Experimental Infection of the Cane Mouse Zygodontomys brevicauda (Family Muridae) with Guanarito Virus (Arenaviridae), the Etiologic Agent of Venezuelan Hemorrhagic Fever

Chronic infections in specific rodents appear to be crucial to the long-term persistence of arena viruses in nature. The cane mouse, Zygodontomys brevicauda, is a natural host of Guanarito virus (family Arenaviridae), the etiologic agent of Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever. The purpose of this study was...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 1999-10, Vol.180 (4), p.966-969
Main Authors: Fulhorst, Charles F., Ksiazek, Thomas G., Peters, Clarence J., Tesh, Robert B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal age determination
Animals
Antibodies, Viral - blood
Arenaviridae - isolation & purification
Arenaviridae - pathogenicity
Arenavirus
Arenaviruses, New World - isolation & purification
Arenaviruses, New World - pathogenicity
Biological and medical sciences
Blood
Experimental viral diseases and models
Guanarito virus
Hemorrhagic Fever, American - pathology
Hemorrhagic Fever, American - physiopathology
Hemorrhagic Fever, American - urine
Infections
Infectious diseases
Major Articles
Medical sciences
Memory interference
Muridae
Oropharynx - virology
Rodents
Secretion
Spleen - virology
Tropical medicine
Urine
Venezuela
Viral diseases
Viruses
Zygodontomys brevicauda
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Summary:Chronic infections in specific rodents appear to be crucial to the long-term persistence of arena viruses in nature. The cane mouse, Zygodontomys brevicauda, is a natural host of Guanarito virus (family Arenaviridae), the etiologic agent of Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the natural history of Guanarito virus infection in Z. brevicauda. Thirty-nine laboratory-reared cane mice each were inoculated subcutaneously with 3.0 log10 plaque-forming units of the Guanarito virus prototype strain INH-95551. No lethality was associated with infection in any animal, regardless of age at inoculation. The 13 newborn, 14 weanling, and 8 of the 12 adult animals developed chronic viremic infections characterized by persistent shedding of infectious virus in oropharyngeal secretions and urine. These findings indicate that Guanarito virus infection in Z. brevicauda can be chronic and thus support the concept that this rodent species is the natural reservoir of Guanarito virus.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1086/315029