Seoul Virus and Hantavirus Disease, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China

• Main Authors: Yong-Zhen Zhang, Xue Dong, Xin Li, Chao Ma, Hai-Ping Xiong, Guang-Jie Yan, Na Gao, Dong-Mei Jiang, Ming-Hui Li, Lu-Ping Li, Yang Zou, Alexander Plyusnin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2009-02-01
• Series: Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Subjects: HFRS outbreak; hantavirus; Seoul virus; laboratory rats; wild Norway rats; China
• Online Access: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/15/2/08-0291_article

An outbreak of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) occurred among students in Shenyang Pharmaceutical University in 2006. We conducted a study to characterize etiologic agents of the outbreaks and clarify the origin of hantaviruses causing infections in humans and laboratory animals. Immunoglobulin (Ig) M or IgG antibodies against Seoul virus (SEOV) were detected in the serum samples of all 8 patients. IgG antibodies against hantavirus were also identified in laboratory rats, which were used by these students for their scientific research. Phylogenetic analysis showed that partial small segment sequences recovered from humans, laboratory rats, and local wild rats belonged to SEOV. Hantavirus sequences recovered from humans and laboratory rats clustered within 1 of 3 lineages of SEOV circulating among local wild rats in Shenyang. These results suggest that the HFRS outbreak in Shenyang was caused by SEOV that was circulating among local wild rats and had also infected the laboratory rats.