Specific features of hantavirus infection in bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) were studied in the endemic area of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in the foothills of the Ural mountains, using long-term observations on living animals by the capture-mark-recapture (CMR) method. The results demonstrated that the infection naturally circulating in the voles is chronic (lasting for up to 15 months) and asymptomatic, with a peak of Puumala virus accumulation and release from the organism during the first month after infection. It was shown that the bank vole population includes young animals with maternal immunity, which remain resistant to the Puumala virus infection for 3-3.5 months. The infection rate in voles depended on the age and sexual maturity of animals. The greatest proportion of seropositive animals was observed among overwintered males. Seroconversion in voles was more frequent during the period of high reproductive activity.

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An immunoglobulin G avidity assay was used to determine recent and past hantavirus infection in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus). Sera of experimentally infected bank voles were studied at different time intervals. The avidity of specific IgG increased over time after infection. This experimental data were used to estimate the time after onset of hantavirus infection in naturally infected bank voles caught in an endemic area. The possibility to discriminate between recently infected animals and animals infected some time ago is important since the proportion of recently infected bank voles represents the intensity of the epizootic which in turn correlates to the risk of humans to contract the disease.