Association of intraspecific wounding with hantaviral infection in wild rats ( Rattus norvegicus )

ABSTRACT:The proportion of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) with recently acquired Sin Nombre virus (SNV) infections is an indicator of epizootic intensity and may be key in predicting outbreaks of hantavirus cardio-pulmonary syndrome in humans. We investigated whether incidence of recent infections was related to season, sex, reproductive status, or habitat disturbance. In May and September, 2006, we sampled 912 deer mice at six sites in Utah. We determined SNV antibody prevalence and estimated the number of recent infections with an avidity enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Antibody prevalence in adults (n5735) was 22%, and putative maternal antibody prevalence in juveniles (n5177) was 7%. Sampling period explained a significant amount of the variance in the probability of recent infections, which were two times more common in May versus September. Additionally, prevalence of high-avidity maternal antibodies (i.e., from dams with older infections) in juveniles did not correspond to the antibody avidity patterns in adult females. In May, no juveniles had high-avidity antibodies compared to adult females (49%); in September, avidity could not be measured in juveniles because none were seropositive, despite large sample sizes (n584) and an 11% seroprevalence in adult females. Based on the results, coupled with those from the literature, we speculate that the majority of new infections may occur predominantly in the spring and that SNV may impair reproductive output of females.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Variation in Sin Nombre Virus Infections in Deer Mice: Preliminary Results

Dearing

Previtali

Jones

et al. 2009

“…Alternatively, it is possible that the frequently shown association between scars and antibody prevalence may be, at least in part, the result of a postinfection phenomenon. A mechanism for such a response was suggested for rats infected with Seoul hantavirus (Glass et al, 1988;Hinson et al, 2004;Klein et al, 2004). Specifically, rats infected with Seoul virus were more aggressive and spent more time fighting with intruders than did uninfected mice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sin Nombre Virus Infection of Deer Mice in Montana: Characteristics of Newly Infected Mice, Incidence, and Temporal Pattern of Infection

Douglass

Calisher

Wagoner

et al. 2007

ABSTRACT:Sin Nombre virus (SNV), hosted by the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), is the principal cause of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in North America. To improve our understanding of factors that contribute to the occurrence of HPS, we conducted an extensive field study of the characteristics of newly infected (as determined by recent acquisition of antibody) deer mice and the temporal pattern of antibody acquisition (seroconversion) from 1994 through 2004 in Montana, USA. We sampled 6,584 individual deer mice, of which 2,747 were captured over multiple trapping periods. Among these 2,747 deer mice, we detected 171 instances of seroconversion. There was no relationship between seroconversion and the acquisition of scars. However, recently infected Montana deer mice were more likely to be older, more likely to be males, and more likely to be in breeding condition. In addition, recently infected male deer mice gained less weight over the 1-mo period following seroconversion than did those that did not acquire antibody, suggesting that SNV infection may have negatively impacted the health of infected rodents. Incidence was highly variable among years, and timing of infections was primarily associated with the breeding season (generally early spring through late fall).

“…Studies have demonstrated that hantavirus infections in reservoir populations can be focal, and prevalences may range from 0% to 60% on a regional scale (Kaufman et al, 1994;Mills et al 1997;Glass et al 1998). Such focality of infection has not been adequately explained, but has been thought to be due to local extinction, probably due to ''bottle-neck effect'' when local reservoir populations experience very low population densities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous studies have demonstrated an age-related prevalence of antibody, often favoring males (Glass et al, 1988;Childs et al, 1994;Mills et al, 1997;Calisher et al, 1999), indicating that virus is maintained in reservoir populations via horizontal transmission, perhaps most frequently through aggressive encounters among adult males. Populations consisting of older individuals may have much higher prevalences of infection than populations comprising mostly young mice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Unusual Site-Specific Population Dynamics of Rodent Reservoirs Provide Clues to the Natural History of Hantaviruses?

Calisher

Mills

Sweeney

et al. 2001

Between January 1995 and November 1997, longitudinal mark-recapture studies of rodent hosts of hantaviruses in a disturbed microhabitat within a shortgrass prairie ecosystem in southeastern Colorado (USA) were conducted. The site was distinguished by edaphic and floristic characteristics unique to this area and associated with historical land use patterns, as well as the year-around availability of water from a functioning windmill. Populations of two common rodent species that are hosts for hantaviruses, Peromyscus maniculatus and Reithrodontomys megalotis, had unusually rapid turnover, a younger age structure, and a much lower prevalence of antibody to Sin Nombre virus than did populations at nearby sites in more typical shortgrass prairie and canyon habitats. Based on these findings, we suggest that a stable resident population of the reservoir is critical to the maintenance of hantaviruses at a given site, and we hypothesize that long-lived, persistently infected rodents are the principal transseasonal reservoir of hantaviruses.