Migration of Norway Rats Resulted in the Worldwide Distribution of Seoul Hantavirus Today

Abstract

Despite the worldwide distribution, most of the known Seoul viruses (SEOV) are closely related to each other. In this study, the M and the S segment sequences of SEOV were recovered from 130 lung tissue samples (mostly of Norway rats) and from six patient serum samples by reverse transcription-PCR. Genetic analysis revealed that all sequences belong to SEOV and represent 136 novel strains. Phylogenetic analysis of all available M and S segment sequences of SEOV, including 136 novel Chinese strains, revealed four distinct groups. All non-Chinese SEOV strains and most of the Chinese variants fell into the phylogroup A, while the Chinese strains originating from mountainous areas clustered into three other distinct groups (B, C, and D). We estimated that phylogroup A viruses may have arisen only within the last several centuries. All non-Chinese variants appeared to be directly originated from China. Thus, phylogroup A viruses distributed worldwide may share a recent ancestor, whereas SEOV seems to be as diversified genetically as other hantaviruses. In addition, all available mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences of Norway rats, including our 44 newly recovered mtDNA sequences, were divided into two phylogenetic groups. The first group, which is associated with the group A SEOV variants, included most of rats from China and also all non-Chinese rats, while the second group consisted of a few rats originating only from mountain areas in China. We hypothesize that an ancestor of phylogroup A SEOV variants was first exported from China to Europe and then spread through the New World following the migration of Norway rats.

High prevalence of Seoul hantavirus in a breeding colony of pet rats

“…Previous reports of hantavirus phylogeny have included the use of cyt b sequences to identify host-pathogen relationships [7,27]. However, in this study, the cyt b gene sequences for both the pet and wild rats are apparently randomly located on the phylogenetic tree (online Supplementary Fig.…”

“…Analysis of partial cyt b gene sequences (833 bp) have proven useful in detecting host/virus relationships [7,27], and thus were studied to assess the level of connectivity within and between wild and captive rats.…”

A tick-borne segmented RNA virus contains genome segments derived from unsegmented viral ancestors

“…Another important feature of JMTV epidemiology is the presence of long distance dispersals. As it is unlikely for ticks themselves to move over long distance, the most plausible route is human-mediated transportation of infected cattle and sheep, or the migration of wild animals (17,18).…”

Molecular typing of bacteria for epidemiological surveillance and outbreak investigation / Molekulare Typisierung von Bakterien für die epidemiologische Überwachung und Ausbruchsabklärung

“…Thus, the emergence of multiresistant bacterial strains deteriorates future prospects in the fight against infectious diseases. Another unforeseen incidence was the appearance of the so-called emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, representing a serious challenge for future human as well as animal health, agricultural production, and public safety (Morens et al, 2004;Fauci et al, 2005;Becker et al, 2006;Jones et al, 2008;Cutler et al, 2010;Keesing et al, 2010;Lin et al, 2012;Johnson et al, 2015). More than 60% of emerging and reemerging human pathogens are zoonoses, that is, pathogens transmissible between different species (Jones et al, 2008;Cutler et al, 2010;Kilpatrick and Randolph, 2012;Van Doorn, 2014).…”