The Ecology and Phylogeny of Hosts Drive the Enzootic Infection Cycles of Hantaviruses

Matthew T Milholland,Gabriel E Garcia-Peña,Iván Castro-Arellano,James N Mills

doi:10.3390/v11070671

Abstract

Hantaviruses (Family: Hantaviridae; genus: Orthohantavirus) and their associated human diseases occur globally and differ according to their geographic distribution. The structure of small mammal assemblages and phylogenetic relatedness among host species are suggested as strong drivers for the maintenance and spread of hantavirus infections in small mammals. We developed predictive models for hantavirus infection prevalence in rodent assemblages using defined ecological correlates from our current knowledge of hantavirus-host distributions to provide predictive models at the global and continental scale. We utilized data from published research between 1971–2014 and determined the biological and ecological characteristics of small mammal assemblages to predict the prevalence of hantavirus infections. These models are useful in predicting hantavirus disease outbreaks based on environmental and biological information obtained through the surveillance of rodents.

Highlights

IntroductionHantaviruses (order: Bunyavirales; family: Hantaviridae; genus: Orthohantavirus) [1] are among the most widely distributed emerging pathogens known to date [2] and are found on every continent except Antarctica [3]
Hantaviruses [1] are among the most widely distributed emerging pathogens known to date [2] and are found on every continent except Antarctica [3]
Small mammals including rodents, serve as hantavirus hosts by maintaining and amplifying these pathogens in nature with no apparent signs of disease, becoming a source of infection that spreads these viruses to spillover hosts, including humans [6]

Summary

Introduction

Hantaviruses (order: Bunyavirales; family: Hantaviridae; genus: Orthohantavirus) [1] are among the most widely distributed emerging pathogens known to date [2] and are found on every continent except Antarctica [3]. At least 22 of these viruses are known to be pathogenic to humans [4,5]. Small mammals including rodents (order Rodentia), serve as hantavirus hosts by maintaining and amplifying these pathogens in nature with no apparent signs of disease, becoming a source of infection that spreads these viruses to spillover hosts, including humans [6]. The geographic distributions of hantaviruses are dependent upon the natural history of their hosts [5]. Rodents of the families Cricetidae and Muridae are the principal known hosts of hantaviruses [6,7]

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Conclusion