A team at Vilnius University’s Life Sciences Center in Lithuania, led by Milda Norkienė, studies animal polyomaviruses and whether they could affect people. Scientists estimate that over 99% of viruses have not yet been described.
Over 70% of emerging human infectious diseases are zoonoses, passed on by animals. Sixteen polyomavirus species linked to humans have been identified. To study species jumps safely, the team uses fluorescent pseudoviruses developed with virologist Christopher B. Buck of the US National Cancer Institute.
The group, funded by the Research Council of Lithuania, has already identified several new animal polyomaviruses, none of them known to threaten people.
