Serological and genetic evidence for the presence of Seoul hantavirus in Rattus norvegicus in Flanders, Belgium.
Seoul hantavirus (SEOV), carried by Rattus rattus (black rat) and R. norvegicus (Norway, brown rat), was reported to circulate as well as cause HFRS cases in Asia. As Rattus sp. are present worldwide, SEOV has the potential to cause human disease worldwide. In Europe however, only SEOV prevalence in rats from France was reported and no confirmed cases of SEOV infection were published. We here report genetic and serological evidence for the presence of SEOV virus in brown rat populations in Belgium. We also serologically screened an at-risk group that was in contact with R. norvegicus on a daily basis and found no evidence for SEOV infection.
Heyman
Paul
P
Research Laboratory for Vector-borne Diseases, Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Bruynstraat, Brussels, Belgium. paul.heyman@smd.de
Baert
K
K
Plyusnina
A
A
Cochez
C
C
Lundkvist
A
A
Esbroeck
M Van
MV
Goossens
E
E
Vandenvelde
C
C
Plyusnin
A
A
Stuyck
J
J
D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006480:Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D051381:Rats; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D029263:Seoul virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral