Abstract
Samples from rodents captured on a farm in Venezuela in February 1997 were tested for arenavirus, antibody against Guanarito virus (GTOV), and antibody against Pirital virus (PIRV). Thirty-one (48.4%) of 64 short-tailed cane mice (Zygodontomys brevicauda) were infected with GTOV, 1 Alston's cotton rat (Sigmodon alstoni) was infected with GTOV, and 36 (64.3%) of 56 other Alston's cotton rats were infected with PIRV. The results of analyses of field and laboratory data suggested that horizontal transmission is the dominant mode of GTOV transmission in Z. brevicauda mice and that vertical transmission is an important mode of PIRV transmission in S. alstoni rats. The results also suggested that bodily secretions and excretions from most GTOV-infected short-tailed cane mice and most PIRV-infected Alston's cotton rats may transmit the viruses to humans.
Highlights
Samples from rodents captured on a farm in Venezuela in February 1997 were tested for arenavirus, antibody against Guanarito virus (GTOV), and antibody against Pirital virus (PIRV)
The analyses of the ELISA data indicated that the arenaviruses isolated from Alston’s cotton rat FHV-4149 and the short-tailed cane mice are strains of GTOV and that the arenaviruses isolated from the Alston’s cotton rats other than FHV-4149 are strains of PIRV
The short-tailed cane mouse is the principal host of GTOV, and Alston’s cotton rat is the principal host of PIRV
Summary
Samples from rodents captured on a farm in Venezuela in February 1997 were tested for arenavirus, antibody against Guanarito virus (GTOV), and antibody against Pirital virus (PIRV). Thirty-one (48.4%) of 64 short-tailed cane mice (Zygodontomys brevicauda) were infected with GTOV, 1 Alston’s cotton rat (Sigmodon alstoni) was infected with GTOV, and 36 (64.3%) of 56 other Alston’s cotton rats were infected with PIRV. The results suggested that bodily secretions and excretions from most GTOV-infected short-tailed cane mice and most PIRVinfected Alston’s cotton rats may transmit the viruses to humans. The Tacaribe serocomplex viruses (family Arenaviridae, genus Arenavirus) known to occur in Venezuela are Guanarito virus (GTOV) and Pirital virus (PIRV) (1,2). The results of published studies (2,5) indicated that the short-tailed cane mouse (Zygodontomys brevicauda) is the principal host of GTOV and that the Alston’s cotton rat (Sigmodon alstoni) is the principal host of PIRV. The objective of our study was to extend knowledge of the natural host relationships of these arenaviruses, the relative importance of various modes of intraspecies virus transmission and the prevalence of virus shedding among naturally infected rodents
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