Study of Nephropathia Epidemica in Sweden.

• Main Author: Niklasson,Bo
• Other Authors: NATIONAL BACTERIOLOGICAL LAB STOCKHOLM (SWEDEN)
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1985
• Subjects: Medicine and Medical Research; *HEMORRHAGIC FEVERS; *EPIDEMIOLOGY; HUMANS; POPULATION; ANTIBODIES; INFECTIOUS DISEASES; RODENTS; NORWAY; VIRUS DISEASES; SWEDEN; ISLANDS; HOSTS(BIOLOGY); FINLAND; KIDNEYS; MORBIDITY; ARBOVIRUSES; Bunyaviruses; Bunyaviridae; Korean Hemorrhagic fever; Nephropathia Epidemica; PE61102A; ASS10; WU542; Norway; Fennoscandia
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA161747; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA161747

Nephropathia epidemica (NE) is a significant cause of human morbidity in Norway, Sweden and Finland. The disease is a member of the Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) complex. An epidemiological study of human NE cases has shown the endemic area to be north of the 60th parallel. This zone also correspond with the Fennoscandia biotype. The bank vole, Clethrionomys glareolus, the host of NE virus, is widely distributed in Sweden except for the island Gotland where it is absent. NE infected voles could only be found in endemic areas. Antibody prevalence in human populations from different parts of Sweden was evaluated by IFT using Korean hemorrhagic fever (KHF) infected A-549 cells. Antibody prevalence varied between 2.5-25% in endemic area and was 1% in one non-endemic area. Gotland (the vole free island) had no antibody positive humans. The NE agent, a Bunyavirus, has been isolated from infected voles trapped in the endemic area. The virus has been adapted to Vero E6 cells. The earlier described partial one way cross between NE and KHF has been confirmed. A Clethrionomys glareolus colony originating from an non-endemic area has been established and proven to be susceptible to NE infection. In a pilot study, wild trapped Clethrionomys from an endemic area have shown a lower susceptibility to NE infection compared to the colony animals. This experiment is being repeated under controlled conditions.