Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV)

Rift Valley fever virus is an emerging zoonotic arbovirus belonging to the genus Phlebovirus, family Phenuiviridae. It transmits primarily through mosquitoes or direct contact with infected animals and causes outbreaks of severe febrile disease in humans and livestock in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The virus has a segmented, negative-sense, single-stranded RNA genome, encoding structural (Gn, Gc, N) and nonstructural (NSs, NSm) proteins. Key drug targets identified include the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (L protein), nucleocapsid (N protein), and glycoproteins Gn and Gc, which mediate host cell binding and membrane fusion. NSs protein acts as a major virulence factor by antagonizing host interferon responses and assembling into intranuclear filaments. There are currently no licensed vaccines or specific antiviral drugs for RVFV in humans, making it a critical target for research and development of therapeutic strategies[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8].

Other names

RVFVRift Valley fever phlebovirus

Inhibition of viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) Neutralization of viral entry proteins (Gn/Gc) Prevention of ribonucleoprotein (RNP) assembly