title: First human isolate of Hantavirus (Andes virus) in the Americas.
abstract: We isolated Andes virus (formal name: Andes virus [ANDV], a species in the genus Hantavirus), from serum of an asymptomatic 10-year-old Chilean boy who died 6 days later of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). The serum was obtained 12 days after his grandmother died from HPS and 2 days before he became febrile. No hantavirus immunoglobulin (Ig) G or IgM antibodies were detected in the serum sample. After three blind passages, ANDV antigens were detected in Vero E6 cells by immunofluorescence assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and ANDV RNA was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. A fragment of the virus genome showed 96.2% nucleotide identity with that of prototype ANDV. To our knowledge, this is the first isolation of any agent of hemorrhagic fever with HPS from a human and the first such isolation of hantavirus before symptoms of that syndrome or HPS began.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Institute of Chile, Santiago.
authors.forename: Hector
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Galeno
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mora
authors.forename: Eliecer
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Villagra
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.forename: Jury
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hernandez
authors.forename: Gregory J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Mertz
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ramirez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006476:Orthohantavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018778:Hantavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors; D014709:Vero Cells