Prevalence of Hantaviruses Harbored by Murid Rodents in Northwestern Ukraine and Discovery of a Novel Puumala Virus Strain

• Published in: Viruses
• Main Authors: Evan P. Williams, Mariah K. Taylor, Iryna Demchyshyna, Igor Nebogatkin, Olena Nesterova, Iryna Khuda, Lyudmyla Chernenko, Oleksandra A. Hluzd, Vira V. Kutseva, Gregory E. Glass, Nataliia Yanko, Colleen B. Jonsson
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2021
• Subjects: Puumala orthohantavirus; Ukraine; next generation sequencing; field survey; Microtus arvalis
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/v13081640

In Europe, two species of hantaviruses, Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) and Dobrava orthohantavirus (DOBV), cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in humans. The rodent reservoirs for these viruses are common throughout Ukraine, and hence, the goal of this study was to identify the species and strains of hantaviruses circulating in this region. We conducted surveillance of small rodent populations in a rural region in northwestern Ukraine approximately 30 km from Poland. From the 424 small mammals captured, we identified nine species, of which the most abundant were Myodes glareolus, the bank vole (45%); Apodemus flavicollis, the yellow-necked mouse (29%); and Apodemus agrarius, the striped field mouse (14.6%) Using an indirect immunofluorescence assay, 15.7%, 20.5%, and 33.9% of the sera from M. glareolus, A. glareolus, and A. flavicollis were positive for hantaviral antibodies, respectively. Additionally, we detected antibodies to the hantaviral antigen in one Microtus arvalis, one Mus musculus, and one Sorex minutus. We screened the lung tissue for hantaviral RNA using next-generation sequencing and identified PUUV sequences in 25 small mammals, including 23 M. glareolus, 1 M. musculus, and 1 A. flavicollis, but we were unable to detect DOBV sequences in any of our A. agrarius specimens. The percent identity matrix and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of the S-segment of PUUV from 14 M. glareolus lungs suggest the highest similarity (92–95% nucleotide or 99–100% amino acid) with the Latvian lineage. This new genetic information will contribute to future molecular surveillance of human cases in Ukraine.