title: Novel strain of Andes virus associated with fatal human infection, central Bolivia.
abstract: To better describe the genetic diversity of hantaviruses associated with human illness in South America, we screened blood samples from febrile patients in Chapare Province in central Bolivia during 2008-2009 for recent hantavirus infection. Hantavirus RNA was detected in 3 patients, including 1 who died. Partial RNA sequences of small and medium segments from the 3 patients were most closely related to Andes virus lineages but distinct (<90% nt identity) from reported strains. A survey for IgG against hantaviruses among residents of Chapare Province indicated that 12.2% of the population had past exposure to >1 hantaviruses; the highest prevalence was among agricultural workers. Because of the high level of human exposure to hantavirus strains and the severity of resulting disease, additional studies are warranted to determine the reservoirs, ecologic range, and public health effect of this novel strain of hantavirus.
authors.affiliation: US Naval Medical Research Unit 6, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Cristhopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: Brett M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Forshey
authors.forename: Efrain
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vallejo
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Agudo
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Blazes
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guevara
authors.forename: V Alberto
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Laguna-Torres
authors.forename: Eric S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Halsey
authors.forename: Tadeusz J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Kochel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D001838:Bolivia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006476:Orthohantavirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D018778:Hantavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D058889:Molecular Typing; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D012703:Serotyping; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G