Abstract
Two Old World rodents, the house mouse (Mus musculus) and the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) have been introduced into and established populations on every Continent save Antarctica. With their travels they have carried various human pathogens. Two viruses- Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV; genus Arenavirus with mice) and Seoul virus (SEOV; genus Hantavirus with rats) - can cause chronic infections within their respective rodent hosts resulting in persistent or life-long sporadic shedding of virus through secreta and excreta. Although the prevalence of infection within their wild rodent hosts can exceed 25% among mice infected with LCMV and 50% among rats infected with SEOV, acute human disease resulting from direct transmission from wild rodents are rarely reported even though both species live in close coexistence with humans. However, the usual ‘classic’ zoonotic cycle of transmission from wild rodent reservoirs to humans now includes multiple unusual/unexpected routes. The largest described outbreaks of human disease caused by these viruses are linked to pet rodents. SEOV outbreaks are linked to fancy rats kept as pets, and, a novel reservoir host, the Golden hamster, has supplanted the house mouse as major source of LCMV infection. Following LCMV, and to a lesser extent SEOV, outbreaks associated lab animals, have led to 100’s of cases of LCMV among owners of pet hamsters. LCMV infections in research settings have also been traced to mouse-derived cell cultures and nude mice. Additionally, LCMV is now a recognized source of severe congenital disease and is the unexpected source of severe and often fatal disease among solid organ recipients. Although the extensive usual and unusual routes of LCMV infection are exceptional there are many parallels with SEOV emergence.
Highlights
The critical role of zoonoses in the emergence of new infectious diseases impacting humans and/or domestic animals has reached a level of near doctrine
A few years after the isolation of HTNV, the closely related Seoul virus (SEOV) was isolated from urban Rattus spp. and was shown to be responsible for HFRS among residents of Seoul, Korea
All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication
Summary
Reviewed by: Armanda Bastos, University of Pretoria, South Africa Chris Whitehouse, United States Food and Drug Administration, United States. Two Old World rodents, house mice (Mus musculus) and Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus), were introduced into and established populations on every continent, save Antarctica. With their travels, they concomitantly introduced several zoonotic agents capable of causing human diseases. The usual “classic” zoonotic cycle of transmission from wild rodent reservoirs to humans includes multiple unusual/unexpected routes. The largest described outbreaks of human disease caused by these viruses are linked to pet rodents. A novel reservoir host, the golden hamster, has supplanted house mice as the major source of LCMV infection, and SEOV outbreaks are linked to fancy rats kept as pets.
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