Saliviruses—the first knowledge about a newly discovered human picornavirus

The salivirus, first discovered in the year 2009, is a member of the large and growing family Picornaviridae. At present, the genus Salivirus contains 1 species Salivirus A and 2 genotypes, Salivirus A1 and Salivirus A2. Salivirus has been identified in humans and chimpanzees and may cause acute gastroenteritis in humans, having been detected in 0% to 8.7% of fecal samples collected from gastroenteritis in different human populations. Salivirus is ubiquitous in wastewater of human origin and river water specimens worldwide and represents a potential indicator human RNA virus for monitoring of environmental samples. This review summarizes the current knowledge on saliviruses including discovery, taxonomy, genome structure, and genetic diversity; covers all aspects of infection including epidemiology, molecular epidemiology, clinical feature, host species, environmental characteristics, and laboratory diagnosis; and gives a summary of possible future perspectives.