Scharninghausen Jerrold J, Pfeffer Martin, Meyer Hermann, Davis Donald S, Honeycutt Rodney L, Faulde Michael
Department of Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2002 Spring;2(1):19-27. doi: 10.1089/153036602760260742.
To determine the threat of hantavirus infection to U.S. Forces, small mammals were sampled from training areas within Croatia. Of the 152 samples, 20 were positive for Tula virus (TUL), 12 common voles (Microtus arvalis) and eight field voles (Microtus agrestis). Sequences from M. agrestis were found in five and sequences from M. arvalis were found in six of seven sequence groups. The high percentage of the same TUL sequences in M. agrestis and M. arvalis suggests the co-occurrence of this virus in both Microtus species is not an accident. If M. agrestis field voles were accidentally infected with TUL, the percentage of polymerase chain reaction-positive animals should be lower than that of M. arvalis. Because the infection rate in M. arvalis (11.8%) was less than half of that found in M. agrestis (27.6%), it is unlikely that the predominance of positive M. agrestis could be due to accidental exposure. It is much more likely that the Croatian virus is circulating between both rodent species.
为确定汉坦病毒感染对美国军队的威胁，从克罗地亚境内的训练区域采集了小型哺乳动物样本。在152份样本中，20份图拉病毒（TUL）呈阳性，其中12份来自普通田鼠（草原田鼠），8份来自田鼠（东方田鼠）。在七个序列组中的五个组中发现了来自东方田鼠的序列，在六个组中发现了来自草原田鼠的序列。草原田鼠和东方田鼠中相同TUL序列的高比例表明，这种病毒在两种田鼠物种中的同时出现并非偶然。如果东方田鼠意外感染了TUL，聚合酶链反应阳性动物的比例应该低于草原田鼠。由于草原田鼠的感染率（27.6%）不到东方田鼠（11.8%）的一半，草原田鼠阳性占主导不太可能是由于意外接触。更有可能的是，克罗地亚的这种病毒在两种啮齿动物物种之间传播。
