Campus Huechuraba, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, 8580745, Santiago, Chile.
Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.
Int J Health Geogr. 2018 Jun 22;17(1):22. doi: 10.1186/s12942-018-0142-z.
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is an infection endemic in Chile and Argentina, caused by Andes hantavirus (ANDV). The rodent Oligoryzomys longicaudatus is suggested as the main reservoir, although several other species of Sigmodontinae are known hosts of ANDV. Here, we explore potential ANDV transmission risk to humans in southern South America, based on eco-epidemiological associations among: six rodent host species, seropositive rodents, and human HPS cases.
We used ecological niche modeling and macroecological approaches to determine potential geographic distributions and assess environmental similarity among rodents and human HPS cases.
Highest numbers of rodent species (five) were in Chile between 35° and 41°S latitude. Background similarity tests showed niche similarity in 14 of the 56 possible comparisons: similarity between human HPS cases and the background of all species and seropositive rodents was supported (except for Abrothrix sanborni). Of interest among the results is the likely role of O. longicaudatus, Loxodontomys micropus, Abrothrix olivaceus, and Abrothrix longipilis in HPS transmission to humans.
Our results support a role of rodent species' distributions as a risk factor for human HPS at coarse scales, and suggest that the role of the main reservoir (O. longicaudatus) may be supported by the broader rodent host community in some areas.
汉坦病毒肺综合征（HPS）是一种在智利和阿根廷流行的感染病，由安第斯山汉坦病毒（ANDV）引起。长爪沙鼠被认为是主要的储存宿主，但已知 Sigmodontinae 科的其他几个物种也是 ANDV 的宿主。在这里，我们根据六种啮齿动物宿主物种、血清阳性啮齿动物和人类 HPS 病例之间的生态流行病学关联，探讨了南美洲南部人类感染 ANDV 的潜在风险。
我们使用生态位模型和宏观生态学方法来确定啮齿动物和人类 HPS 病例的潜在地理分布，并评估环境相似性。
在智利，有五种啮齿动物物种（长爪沙鼠、小毛足鼠、多毛鼠、短耳鼠和草原田鼠）的数量最多，分布在 35°至 41°S 之间。背景相似性测试表明，在 56 种可能的比较中有 14 种具有生态位相似性：人类 HPS 病例与所有物种和血清阳性啮齿动物的背景之间存在相似性（除了 A. sanborni 之外）。结果中值得注意的是，O. longicaudatus、Loxodontomys micropus、Abrothrix olivaceus 和 Abrothrix longipilis 等啮齿动物物种在向人类传播 HPS 方面可能发挥作用。
我们的研究结果支持啮齿动物物种分布作为人类 HPS 在粗尺度上的风险因素，并且表明主要储存宿主（O. longicaudatus）的作用可能在某些地区得到更广泛的啮齿动物宿主群落的支持。
