Chapter 17 Paramyxoviridae

Publisher Summary Members of the family Paramyxoviridae cause most devastating diseases of animals and humans. In particular, the viruses causing rinderpest, canine distemper, Newcastle disease, measles, and mumps have arguably caused more morbidity and mortality than any other single group of related viruses in history. The impact of these diseases has been dramatically reduced through the use of vaccines in both humans and animals, in combination with depopulation and restrictions on animal movements for diseases such as rinderpest and Newcastle disease. The history of the paramyxoviruses is replete with incorrect reports that complicate their taxonomic classification and confuses assessment of their true ability to cause interspecies infections. The nomenclature of viruses within the family Paramyxoviridae is confusing and fraught with inconsistencies, as individual viruses have variously been named according to their species of origin, geographic sites of discovery, antigenic relationships, or given names related to the diseases that they produce in affected animals or humans. Paramyxovirus virions are pleomorphic, 150–350 nm in diameter. Virions are enveloped, covered with large glycoprotein spikes, and contain a “herringbone-shaped” helically symmetrical nucleocapsid, approximately 1 μm in length and 18 nm (Paramyxovirinae) or 13–14 nm (Pneumovirinae) in diameter. Paramyxoviruses usually cause lytic infection in cell cultures, but adaptation of the virus is usually necessary to achieve high-titer yields of virus.