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Abstract. The primary objective of this study was to extend our knowledge of the geographical distribution, genetic diversity, and natural host associations of the hantaviruses indigenous to North America. Antibody to a hantavirus was found in 5 (20.8%) of 24 Coues' oryzomys (Oryzomys couesi) and none of 41 other rodents captured near the town of Catacamas in eastern Honduras, and a hantavirus was isolated from one of the antibody-positive Coues' oryzomys. Analyses of nucleotide and amino acid sequence data indicated that the viral isolate is a strain of a novel hantaviral species (proposed species name "Catacamas virus") that is phylogenetically most closely related to Bayou virus, a hantaviral species that is principally associated with Oryzomys palustris (marsh oryzomys) in the southeastern United States. Catacamas virus is the first evidence for the occurrence of a hantaviral species in Honduras and the first evidence that a hantaviral species is naturally associated with an Oryzomys species other than O. palustris.

The application of educational interventions directed to schoolchildren, as a part of a comprehensive plan for controlling Aedes aegypti, is an effective way to raise the awareness of teachers and parents with respect to the problem of dengue, and it also helps in encouraging family members to be involved in reducing breeding sites in the home. In moving to control the dengue vector, this strategy should take into consideration the involvement not only of families but also of civic and public institutions in the community. Given our results, it appears that this approach of using a special course for schoolchildren can constitute a fundamental pillar in the strategy for integrated dengue control.

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