Astroviruses in terrestrial Malagasy mammals

• Published in: PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Main Authors: Carcauzon, Victoria, Herrera, James, Kaufman, Kayla, Baudino, Fiona, Wickenkamp, Natalie, Randriamoria, Toky, Soarimalala, Voahangy, Goodman, Steven, Nunn, Charles, Lebarbenchon, Camille, Tortosa, Pablo
• Other Authors: Processus Infectieux en Milieu Insulaire Tropical (PIMIT), Université de La Réunion (UR)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-IRD-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Duke University Durham, Duke Lemur Center, University of California Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara), University of California (UC), Association Vahatra Antananarivo, Madagascar, Field Museum of Natural History Chicago, USA, Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI), NIH - NSF - NIFA "Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease" award (R01-TW011493). -, Duke University Provost’s Collaboratory grant., Duke University Bass Connections program.-Transatlantic Research Partnership, a program of the FACE Foundation (https://face-foundation.org/) and French Embassy., Grainger Bioinformatics Center at the Field Museum of Natural History
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2024
• Subjects: [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; Rattus rattus
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04621372; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012263

International audience Small terrestrial mammals are major hosts of infectious agents responsible for zoonotic diseases. Astroviruses (AstVs)–the cause of non-bacterial gastroenteritis mainly affecting young children–have been detected in a wide array of mammalian and avian host species. However, understanding the factors that influence AstV infection within and across hosts is limited. Here, we investigated the impact of land use changes on AstVs in terrestrial small mammals in rural northeastern Madagascar. We sampled 515 small mammals, representing seven endemic and four introduced species. Twenty-two positive samples were identified, all but one of which were found in the introduced species Mus musculus and Rattus rattus (family Muridae), with a positivity rate of 7.7% (6/78) and 5.6% (15/266), respectively. The non-introduced rodent case was from an endemic shrew-tenrec (family Tenrecidae). We found the highest positivity rate of AstVs infection in brushy regrowth (17.5%, 7/40) as compared to flooded rice fields (4.60%, 8/174), secondary forest (4.1%, 3/74), agroforest (3.6%, 1/28), village (2.61%, 3/115), and semi-intact forest (0%, 0/84). A phylogenetic analysis revealed an association between AstVs and their rodent host species. None of the viruses were phylogenetically related to AstVs previously described in Malagasy bats. This study supports AstV circulation in synanthropic animals in agricultural habitats of Madagascar and highlights the need to assess the spillover risk to human populations in rural areas.