Anjozorobe Hantavirus, a New Genetic Variant of Thailand Virus Detected in Rodents from Madagascar

Jean-Marc Reynes (1) , Nadia Razafindralambo (2) , Vincent Lacoste (3) , Marie-Marie Olive (2) , Tony Andrianaivo Barivelo (4, 5) , Voahangy Soarimalala (5) , Jean-Michel Heraud (2) , Anne Lavergne (3)

1 CNR-UBIVE - Centre National de Référence des Hantavirus - Biologie des Infections Virales Emergentes
2 IPM - Unité de Virologie [Antananarivo, Madagascar]
3 Laboratoire des Interactions Virus-Hôtes [Cayenne, Guyane Française]
4 Université d'Antananarivo
5 Association Vahatra [Antananarivo, Madagascar]

Until now, there was only serological evidence that hantaviruses were circulating in rodents and infecting humans from Madagascar. To assess the presence of a hantavirus on the island, between October, 2008, and March, 2010, we sampled 585 rodents belonging to seven species in the Anjozorobe-Angavo forest corridor, 70 km north from the capital city Antananarivo. A hantavirus was detected from organs of the ubiquist roof rat (Rattus rattus) and of the endemic Major's tufted-tailed rat (Eliurus majori). Amazingly, sequence analysis of the S (small), M (medium), and L (large) coding DNA sequence of this virus showed that the Anjozorobe strain (proposed name) was a new genetic variant of Thailand virus (THAIV) that comprises other variants found in Southeast Asia. Because THAIV is suspected of causing hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in humans, ongoing studies are addressing the risk of infection by this new variant in the Malagasy population.

Domaines: Virologie; Biologie moléculaire; Maladies émergentes; Maladies infectieuses; Santé publique et épidémiologie

Jean-Marc Reynes, Nadia Razafindralambo, Vincent Lacoste, Marie-Marie Olive, Tony Andrianaivo Barivelo, et al.. Anjozorobe Hantavirus, a New Genetic Variant of Thailand Virus Detected in Rodents from Madagascar. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 2014, 14 (3), pp.212 - 219. ⟨10.1089/vbz.2013.1359⟩. ⟨pasteur-01675483⟩