TY - JOUR
T1 - Serological and genetic evidence for the presence of Seoul hantavirus in Rattus norvegicus in Flanders, Belgium
AU - Heyman, Paul
AU - Baert, K.
AU - Plyusnina, A.
AU - Cochez, C.
AU - Lundkvist, Å
AU - van Esbroeck, M.
AU - Goossens, E.
AU - Vandenvelde, C.
AU - Plyusnin, A.
AU - Stuyck, J.
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was made possible by grants from the Belgian Ministry of Defence and from The Academy of Finland.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Seoul hantavirus (SEOV), carried by Rattus rattus (black rat) and R. norvegicus (Norway, brown rat), was reported to circulate as well as cause HFRS cases in Asia. As Rattus sp. are present worldwide, SEOV has the potential to cause human disease worldwide. In Europe however, only SEOV prevalence in rats from France was reported and no confirmed cases of SEOV infection were published. We here report genetic and serological evidence for the presence of SEOV virus in brown rat populations in Belgium. We also serologically screened an at-risk group that was in contact with R. norvegicus on a daily basis and found no evidence for SEOV infection.
AB - Seoul hantavirus (SEOV), carried by Rattus rattus (black rat) and R. norvegicus (Norway, brown rat), was reported to circulate as well as cause HFRS cases in Asia. As Rattus sp. are present worldwide, SEOV has the potential to cause human disease worldwide. In Europe however, only SEOV prevalence in rats from France was reported and no confirmed cases of SEOV infection were published. We here report genetic and serological evidence for the presence of SEOV virus in brown rat populations in Belgium. We also serologically screened an at-risk group that was in contact with R. norvegicus on a daily basis and found no evidence for SEOV infection.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=58049206789&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/00365540802459994
DO - 10.1080/00365540802459994
M3 - Article
C2 - 18821445
AN - SCOPUS:58049206789
SN - 0036-5548
VL - 41
SP - 51
EP - 56
JO - Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases
JF - Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases
IS - 1
ER -