Prevalence of hantavirus in four species of Neotoma from Arizona and Utah

Abstract

Sin Nombre virus (SNV), a hantavirus, can cause severe respiratory illness and death in humans. The primary carrier is the deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, but other species of rodents may be infected with the virus. We screened four species of woodrats (Neotoma) for hantavirus using both enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. Woodrats were collected from a variety of habitats in Arizona and Utah. Only Neotoma lepida tested serologically positive in an ELISA assay for hantavirus and also contained SNV RNA. Moreover, across three distinct populations of N. lepida, individuals that tested serum positive were restricted to one population near Jericho, Utah. The prevalence of hantavirus in this population was 27% (4 of 15).