The muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) as a new reservoir for puumala-like hantavirus strains in Europe.
We have used an indirect immunofluorescent assay (IFA) and reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) to screen the sera and tissues of muskrats (Ondatra zibethica) caught in the northwest of Brandenburg and in the northeast of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, for hantavirus infection. Kidney and/or lung tissue from 6 (3.1%, CI = 1.1-6.5%) out of 197 muskrats were found to be positive for genomic sequences of hantavirus by RT-PCR. We could also demonstrate that 14 (5%, CI = 2.9-8.7%) out of 266 muskrat's sera available for testing contained hantavirus-specific antibodies in IFA. Thus, a total of 8% of the investigated muskrat population was found to be positive for hantavirus infection by RT-PCR and IFA. None of the animals was found positive in both tests. Further analysis of the RT-PCR amplified fragments by genomic sequencing revealed sequences mostly related to the puumala (PUU) S segment sequence of the Hällnäs B1 hantavirus strain (97-99% similarity). Our data therefore demonstrate that Ondatra zibethicus serves as an additional reservoir for puumala-like hantavirus strains in Europe. The epidemiological implications of this finding for hantavirus infection in Europe and elsewhere are discussed.
Vahlenkamp
M
M
Department of Virology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
Müller
T
T
Tackmann
K
K
Löschner
U
U
Schmitz
H
H
Schreiber
M
M
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000821:virology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006476:Orthohantavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018778:Hantavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000821:virology; D008168:Lung / Q000821:virology; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral