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Orthohantaviruses are emerging rodent-borne pathogens that cause Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome in humans. They have a wide range of rodent reservoir hosts and are transmitted to humans through aerosolized viral particles generated by the excretions of infected individuals. Since the first description of HPS in Argentina, new hantaviruses have been reported throughout the country, most of which are pathogenic to humans. We present here the first HPS case infected with Alto Paraguay virus reported in Argentina. Until now, Alto Paraguay virus was considered a non-pathogenic orthohantavirus since it was identified in a rodent, Holochilus chacarius . In addition to this, with the goal of identifying potential hantavirus host species in the province of Santa Fe, we finally describe a novel orthohantavirus found in the native rodent Scapteromys aquaticus , which differed from other hantaviruses described in the country so far. Our findings implicate an epidemiological warning regarding these new orthohantaviruses circulating in Central Argentina as well as new rodent species that must be considered as hosts from now on.

In North America, hantaviruses commonly cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). Clinical descriptions of hantavirus-associated renal disease in the Americas are scarce. Herein, we discuss the case of a 61-year-old man whose predominant manifestations were acute kidney injury and proteinuria. Clinical recognition of renal signs in hantavirus infections can reduce risk for death.

To date, six hantavirus species have been detected in moles (family Talpidae). In this report, we describe Academ virus (ACDV), a novel hantavirus harbored by the Siberian mole (Talpa altaica) in Western Siberia. Genetic analysis of the complete S-, M-, and partial L-genomic segments showed that ACDV shared a common evolutionary origin with Bruges virus, previously identified in the European mole (Talpa europaea), and is distantly related to other mole-borne hantaviruses. Co-evolution and local adaptation of genetic variants of hantaviruses and their hosts, with possible reassortment events, might have shaped the evolutionary history of ACDV.

In 2012, a total of 9 cases of hantavirus infection occurred in overnight visitors to Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, USA. In the 6 years after the initial outbreak investigation, the California Department of Public Health conducted 11 rodent trapping events in developed areas of Yosemite Valley and 6 in Tuolumne Meadows to monitor the relative abundance of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and seroprevalence of Sin Nombre orthohantavirus, the causative agent of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Deer mouse trap success in Yosemite Valley remained lower than that observed during the 2012 outbreak investigation. Seroprevalence of Sin Nombre orthohantavirus in deer mice during 2013-2018 was also lower than during the outbreak, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.02). The decreased relative abundance of Peromyscus spp. mice in developed areas of Yosemite Valley after the outbreak is probably associated with increased rodent exclusion efforts and decreased peridomestic habitat.

Several viruses from the genus Orthohantavirus are known to cause lethal disease in humans. Sigmodontinae rodents are the main hosts responsible for hantavirus transmission in the tropical forests, savannas, and wetlands of South America. These rodents can shed different hantaviruses, such as the lethal and emerging Araraquara orthohantavirus. Factors that drive variation in host populations may influence hantavirus transmission dynamics within and between populations. Landscape structure, and particularly areas with a predominance of agricultural land and forest remnants, is expected to influence the proportion of hantavirus rodent hosts in the Atlantic Forest rodent community. Here, we tested this using 283 Atlantic Forest rodent capture records and geographically weighted models that allow us to test if predictors vary spatially. We also assessed the correspondence between proportions of hantavirus hosts in rodent communities and a human vulnerability to hantavirus infection index across the entire Atlantic Forest biome. We found that hantavirus host proportions were more positively influenced by landscape diversity than by a particular habitat or agricultural matrix type. Local small mammal diversity also positively influenced known pathogenic hantavirus host proportions, indicating that a plasticity to habitat quality may be more important for these hosts than competition with native forest dwelling species. We found a consistent positive effect of sugarcane and tree plantation on the proportion of rodent hosts, whereas defaunation intensity did not correlate with the proportion of hosts of potentially pathogenic hantavirus genotypes in the community, indicating that non-defaunated areas can also be hotspots for hantavirus disease outbreaks. The spatial match between host hotspots and human disease vulnerability was 17%, while coldspots matched 20%. Overall, we discovered strong spatial and land use change influences on hantavirus hosts at the landscape level across the Atlantic Forest. Our findings suggest disease surveillance must be reinforced in the southern and southeastern regions of the biome where the highest predicted hantavirus host proportion and levels of vulnerability spatially match. Importantly, our analyses suggest there may be more complex rodent community dynamics and interactions with human disease than currently hypothesized.

