title: The basis of arbovirus classification.
abstract: The biologically defined set of arboviruses contains well over 300 separate viruses which have been subdivided into some 40 serological groups on the basis of antigenic cross-reactivity. More than three quarters of all arboviruses can now bw placed into one of the following five major taxonomic genera based upon the fundamental properties of the virion: alphavirus, flavivirus, orbivirus, rhadovirus, bunyavirus. There are 20 alphaviruses, representing serological Group A, and 57 flaviviruses in serological Group B; these two genera fall into the familty Togaviridae. The 40 orbiviruses, in the family Reoviridae, include some 8 serological groups, and the 8 rhabdoviruses, in the family Rhabdoviridae include another 3 groups. About 160 bunyaviruses, family Bunyaviridae, are divisible into 20 serological groups, 10 of which show intra-group cross-reactions in the Bunyamwera supergroup. One arbovirus contains DNA, namely African swine fever virus; this is classified as an Iridovirus, or icosahedral cytoplasmic deoxyvirus. Nodamura virus, which has been classified as a picornavirus, must be reclassified on the evidence that it possesses a divided genome. A number of arboviruses remain unclassified in taxonomic terms. The absence of arbovirus representatives in several major genera, such as the adenoviruses and the myxoviruses is of no interest.
mesh_terms: D001103:Arboviruses / Q000145:classification*; D002213:Capsid; D004267:DNA Viruses / Q000145:classification; D008970:Molecular Weight; D012328:RNA Viruses / Q000145:classification; D009626:Terminology as Topic