Central European Dobrava Hantavirus Isolate from a Striped Field Mouse ( Apodemus agrarius )

Abstract

Dobrava virus (DOBV) is a hantavirus that causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) inEurope. It is hosted by at least two rodent species, Apodemus flavicollis and A. agrarius. According to their natural hosts they form the distinct genetic lineages DOBV-Af and DOBV-Aa, respectively. We have now established a DOBV isolate named Slovakia (SK/Aa) from an A. agrarius animal captured in Slovakia. The complete S and M and partial L segment nucleotide sequences of the new isolate were determined. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the SK/Aa isolate clustered together with the other DOBV-Aa sequences amplified from A. agrarius before and can be taken as the representative of this genetic lineage. SK/Aa, in comparison with a DOBV-Af isolate, was used for serotyping neutralizing antibodies of HFRS patients in Central Europe. Most patients' sera exhibited a higher endpoint titer when probed with our new isolate, suggesting that DOBV-Aa strains are responsible for most of the DOBV-caused HFRS cases in this region.Hantaviruses represent a unique genus Hantavirus within the Bunyaviridae family. They are "emerging viruses" that cause two human zoonoses: hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. The virus genome consists of three segments of negative-stranded RNA; the large (L) segment encodes the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, the medium (M) segment the glycoprotein precursor (GPC), and the small (S) segment of the nucleocapsid (N) protein. In contrast to other genera of the Bunyaviridae family, hantaviruses are not transmitted by arthropods. Instead, they are spread by aerosolized rodent excreta and produce a chronic infection with no apparent harm in their natural hosts, rodents of the family Muridae (18,28,45,46). In Europe, at least two hantaviruses, Dobrava virus (DOBV) and Puumala virus (PUUV), are known to be pathogenic for humans (for reviews, see references 18 and 37). In addition, a single case of renal syndrome with pulmonary involvement has been very recently associated with infection by Tula virus (14). Currently, DOBV is intensively studied because of its unique properties; different virus lineages exist in different regions of Europe, and these lineages are harbored by different host reservoirs and probably display different levels of virulence in humans.A viable DOBV strain was isolated from lungs of a yellownecked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) captured in a natural focus of HFRS in Dobrava village, Slovenia, South-East Europe (5). This virus isolate represents the DOBV prototype strain (named Slovenia or Slo/Af here) from A. flavicollis. Moreover, a second DOBV cell culture isolate (Ano-Poroia or AP/Af) has been established from an A. flavicollis mouse trapped in Greece (32, 34). Molecular phylogenetic analyses of nucleotide sequences from these cell culture-derived virus isolates, as well as from further South-East European A. flavicollis-associated strains, demonstrated their close mutual relationship (2, 4, 34, 35). These strains form a unique A. fla...

Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome Caused by 2 Lineages of Dobrava Hantavirus, Russia1

“…This particular virus lineage is named DOBV-Aa, and a cell culture isolate of DOBV-Aa has been generated (14,15). The severity of HFRS caused by DOBV-Aa in central Europe is mild to moderate, less severe than its clinical course in Balkan countries associated with the DOBV-Af variant hosted by A. fl avicollis (14,16,17).…”

“…Strains from central Europe and European central Russia form the DOBV-Aa lineage, which is distinct from Saaremaa strains from northeastern Europe (12,15). DOBV ecology and evolution have recently become even more complex when DOBV was detected in an additional rodent host, A. ponticus (Caucasian wood mouse), captured in Sochi district, in the southern part of European Russia (21).…”

“…The standard QIAamp viral RNA mini spin protocol was performed. Amplifi cation and sequencing of the entire S and M segments and partial L segment sequences were performed as described for the DOBV SK/Aa isolate (15).…”

Efficacy of arbidol on lethal hantaan virus infections in suckling mice and in vitro

“…More than 10 000 cases of HFRS are reported annually worldwide, mostly in Asia and Europe [3,4] . Lethality ranges from 1% for Puumala virus (PUUV) and Seoul virus infections to approximately 15% for Hantaan (HTNV) virus infections [5][6][7][8] .…”

The broad spectrum of hantaviruses and their hosts in Central Europe

“…Two Central European DOBV-Kurkino cell culture isolates from mice allowing in vitro studies currently exist, one from Slovakia (Klempa et al, 2005) and the other from Germany (Popugaeva et al, 2012). In vitro studies with the German isolate showed that the virus uses cellular β3 integrins and Decay Accelerating Factor as entry receptors as has also been shown for the highly pathogenic Hantaan virus.…”