Anjozorobe Hantavirus, a New Genetic Variant of Thailand Virus Detected in Rodents from Madagascar

• Published in: Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases
• Main Authors: Reynes, Jean-Marc, Razafindralambo, Nadia, Lacoste, Vincent, Olive, Marie-Marie, Barivelo, Tony, Andrianaivo, Soarimalala, Voahangy, Heraud, Jean-Michel, Lavergne, Anne
• Other Authors: Centre National de Référence des Hantavirus - Biologie des Infections Virales Emergentes (CNR-UBIVE), Institut Pasteur Paris (IP), Unité de Virologie Antananarivo, Madagascar (IPM), Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur (RIIP)-Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur (RIIP), Laboratoire des Interactions Virus-Hôtes Cayenne, Guyane Française, Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, Université d'Antananarivo, Association Vahatra Antananarivo, Madagascar, This work received financial support from the International Division of the Institut Pasteur in Paris (“Actions Concertées Inter-Pasteurienne A17/2009”).
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: MESH: Animals; MESH: Base Sequence; MESH: Hantavirus Infections; MESH: Humans; MESH: Madagascar; MESH: Molecular Sequence Data; MESH: Phylogeny; MESH: RNA; Viral; MESH: Rats; MESH: Rodent Diseases; MESH: Rodentia; MESH: Sequence Analysis; RNA; MESH: Genetic Variation; MESH: Genome; MESH: Hantavirus; [SDV.MP.VIR]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Virology; [SDV.BBM.BM]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biochemistry; Molecular Biology/Molecular biology; [SDV.MHEP.ME]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Human health and pathology/Emerging diseases; [SDV.MHEP.MI]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Human health and pathology/Infectious diseases; [SDV.SPEE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Santé publique et épidémiologie; Rattus rattus
• Online Access: https://riip.hal.science/pasteur-01675483; https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2013.1359

International audience Until now, there was only serological evidence that hantaviruses were circulating in rodents and infecting humans from Madagascar. To assess the presence of a hantavirus on the island, between October, 2008, and March, 2010, we sampled 585 rodents belonging to seven species in the Anjozorobe-Angavo forest corridor, 70 km north from the capital city Antananarivo. A hantavirus was detected from organs of the ubiquist roof rat (Rattus rattus) and of the endemic Major's tufted-tailed rat (Eliurus majori). Amazingly, sequence analysis of the S (small), M (medium), and L (large) coding DNA sequence of this virus showed that the Anjozorobe strain (proposed name) was a new genetic variant of Thailand virus (THAIV) that comprises other variants found in Southeast Asia. Because THAIV is suspected of causing hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in humans, ongoing studies are addressing the risk of infection by this new variant in the Malagasy population.