OBJECTIVE: To collect more data on the epidemiology of hantavirus in rodents in Cixi, Zhejiang province. METHODS: Rodents were captured in Cixi, where hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) appeared endemic. Hantavirus antigens in the rat lungs were detected by immunofluorescence assay. Partial S segment sequences were amplified by reverse transciption-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and then sequenced. The phyologenetic trees were constructed by maximum likelihood method to detect the genetic characteristics of hantavirus. RESULTS: A total of 243 rodents were trapped in the epidemic areas, and hantavirus antigens were identified in 7 out of these lung samples (2.88%). Partial S segment sequences (620-999 nt) were recovered from 6 samples and sequenced. Data from phylogenetic analysis of these S segment sequences indicated that all viruses belonged to Seoul virus (SEOV), despite the origins of sources were either from Rattus norvegicus or from R. flabipectus. These viruses could further be divided into two distinct lineages but the viruses carried by R. norvegicus were different from those carried by R. flabipectus. CONCLUSION: Two distinct lineages of SEOV had been cocirculating in rodents in Cixi.
OBJECTIVE: To collect more data on the epidemiology of hantavirus in rodents in Cixi, Zhejiang province. METHODS: Rodents were captured in Cixi, where hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) appeared endemic. Hantavirus antigens in the rat lungs were detected by immunofluorescence assay. Partial S segment sequences were amplified by reverse transciption-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and then sequenced. The phyologenetic trees were constructed by maximum likelihood method to detect the genetic characteristics of hantavirus. RESULTS: A total of 243 rodents were trapped in the epidemic areas, and hantavirus antigens were identified in 7 out of these lung samples (2.88%). Partial S segment sequences (620-999 nt) were recovered from 6 samples and sequenced. Data from phylogenetic analysis of these S segment sequences indicated that all viruses belonged to Seoul virus (SEOV), despite the origins of sources were either from Rattus norvegicus or from R. flabipectus. These viruses could further be divided into two distinct lineages but the viruses carried by R. norvegicus were different from those carried by R. flabipectus. CONCLUSION: Two distinct lineages of SEOV had been cocirculating in rodents in Cixi.