Abstract
Background: Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is well-known in South and North America; however, not enough data exist for the Caribbean. The first report of clinical orthohantavirus infection was obtained in Barbados, but no other evidence of clinical orthohantavirus infections among adults in the Caribbean has been documented. Methods: Using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests followed by confirmatory testing with immunofluorescent assays (IFA), immunochromatographic (ICG) tests, and pseudotype focus reduction neutralization tests (pFRNT), we retrospectively and prospectively detected orthohantavirus-specific antibodies among patients with febrile illness in Barbados. Results: The orthohantavirus prevalence rate varied from 5.8 to 102.6 cases per 100,000 persons among febrile patients who sought medical attention annually between 2008 and 2016. Two major orthohantavirus epidemics occurred in Barbados during 2010 and 2016. Peak orthohantavis infections were observed observed during the rainy season (August) and prevalence rates were significantly higher in females than males and in patients from urban parishes than rural parishes. Conclusions: Orthohantavirus infections are still occurring in Barbados and in some patients along with multiple pathogen infections (CHIKV, ZIKV, DENV and Leptospira). Orthohantavirus infections are more prevalent during periods of high rainfall (rainy season) with peak transmission in August; females are more likely to be infected than males and infections are more likely among patients from urban rather than rural parishes in Barbados.
Highlights
Orthohantaviruses are single-stranded negative-sense RNA viruses approximately120 to 160 nm in diameter from the Hantaviridae virus family that are maintained in rodent reservoirs [1,2,3]
There are approximately 58 unique orthohantaviruses listed by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses distributed globally, which are arranged in the Hantaviridae family and Orthohantavirus genus where in some cases different orthohantavirus strains are arranged in the same species, e.g., Dobrava virus (DOBV), Kurkino virus, Saaremaa virus, and Sochi virus are currently considered distinct viruses all belonging to the same species, Dobrava-Belgrade orthohantavirus [3,4,5]
To provide updated data on human orthohantavirus epidemiology in Barbados, two serosurveys were conducted in this study, namely (a) a retrospective serosurvey study using archived acute sera (orthohantavirus immunoglobulin M (IgM)- and immunoglobulin G (IgG)-seropositive) and (b) a prospective serosurvey study (
Summary
Orthohantaviruses are single-stranded negative-sense RNA viruses approximately120 to 160 nm in diameter from the Hantaviridae virus family that are maintained in rodent reservoirs [1,2,3]. There are approximately 58 unique orthohantaviruses listed by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses distributed globally, which are arranged in the Hantaviridae family and Orthohantavirus genus where in some cases different orthohantavirus strains are arranged in the same species, e.g., Dobrava virus (DOBV), Kurkino virus, Saaremaa virus, and Sochi virus are currently considered distinct viruses all belonging to the same 4.0/). American orthohantavirus, was detected in humans in 1984 [6] and was followed by the 1993 outbreak of Sin Nombre virus (SNV) [7] in North America and the 1995 cases of Andes virus (ANDV) in South America [8,9]. The identification of novel orthohantaviruses and genotypes continues to occur due to enhanced research globally and especially in North and South America, where some 20 endemic and distinct viruses within 12 virus species have been identified [10]. Conclusions: Orthohantavirus infections are still occurring in Barbados and in some patients along with multiple pathogen infections (CHIKV, ZIKV, DENV and Leptospira)
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