Serologic survey for hantavirus infection in domestic animals and coyotes from New Mexico and northeastern Arizona.
Abstract: To determine whether animals had serologic evidence of infection with Sin Nombre virus (SNV). Methods: Prospective serosurvey. Methods: Serum samples were obtained from 145 cats, 85 dogs, 120 horses, and 24 cattle between April 1993 and August 1994 and 54 coyotes between December 1994 and February 1995. Methods: Serum samples were analyzed by western immunoblot assays for reaction with SNV nucleocapsid antigen. Samples with reactivity to SNV nucleocapsid proteins were used to probe multiple-antigen blots containing recombinant fusion proteins derived from prototypic hantaviruses. Lung tissue or blood clots were used in nested reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assays for a 320-nucleotide portion of the SNV G1 gene. Results: Sera from 4 of 145 (2.8%) cats and 4 of 85 (3.5%) dogs had trace reactivity to full-length SNV-encoded nucleocapsid proteins. All samples from horses, cattle, and coyotes were nonreactive. Sera from cats and dogs that had trace IgG-antibody reactivity to nucleocapsid proteins were then tested for IgG-antibody reactivity to nucleocapsid proteins of prototypic hantaviruses. One cat had multiple cross-reactivities with these hantaviruses, consistent with exposure to a hantavirus; however, epitope mapping studies did not support this conclusion. Reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction studies of blood clots or lung tissue from 2 animals that had weak reactivity to SNV failed to amplify any hantavirus sequence. Conclusions: Domestic animals, particularly dogs and cats, as well as coyotes do not appear to have a major role in the maintenance and transmission of SNV.
Publication Date: 1998-04-16 PubMed ID: 9540866
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- U.S. Gov't
- P.H.S.
Summary
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This research article investigates the possible infection of various animals with the Sin Nombre virus (SNV), a hantavirus. It finds that while there is evidence of SNV contact in some cats and dogs, it is unlikely that these animals play a significant role in maintaining and transmitting the virus.
Methods
- The research was conducted prospectively, i.e., collecting data forward in time.
- Serum samples were collected from 145 cats, 85 dogs, 120 horses, 24 cattle, and 54 coyotes over a period from April 1993 to February 1995.
- Western immunoblot assays were used to analyze the serum samples for reaction with the SNV nucleocapsid antigen. This method involves separating proteins based on size, transferring them onto a membrane, and detecting the target protein with specific antibodies.
- Samples that showed reactivity to SNV nucleocapsid proteins were further analyzed using multiple-antigen blots containing recombinant fusion proteins derived from prototypic hantaviruses.
- Specific parts of the SNV G1 gene were also tested in lung tissue or blood clots of the animals, using a method called nested reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
Results
- Trace reactivity to SNV-encoded nucleocapsid proteins was found in 2.8% of cats and 3.5% of dogs analyzed.
- No reactivity was observed in any samples from horses, cattle, or coyotes.
- Further testing on the cat and dog samples that showed trace IgG-antibody reactivity to nucleocapsid proteins revealed one cat with multiple cross-reactivities with hantaviruses, indicative of exposure to a hantavirus.
- However, epitope mapping studies did not support the conclusion that the cat was exposed to a hantavirus.
- RT-PCR tests on blood clots or lung tissue from two animals that showed weak reactivity to SNV failed to amplify any hantavirus sequence.
Conclusions
- The research concludes that domestic animals, such as dogs and cats, along with coyotes, don’t appear to have a significant role in the maintenance and transmission of the Sin Nombre virus (SNV).
- Though some dogs and cats had evidence of SNV contact, the likelihood of these animals being serious vectors for the virus is low.
Cite This Article
APA
Malecki TM, Jillson GP, Thilsted JP, Elrod J, Torrez-Martinez N, Hjelle B.
(1998).
Serologic survey for hantavirus infection in domestic animals and coyotes from New Mexico and northeastern Arizona.
J Am Vet Med Assoc, 212(7), 970-973.
Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Veterinary Diagnostic Services, New Mexico Department of Agriculture, Albuquerque 87106, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Animals, Domestic
- Antibodies, Viral / blood
- Antibodies, Viral / immunology
- Antigens, Viral / immunology
- Arizona / epidemiology
- Blotting, Western
- Carnivora
- Cat Diseases / epidemiology
- Cats
- Cattle
- Cattle Diseases / epidemiology
- Cross Reactions
- Dog Diseases / epidemiology
- Dogs
- Orthohantavirus / immunology
- Hantavirus Infections / epidemiology
- Hantavirus Infections / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horses
- Lung / virology
- New Mexico / epidemiology
- Nucleocapsid Proteins / immunology
- Polymerase Chain Reaction
- Prospective Studies
- RNA, Viral / analysis
Grant Funding
- R01-AI36336 / NIAID NIH HHS
Citations
This article has been cited 5 times.- Bauer PK, Krause R, Fabian E, Aumüller ML, Schiller D, Adelsmayr G, Fuchsjäger M, Rechberger E, Schöfl R, Krejs GJ. Clinical-Pathological Conference Series from the Medical University of Graz : Case No 172: A 45-year-old truck driver with fever, vomiting, thrombocytopenia and renal failure. Wien Klin Wochenschr 2021 Nov;133(21-22):1222-1230.
- Guterres A, de Lemos ERS. Hantaviruses and a neglected environmental determinant. One Health 2018 Jun;5:27-33.
- Soldan SS, González-Scarano F. Emerging infectious diseases: the Bunyaviridae. J Neurovirol 2005 Oct;11(5):412-23.
- Zeier M, Handermann M, Bahr U, Rensch B, Müller S, Kehm R, Muranyi W, Darai G. New ecological aspects of hantavirus infection: a change of a paradigm and a challenge of prevention--a review. Virus Genes 2005 Mar;30(2):157-80.
- Ferro I, Lopez W, Cassinelli F, Aguirre S, Cuyckens GAE, Kehl S, Abán-Moreyra D, Castillo P, Bellomo C, Gil J, Martinez VP. Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome Outbreak Anticipation by a Rapid Synchronous Increase in Rodent Abundance in the Northwestern Argentina Endemic Region: Towards an Early Warning System for Disease Based on Climate and Rodent Surveillance Data. Pathogens 2024 Sep 2;13(9).
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