Published in:
01-09-2018 | Original Contribution
Silent Orthohantavirus Circulation Among Humans and Small Mammals from Central Minas Gerais, Brazil
Authors:
Carolina Dourado Amaral, Galileu Barbosa Costa, William Marciel de Souza, Pedro Augusto Alves, Iara Apolinário Borges, Aline Lavado Tolardo, Marília Farignoli Romeiro, Betânia Paiva Drumond, Jônatas Santos Abrahão, Erna Geessien Kroon, Adriano Pereira Paglia, Luiz Tadeu Moraes Figueiredo, Giliane de Souza Trindade
Published in:
EcoHealth
|
Issue 3/2018
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Abstract
New World orthohantaviruses are emerging RNA viruses that cause hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS). These viruses are a burden to public health around the world with a lethality rate of around 60%. In South America, rodents of Sigmodontinae subfamily are the main reservoirs of orthohantaviruses. We described a serosurvey for orthohantaviruses circulation in an apparently healthy human population and small mammals from rural areas in Central Minas Gerais State, Brazil. A total of 240 individuals and 50 small mammals (26 rodents belonging to 10 different species and 24 marsupials from 4 different species) were sampled during 2012–2013. The seroprevalence rates of IgG/IgM antibodies in humans were 7.1 and 1.6%, respectively. Only one rodent, an Oligoryzomys nigripes captured in peridomestic area, tested positive for IgG antibodies and viral RNA. Our findings suggest a silent circulation of orthohantaviruses in a region of intensive agriculture production. The detection of seropositive humans in an area with a lack of previous HCPS reports highlights potential oligosymptomatic cases and the need for surveillance strategies that could reduce the risk of future outbreaks.