Arterivirus

Arterivirus is a genus of virus, with type species Equine arteritis virus. In 1996, the family Arteriviridae was included within the order Nidovirales. Arteriviruses are small, enveloped, animal viruses with an icosahedral core containing a positive-sense RNA genome. The family includes Equine arteritis virus (EAV), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), lactate dehydrogenase elevating virus (LDV) of mice and simian haemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV). Three of these viruses were first discovered and characterized in the 1950/60s, whereas PRRSV was first isolated in Europe and in North America in the early 1990s. The arteriviruses are highly species specific, but share many biological and molecular properties, including virion morphology, a unique set of structural proteins, genome organization and replication strategy, and the ability to establish prolonged or true persistent infection in their natural hosts. However, the epidemiology and pathogenesis of the infection caused by each virus is distinct, as are the diseases they cause.