PUUV

Nephropathia epidemica (NE), a mild form of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), is an acute febrile illness caused by Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV). NE manifests typically with acute kidney injury (AKI), with a case fatality rate of about 0.1%. The treatment and management of hantavirus infections are mainly supportive, although neutralizing monoclonal antibodies and immune sera therapeutics are under investigation. In order to assess the potential use of antibody therapeutics in NE, we sought to determine the relationship between circulating PUUV neutralizing antibodies, PUUV nucleocapsid protein (N) IgG antibodies, and viral loads with markers of disease severity...

Pathogens might affect behavior of infected reservoir hosts and hence their trappability, which could bias population estimates of pathogen prevalence. In this study, we used snap-trapping data on Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV)-infected ( n  = 1619) and noninfected ( n  = 6940) bank voles ( Myodes glareolus ) from five vole cycles, normally representing increase, peak, and decline phase, to evaluate if infection status affected trapping success. If PUUV infection, as previously suggested, increases activity and/or mobility, we would expect a higher proportion of infected than noninfected specimens in the first trapping night...

Haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is the most widespread natural-focal human disease in the Russian Federation. In this study, we report virological assessment of a fatal case of HFRS-PUUV (Puumala virus) in the Kursk Region. The infection caused severe multiorgan failure and the maximum viral load was detected in the tissue of the spleen. Viral sequences were obtained from the patient's autopsy material and lung tissues of bank voles captured in the region. These sequences formed a new clade in the PUUV phylogenetic tree, an outgroup to all known Russian (RUS) lineage sequences...

Acute kidney injury (AKI) with proteinuria is a hallmark of infections with Eurasian orthohantaviruses. Different kidney cells are identified as target cells of hantaviruses. Mesangial cells may play a central role in the pathogenesis of AKI by regulation of inflammatory mediators and signaling cascades. Therefore, we examined the characteristics of hantavirus infection on human renal mesangial cells (HRMCs). Receptor expression and infection with pathogenic Puumala virus (PUUV) and low-pathogenic Tula virus (TULV) were explored...

Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Characteristic clinical findings include acute kidney injury (AKI), thrombocytopenia, and capillary leakage. Smoking increases the risk of severe AKI, but it is not known whether alcohol consumption predisposes patients to a more severe infection. Liver and pancreatic enzymes, as well as biomarkers of alcohol consumption (gamma-glutamyl transferase, GGT; carbohydrate-deficient transferrin, CDT; GGT-CDT combination; and ethyl glucuronide, EtG), were measured from 66 patients with acute PUUV infection during hospitalization and at the convalescence phase...

Hantaviruses are enveloped viruses that possess a tri-segmented, negative-sense RNA genome. The viral S-segment encodes the multifunctional nucleocapsid protein (N), which is involved in genome packaging, intracellular protein transport, immunoregulation, and several other crucial processes during hantavirus infection. In this study, we generated fluorescently tagged N protein constructs derived from Puumalavirus (PUUV), the dominant hantavirus species in Central, Northern, and Eastern Europe. We comprehensively characterized this protein in the rodent cell line CHO-K1, monitoring the dynamics of N protein complex formation and investigating co-localization with host proteins as well as the viral glycoproteins Gc and Gn...

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is a zoonotic disease commonly diagnosed in the Volga Federal District (VFD). HFRS is caused by Puumala   orthohantavirus (PUUV), and this virus is usually detected in bank voles as its natural host ( Myodes glareolus ). The PUUV genome is composed of the single-stranded, negative-sense RNA containing three segments. The goal of the current study is to identify genome variants of PUUV strains circulating in bank voles captured in the Udmurt Republic (UR) and Ulyanovsk region (ULR)...

Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) is the most important hantavirus species in Europe, causing the majority of human hantavirus disease cases. In central and western Europe, the occurrence of human infections is mainly driven by bank vole population dynamics influenced by beech mast. In Germany, hantavirus epidemic years are observed in 2- to 5-year intervals. Many of the human infections are recorded in summer and early autumn, coinciding with peaks in bank vole populations. Here, we describe a molecular epidemiological investigation in a small company with eight employees of whom five contracted hantavirus infections in late 2017...

In Europe, zoonotic Leptospira spp. and orthohantaviruses are mainly associated with specific rodent hosts. These pathogens cause febrile human diseases with similar symptoms and disease progression. In Lithuania, the presence of Dobrava-Belgrade orthohantavirus (DOBV), Tula orthohantavirus (TULV) and Leptospira spp. in rodent reservoirs is still unknown and Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) was detected in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) at only one site. Therefore, we collected and screened 1617 rodents and insectivores from Lithuania for zoonotic (re-)emerging Leptospira and orthohantaviruses...

Annually, over 10,000 cases of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) are diagnosed in Europe. Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) causes most of the European HFRS cases. PUUV causes usually a relatively mild disease, which is rarely fatal. However, the severity of the infection varies greatly, and factors affecting the severity are mostly unrevealed. Host genes are known to have an effect. The typical clinical features in PUUV infection include acute kidney injury, thrombocytopenia, and increased vascular permeability...

