Norwalk virus (NV) and Norwalk-like viruses (NLVs) are common etiologic agents of viral gastroenteritis. Viral gastroenteritis is a common disease that is highly transmissible, spreading rapidly through families, institutions, and communities. Because methods for in vitro cultivation of Norwalk etiologic agents are not available, information regarding this syndrome has come largely from studies in human volunteers. Sequential passaging of an NLV through an immunoincompetent newborn pigtail macaque (Macaca nemestrina) may allow for the adaptation of a human NLV to a primate host, thus providing an animal model for investigating this disease. A fecal filtrate of human origin containing NLV, Toronto virus P2-A, was obtained from a patient during an epidemic of viral gastroenteritis. The filtrate was administered via nasogastric tube to three newborn pigtailed macaques. Clinical illness, which was characterized by diarrhea, dehydration, and vomiting, occurred in three monkeys. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and oligonucleotide probe analysis of RNA extracted from the stool samples following infection revealed viral RNA in all inoculated monkeys. Infection was also transmitted experimentally by feeding two additional newborn macaques a fecal filtrate prepared from the three previously infected animals. Detection of viral RNA in the stools of animals that received the fecal filtrate indicates that viral replication occurred in association with clinical illness. The susceptibility of Macaca nemestrina to infection with a Norwalk-like agent will facilitate the study of the mechanisms of the pathogenesis of NLV. This system may also have the potential to serve as a vaccine test model for human epidemic viral gastroenteritis.

The first genetic evidence for the presence of Seoul hantavirus (SEOV) in Indonesia is presented. Partial M segment sequence was recovered from the lung tissue of Rattus norvegicus trapped in central Jakarta. The sequence belongs to SEOV genotype and is most closely related to the strain B-1 from Japan.

We studied evidence of Bartonella henselae andBartonella clarridgeiae infection in 54 cats living in Jakarta, Indonesia. By using an indirect immunofluorescence assay, we found immunoglobulin G antibody to B. henselae in 40 of 74 cats (54%). The blood of 14 feral cats was cultured on rabbit blood agar plates for 28 days. Bartonella-like colonies were identified as B. henselae or B. clarridgeiae by using restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and direct sequencing of the PCR amplicons. Of the cats sampled in the study, 6 of 14 (43%; all feral) were culture positive for B. henselae; 3 of 14 (21%; 2 feral and 1 pet) culture positive for B. clarridgeiae. This is the first report that documents B. henselae andB. clarridgeiae infections in Indonesian cats.

During febrile surveillance in the western Java City of Bandung, Indonesia, a patient with clinical symptoms consistent with hantavirus infection was found to have elevated titers of hantavirus-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies. A subsequent epizoological investigation demonstrated a higher prevalence of hantavirus IgG antibodies in rodents trapped in the vicinity of the patient's home compared with rodents from a control area (13.2% vs. 4.7%, p = 0.036). The Old World Seoul hantavirus was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in the organs of 71% of the seropositive rodents tested. This is the first report of a Seoul virus infection in Indonesia supported by clinical, serological, and epizoological evidences. These findings suggest that hantavirus infection should be on the clinical differential diagnosis when acutely ill febrile patients report for care in western Java.

Ectoparasites were sampled from small mammals collected in West Java, West Sumatra, North Sulawesi, and East Kalimantan, Indonesia, in 2007-2008 and were screened for evidence of infection from bacteria in the Rickettsaceae family. During eight trap nights at eight sites, 208 fleas were collected from 96 of 507 small mammals trapped from four orders (379 Rodentia; 123 Soricomorpha; two Carnivora; three Scandentia). Two species of fleas were collected: Xenopsylla cheopis (n = 204) and Nosopsyllus spp. (n = 4). Among the 208 fleas collected, 171 X. cheopis were removed from rats (Rattus spp.) and 33 X. cheopis from shrews (Suncus murinus). X. cheopis were pooled and tested for DNA from rickettsial agents Rickettsia typhi, Rickettsia felis, and spotted fever group rickettsiae. R. typhi, the agent of murine typhus, was detected in X. cheopis collected from small mammals in West Java and East Kalimantan. R. felis was detected in X. cheopis collected from small mammals in Manado, North Sulawesi. R. felis and spotted fever group rickettsiae were detected in a pool of X. cheopis collected from an animal in East Kalimantan. Sixteen percent of the X. cheopis pools were found positive for Rickettsia spp.; four (10.8%) R. typhi, one (2.7%) R. felis, and one (2.7%) codetection of R. felis and a spotted fever group rickettsia. These data suggest that rickettsial infections remain a threat to human health across Indonesia.