Cuevavirus is a genus in the family Filoviridae, which is included in the order Mononegavirales. Cuevavirus includes a single species, Lloviu cuevavirus, with one member, Lloviu virus (LLOV).[1][2] It was discovered in the Cueva de Lloviu in Asturias, Spain, in a species of bats known as Schreiber's long-fingered bats (Miniopterus schreibersii).[1] LLOV is a distant relative of the more widely known Ebola and Marburg viruses. Members of the genus are referred to as cuevaviruses. Cueva is derived from the Spanish word for cave.
Genus inclusion criteria
A virus that fulfills the criteria for being a member of the family Filoviridae is a member of the genus Cuevavirus if:[1]
it is endemic in France, Portugal, or Spain
its fourth gene (GP) encodes four proteins (sGP, ssGP, Δ-peptide, and GP1,2) using cotranscriptional editing to express ssGP and GP1,2 and proteolytic cleavage to express sGP and Δ-peptide
its genome differs from that of Marburg virus (variant Musoke) by ≥50% and from that of Lloviu virus (variant Bat86) by <50% at the nucleotide level