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is an emerging infectious disease that remains a global public health threat. The highest incidence rate is among zoonotic disease cases in Russia. Most cases of HFRS are reported in the Volga region of Russia, which commonly identifies the Puumala virus (PUUV) as a pathogen. HFRS management is especially challenging due to the lack of specific treatments and vaccines. This study aims to develop new approaches for HFRS prevention. Our goal is to test the efficacy of microvesicles (MVs) as PUUV nucleocapsid (N) and glycoproteins (Gn/Gc) delivery vehicles...

BACKGROUND: Serologic cross-reactivity between hantaviruses often complicates the interpretation of the results. AIM: To analyze the diagnostic value of indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and western blot (WB) in the diagnosis of hantavirus infections. METHODS: One hundred eighty-eight serum samples from Puumala (PUUV) and Dobrava (DOBV) orthohantavirus infected patients were analyzed. Serology was performed using commercial tests (Euroimmun, Lübeck, Germany)...

BACKGROUND: Infections with the Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) in humans may cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), known as nephropathia epidemica (NE), which is associated with acute renal failure in severe cases. In response to PUUV-infections, a subset of potent antiviral NKG2C+ NK cells expand, whose role in virus defence and pathogenesis of NE is unclear. NKG2C+ NK cell proliferation is mediated by binding of NKG2C/CD94 to HLA-E on infected cells. The proliferation and activation of NKG2C+ NK cells via the NKG2C/HLA-E axis is affected by different NKG2C (NKG2Cwt/del) and HLA-E (HLA-E*0101/0103) alleles, which naturally occur in the human host...

Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. We aimed to evaluate whether ABO and rhesus blood groups associate with the susceptibility or the severity of PUUV infection. We analyzed blood groups in 289 adult patients treated in Tampere University hospital due to PUUV infection during the years 1982-2017. Patients' blood group distribution was compared to that of healthy, voluntary blood donors living in the Tampere University Hospital responsibility area ( n = 21,833). The severity of PUUV infection, as judged by the severity of acute kidney injury (AKI), thrombocytopenia, inflammation, capillary leakage, and the length of hospital care, was analyzed across the groups...

Central and peripheral hormone deficiencies have been documented during and after acute hantavirus infection. Thrombocytopenia and coagulation abnormalities are common findings in haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). The associations between coagulation and hormonal abnormalities in HFRS have not been studied yet. Forty-two patients diagnosed with Puumala virus (PUUV) infection were examined during the acute phase and on a follow-up visit approximately one month later. Hormonal defects were common during acute PUUV infection...

In the European part of Russia, the highest number of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) cases are registered in the Volga Federal District (VFD), which includes the Republic of Tatarstan (RT). Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) is the main causative agent of HFRS identified in the RT. The goal of the current study is to analyze the genetic variations of the PUUV strains and possible presence of chimeric and reassortant variants among the PUUV strains circulating in bank vole populations in the Trans-Kama area of the RT...

In Europe, Puumala virus (PUUV) transmitted by the bank vole ( Myodes glareolus ) is the causative agent of nephropathia epidemica (NE), a mild form of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. In France, very little is known about the spatial and temporal variability of the virus circulating within bank vole populations. The present study involved monitoring of bank vole population dynamics and PUUV microdiversity over a ten-year period (2000-2009) in two forests of the Ardennes region: Elan and Croix-Scaille...

In Europe, two species of hantaviruses, Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) and Dobrava orthohantavirus (DOBV), cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in humans. The rodent reservoirs for these viruses are common throughout Ukraine, and hence, the goal of this study was to identify the species and strains of hantaviruses circulating in this region. We conducted surveillance of small rodent populations in a rural region in northwestern Ukraine approximately 30 km from Poland. From the 424 small mammals captured, we identified nine species, of which the most abundant were Myodes glareolus , the bank vole (45%); Apodemus flavicollis , the yellow-necked mouse (29%); and Apodemus agrarius , the striped field mouse (14...

Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) causes a hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), also called nephropathia epidemica (NE), which is mainly endemic in Europe and Russia. The clinical features include a low platelet count, altered coagulation, endothelial activation, and acute kidney injury (AKI). Multiple connections between coagulation pathways and inflammatory mediators, as well as complement and kallikrein-kinin systems, have been reported. The bleeding symptoms are usually mild. PUUV-infected patients also have an increased risk for disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and thrombosis...

Finland has the highest incidence of hantavirus infections globally, with a significant impact on public health. The large coverage of boreal forests and the cyclic dynamics of the dominant forest rodent species, the bank vole Myodes glareolus, explain most of this. We review the relationships between Puumala hantavirus (PUUV), its host rodent, and the hantavirus disease, nephropathia epidemica (NE), in Finland. We describe the history of NE and its diagnostic research in Finland, the seasonal and multiannual cyclic dynamics of PUUV in bank voles impacting human epidemiology, and we compare our northern epidemiological patterns with those in temperate Europe...