Abstract
Since the recognition of hantavirus as the agent responsible for haemorrhagic fever in Eurasia in the 1970s and, 20 years later, the descovery of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the Americas, the genus Hantavirus has been continually described throughout the World in a variety of wild animals. The diversity of wild animals infected with hantaviruses has only recently come into focus as a result of expanded wildlife studies. The known reservoirs are more than 80, belonging to 51 species of rodents, 7 bats (order Chiroptera) and 20 shrews and moles (order Soricomorpha). More than 80genetically related viruses have been classified within Hantavirus genus; 25 recognized as human pathogens responsible for a large spectrum of diseases in the Old and New World. In Brazil, where the diversity of mammals and especially rodents is considered one of the largest in the world, 9 hantavirus genotypes have been identified in 12 rodent species belonging to the genus Akodon, Calomys, Holochilus, Oligoryzomys, Oxymycterus, Necromys and Rattus. Considering the increasing number of animals that have been implicated as reservoirs of different hantaviruses, the understanding of this diversity is important for evaluating the risk of distinct hantavirus species as human pathogens.
Highlights
The genus Hantavirus, which consists of more than 80 genetically related viruses, was first identified as an agent of the human disease haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in the1970s [1,2]
Since hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) was identified in the United States, the number of new hantaviruses discovered in rodent reservoirs and more recently in insectivorous and bats has grown steadily
These species could develop more frequent contact with human populations [32,33]. In this context and given the growing number of publications over the past two decades on hantaviruses in wild reservoirs, this review addresses relevant aspects of the global distribution of hantavirus reservoirs, with an emphasis on the Americas— Brazil, and provides an update on the information available in the scientific literature
Summary
The genus Hantavirus, which consists of more than 80 genetically related viruses, was first identified as an agent of the human disease haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in the. Given the importance of correct taxonomic identification of reservoirs for a complete understanding of hantavirus transmission cycles and for assessing their potential as host transmitters of hantavirus to humans, certain factors that increase our understanding of the virus-host interaction dynamics and the risk of human infection must be identified. Environmental changes that reduce rodent diversity is another important factor because environmental changes permit aggressive encounters between animals, thereby increasing interactions between host species that can trigger a cascade of greater viral transmission within a single species or across different rodent species and can lead to greater risk of spillover (transfer of hantavirus from one rodent species to another) in rodents Depending on their behavior, these species could develop more frequent contact with human populations [32,33]. America is determined based on the known distribution of its hosts [34,35,36]
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