Seroprevalence study of Hantavirus infection in the community based population.

Abstract

The genus Hantavirus, family Bunyaviridae, comprise at least 20 distinct viruses. Ten of these have been linked to specific human diseases. Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome has been recognized since the 1950s. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome was recognized in the United States in 1993. Epizootiologic studies of Norway rats in the Baltimore area have shown that rodent infections with hantaviruses are common and geographically widespread with prevalence reaching 44% in tested rat populations. These viruses are antigenically related to the Seoul virus. Hantavirus infections in humans occur through transmission from a rodent reservoir, primarily by inhalation of virus laden rodent excreta. There is no evidence to support person-to-person transmission of any known Hantavirus. To establish the prevalence of Hantavirus infections in humans in the Baltimore area we collected sera from 1,212 persons attending a community based health care system. These were tested for antibodies against three reference Hantavirus strains: Hantaan (HTN), Seoul (SEO), and Convict Creek (HN017). HN017 was chosen to represent the SinNombre (SN-like) strains of Hantavirus. Sera from nine patients were positive to Hantavirus specific antibodies, HTN, and SEO by Enzyme Linked Imuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA). No sera were positive for HN017 antigen. All sera that were positive for HTN and SEO were tested by western blot for HTN. All nine sera were confirmed positive by western blot. This suggests that unrecognized infections with Hantaan or Seoul-like viruses occur in the Baltimore area in humans, although the prevalence rate in humans is low (0.74%). Epidemiologic monitoring may be warranted to establish the health implications of these infections.