Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, OIE Collaborating Centre for Zoonoses in Europe, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
Med Microbiol Immunol. 2011 Nov;200(4):263-8. doi: 10.1007/s00430-011-0203-4. Epub 2011 May 25.
Highly endemic and outbreak regions for human hantavirus infections are located in the southern, southeastern, and western parts of Germany. The dominant hantavirus is the bank vole transmitted Puumala virus (PUUV). In the eastern part of Germany, previous investigations revealed Tula virus (TULV) and Dobrava-Belgrade virus (DOBV) infections in the respective rodent reservoirs. Here, we describe a seroprevalence study in forestry workers from Brandenburg, eastern Germany, using IgG ELISA and immunoblot tests based on recombinant TULV, DOBV, and PUUV antigens. Out of the 563 sera tested, 499 from male and 64 from female workers, we found 41 out of the 499 (8.2%) sera from men (mean age 47 years) and 10 out of 64 (15.6%) from the women (mean age 48 years) anti-hantavirus-positive. The majority of the 51 seropositive samples reacted exclusively in the TULV (n=22) and DOBV tests (n=17). Focus reduction neutralization assay investigations on selected sera confirmed the presence of TULV- and DOBV-specific antibodies in the forestry workers. These investigations demonstrated a potential health threat for forestry workers and also the average population in non-endemic geographical regions where TULV and DOBV are circulating in the corresponding reservoir hosts. The infections in this region might be frequently overlooked due to their unspecific and mild symptoms.
德国南部、东南部和西部地区是人汉坦病毒感染的高度流行和爆发地区。主要的汉坦病毒是由鼩鼱传播的普马拉病毒（PUUV）。在德国东部，以前的调查显示，在各自的啮齿动物宿主中存在图拉病毒（TULV）和多布拉瓦-贝尔格莱德病毒（DOBV）感染。在这里，我们描述了一项针对德国东部勃兰登堡林业工人的血清流行率研究，使用 IgG ELISA 和基于重组 TULV、DOBV 和 PUUV 抗原的免疫印迹试验。在 563 份血清中，有 499 份来自男性和 64 份来自女性工人，我们发现 499 份男性血清中有 41 份（8.2%）（平均年龄 47 岁）和 64 份女性血清中有 10 份（15.6%）（平均年龄 48 岁）抗汉坦病毒呈阳性。大多数 51 份血清阳性样本仅在 TULV（n=22）和 DOBV 测试（n=17）中反应。对选定血清的焦点减少中和测定调查证实了林业工人中存在 TULV 和 DOBV 特异性抗体。这些研究表明，在 TULV 和 DOBV 在相应宿主中传播的非流行地区，林业工人和普通人群存在潜在的健康威胁。由于其非特异性和轻度症状，该地区的感染可能经常被忽视。
