How viruses expand their host range: Insights from parvoviruses in domestic, wild carnivores

Virus multiplication continually generates new variants at a rate that is much faster than their hosts. One consequence of their higher mutation rate is that many viruses can rapidly adapt to new hosts. A new study reports on the systematic analysis of the host range of canine parvovirus (CPV) and reveals different factors that determine which carnivores the virus can infect.