Forbes Kristian M, Voutilainen Liina, Jääskeläinen Anne, Sironen Tarja, Kinnunen Paula M, Stuart Peter, Vapalahti Olli, Henttonen Heikki, Huitu Otso
1 Suonenjoki Research Unit, Finnish Forest Research Institute , Suonenjoki, Finland .
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2014 Apr;14(4):278-83. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2013.1526. Epub 2014 Apr 1.
In northern Europe, rodent populations display cyclic density fluctuations that can be correlated with the human incidence of zoonotic diseases they spread. During density peaks, field voles (Microtus agrestis) become one of the most abundant rodent species in northern Europe, yet little is known of the viruses they host. We screened 709 field voles, trapped from 14 sites over 3 years, for antibodies against four rodent-borne, potentially zoonotic viruses or virus groups-hantaviruses, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), Ljungan virus (LV), and orthopoxviruses (OPV). Antibodies against all four viruses were detected. However, seroprevalence of hantaviruses, LV, and LCMV was low. OPV antibodies (most likely cowpox) were more common but restricted geographically to southeastern Finland. Within these sites, antibody prevalence showed delayed density dependence in spring and direct density dependence in fall. Higher seroprevalence was found in spring than fall. These results substantially increase knowledge of the presence and distribution of viruses of field voles in Finland, as well as CPXV infection dynamics.
在北欧,啮齿动物种群呈现出周期性的密度波动,这与它们传播的人畜共患疾病的人类发病率相关。在密度高峰期,田鼠(Microtus agrestis)成为北欧最丰富的啮齿动物物种之一,但对它们所携带的病毒却知之甚少。我们在3年时间里从14个地点捕获了709只田鼠,检测它们针对四种啮齿动物传播的、潜在人畜共患病毒或病毒组——汉坦病毒、淋巴细胞性脉络丛脑膜炎病毒(LCMV)、吕京病毒(LV)和正痘病毒(OPV)的抗体。检测到了针对所有四种病毒的抗体。然而,汉坦病毒、LV和LCMV的血清阳性率较低。OPV抗体(很可能是牛痘)更为常见,但在地理上仅限于芬兰东南部。在这些地点内,抗体流行率在春季呈现延迟的密度依赖性,在秋季呈现直接的密度依赖性。春季的血清阳性率高于秋季。这些结果极大地增加了对芬兰田鼠病毒的存在和分布以及牛痘病毒感染动态的了解。