title: Molecular characterization of two hantavirus strains from different rattus species in Singapore.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hantaviruses cause human disease in endemic regions around the world. Outbreaks of hantaviral diseases have been associated with changes in rodent population density and adaptation to human settlements leading to their proliferation in close proximity to human dwellings. In a parallel study initiated to determine the prevalence of pathogens in Singapore's wild rodent population, 1206 rodents were trapped and screened. The findings established a hantavirus seroprevalence of 34%. This paper describes the molecular characterization of hantaviruses from Rattus norvegicus and Rattus tanezumi, the predominant rodents caught in urban Singapore.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pan-hanta RT-PCR performed on samples of Rattus norvegicus and Rattus tanezumi indicated that 27 (2.24%) of the animals were positive. sequence analysis of the S and M segments established that two different hantavirus strains circulate in the rodent population of Singapore. Notably, the hantavirus strains found in Rattus norvegicus clusters with other Asian Seoul virus sequences, while the virus strains found in Rattus tanezumi had the highest sequence similarity to the Serang virus from Rattus tanezumi in Indonesia, followed by Cambodian hantavirus isolates and the Thailand virus isolated from Bandicota indica.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sequence analysis of the S and M segments of hantavirus strains found in Rattus norvegicus (Seoul virus strain Singapore) and Rattus tanezumi (Serang virus strain Jurong TJK/06) revealed that two genetically different hantavirus strains were found in rodents of Singapore. Evidently, together with Serang, Cambodian and Thailand virus the Jurong virus forms a distinct phylogroup. Interestingly, these highly similar virus strains have been identified in different rodent hosts. Further studies are underway to analyze the public health significance of finding hantavirus strains in Singapore rodents.
authors.affiliation: DSO National Laboratories, 20 Science Park Drive, 118230, Singapore.
authors.forename: Patrik
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.forename: Grace
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yap
authors.forename: Hwee-Teng
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Low
authors.forename: Chern-Chiang
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Siew
authors.forename: Relus
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kek
authors.forename: Lee-Ching
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bucht
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005838:Genotype; D006476:Orthohantavirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018778:Hantavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017385:Sequence Homology; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral