Prevalence of Hantaviruses Harbored by Murid Rodents in Northwestern Ukraine and Discovery of a Novel Puumala Virus Strain.

Evan P Williams,Olena Nesterova,Iryna Khuda,Gregory E Glass,Mariah K Taylor,Colleen B Jonsson,Lyudmyla Chernenko,Vira V Kutseva,Igor Nebogatkin,Nataliia Yanko,Iryna Demchyshyna,Oleksandra A Hluzd

doi:10.3390/v13081640

Abstract

In Europe, two species of hantaviruses, Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) and Dobrava orthohantavirus (DOBV), cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in humans. The rodent reservoirs for these viruses are common throughout Ukraine, and hence, the goal of this study was to identify the species and strains of hantaviruses circulating in this region. We conducted surveillance of small rodent populations in a rural region in northwestern Ukraine approximately 30 km from Poland. From the 424 small mammals captured, we identified nine species, of which the most abundant were Myodes glareolus, the bank vole (45%); Apodemus flavicollis, the yellow-necked mouse (29%); and Apodemus agrarius, the striped field mouse (14.6%) Using an indirect immunofluorescence assay, 15.7%, 20.5%, and 33.9% of the sera from M. glareolus, A. glareolus, and A. flavicollis were positive for hantaviral antibodies, respectively. Additionally, we detected antibodies to the hantaviral antigen in one Microtus arvalis, one Mus musculus, and one Sorex minutus. We screened the lung tissue for hantaviral RNA using next-generation sequencing and identified PUUV sequences in 25 small mammals, including 23 M. glareolus, 1 M. musculus, and 1 A. flavicollis, but we were unable to detect DOBV sequences in any of our A. agrarius specimens. The percent identity matrix and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of the S-segment of PUUV from 14 M. glareolus lungs suggest the highest similarity (92–95% nucleotide or 99–100% amino acid) with the Latvian lineage. This new genetic information will contribute to future molecular surveillance of human cases in Ukraine.

Highlights

In the family Hantaviridae, order Bunyavirales, more than 47 distinct species of hantaviruses have been identified in rodents, moles, shrews, and bats across the globe [1]
The lack of information on diseases caused by hantaviruses is two-fold; firstly, there have been few surveillance efforts on the reservoirs of viruses that cause these diseases, and secondly, there is lack of molecular tools for the diagnostic identification of the causative virus strains in the region
The prevalence of reservoir hosts of hantaviruses and the incidence of cases in neighboring countries suggests that hantaviruses are circulating within the country, there has only been one previous study that reported the seroprevalence within humans and the rodent reservoir [12,13]

Summary

Introduction

In the family Hantaviridae, order Bunyavirales, more than 47 distinct species of hantaviruses have been identified in rodents, moles, shrews, and bats across the globe [1]. Some species within the genus Orthohantavirus, harbored by rodents, cause serious disease when transmitted to humans. In Europe and Asia, human cases of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) occur following aerosol transmission of excreta with. Viruses 2021, 13, 1640 disease when transmitted to humans. In Europe and Asia, human cases of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) occur following aerosol transmission of excreta with hantaviruses hantavirusescarried carriedby bytwo tworodent rodentgenera, genera,Apodemus. In (HTNV)is is carried and is found easteast of the Mountains, in China, China, and Korea, Dobrava-Belgrade orthohantavirus (DOBV)isisharbored harbored by by A. A. agrarius agrarius (striped (stripedfield fieldmouse) mouse)and andA. A.flavicollis flavicollis(yellow-necked (yellow-neckedmouse) mouse)and andisisfound foundininnumerous numerous

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