Arboviruses causing human disease in the Australasian zoogeographic region

Summary Over 65 arboviruses have been reported from countries in the Australasian zoogeographic region, but only a few have been implicated in human disease. These include the flaviviruses Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE), Kunjin (KUN), Kokobera (KOK), and dengue, particularly types 1 and 2; the alphaviruses Ross River (RR), Barmah Forest (BF), and Sindbis (SIN); and the bunyaviruses, Gan Gan and Trubanaman. In this paper recent epidemiological and clinical results pertaining to these viruses are reviewed, with major emphasis on MVE and RR viruses. The extensive early studies of Australian arboviruses have been reviewed by Doherty 49, 50], and their ecology and vectors more recently by Kay and Standfast 87]. In addition, the biology of MVE and KUN 113] and RR 87, 114] viruses have been the subjects of more detailed reviews.The Australasian zoogeographic region is defined as countries east of the Wallace and Weber lines, two hypothetical lines in the Indo-Australian archipelago where the fauna of the Australasian and Oriental regions meet. Seroepidemiological studies of human arboviral infections have suggested that the Japanese encephalitis flavivirus and the chikungunya alphavirus occur only in the Oriental region, whereas the related MVE and RR viruses, respectively, are restricted to the Australasian region 85, 148]. Serological results from Wallacea, the zone between the Wallace and Weber lines, are not so clear-cut 85]. This review is therefore restricted to countries east of Wallacea, specifically New Guinea and Australia.This Brief Review is published under the auspices of the editors of the journal and Virology Division News, the section of the journal reporting proceedings of the Virology Division of the International Union of Microbiological Societies.