Rodent Abundance and Hantavirus Infection in Protected Area, East-Central Argentina

Maroli, Malena; Vadell, María Victoria; Padula, Paula; Villafañe, Isabel E. Gómez

doi:10.3201/eid2401.171372

Cited by 17 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Even though O. flavescens inhabit all islands, seropositive individuals were only found in three out of seven, suggesting a spatial heterogeneity in the virus distribution. This is consistent with other orthohantavirus-host systems that evidence the existence of spatial focality at different various scales [21,[52][53][54][55][56].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Orthohantavirus infection in two rodent species that inhabit wetlands in the central-east region of Argentina

Maroli

Bellomo

Coelho

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is an emerging infectious disease caused by orthohantaviruses associated to rodents of the Cricetidae family, Sigmodontinae subfamily, in the American continent. Previous research carried out in central-east region of Argentina, recorded potential orthohantavirus host rodents in diverse environments, but infected rodents were particularly present on Paraná wetlands islands. The aims of this research were (1) to determine the orthohantavirus host in the rodent community focused on islands of Paraná River Delta, an endemic zone of HPS, (2) to identify temporal and spatial factors associated with orthohantavirus prevalence variations, (3) to compare the individual characteristics of seropositive and seronegative rodents and, (4) to explore the association between orthohantavirus seroprevalence and rodent community characteristics in the Paraná River Delta, central-east region of Argentina. Capture of small rodents was done between August 2014 and May 2018 on seven islands located in central-east region of Argentina. In this HPS endemic zone, 14.9% of Oligoryzomys flavescens and 1.5% of Oxymycterus rufus of the sampled rodents had antibodies against orthohantavirus. The individuals that were more likely to become seropositive were the reproductively active adult males. Even though O. flavescens inhabit all islands, the seropositive individuals were only present in two of these, suggesting spatial heterogeneity in the viral distribution. We found that two months later of periods with low temperature, seroprevalence increased probably due to a higher proportion of adults in the population. Additionally, higher seroprevalence was associated with greater diversity of the rodent assemblage. This association could support the idea that a rescue effect or amplification of the prevalence of orthohantavirus would be taking place by means of secondary host as O. rufus, a novelty for this species and for the region. This finding may be significant if one takes into account that O. rufus was the second most abundant species in the area of islands studied and is one of the most abundant species on the islands and riparian sectors of the study zone. In conclusion, the relative risk of HPS could be high on wetlands of Paraná River Delta in the central-east region of Argentina where several favourable factors for the transmission of orthohantavirus are combined, such as the presence of several host species, two of them numerically dominant, high percentages of infection and a high degree of occupational exposure of the human population due to rural activities, the most frequently associated nationwide with HPS.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Orthohantavirus infection in two rodent species that inhabit wetlands in the central-east region of Argentina

Maroli

Bellomo

Coelho

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…However, the reservoir host and pathogen dynamics are complex and outbreaks depend on several factors, such as a critical host population density necessary to maintain infections and enough time to sustain a chain of transmission after an increase in the carrying capacity [ 47 ]. Although low antibody prevalence was frequently reported in periods of high rodent density, when juveniles not yet infected individuals prevailed in the population [ 28 , 30 ]; the highest absolute numbers of antibody-positive animals were associated with the highest population densities, thus the relatively higher risk to humans in central Argentina [ 34 , 35 , 37 ]. Despite this complexity, the rainfall and/or rodent abundance has been associated with an increased risk of viral transmission to human populations even without any knowledge about hantavirus dynamics in the host populations [ 17 – 19 , 21 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, a meta-analysis on rodent outbreaks "ratadas" in South America showed that most rodent species respond quite soon to rainfall peaks, about 3 to 6 months after the rains [ 48 ]. Similarly, the accumulated precipitations in the previous months positively affected rodent abundance in central Argentina [ 34 , 35 ]. The present study corroborates the significance of the rainfall in the transmission of hantavirus to human populations, probably related to a bottom-up trophic cascade effects on potential rodent hosts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because of the horizontal transmission of hantavirus in the reservoir populations, the longevity of even a small proportion of the host population in cold months may provide a trans-seasonal mechanism for virus persistence [ 29 ]. Empirical studies in central Argentina found the highest rodent abundances were preceded by warmer winters [ 34 , 50 ]; the larger the overwintered cohort the higher of population peaks [ 50 ]. Because seasonal breeding in most mammals is related to the physiological stress associated with thermoregulatory energetic demand that produces reproductive suppression to keep up energy balance, warm winter temperatures may modify the reproductive period to the degree of winter breeding [ 51 , 52 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Longitudinal studies on rodents host infections in central [28][29][30] and south Argentina [31][32][33] reported a seasonal pattern for rodent density and viral antibody prevalence, although generally not synchronic. Additionally, a higher abundance of rodent reservoirs was associated with warm and rainy weather in central [34,35] and southern Argentina [36]. However, the relationship between climatic variability and the transmission of hantavirus has not been fully explored, particularly in northwestern Argentina, where the highest HPS prevalence of the country occurs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome outbreaks associated with climate variability in Northwestern Argentina, 1997–2017

Ferro

Bellomo

López³

et al. 2020

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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Background Rodent-borne hantaviruses (genus Orthohantavirus) are the etiologic agents causing two human diseases: hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Euroasia; and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in North and South America. In South America fatality rates of HPS can reach up to 35%–50%. The transmission of pathogenic hantaviruses to humans occurs mainly via inhalation of aerosolized excreta from infected rodents. Thus, the epidemiology of HPS is necessarily linked to the ecology of their rodent hosts and the contact with a human, which in turn may be influenced by climatic variability. Here we examined the relationship between climatic variables and hantavirus transmission aim to develop an early warning system of potential hantavirus outbreaks based on ecologically relevant climatic factors. Methodology and main findings We compiled reported HPS cases in northwestern Argentina during the 1997–2017 period and divided our data into biannual, quarterly, and bimestrial time periods to allow annual and shorter time delays to be observed. To evaluate the relationship of hantavirus transmission with mean temperature and precipitation we used dynamic regression analysis. We found a significant association between HPS incidence and lagged rainfall and temperature with a delay of 2 to 6 months. For the biannual and quarterly models, hantavirus transmission was positively associated with lagged rainfall and temperature; whereas the bimestrial models indicate a direct relationship with the rainfall but inverse for temperature in the second lagged period. Conclusions/Significance This work demonstrates that climate variability plays a significant role in the transmission of hantavirus in northwestern Argentina. The model developed in this study provides a basis for the forecast of potential HPS outbreaks based on climatic parameters. Our findings are valuable for the development of public health policies and prevention strategies to mitigate possible outbreaks. Nonetheless, a surveillance program on rodent population dynamics would lead to a more accurate forecast of HPS outbreaks.

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Epidemiology and Control: From Principles to Pandemics

Kaslow

Bell

2022

Viral Infections of Humans

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Rodent Abundance and Hantavirus Infection in Protected Area, East-Central Argentina

Cited by 17 publications

References 13 publications

Orthohantavirus infection in two rodent species that inhabit wetlands in the central-east region of Argentina

Orthohantavirus infection in two rodent species that inhabit wetlands in the central-east region of Argentina

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome outbreaks associated with climate variability in Northwestern Argentina, 1997–2017

Epidemiology and Control: From Principles to Pandemics

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