enfekte edebilmektedir. Bununla beraber, bir virüsün yeni bir konakçıya adapte olması kolay olmadığı için, virüslerin yeni konakçı popülasyonlarında yayılımları genel olarak sınırlı kalmaktadır. Örneğin, 2003 yılında ortaya çıkan SARS-CoV’nin (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus) insanlar arasında yayılmasının sınırlı düzeyde kalmasında virüsün insanlara adapte olamaması ve insanların ara konakçılarla temas sıklığının nadir bir durum olması gibi nedenler de öne sürülmüştür. Benzer şekilde yüksek patojen avian influenza suşları tür bariyeri ve doku tropizmi gibi sınırlamalar nedeni ile insanlar arasında kolay yayılamamaktadır. Ortaya çıkış şekli henüz açıkça ortaya konamamış olan SARS-CoV-2 ise yeni konakçısı olan insanlara çok iyi adapte olan ve insanlar arasında kolay yayılan yeni bir zoonotik virüstür. Bu virüsün vizon çiftliklerinde olduğu gibi hayvanlar arasında hızla yayılması da dikkat çekicidir. Virüsün faklı türler arasında kolay yayılması yeni mutasyon ve rekombinasyonları ortaya çıkarma potansiyeli ile endişelere neden olmuştur. Virüsler kısa genomlarının getirdiği dezavantajları aşmak adına Hepatit B virusunda olduğu gibi süperpoze olmuş ORF (open reading frame) bölgeleri veya bazı virüslerde olduğu gibi subgenomik transkripsiyon sistemleri ile aynı genomdan farklı proteinler sentezlemektedir. Koronaviruslar gibi büyük genomları olan bazı virüslerde ise genomik stabilitenin korunabilmesi için bazı kontrol mekanizmaları bulunur. Bunların dışında, bir virüsün konakçı popülasyonlarında varlığını devam ettirebilmesi için konakçı immün sistemleri ile hassas bir dengede olması gerekmektedir. Tüm bu faktörler doğal enfeksiyonlara benzer şekilde yayılabilen modifiye virüsler üretmeyi ve bunları bir silah olarak kullanmayı zorlaştırmaktadır. Modifiye virüslerin bir biyolojik savaş aracı olarak kullanılması olası olmakla beraber, viral enfeksiyonlarda yüzlerce farklı parametrenin varlığı nedeni ile bu tür bir silahın insanlar üzerinde neden olabileceği etkinin simülasyonu çok zordur. Son yıllarda moleküler biyoloji alanındaki ilerlemelerle birlikte bilimsel çalışmalar için kimerik veya modifiye virüsler tasarlanıyor olsa da, ticari, ekonomik ve sosyal olarak bütünleşen günümüz dünyasında global etkileri öngörülemeyen yeni bir biyolojik silah tasarlanmasından ziyade; Ebolavirus, Nipah virus veya Çiçek virusu gibi doğal virüslerin dar kapsamlı lokal saldırılarda kullanılması daha olasıdır. Günümüzdeki asıl problem ise SARS-CoV-2 salgınında da tecrübe ettiğimiz üzere pandemik potansiyeli olan virusların sağlık sistemlerinin kapasitelerini (solunum cihazı, aşı, ilaç ve koruyucu ekipmanlara gereksinim gibi) aşacak etkilerle kitlesel ölümlere yol açmasıdır. Son 20 yılda sıklığı artan viral salgınlar insan hareketliliğinin ve zoonotik virüslerle temas riskinin yeni bir boyuta geçtiğine ve bu tehditle mücadele ve akılcı çözümler üretmede küresel iş birliğinin önemine işaret etmektedir.

Abstract

The number of viruses defined at the species level is 6590 as of 2019, with about half of these viruses being able to infect only one or two host species. Although the host range is significantly narrow for most viruses, the species barrier can be overcome due to the increase in interspecies contact and viruses can infect new host species. However, the spread of viruses in new host populations is generally limited, since it is not easy for a virus to adapt to a new host. For example, the inability of the virus to adapt to humans and the rare occurrence of human contact with intermediate hosts have also been suggested as the reasons for the limited spread of SARS-CoV (emerged in 2003) among humans. Similarly, highly pathogenic avian influenza strains cannot spread easily among humans due to limitations such as species barrier and tissue tropism. SARS-CoV-2, the emergence of which has not yet been clearly revealed, is a new zoonotic virus that is well adapted to humans as new hosts and spreads easily among human populations. The rapid spread of this virus among animals such as in mink farms is also remarkable. The easy spread of the virus among different species has raised concerns due to the possibility of the emergence of new mutations and recombinations. Viruses synthesize different proteins from the same genome with superposed ORF (open reading frame) regions such as Hepatitis B virus, or sub-genomic transcription systems as in some viruses to overcome the disadvantages of their short genomes. Moreover, some viruses with large genomes such as coronaviruses have some control mechanisms to maintain genomic stability. In addition, for a virus to survive in host populations, it must be in delicate balance with the host immune systems. All these factors make it difficult to produce modified viruses that can spread similar to natural infections and to use them as a weapon. Although it is possible to use modified viruses as a biological warfare tool, it is very difficult to simulate the effect that such a weapon can cause on humans due to the presence of hundreds of different parameters in viral infections. Chimeric or modified viruses have been designed for scientific studies with advances in the field of molecular biology in recent years, but in nowadays world (commercially, economically, and socially integrated) the use of these viruses, whose global effects are unpredictable, as a biological weapon is very unlikely. Natural viruses such as Ebolavirus, Nipah virus or Smallpox virus are more likely to be used in local attacks. The main problem today is that, as we have experienced in the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, viruses with pandemic potential resulting mass deaths by exceeding the capacities (the need for ventilator, vaccine, medicine, and protective equipments) of health systems. Viral outbreaks, which have increased in frequency in the last 20 years, indicate that human mobility and the risk of contact with zoonotic viruses have taken a new dimension and the importance of global cooperation in combating this threat and generating rational solutions.

Notes

Yeni Küresel Tehdit Biyolojik Savaş mı, Sürdürülebilir Sağlık Güvenliği mi?

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