title: Isolation and characterization of Tula virus, a distinct serotype in the genus Hantavirus, family Bunyaviridae.
abstract: A Vero E6 cell culture isolate of Tula virus (TUL), a hantavirus first detected in European common voles (Microtus arvalis and M. rossiaemeridionalis) by RT-PCR was obtained after initial passaging of TUL-infected vole lung samples in laboratory-colonized M. arvalis. TUL was defined as a classical serotype by a cross-focus-reduction neutralization test (FRNT) and was also shown to be distinct from other hantaviruses by haemagglutination inhibition assay. The sequences of S, M and partial L genome segments of the isolate were determined: the S segment was 99.9% identical to the original rodent-derived sequence. Serological evidence for a previous TUL infection was obtained from the serum of a blood donor living near a TUL focus in Moravia, Czech Republic, showing at least a 16-fold higher FRNT titre to TUL as compared to Puumala or other hantaviruses.
authors.affiliation: Haartman Institute, Department of Virology, University of Helsinki, Finland. Olli.Vapalahti@Helsinki.FL
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Vapalahti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lundkvist
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kukkonen
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gilljam
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kanerva
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Manni
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pejcoch
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Niemimaa
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaikusalo
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Henttonen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vaheri
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Plyusnin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000821:virology; D001483:Base Sequence; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D006476:Orthohantavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018778:Hantavirus Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D011817:Rabbits; D012703:Serotyping; D014709:Vero Cells
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral