Epidemiological Investigation On Hantavirus Infection In Animal In Some Areas Of China

To evaluate the prevalence of hantavirus (HV) infections in animal in some areas of China, we carried out an epidemiological survey in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Zhejiang, and Guizhou provinces, Beijing metropolis, Xinjiang autonomous region. HV was detected in rodents and domestic animals using serological and molecular biological techniques. A total of 526 rodents of 13 species were tested, and the overall prevalence of HV infection in rodents was 2.28 %. There was no significant difference in the infection rate of rodents from various areas (X~2 = 7.238, P = 0.204). Four species (12 individual rodents) including Apodemus peninsulae, A. agrarius, Clethrionomys rufocanus and Rattus norvegicus were found to be infected with the positive rates of 3.81%, 1.41%, 4.08% and 4.35%, respectively. Our findings showed that Hantaan virus (HTNV) and Seoul virus (SEOV ) were still main genotypes of HV in China and that Amur like virus was first confirmed in the A. peninsulae. At the same time, we detected the HTNV from Rattus norvegicus in Guizhou province. In addition, we examined the sero-antibodies against HV in pigs, cows and sheep using ELISA method and the positive rates were 3.39%, 1.74% and 1.39%respectively.In conclusion, our epidemiological study carried out in some areas got the knowledge of the HFRS distribution and progress and imply that the possibility of R. norvegicus as the spillover host of the HV. A. peninsula could carry Amur virus. Our study will be benefit further policies-making on control and prevention of HFRS in China.