The discovery of genetically distinct hantaviruses (family Hantaviridae) in multiple species of shrews, moles and bats has revealed a complex evolutionary history involving cross-species transmission. Seewis virus (SWSV) is widely distributed throughout the geographic ranges of its soricid hosts, including the Eurasian common shrew (Sorex araneus), tundra shrew (Sorex tundrensis) and Siberian large-toothed shrew (Sorex daphaenodon), suggesting host sharing. In addition, genetic variants of SWSV, previously named Artybash virus (ARTV) and Amga virus, have been detected in the Laxmann’s shrew (Sorex caecutiens). Here, we describe the geographic distribution and phylogeny of SWSV and Altai virus (ALTV) in Asian Russia. The complete genomic sequence analysis showed that ALTV, also harbored by the Eurasian common shrew, is a new hantavirus species, distantly related to SWSV. Moreover, Lena River virus (LENV) appears to be a distinct hantavirus species, harbored by Laxmann’s shrews and flat-skulled shrews (Sorex roboratus) in Eastern Siberia and far-eastern Russia. Another ALTV-related virus, which is more closely related to Camp Ripley virus from the United States, has been identified in the Eurasian least shrew (Sorex minutissimus) from far-eastern Russia. Two highly divergent viruses, ALTV and SWSV co-circulate among common shrews in Western Siberia, while LENV and the ARTV variant of SWSV co-circulate among Laxmann’s shrews in Eastern Siberia and far-eastern Russia. ALTV and ALTV-related viruses appear to belong to the Mobatvirus genus, while SWSV is a member of the Orthohantavirus genus. These findings suggest that ALTV and ALTV-related hantaviruses might have emerged from ancient cross-species transmission with subsequent diversification within Sorex shrews in Eurasia.

Hantaviruses are enveloped RNA viruses each carried by a specific rodent species. Three hantaviruses, Puumala, Dobrava, and Saaremaa viruses, are known to cause haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. In Europe, Puumala causes a generally mild disease, nephropathia epidemica, which presents most commonly with fever, headache, gastrointestinal symptoms, impaired renal function, and blurred vision, whereas Dobrava infections often also have haemorrhagic complications. There are few available data about the clinical picture of confirmed Saaremaa infections, but epidemiological evidence suggests that it is less pathogenic than Dobrava, and that Saaremaa infections are more similar to nephropathia epidemica caused by Puumala. Along with its rodent host, the bank vole ( Clethrionomys glareolus), Puumala is reported throughout most of Europe (excluding the Mediterranean region), whereas Dobrava, carried by the yellow-necked mouse ( Apodemus flavicollis), and Saaremaa, carried by the striped field mouse ( Apodemus agrarius), are reported mainly in eastern and central Europe. The diagnosis of acute hantavirus infection is based on the detection of virusspecific IgM. Whereas Puumala is distinct, Dobrava and Saaremaa are genetically and antigenically very closely related and were previously thought to be variants of the same virus. Typing of a specific hantavirus infection requires neutralisation antibody assays or reverse transcriptase PCR and sequencing.

Four of the nine sigmodontine tribes have species that serve as reservoirs of rodent-borne hantaviruses (RBO-HV), few have been studied in any depth. Several viruses have been associated with human cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome often through peridomestic exposure. Jabora (JABV) and Juquitiba (JUQV), harbored by Akodon montensis and Oligoryzomys nigripes, respectively, are endemic and sympatric in the Reserva Natural de Bosque Mbaracayú (RNBM), Paraguay, a protected area of the Interior Atlantic Forest. Rodent communities were surveyed along a 30 km stretch of the RNBM in eight vegetation classifications (Low, High, Bamboo, Riparian and Liana Forests, Bamboo Understory, Cerrado, and Meadow/Grasslands). We collected 417 rodents from which 11 species were identified; Akodon montensis was the predominant species (72%; 95%CI: 64.7%-76.3%), followed by Hylaeamys megacephalus (15% (11.2%-18.2%)) and Oligoryzomys nigripes (9% (6.6%-12.4%)). We examined the statistical associations among habitat (vegetation class) type, rodent species diversity, population structure (age, sex, and weight), and prevalence of RBO-HV antibody and/or viral RNA (Ab/RNA) or characteristic Leishmania tail lesions. Ab/RNA positive rodents were not observed in Cerrado and Low Forest. A. montensis had an overall Ab/RNA prevalence of 7.7% (4.9%-11.3%) and O. nigripes had an overall prevalence of 8.6% (1.8%-23.1%). For A. montensis, the odds of being Ab/RNA positive in High Forest was 3.73 times of the other habitats combined. There was no significant difference among age classes in the proportion of Ab/RNA positive rodents overall (p = 0.66), however, all 11 RNA-positive individuals were adult. Sex and habitat had independent prognostic value for hantaviral Ab/RNA in the study population; age, presence of tail scar/lesion (19% of the rodents) and weight did not. Adjusting for habitat, female rodents had less risk of becoming infected. Importantly, these data suggest habitat preferences of two sympatric rodent reservoirs for two endemic hantaviruses and the importance of including habitat in models of species diversity and habitat fragmentation.

Hantaviruses are among the most important zoonotic pathogens of humans and the subject of heightened global attention. Despite the importance of hantaviruses for public health, there is no consensus on their evolutionary history and especially the frequency of virus-host co-divergence versus cross-species virus transmission. Documenting the extent of hantavirus biodiversity, and particularly their range of mammalian hosts, is critical to resolving this issue. Here, we describe four novel hantaviruses (Huangpi virus, Lianghe virus, Longquan virus, and Yakeshi virus) sampled from bats and shrews in China, and which are distinct from other known hantaviruses. Huangpi virus was found in Pipistrellus abramus, Lianghe virus in Anourosorex squamipes, Longquan virus in Rhinolophus affinis, Rhinolophus sinicus, and Rhinolophus monoceros, and Yakeshi virus in Sorex isodon, respectively. A phylogenetic analysis of the available diversity of hantaviruses reveals the existence of four phylogroups that infect a range of mammalian hosts, as well as the occurrence of ancient reassortment events between the phylogroups. Notably, the phylogenetic histories of the viruses are not always congruent with those of their hosts, suggesting that cross-species transmission has played a major role during hantavirus evolution and at all taxonomic levels, although we also noted some evidence for virus-host co-divergence. Our phylogenetic analysis also suggests that hantaviruses might have first appeared in Chiroptera (bats) or Soricomorpha (moles and shrews), before emerging in rodent species. Overall, these data indicate that bats are likely to be important natural reservoir hosts of hantaviruses.

The function of the kidney with its highly differentiated and specialized cell types is affected by infection with several viruses. Viral infections of the kidney have a negative impact not only on patients undergoing renal transplantation and immunosuppression. Besides the increasing number of patients suffering from HIV-associated nephropathy, another group of viruses infects immunocompetent patients and induces renal failure. Hantaviruses belong nowadays to the emerging zoonoses that increase in number and geographic distribution. The viruses are distributed worldwide in endemic areas and distribution seems to expand. Together with the increase in the number of cases in the last few years, the understanding of epidemiology and pathology has deepened and some concepts had to be changed. Symptoms and mortality vary between species. The classification refers to geographical distribution: New World hantaviruses causing hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) and Old World hantaviruses causing hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). Indeed, in most HFRS cases, the kidney is mainly affected and HCPS is characterized by cardiopulmonary involvement. But the picture of strict organ tropism is changing and reports of pulmonary findings and nonrenal manifestations in infections with Old World hantaviruses are increasing. However, the overall symptoms—vascular alterations and leakage—that are responsible for organ failure are characteristic for all diseases caused by hantaviruses.