Abstract
Southeastern Asia is a recognised hotspot for emerging infectious diseases, many of which have an animal origin. Mammarenavirus infections contribute significantly to the human disease burden in both Africa and the Americas, but little data exists for Asia. To date only two mammarenaviruses, the widely spread lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus and the recently described Wēnzhōu virus have been identified in this region, but the zoonotic impact in Asia remains unknown. Here we report the presence of a novel mammarenavirus and of a genetic variant of the Wēnzhōu virus and provide evidence of mammarenavirus-associated human infection in Asia. The association of these viruses with widely distributed mammals of diverse species, commonly found in human dwellings and in peridomestic habitats, illustrates the potential for widespread zoonotic transmission and adds to the known aetiologies of infectious diseases for this region.
Highlights
Rodents of several species are known hosts of numerous zoonotic pathogens (Luis et al, 2013), and are amongst the peridomestic ensemble that benefit from how humans are modifying the landscape (Shochat et al, 2006)
In the course of a survey for rodent-borne mammarenaviruses, we identified a genetic variant of the recently identified Wenzhou virus in Cambodia - provisionally named Cardamones - in rodents belonging to two widespread species, brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) and Pacific rats (R. exulans), which are commonly found in proximity to humans
To assess whether mammarenaviruses are present in Southeastern Asian small mammals, we used a previously described RT-PCR (Vieth et al, 2007) (Supplementary file 1A) to screen 627 homogenised lung samples from small mammals of twenty species (Supplementary file 1B) collected from seven sites
Summary
Rodents of several species are known hosts of numerous zoonotic pathogens (Luis et al, 2013), and are amongst the peridomestic ensemble that benefit from how humans are modifying the landscape (Shochat et al, 2006). Their increased presence will amplify human-rodent encounter rates and opportunities for zoonotic transmission, likely creating an increased risk for human health (Young et al, 2014). Wenzhou virus was identified in China in rodents belonging to four Rattus species, Niviventer niviventer and in Asian house shrews (Suncus murinus), but has not yet been associated with disease. Human infection with LCMV predominantly results in a relatively mild influenza-like illness
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