BACKGROUND: In Europe certain hantaviruses are known to cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome of different severity. The objective of the present investigation was to study the presence of hantavirus infections in Lithuania. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two different serum panels from cancer patients (n = 438) and blood donors (n = 299) from Lithuania were tested by monoclonal antibody capture IgG ELISA using yeast-expressed recombinant nucleocapsid (rN) proteins of Puumala virus (PUUV), Hantaan virus (HTNV) and Dobrava virus (DOBV). The reactivity of ELISA-positive sera was proven in Western blot tests using various hantavirus rN proteins. Selected serum samples were further analyzed by focus reduction neutralization assays. RESULTS: In the IgG ELISA 39 sera from the cancer patients and four sera from blood donors were found to be reactive with at least one of the rN proteins. By immunoblot using the three yeast-expressed rN proteins, the ELISA reactivity of 36 of 39 and two of four serum samples from cancer patients and blood donors, respectively, was confirmed; this corresponds to a seroprevalence of 8.2% and 0.7%, respectively. In ELISA, the majority of the samples reacted exclusively with rN proteins of HTNV and DOBV (31 of 36 and one of two in the two groups). In the group of sera selected for serotyping by focus reduction neutralization assay, this dominance was confirmed by the identification of eight DOBV but only four PUUV infections. No infection by HTNV or another hantavirus besides DOBV and PUUV was verified. Anti-hantavirus-positive human sera were detected in all seven investigated counties of Lithuania. CONCLUSION: In Lithuania at least two hantaviruses, DOBV and PUUV, circulate and cause human infections. Additional investigations are needed to study the seroprevalence more precisely and to search for clinical cases of hantavirus infections.
BACKGROUND: In Europe certain hantaviruses are known to cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome of different severity. The objective of the present investigation was to study the presence of hantavirus infections in Lithuania. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two different serum panels from cancerpatients (n = 438) and blood donors (n = 299) from Lithuania were tested by monoclonal antibody capture IgG ELISA using yeast-expressed recombinant nucleocapsid (rN) proteins of Puumala virus (PUUV), Hantaan virus (HTNV) and Dobrava virus (DOBV). The reactivity of ELISA-positive sera was proven in Western blot tests using various hantavirus rN proteins. Selected serum samples were further analyzed by focus reduction neutralization assays. RESULTS: In the IgG ELISA 39 sera from the cancerpatients and four sera from blood donors were found to be reactive with at least one of the rN proteins. By immunoblot using the three yeast-expressed rN proteins, the ELISA reactivity of 36 of 39 and two of four serum samples from cancerpatients and blood donors, respectively, was confirmed; this corresponds to a seroprevalence of 8.2% and 0.7%, respectively. In ELISA, the majority of the samples reacted exclusively with rN proteins of HTNV and DOBV (31 of 36 and one of two in the two groups). In the group of sera selected for serotyping by focus reduction neutralization assay, this dominance was confirmed by the identification of eight DOBV but only four PUUV infections. No infection by HTNV or another hantavirus besides DOBV and PUUV was verified. Anti-hantavirus-positive human sera were detected in all seven investigated counties of Lithuania. CONCLUSION: In Lithuania at least two hantaviruses, DOBV and PUUV, circulate and cause humaninfections. Additional investigations are needed to study the seroprevalence more precisely and to search for clinical cases of hantavirus infections.
Authors: Marc Mertens; Jörg Hofmann; Rasa Petraityte-Burneikiene; Mario Ziller; Kestutis Sasnauskas; Robert Friedrich; Olaf Niederstrasser; Detlev H Krüger; Martin H Groschup; Eckhardt Petri; Sandra Werdermann; Rainer G Ulrich Journal: Med Microbiol Immunol Date: 2011-05-25 Impact factor: 3.402
Authors: Marc Mertens; Eveline Kindler; Petra Emmerich; Jutta Esser; Christiane Wagner-Wiening; Roman Wölfel; Rasa Petraityte-Burneikiene; Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit; Aurelija Zvirbliene; Martin H Groschup; Gerhard Dobler; Martin Pfeffer; Gerald Heckel; Rainer G Ulrich; Sandra S Essbauer Journal: Virus Genes Date: 2011-05-20 Impact factor: 2.332
Authors: Marc Mertens; Roman Wölfel; Katrin Ullrich; Kumiko Yoshimatsu; Jana Blumhardt; Ina Römer; Jutta Esser; Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit; Martin H Groschup; Gerhard Dobler; Sandra S Essbauer; Rainer G Ulrich Journal: Med Microbiol Immunol Date: 2009-01-16 Impact factor: 3.402