title: Soochong virus: an antigenically and genetically distinct hantavirus isolated from Apodemus peninsulae in Korea.
abstract: Hantaan (HTN) virus, the etiologic agent of clinically severe hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), was first isolated in 1976 from lung tissue of a striped-field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) captured in Songnae-ri, Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea. Found primarily in mountainous areas, the Korean field mouse (A. peninsulae) is the second-most dominant field rodent species found throughout Korea. A new hantavirus, designated Soochong (SOO), was isolated in Vero E6 cells from four A. peninsulae captured in August 1997 at Mt. Gyebang in Hongcheon-gun, Mt. Gachil, Inje-gun, Gangwon Province, and in September 1998 at Mt. Deogyu, Muju-gun, Jeollabuk Province. The entire S, M, and L genomic segments of SOO virus, amplified by RT-PCR from lung tissues of seropositive A. peninsulae and from virus-infected Vero E6 cells, diverged from HTN virus (strain 76-118) by 15.6%, 22.8%, and 21.7% at the nucleotide level and 3.5%, 9.5%, and 4.6% at the amino acid level, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses of the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences, using the maximum parsimony and neighbor-joining methods, indicated that SOO virus was distinct from A. agrarius-borne HTN virus. SOO virus shared a common ancestry with Amur virus from Far East Russia, as well as with H5 and B78 hantaviruses, previously isolated from HFRS patients in China. Cross-focus-reduction neutralizating antibody tests showed that SOO virus, which is the first hantavirus isolated in cell culture from A. peninsulae, could be classified as a new hantavirus serotype.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Institute for Viral Diseases, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Luck Ju
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kariwa
authors.forename: Kumari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lokugamage
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshimatsu
authors.forename: Jiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arikawa
authors.forename: Ikuo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Takashima
authors.forename: Ju-Il
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Sung Sil
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Su Yong
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Eun Ju
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hae Ji
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Ki-Joon
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Terry A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yanagihara
authors.forename: Jin-Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000821:virology*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006476:Orthohantavirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018778:Hantavirus Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology*; D007723:Korea; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D051189:Murinae / Q000821:virology*; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013045:Species Specificity; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014709:Vero Cells
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral