Phylogeographic Diversity of Pathogenic and Non-Pathogenic Hantaviruses in Slovenia

Abstract

Slovenia is a very diverse country from a natural geography point of view, with many different habitats within a relatively small area, in addition to major geological and climatic differences. It is therefore not surprising that several small mammal species have been confirmed to harbour hantaviruses: A. flavicollis (Dobrava virus), A. agrarius (Dobrava virus–Kurkino), M. glareolus (Puumala virus), S. areanus (Seewis virus), M. agrestis, M. arvalis and M. subterraneus (Tula virus). Three of the viruses, namely the Dobrava, Dobrava–Kurkino and Puumala viruses, cause disease in humans, with significant differences in the severity of symptoms. Due to changes in haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome cases (HFRS) epidemiology, a detailed study on phylogenetic diversity and molecular epidemiology of pathogenic and non-pathogenic hantaviruses circulating in ecologically diverse endemic regions was performed. The study presents one of the largest collections of hantavirus L, M and S sequences obtained from hosts and patients within a single country. Several genetic lineages were determined for each hantavirus species, with higher diversity among non-pathogenic compared to pathogenic viruses. For pathogenic hantaviruses, a significant geographic clustering of human- and rodent-derived sequences was confirmed. Several geographic and ecological factors were recognized as influencing and limiting the formation of endemic areas.

Longitudinal Surveillance of Porcine Rotavirus B Strains from the United States and Canada and In Silico Identification of Antigenically Important Sites

“…If RVB is not a primary pathogen, evolutionary pressures from the host immune system may facilitate unrestricted evolution into novel genotypes. Non-pathogenic hantaviruses [ 31 ] and Fusarium oxysporum [ 32 , 33 ] have higher genetic diversity when compared to their pathogenic relatives, which supports the hypothesis of RVB as a secondary pathogen.…”

Molecular and epidemiological characteristics of human Puumala and Dobrava-Belgrade hantavirus infections, Germany, 2001 to 2017

“…Given the strong geographic association within > 90% of our hantavirus sequences and the close phylogenetic relationship between human and rodent derived sequences from the same area [15-17,42], there are strong indications that human infections commonly occur close to the cases homes. The few discrepancies observed between phylogenetic cluster and the respective geographic location can be explained by the daily commute or travel history as reported by the case or are compatible with short (day) leisure trips.…”

Co-circulation of soricid- and talpid-borne hantaviruses in Poland

“…Subsequent studies have indicated that SWSV is widespread throughout Europe and Asia across the vast distribution of its soricid reservoir, in Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia (Kang et al, 2009a; Klempa et al, 2013; Korva et al, 2013; Resman et al, 2013; Schlegel et al, 2012b). SWSV has also been detected in the Siberian large-toothed shrew ( S. daphaenodon ) and tundra shrew ( S. tundrensis ) in Russia (Yashina et al, 2010).…”