Serological Evidence of Human Orthohantavirus Infections in Barbados, 2008 to 2016

Abstract

Background: Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is well-known in South and North America; however, not enough data exist for the Caribbean. The first report of clinical orthohantavirus infection was obtained in Barbados, but no other evidence of clinical orthohantavirus infections among adults in the Caribbean has been documented. Methods: Using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests followed by confirmatory testing with immunofluorescent assays (IFA), immunochromatographic (ICG) tests, and pseudotype focus reduction neutralization tests (pFRNT), we retrospectively and prospectively detected orthohantavirus-specific antibodies among patients with febrile illness in Barbados. Results: The orthohantavirus prevalence rate varied from 5.8 to 102.6 cases per 100,000 persons among febrile patients who sought medical attention annually between 2008 and 2016. Two major orthohantavirus epidemics occurred in Barbados during 2010 and 2016. Peak orthohantavisinfectionswere observed during the rainy season (August) and prevalence rates were significantly higher in females than males and in patients from urban parishes than rural parishes. Conclusions: Orthohantavirus infections are still occurring in Barbados and in some patients along with multiple pathogen infections (CHIKV, ZIKV, DENV and Leptospira). Orthohantavirus infections are more prevalent during periods of high rainfall (rainy season) with peak transmission in August; females are more likely to be infected than males and infections are more likely among patients from urban rather than rural parishes in Barbados.

Detection of Lassa Virus-Reactive IgG Antibodies in Wild Rodents: Validation of a Capture Enzyme-Linked Immunological Assay

“…Notably, Bausch et al (2000) have already pointed towards a higher sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA compared to the IFA in humans [ 11 ]. This is a recurrent aspect of ELISA and IFA comparisons, even in contexts outside Lassa fever or other infectious diseases, such as schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, or hantavirus disease [ 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”

Serological Evidence of Multiple Zoonotic Viral Infections among Wild Rodents in Barbados

“…To understand the possible rodent reservoirs of orthohantaviruses, mammarenaviruses and orthopoxviruses in Barbados, a rodent trapping and sampling survey was conducted in 2019. A total of 160 rodents were trapped over 10 trapping nights from 15th January to 26th January 2019, at a total of 15 trapping sites around Barbados including chicken farms, recycling centres, horse stables, an agriproducts retail store, residential neighbourhoods, the national geriatric hospital, and sugarcane fields in parishes where previously recorded human orthohantavirus cases occurred (Table 1 & Figure 1) [30]. Primarily more wild mice (M. musculus) were caught in comparison to wild rats (R. rattus and R. norvegicus) during the trapping survey (Table 1).…”

“…High rainfall can be associated with increased orthohantavirus transmission, as higher infection rates were observed during the wet season compared to the dry season since rainfall can permit moist soil which facilitates rodent burrowing, breeding, survival and the proliferation of vegetation and food for rodents [4,47]. The rainy season in Barbados has been associated with higher human orthohantavirus prevalence rates, with peaks occurring in the months of August and September [30]. A lower orthohantavirus seroprevalence of 3.8% was observed in this study compared to the previous rodent study, with a 29% seroprevalence rate.…”