Molecular and Serological Evaluation of Hantavirus in Wild Rodents in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, Southwest of Iran

Jamal  Sarvari; Bahador  Sarkari; Fatemeh  Osooreh; Mehdi  Fazlalipour; Mohammad Hassan  Pouriayevali; Tahmineh  Jalali; Mohammad Javad  Ranjbar; Mostafa  Salehi-Vaziri

doi:10.18502/jad.v19i3.20894

Jamal Sarvari Department of Bacteriology and Virology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Bahador Sarkari Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Fatemeh Osooreh Department of Bacteriology and Virology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Mehdi Fazlalipour Department of Arboviruses and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (National Reference Laboratory), Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
Mohammad Hassan Pouriayevali Department of Arboviruses and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (National Reference Laboratory), Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
Tahmineh Jalali Department of Arboviruses and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (National Reference Laboratory), Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
Mohammad Javad Ranjbar Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Mostafa Salehi-Vaziri Department of Arboviruses and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (National Reference Laboratory), Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jad.v19i3.20894

Keywords: Hantavirus; Rodents; Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad; Iran

Abstract

Background: Hantaviruses are mainly transmitted to humans through the inhalation of aerosolized excreta from infected rodent reservoirs. The present study was conducted to analyze the prevalence of hantavirus infection among rodents in the Boyer-Ahmad region.

Methods: A total of 52 rodents were captured in the Boyer-Ahmad region of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province during June to November 2014, using Sherman live traps. Blood and tissue samples were obtained from the heart and lungs, respectively. Hantavirus Pool 1 "Eurasia" IgG and Pool 2 "America" ELISA IgG kits were used to detect IgG antibodies against both Old World and New World hantaviruses. Moreover, total RNA extraction was performed on the lung tissue, and a pan-hantavirus nested RT-PCR was conducted to detect hantavirus RNA.

Results: Meriones persicus was the most abundant species (n=25, 48%). The results of the ELISA showed that all the serum samples from the rodents were negative for antibodies against both Eurasian and American hantaviruses. Moreover, no rodent tissue samples tested positive for the hantavirus RNA by the pan-hantavirus RT-PCR.

Conclusion: Although no hantavirus infection was detected in this study, the presence of hantavirus reservoirs in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province suggests that hantavirus circulation cannot be completely ruled out. Further studies with a larger sample size are recommended.