Effectiveness Regarding Hantavirus Detection in Rodent Tissue Samples and Urine.

Mónika Madai,Balázs Somogyi,Fanni Földes,Henrietta Papp,Kornélia Kurucz,Ferenc Jakab,Róbert Herczeg,Gábor Kemenesi,Brigitta Zana,Győző Horváth,Safia Zeghbib

doi:10.3390/v13040570

Abstract

The natural hosts of Orthohantaviruses are rodents, soricomorphs and bats, and it is well known that they may cause serious or even fatal diseases among humans worldwide. The virus is persistent among animals and it is shed via urine, saliva and feces throughout the entirety of their lives. We aim to identify the effectiveness of hantavirus detection in rodent tissue samples and urine originating from naturally infected rodents. Initially, animals were trapped at five distinct locations throughout the Transdanubian region in Hungary. Lung, liver, kidney and urine samples were obtained from 163 deceased animals. All organs and urine were tested using nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (nRT-PCR). Furthermore, sera were examined for IgG antibodies against Dobrava–Belgrade virus (DOBV) and Puumala virus (PUUV) by Western blot assay. IgG antibodies against hantaviruses and/or nucleic acid were detected in 25 (15.3%) cases. Among Apodemus, Myodes, and Microtus rodent species, DOBV, PUUV and Tula virus (TULV) were clearly identified. Amid the PCR-positive samples, the nucleic acid of the viruses was detected most effectively in the kidney (100%), while only 55% of screened lung tissues were positive. Interestingly, only three out of 20 rodent urine samples were positive when tested using nRT-PCR. Moreover, five rodents were seropositive without detectable virus nucleic acid in any of the tested organs.

Highlights

Orthohantaviruses (Hantaviridae family) are negative-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses with three genome segments, including the small (S) segment, medium (M) segment and large (L) segment, which encodes the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase [1]
There were 20 hantavirus-positive samples acquired using nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (nRT-PCR) from at least one of the investigated organs. Among these 20 nRT-PCR rodent samples that tested positive, the kidney tissues were positive in each rodent (20/20; 100%), while the fewest PCR-positive samples originated from lung tissue (11/20; 55%)
Yanagihara et al and Gavrilovskaya et al found that Puumala virus (PUUV) infection was persistent among rodents; the virus antigen was detected in lung tissues for nearly a year

Summary

Introduction

Orthohantaviruses (Hantaviridae family) are negative-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses with three genome segments, including the small (S) segment (encodes the nucleoprotein), medium (M) segment (encodes glycoproteins) and large (L) segment, which encodes the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase [1]. PUUV is responsible for more than 9000 infections annually, throughout Europe, with a significantly lower-case fatality rate of 0.1–0.4%. Tula virus (TULV) can be found in Europe, but the human pathogenic nature intrinsic to its species is debated [10,11]. In consideration of their natural animal hosts, these viruses do not cause disease, despite their influential characteristics upon the host’s survival and the fact that they cause histopathological changes regarding infected tissues [4,12,13]. The life-long presence of these viruses in tissues and excreta is questionable

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