Hantaan virus surveillance targeting small mammals at nightmare range, a high elevation military training area, Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea

PLoS One. 2015 Apr 15;10(4):e0118483. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118483. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Rodent-borne disease surveillance was conducted at Nightmare Range (NM-R), near the demilitarized zone in northeast Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea, to identify hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) risks for a mountainous high-elevation (500 m) military training site. Monthly surveys were conducted from January 2008-December 2009. A total of 1,720 small mammals were captured belonging to the Orders Rodentia [Families, Sciuridae (1 species) and Muridae (7 species)] and Soricomorpha [Family, Soricidae (1species)]. Apodemus agrarius, the primary reservoir for Hantaan virus (HTNV), accounted for 89.9% (1,546) of all small mammals captured, followed by Myodes regulus (4.0%), Crocidura lasiura (3.9%), Micromys minutus (1.4%), Mus musculus (0.3%), Microtus fortis (0.2%), Apodemus peninsulae (0.2%), Tamias sibiricus (0.1%), and Rattus norvegicus (<0.1%). Three species were antibody-positive (Ab+) for hantaviruses: A. agrarius (8.2%), M. minutus (4.2%), and C. lasiura (1.5%). HTNV specific RNA was detected in 93/127 Ab+ A. agrarius, while Imjin virus specific RNA was detected in 1/1 Ab+ C. lasiura. Overall, hantavirus Ab+ rates for A. agrarius increased with weight (age) and were significantly higher among males (10.9%) than females (5.1%) (P<0.0001). High A. agrarius gravid rates during the fall (August-September) were associated with peak numbers of HFRS cases in Korea that followed high gravid rates. From 79 RT-PCR positive A. agrarius, 12 HTNV RNA samples were sequenced and compared phylogenetically based on a 320 nt sequence from the GC glycoprotein-encoding M segment. These results demonstrate that the HTNV isolates from NM-R are distinctly separated from HTNV isolated from the People's Republic of China. These studies provide for improved disease risk assessments that identify military activities, rodent HTNV rates, and other factors associated with the transmission of hantaviruses during field training exercises.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Female
  • Hantaan virus / isolation & purification*
  • Hantaan virus / pathogenicity
  • Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome / epidemiology
  • Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome / transmission*
  • Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome / virology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Military Personnel
  • Muridae / virology*
  • Rats
  • Republic of Korea
  • Sciuridae / virology*
  • Shrews / virology*

Grants and funding

Funding for portions of this work was provided by the Division of Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (GEIS) Operations, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, Silver Spring, MD, the Public Health Command Region-Pacific, Camp Zama, Japan, Agency for Defense Development (UE134020ID), and the Institute of Biomedical Science & Food Safety, Korea University, Seoul, ROK. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.