Serologic Survey on Hantavirus in Blood Donors From the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil

Abstract

Emergent diseases such as Hantavirus Cardio-pulmonary Syndrome (HCPS) are able to create a significant impact on human populations due to their seriousness and high fatality rate. Santa Catarina, located in the South of Brazil, is the leading state for HCPS with 267 reported cases from 1999 to 2011. We present here a serological survey on hantavirus in blood donors from different cities of the state of Santa Catarina, with an IgG-ELISA using a recombinant nucleocapsid protein from Araraquara hantavirus as an antigen. In total, 314 donors from blood banks participated in the study, geographically covering the whole state. Among these, 14 individuals (4.4%) had antibodies to hantavirus: four of 50 (8% positivity) from Blumenau, four of 52 (7.6%) from Joinville, three of 50 (6%) from Florianópolis, two of 50 (4%) from Chapecó and one of 35 (2.8%) from Joaçaba. It is possible that hantaviruses are circulating across almost the whole state, with important epidemiological implications. Considering that the seropositive blood donors are healthy individuals, it is possible that hantaviruses may be causing unrecognized infections, which are either asymptomatic or clinically nonspecific, in addition to HCPS. It is also possible that more than one hantavirus type could be circulating in this region, causing mostly benign infections.

Seroprevalence of Bartonella spp., Coxiella burnetii, and Hantavirus among people who inject drugs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: a retrospective assessment of a biobank

“…Hantavirus seroprevalence was 4.0%, consistent with values found in other Brazilian studies, including 314 blood donors of Santa Catarina, a Southern State (4.4%) 55 , and 1,063 individuals from the South and Southeast regions, including residents of rural areas, harbor employees and leptospirosis patients (3.0%) 56 . These samples are likely to contain the hantavirus genotype of Seoul, identified in the 1980s in the North of Brazil, for which urban rats ( Rattus norvegicus ) are reservoirs 57 .…”

Emerging Maripa Hantavirus as a Potential Cause of a Severe Health Threat in French Guiana

“…Indeed, serological surveys showed IgM and IgG reactive to hantavirus in healthy and pauci-symptomatic persons in Peru and Brazil. 19,20 In Panama, hantavirus infection was frequent, but resulted rarely in respiratory illness and hospitalization. 21,22 To explore this in French Guiana, specific longitudinal serological surveys must be set up for persons with possible exposure to rodents.…”