Objective: To investigate the situation of the natural infection of hantaviruses (HV) in small mammals and to provide evidence for the control and prevention of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Longquan area, Zhejiang province.
Methods: Small mammals were captured by night trap, and lung tissue samples were collected and stored in liquid nitrogen. HV antigens were detected by indirect immuno-fluorescence assay (IFA). The partial S genome segment sequences were amplified by RT-PCR. DNAStar program was used for editing and comparing the sequences. Phylogeny was analyzed through PAUP*4.0 software.
Results: 319 small animals were collected in Longquan, and 9 hantavirus antigen-positive samples were identified. The positive rate of hantavirus in Apodemus agrarius was 4.97%. Phylogenetic tree constructed by partial S segment (620 - 999 nt) showed that the 9 strains carried by A. agrarius from Longquan all belonged to HTNV, and had a closer evolutionary relationship with isolate Z251 from Zhejiang province.
Conclusion: Our results indicated that the main host was A. agrarius and the infection rate of HTNV was high in Longquan area.