Serological Survey of Hantavirus in Inhabitants from Tropical and Subtropical Areas of Brazil

Jansen Araujo,Felipe Alves Morais,Monica Correia Lima,Alexandre Pereira,Cristina Farah Tófoli,Fábio Carmona De Jesus Maués,Tatiana Lopes Ometto,Tiene Zingano Hinke,Luiz Tadeu Moraes Figueiredo,Luís Marcelo Aranha Camargo,Marcello Schiavo Nardi,Marcos Lazaro Moreli,Lilia Mara Dutra,Sati Jaber Mahmud,Aparecida Santo Pietro Pereira,Renata Hurtado,Edison Luiz Durigon

doi:10.1155/2016/8628949

Abstract

Brazil has reported more than 1,600 cases of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HPS) since 1993, with a 39% rate of reported fatalities. Using a recombinant nucleocapsid protein of Araraquara virus, we performed ELISA to detect IgG antibodies against hantavirus in human sera. The aim of this study was to analyze hantavirus antibody levels in inhabitants from a tropical area (Amazon region) in Rondônia state and a subtropical (Atlantic Rain Forest) region in São Paulo state, Brazil. A total of 1,310 serum samples were obtained between 2003 and 2008 and tested by IgG-ELISA, and 82 samples (6.2%), of which 62 were from the tropical area (5.8%) and 20 from the subtropical area (8.3%), tested positive. Higher levels of hantavirus antibody were observed in inhabitants of the populous subtropical areas compared with those from the tropical areas in Brazil.

Highlights

Hantaviruses are emerging pathogens that have gained increasing attention in the last few decades [1]
The hantaviruses found in Eurasia (e.g., Hantaan and Seoul virus) are harbored by rodents of the Murinae and Arvicolinae subfamilies and cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in infected humans
In the Machado river group (MR), 22 (1.6%) of the 435 participants examined had IgG antibodies to hantavirus

Summary

Introduction

Hantaviruses are emerging pathogens that have gained increasing attention in the last few decades [1]. The hantaviruses found in Eurasia (e.g., Hantaan and Seoul virus) are harbored by rodents of the Murinae and Arvicolinae subfamilies and cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in infected humans. On the other hand the hantaviruses found in the Americas (e.g., Sin Nombre, Juquitiba, and Castelo dos Sonhos) are harbored by rodents of the Sigmodontinae subfamily and cause Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) in humans [3,4,5]. There are reports of seropositive domestic animals such as dogs and cats, suggesting that these become infected from contact with infected primary hosts. Another interesting study fresh published [5], demonstrates pet rats and whales at United Kingdom. There is neither evidence of disease in these species nor of a role as a reservoir for human infection

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion