Abstract
Slovenia is a very diverse country from a natural geography point of view, with many different habitats within a relatively small area, in addition to major geological and climatic differences. It is therefore not surprising that several small mammal species have been confirmed to harbour hantaviruses: A. flavicollis (Dobrava virus), A. agrarius (Dobrava virus–Kurkino), M. glareolus (Puumala virus), S. areanus (Seewis virus), M. agrestis, M. arvalis and M. subterraneus (Tula virus). Three of the viruses, namely the Dobrava, Dobrava–Kurkino and Puumala viruses, cause disease in humans, with significant differences in the severity of symptoms. Due to changes in haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome cases (HFRS) epidemiology, a detailed study on phylogenetic diversity and molecular epidemiology of pathogenic and non-pathogenic hantaviruses circulating in ecologically diverse endemic regions was performed. The study presents one of the largest collections of hantavirus L, M and S sequences obtained from hosts and patients within a single country. Several genetic lineages were determined for each hantavirus species, with higher diversity among non-pathogenic compared to pathogenic viruses. For pathogenic hantaviruses, a significant geographic clustering of human- and rodent-derived sequences was confirmed. Several geographic and ecological factors were recognized as influencing and limiting the formation of endemic areas.
Highlights
In Slovenia, the first hantavirus infection was described in 1954, when a patient was infected presumably with the Puumala virus (PUUV) during forestry work in the Pohorje region [1].Following a number of severe haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome cases (HFRS) in the southeastern part of Slovenia, the Dobrava virus (DOBV) was isolated in 1988 from the lungs of a yellow-necked mouse captured in Dobrava village
For the purpose of the present study, 98 animal samples were selected from all five zoogeographic regions in Slovenia; PUUV sequences were obtained from 40 bank voles, DOBV–Dobrava sequences were obtained from 36 yellow-necked mice, DOBV–Kurkino sequences were obtained from nine striped field mice, TULV sequences from six voles and SWSV sequences from seven shrews (Figure 1)
Thirty-one species of small mammals can be found in Slovenia [19,20]
Summary
In Slovenia, the first hantavirus infection was described in 1954, when a patient was infected presumably with the Puumala virus (PUUV) during forestry work in the Pohorje region [1]. Co-existence of both DOBV and PUUV in a single endemic region has been demonstrated and it was shown that the viruses are capable of causing HFRS with significant differences in severity [3]. Investigation of Slovenian HFRS cases caused by PUUV has shown the existence of two distinct genetic lineages that are grouping based on their geographical origin [5]. Non-pathogenic hantaviruses (Tula and Seewis viruses) circulate in the same zoonotic regions. Three highly divergent genetic lineages of the Seewis virus (SWSV), detected in S. araneus, were recently reported in Slovenia. Increasing amplitude and magnitude of HFRS outbreaks in the country and availability of diverse animal collection has enabled us to perform a detailed study on the phylogenetic diversity and molecular epidemiology of pathogenic and non-pathogenic hantaviruses
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