Hantavirus Reservoirs: Current Status with an Emphasis on Data from Brazil

Abstract

Since the recognition of hantavirus as the agent responsible for haemorrhagic fever in Eurasia in the 1970s and, 20 years later, the descovery of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the Americas, the genus Hantavirus has been continually described throughout the World in a variety of wild animals. The diversity of wild animals infected with hantaviruses has only recently come into focus as a result of expanded wildlife studies. The known reservoirs are more than 80, belonging to 51 species of rodents, 7 bats (order Chiroptera) and 20 shrews and moles (order Soricomorpha). More than 80genetically related viruses have been classified within Hantavirus genus; 25 recognized as human pathogens responsible for a large spectrum of diseases in the Old and New World. In Brazil, where the diversity of mammals and especially rodents is considered one of the largest in the world, 9 hantavirus genotypes have been identified in 12 rodent species belonging to the genus Akodon, Calomys, Holochilus, Oligoryzomys, Oxymycterus, Necromys and Rattus. Considering the increasing number of animals that have been implicated as reservoirs of different hantaviruses, the understanding of this diversity is important for evaluating the risk of distinct hantavirus species as human pathogens.

Serosurveillance for hantavirus in urban and rural workers in Pernambuco State, Brazil

“…In Russia, between 10,000 and 12,000 cases of hantavirus (Puumala virus and Dobrava Belgrade virus), characterized by renal failure, are reported annually 7 . According to a literature review performed by Oliveira et al 4 Considering the scarcity of data about hantavirus in Pernambuco State, the aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of antibodies to hantavirus in urban cleaning professionals (trash collecting, weeding and road-sweeping), collectors of recycled material and rural workers, due to their greater exposure to urine and feces of rodents. The study was conducted in the Municipality of Garanhuns, Pernambuco State, Brazil.…”

“…A common form of acquiring the disease, especially in small cities, is by cleaning sheds where rural grain is stored. Other forms of transmission include direct contact with infected rodents or recreational activities such as fishing, hunting or camping 4 .…”

“…In the Americas, hantavirus disease is characterized by a zoonosis associated with wild rodents of the Cricetidae family, which contains the Sigmodontinae (North, Central and South America) and Arvicolinae sub-families (North America) 4 . Infected rodents eliminate the virus through their urine, feces and saliva.…”

The Taxonomic Status ofOligoryzomys mattogrossae(Allen 1916) (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae), Reservoir of Anajatuba Hantavirus

“…Species of Oligoryzomys are reservoirs of several hantaviruses and arenaviruses, and so work in the systematics of the genus is important for public health policy (Suzuki et al, 2004;Rosa et al, 2005Rosa et al, , 2010Oliveira et al, 2009Oliveira et al, , 2011Oliveira et al, , 2014. Six Brazilian Oligoryzomys species are known as hantavirus reservoirs: O. nigripes (Olfers, 1818), the host of Juquitiba and Itapua viruses (Suzuki et al, 2004;Oliveira et al, 2009); O. flavescens (Waterhouse, 1837) the host of Central Plata virus (Delfraro et al, 2003); O. fornesi (Massoia, 1973), the host of Anajatuba virus (Rosa et al, 2005) and Juquitiba virus (Guterres et al, 2014); O. microtis (Allen, 1916), the host of Rio Mamoré virus (Ritcher et al, 2010); O utiaritensis (Allen, 1916) the host of Castelo dos Sonhos virus , and O. chacoensis (Myers and Carleton, 1981) of Bermejo virus .…”

Evidência de circulação de hantavirus em área silenciosa da Região Amazônica

“…No continente americano, este agente etiológico é mantido por roedores silvestres da família Murinae, que são reservatórios e responsáveis pelos ciclos epidêmicos da doença 2 . No entanto, estudos demonstram a participação de outros mamíferos como morcegos, marsupiais e insetívoros no ciclo enzoótico da doença 3 .…”