Newly Discovered Virus Suggest That German Measles Might've Come From Animals

Two newly discovered viruses, identified as relatives to the rubella virus that causes German measles, were found in bats - suggesting that rubella originally came from animals before infecting humans.

Since German measles was first described in 1814, the origin of both the disease and the virus that caused it remained unclear, with scientists never identifying any relative of the virus. However, a team of scientists has recently found two new species - one of which infected bats in Uganda while the other killed different animals from a zoo in Germany.

Their findings are published in the latest issue of journal Nature, Wednesday, October 7.

Measles Makes Comeback in 2019 As Outbreak Happens In 22 States

(Photo: Photo-Illustration by George Frey/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 26: In this photo illustration a one-dose bottle of measles, mumps, and rubella virus vaccine, made by MERCK, is held up at the Salt Lake County Health Department on April 26, 2019, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Ruhugu and Rustrella Viruses

The new viruses might be the first discovered relatives of the rubella virus. The first one, known as the Ruhugu virus, has infected healthy cyclops leaf-nosed bats, Hipposideros cyclops, in Uganda. The other is the Rustrela virus found in marsupials as well as a wild mouse near a German zoo.

Researchers report that both ruhugu and rustrela share a similar genome architecture with the rubella virus. They also noted that the amino acid sequences for four putative B cell epitopes - the antigen portion, usually in viruses, that binds to the immunoglobulin - among the three virus strains being "moderately to highly conserved." The same similarities were found in two putative T cell epitopes in rubella and ruhugu capsid proteins.

Based on these findings, it is likely that a virus similar to these three might've jumped from animals to humans, evolving to become what we now know as the rubella virus. Researchers noted that while none of the two newly discovered viruses have been known to directly infect humans, the fact remains that a virus sharing similarities with these two species raises concerns. There might be another, still undiscovered, relative that can cause an outbreak in humans.

"We would be remiss not to be concerned, given what's going on in the world today," said Tony Goldberg, an epidemiologist from the University of Wisconsin Madison and the senior author of the study.

"German" Measles

Formally known as Rubella, the disease also known as German measles or three-day measles was first described by the German physicist Friedrich Hoffman in 1740. Although, it would be first noted as a separate condition from measles and scarlet fever by George de Maton in 1814. It got the name "German measles" from the fact that all physicians who have worked toward the identification of the disease were German.

Although a highly infectious condition, rubella is often mild for half of the infected people. For others, it is characterized by rashes about two weeks after exposure to the virus, persisting for up to three days. It might be accompanied by fever, sore throat, and fatigue.

For pregnant women, rubella is much more dangerous, increasing risks for miscarriage, stillborn children, or children born with congenital rubella syndrome that manifests as problems with sight, hearing, as well as problems with the brain and the heart.

The rubella virus is usually transmitted by airborne droplets, spread when people with the disease sneeze or cough, according to the WHO.