A retrospective study of hantavirus infection in Kinmen, Taiwan.
In this retrospective study, 140 serum samples collected from 85 scrub typhus-negative patients in Kinmen Island in 2000 were tested for antibodies to hantavirus using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Seven patients (8.23%) were confirmed as having hantavirus infection as demonstrated by increased hantavirus-specific immunoglobulin M and/or immunoglobulin G antibodies in their convalescent serum samples. Analysis of indirect immunofluorescence assay showed that Seoul type was the etiologic agent. Serosurvey of rodents caught in the resident township of these hantavirus-infected human cases showed that the seroprevalence of antibodies to hantavirus among Rattus norvegicus, Mus musculus, and R. flavipectus was 50% (4/8), 20% (1/5), and 2% (7/348), respectively. Molecular analysis showed that these reservoir hosts carried a Seoul type hantavirus. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating indigenous hantavirus cases in Kinmen.
Chow
Ling
L
Center for Research and Diagnostics, Center for Disease Control, Department of Health, Taipei, Taiwan.
Shu
Pei-Yun
PY
Huang
Jyh-Hsiung
JH
Wang
Hsi-Chieh
HC
Chang
Shu-Fen
SF
Lu
Hsiu-Ying
HY
Lin
Ting-Hsiang
TH
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006476:Orthohantavirus / Q000145:classification; D018778:Hantavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D051381:Rats; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012377:Rodentia / Q000821:virology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M