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GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF HANTAVIRUSES IN THAILAND AND POTENTIAL HUMAN HEALTH SIGNIFICANCE OF THAILAND VIRUS

Phylogenetic investigations, sequence comparisons, and antigenic cross-reactivity studies confirmed the classification of Thailand virus (THAIV) as a distinct hantavirus species. The examination of sera from 402 rodents trapped in 19 provinces of Thailand revealed that five greater bandicoot rats (Bandicota indica) and one lesser bandicoot rat (B. savilei) from four provinces were focus reduction neutralization test (FRNT) antibody-positive for THAIV. One of 260 patients from Surin province in Thailand (initially suspected of having contracted leptospirosis, but found to be negative) showed symptoms compatible with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). The serum of this patient showed high titers of hantavirus-reactive IgM and IgG. FRNT investigations confirmed virus-neutralizing antibodies against THAIV. These observations suggest that THAIV or THAI-like viruses occur throughout Indochina and may represent an additional causative agent of HFRS.

Received September 15, 2005. Accepted for publication July 19, 2006.

Acknowledgments: We thank Dr. P. W. Lee (WHO Collaborating Center for Virus Research for Hantaviruses, Korea) for supplying the THAIV. We also thank Hitoshi Suzuki of the Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University and Dr. Ken P. Aplin, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra, Australia, for helpful advice on the classification and evolution of rodents. We also acknowledge Brigitte Pohl for technical assistance. This work was partially supported by a grant from the 21st Century COE Program, "Program of Excellence for Zoonosis Control" of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture and by grants from the US-Japan Medical Committee, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and Charité Medical School.

^* Address correspondence to: Jiro Arikawa, Professor, Institute for Animal Experimentation, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Kita-ku, Kita-15, Nishi-7, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan. E-mail: j_arika{at}med.hokudai.ac.jp

Authors’ addresses: Sirima Pattamadilok, National Institute of Health, Department of Medical Sciences, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand. Byoung-Hee Lee, Kumiko Yoshimatsu, Megumi Okumura, Ichiro Nakamura, Koichi Araki, and Jiro Arikawa, Institute for Animal Experimentation, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Kita-ku, Kita-15, Nishi-7, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan, Telephone: +81 11 706 6905, Fax: +81 11 706 7879. Sanit Kumperasart, National Institute of Health, Department of Medical Sciences, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand. Yuvaluk Khoprasert, Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Zoology Research Group, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. Prayadh Dangsupa and Pornpitak Panlar, Bureau of General Communicable Disease, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand. Burkhard Jandrig, Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Department of Tumor Genetics, 13092 Berlin, Germany. Detlev H. Krüger, Boris Klempa, and Jonas Schmidt, Institute of Virology, Charite Medical School, Campus Mitte, 10098 Berlin, Germany. Thomas Jäkel, German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), GTZ Office Bangkok, 193/63 Lake Ratchada Bldg., 16^th Floor, New Ratchadapisek Road, Bangkok 10110, Thailand. Rainer Ulrich, Institute of Virology, Charite Medical School, Campus Mitte, 10098 Berlin, Germany; Current address: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Epidemiology, 16868 Wusterhausen, Germany, Telephone: +49 33979 80 162, Fax: +49 33979 80 222. Hiroaki Kariwa, Laboratory of Public Health, Department of Environmental Veterinary Science, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan.

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