Abstract
In Europe, Puumala virus (PUUV) transmitted by the bank vole (Myodes glareolus) is the causative agent of nephropathia epidemica (NE), a mild form of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. In France, very little is known about the spatial and temporal variability of the virus circulating within bank vole populations. The present study involved monitoring of bank vole population dynamics and PUUV microdiversity over a ten-year period (2000–2009) in two forests of the Ardennes region: Elan and Croix-Scaille. Ardennes region is characterised by different environmental conditions associated with different NE epidemiology. Bank vole density and population parameters were estimated using the capture/marking/recapture method, and blood samples were collected to monitor the overall seroprevalence of PUUV in rodent populations. Phylogenetic analyses of fifty-five sequences were performed to illustrate the genetic diversity of PUUV variants between forests. The pattern of the two forests differed clearly. In the Elan forest, the rodent survival was higher, and this limited turn-over resulted in a lower seroprevalence and diversity of PUUV sequences than in the Croix-Scaille forest. Uncovering the links between host dynamics and virus microevolution is improving our understanding of PUUV distribution in rodents and the NE risk.
Highlights
Within the family Hantaviridae (Order Bunyavirales), the genus Orthohantavirus consists of viruses transmitted to humans via contaminated aerosolised excreta of small rodents.Hantaviruses are distributed worldwide, except in Antarctica, and are closely associated with their mammal vector, in which they do not show any obvious pathogenicity [1]
This study presents ten-year monitoring data for host population dynamics, Puumala virus (PUUV) seroprevalence, and PUUV genetic diversity in two bank vole populations living in two forests of the Ardennes region with different environmental conditions
We show that PUUV microevolution, population dynamics, and seroprevalence of bank voles display different patterns between forests (Table 4)
Summary
Within the family Hantaviridae (Order Bunyavirales), the genus Orthohantavirus consists of viruses transmitted to humans via contaminated aerosolised excreta of small rodents. Several nucleotide substitutions indicated rapid adaptation of transient variants to environmental changes and new stressors [18] These stressors are of multiple origins and include the immune system of individual bank voles, modulated by their age and reproductive and health status [19,20]. The dynamics of the rodent population, including age structure and number of reproductive adults, fluctuates seasonally and annually [21] depending on climate and environmental conditions, including landscape and habitat frequently shaped by anthropic intervention This can directly influence orthohantavirus circulation within their reservoir host and subsequent transmission to humans [22,23,24]. We combined capture/marking/recapture monitoring of the rodent population in these two forests from 2000 to 2009 and phylogenetic analyses to evaluate infected rodent population dynamics and viral microevolution of PUUV in bank vole populations. Results and phylogenetic analyses to evaluate infected rodent population dynamics and viral microevolution of PUUV in bank vole populations
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