Abstract
Immunoglobulin G against Whitewater Arroyo virus or lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus was found in 41 (3.5%) of 1,185 persons in the United States who had acute central nervous system disease or undifferentiated febrile illnesses. The results of analyses of antibody titers in paired serum samples suggest that a North American Tacaribe serocomplex virus was the causative agent of the illnesses in 2 persons and that lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus was the causative agent of the illnesses in 3 other antibody-positive persons in this study. The results of this study suggest that Tacaribe serocomplex viruses native to North America, as well as lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, are causative agents of human disease in the United States.
Highlights
Immunoglobulin G against Whitewater Arroyo virus or lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus was found in 41 (3.5%) of 1,185 persons in the United States who had acute central nervous system disease or undifferentiated febrile illnesses
(3.8%) of 131 Seminole Indians sampled in southern Florida [16], and antibody to a Tacaribe serocomplex virus was found in 2 (0.24%) of 829 persons who had worked with cricetid rodents in North America [15,17]
The results of our current study strengthen the notion that Tacaribe serocomplex viruses enzootic in North America are infectious in humans
Summary
Immunoglobulin G against Whitewater Arroyo virus or lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus was found in 41 (3.5%) of 1,185 persons in the United States who had acute central nervous system disease or undifferentiated febrile illnesses. The results of this study suggest that Tacaribe serocomplex viruses native to North America, as well as lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, are causative agents of human disease in the United States. The arenaviruses (family Arenaviridae, genus Arenavirus) known to occur in North America include Whitewater Arroyo virus (WWAV), 7 other members of the Tacaribe serocomplex (Table 1), and lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV, the prototypic member of the lymphocytic choriomeningitis–Lassa serocomplex). Five South American members of the Tacaribe serocomplex, LCMV, and Lassa virus are etiologic agents of severe febrile illnesses in humans [10,11]. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether humans have been infected with North American Tacaribe serocomplex viruses
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