Genetic Relatedness of Deer Mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) Infected with Sin Nombre Virus

Abstract

The deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) is the primary rodent host of Sin Nombre virus (SNV), the principal etiologic agent of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the United States. Many characteristics of SNV infections of deer mice are unknown. To better understand the transmission mechanisms of SNV in deer mice, we conducted mark-recapture sampling and genetic analyses to study deer mouse population density and genetic relatedness from 2001 to 2002. We genotyped each deer mouse at 10 microsatellite loci to estimate relatedness among SNV-infected and SNV-uninfected groups, demographic categories, and individuals. Estimates of average overall population densities ranged from 1.15 to 14.95 deer mice/ha. Estimates of average population densities of SNV-infected deer mice ranged from 0 to 1.55 deer mice/ha. When evaluated as groups at one of two study sites, SNV-infected deer mice were more related to one another, on average, than they were to their uninfected cohorts. Pairwise coefficients of relatedness among individuals indicated that several deer mice infected with SNV were closely related. Most infected mice were males. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that transmission of SNV often is associated with breeding activities and aggression among males during the breeding season and suggest that post-birth behavioral associations among adults and juveniles may be a factor in the transmission of SNV.

A Global Perspective on Hantavirus Ecology, Epidemiology, and Disease

“…In nature, the transmission of Old and New World hantaviruses between rodent reservoirs or to a nonreservoir rodent is thought to be primarily through aggressive behavior and exposure to saliva and excreta (121,143,369). Infection in the rodent has been thought to be subclinical.…”

Hantavirus‐induced immunity in rodent reservoirs and humans

“…In the wild, immunosuppression, stresses, or seasonal signals are likely to induce an increase in hantavirus replication, shedding, and consequently transmission. Moreover, bite wounds might be more productive routes of transmission than inhalation (62)(63)(64)(65)(66)(67). Urine aerosols generated during aggression behavior could also explain the correlation between wounding and hantavirus infection in natural reservoirs.…”

Recent Advances in Hantavirus Molecular Biology and Disease

“…Depending on the population density, up to 50% of any given population of rodents are seropostive and considered as silent carriers for hantaviruses. Through experimental infections and field surveys, it has been shown that the transmission among rodents is exclusively horizontal and it occurs via inhalation of infected aerosols, through saliva or excreta, biting, and other aggressive behavioral interactions Glass et al, 1988;Hinson et al, 2004;Hutchinson et al, 2000;Kariwa et al, 1998;Lee et al, 1981a,b;Root et al, 2004). Unlike other rodent-borne viruses such as arenaviruses, there is no vertical transmission from the dam to its offspring, and maternal antibodies can protect offspring from infection for several months (Kallio et al, 2006;Taruishi et al, 2008).…”