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Silent Orthohantavirus Circulation Among Humans and Small Mammals from Central Minas Gerais, Brazil

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Abstract

New World orthohantaviruses are emerging RNA viruses that cause hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS). These viruses are a burden to public health around the world with a lethality rate of around 60%. In South America, rodents of Sigmodontinae subfamily are the main reservoirs of orthohantaviruses. We described a serosurvey for orthohantaviruses circulation in an apparently healthy human population and small mammals from rural areas in Central Minas Gerais State, Brazil. A total of 240 individuals and 50 small mammals (26 rodents belonging to 10 different species and 24 marsupials from 4 different species) were sampled during 2012–2013. The seroprevalence rates of IgG/IgM antibodies in humans were 7.1 and 1.6%, respectively. Only one rodent, an Oligoryzomys nigripes captured in peridomestic area, tested positive for IgG antibodies and viral RNA. Our findings suggest a silent circulation of orthohantaviruses in a region of intensive agriculture production. The detection of seropositive humans in an area with a lack of previous HCPS reports highlights potential oligosymptomatic cases and the need for surveillance strategies that could reduce the risk of future outbreaks.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to colleagues from the Laboratório de Vírus (ICB-UFMG) and Centro de Pesquisa em Virologia, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, for their excellent technical support. Financial support was provided by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), and Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa/UFMG (PRPq). J.S. Abrahão, E.G. Kroon, A. Paglia, L.T. Figueiredo, and G.S. Trindade are researchers from CNPq.

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Author notes

  1. Carolina Dourado Amaral and Galileu Barbosa Costa have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Presidente Antônio Carlos, 6627 – Campus Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil

    Carolina Dourado Amaral, Galileu Barbosa Costa, Iara Apolinário Borges, Betânia Paiva Drumond, Jônatas Santos Abrahão, Erna Geessien Kroon & Giliane de Souza Trindade

  2. Centro de Pesquisa em Virologia, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    William Marciel de Souza, Aline Lavado Tolardo, Marília Farignoli Romeiro & Luiz Tadeu Moraes Figueiredo

  3. Laboratório de Imunologia das Doenças Virais, Instituto René Rachou, Fiocruz, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Pedro Augusto Alves

  4. Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Adriano Pereira Paglia

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  1. Carolina Dourado Amaral
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  2. Galileu Barbosa Costa
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  3. William Marciel de Souza
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  4. Pedro Augusto Alves
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  5. Iara Apolinário Borges
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  9. Jônatas Santos Abrahão
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  10. Erna Geessien Kroon
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  11. Adriano Pereira Paglia
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  12. Luiz Tadeu Moraes Figueiredo
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  13. Giliane de Souza Trindade
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Correspondence to Galileu Barbosa Costa or Giliane de Souza Trindade.

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Amaral, C.D., Costa, G.B., de Souza, W.M. et al. Silent Orthohantavirus Circulation Among Humans and Small Mammals from Central Minas Gerais, Brazil. EcoHealth 15, 577–589 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-018-1353-2

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