Absence of hantavirus in water voles and Eurasian beavers in Britain

Hantaviruses are RNA viruses (order Bunyavirales, family Hantaviridae) found in rodent, bat and insectivore reservoir-hosts and have been reported as an emerging significant zoonotic risk in Europe. As part of two native semiaquatic rodent restoration projects, tissue and urine samples were tested f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Veterinary record 2019-02, Vol.184 (8), p.253-253
Main Authors: Girling, Simon Justin, McElhinney, Lorraine M, Fraser, Mary A, Gow, Derek, Pizzi, Romain, Naylor, Adam, Cole, Georgina, Brown, Donna, Rosell, Frank, Schwab, Gerhard, Campbell-Palmer, Roisin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
arvicola amphibius
Arvicolinae - virology
British history
castor fiber
Eurasian beaver
Female
Females
Hantavirus
Hantavirus - isolation & purification
Hantavirus Infections - epidemiology
Hantavirus Infections - veterinary
Infections
Kidneys
Male
Real time
Rodentia - virology
Rodents
United Kingdom - epidemiology
Urine
Vectors (Biology)
Veterinary medicine
Viruses
water‐vole
Zoonoses
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Summary:Hantaviruses are RNA viruses (order Bunyavirales, family Hantaviridae) found in rodent, bat and insectivore reservoir-hosts and have been reported as an emerging significant zoonotic risk in Europe. As part of two native semiaquatic rodent restoration projects, tissue and urine samples were tested for hantavirus from water voles (Arvicola amphibius) (n=26, in 2015) and Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) (n=20, covering 2010–2015) using a pan-hantavirus nested real-time PCR test. Kidney and lung samples were also analysed by light microscopy after haematoxylin and eosin staining of formalin-fixed paraffin wax sections. Individuals selected included those forming the source of release animals and from those already free-living in Britain in areas targeted for release, to identify existing reservoirs. For water voles all tested individuals were from Britain (n=26); for beavers some were from Britain (Scotland) (n=9) and some were samples from wild Norwegian (Telemark region) (n=6) and German (Bavaria region) animals (n=5) that formed the source of accepted wild populations currently present in Scotland. All samples tested from both species were negative for hantavirus RNA and showed no significant histopathological changes suggesting that reservoir infection with hantavirus in water voles in Britain and Eurasian beavers present in Britain, Norway and Bavaria, Germany, is unlikely.
ISSN:0042-4900
2042-7670
DOI:10.1136/vr.105246