Hantavirus and arenavirus antibody prevalence in rodents and humans in Trentino, Northern Italy

• Published in: Epidemiology and Infection
• Main Authors: KALLIO-KOKKO, H., LAAKKONEN, J., RIZZOLI, A., TAGLIAPIETRA, V., CATTADORI, I., PERKINS, S. E., HUDSON, P. J., CRISTOFOLINI, A., VERSINI, W., VAPALAHTI, O., VAHERI, A., HENTTONEN, H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2005
• Subjects: Microtus arvalis
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0950268805005431; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0950268805005431

The spatial and temporal distribution of hantavirus and arenavirus antibody-positive wild rodents in Trentino, Italy, was studied using immunofluorescence assays (IFA) in two long-term sites trapped in 2000–2003, and six other sites trapped in 2002. The overall hantavirus seroprevalence in the bank voles, Clethrionomys glareolus ( n =229) screened for Puumala virus (PUUV) antibodies was 0·4%, and that for Apodemus flavicollis mice ( n =1416) screened for Dobrava virus (DOBV) antibodies was 0·2%. Antibodies against lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) were found in 82 (5·6%) of the 1472 tested rodents; the seroprevalence being 6·1% in A. flavicollis ( n =1181), 3·3% in C. glareolus ( n =276), and 14·3% in Microtus arvalis ( n =7). Of the serum samples of 488 forestry workers studied by IFA, 12 were LCMV-IgG positive (2·5%) and one DOBV-IgG positive (0·2%), however, the latter could not be confirmed DOBV-specific with a neutralization assay. Our results show a widespread distribution but low prevalence of DOBV in Trentino, and demonstrate that the arenavirus antibodies are a common finding in several other rodent species besides the house mouse.