Naslov
Hantaviruses and Rickettsia spp. in small rodents from Croatia

Autori
Svoboda, Petra ; Dobler, Gerhard ; Margaletić, Josip ; Turk, Nenad ; Vucelja, Marko ; Habuš, Josipa ; Kurolt, Ivan-Christian ; Cvetko Krajinović, Lidija ; Tadin, Ante ; Markotić, Alemka ; Essbauer, Sandra

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
Medical Corps International Forum, Supplement 4./4-2011 / Lupi, Gianpiero - Bon : Beta Verlag & Marketinggesellschaft mbH, 2011

Skup
Medical Biodefense Conference

Mjesto i datum
München, Njemačka, 25.10.2011. - 28.10.2011

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
Hantaviruses; Rickettsia; Croatia; Biodefense

Sažetak
Croatia, as a new NATO member, has a unique strategic position connecting Europe´s West and East, North and South. It is a melting pot of infectious agents and emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases as well. Hantaviruses and Rickettsia spp. are important emerging infectious diseases in Croatia and the knowledge about their occurence and distribution is important for the public health, as well as, for military forces. As far as known whole Croatia (except the Adriatic coast and islands) is endemic for hantaviruses. According to the limited research data Rickettsia spp. occur mainly at the Adriatic coast and the Adriatic islands. The aim of our study was to detect hantaviruses and Rickettsia spp. in small rodents from one locality in the mountainous area of Central Croatia where similar epidemiological surveys have not been conducted so far and from one locality in the lowland forest in northwestern Croatia. In the current study a total of 194 heart, lung and kidney samples taken from small rodents were analyzed. The heart and part of lung samples were tested on hantaviruses by a conventional pan-hantavirus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and for Rickettsia spp. using a quantitative real time PCR. Transsudates of lungs and hearts were also tested for antibodies against hantaviruses and rickettsiae by indirect immunofluorescence (IIFT) using commercial test kits for each pathogen. We found four positive samples for Rickettsia spp. using IIFT and in addition, three positive samples were detected by quantitative PCR. There were 29 positive samples on hantaviruses (21 Dobrava and 8 Puumala viruses) using conventional PCR. The phylogenetic analysis of complete S and partial M segment of Dobrava and Puumala viruses confirmed our previous findings that hantaviruses in Croatia belong to the Alpe-Adrian lineage. This study provides us with first information that parts of Croatia, other than coast and islands, are endemic for Rickettsia spp. and that further studies among rodents, as well as among human population will have high strategic and public health significance. In addition we confirmed strong co-existence of both European pathogenic hantaviruses (Puumala and Dobrava) in Croatia.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Javno zdravstvo i zdravstvena zaštita, Veterinarska medicina

POVEZANOST RADA