ABSTRACT
Hantaviruses are endemic in the Balkans, particularly in Serbia, where sporadic cases and/or outbreaks of hantaviral human disease have been reported repeatedly, and evidenced serologically. Here, we present genetic detection of Dobrava-Belgrade virus (DOBV) hantaviral sequences in wild rodents trapped in central Serbia. All the animals were pre-screened serologically by indirect immunofluorescence (IF) test and only those with a positive finding of hantaviral antigens were further tested by polymerase chain reaction. Of the total of 104 trapped animals, 20 were found to be IF positive and of those three were positive for hantaviral RNA: one Microtus arvalis for Tula virus, and one each of Apodemus agrarius and Glis glis for DOBV. Phylogenetic analysis of the obtained sequences implies putative DOBV spillover infection of A. agrarius and G. glis from Apodemus flavicollis. However, future investigations should help to identify the most common natural host and geographical distribution of DOBV in its reservoir hosts in Serbia.
Subject(s)
Myoxidae/virology , Orthohantavirus/genetics , Animals , Disease Reservoirs , Orthohantavirus/classification , Orthohantavirus/isolation & purification , Phylogeny , RNA, Viral/blood , SerbiaABSTRACT
The objective of the study was to analyze the epidemiological features of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Montenegro. The study included 169 cases of HFRS diagnosed in the period between 1995 and 2005 according to the clinical symptoms and serological confirmation. For the analysis of the demographic characteristics of the cases, as well as of the chronological and topographical features of the disease, a descriptive epidemiological method was employed. The average incidence rate in the observed period was 2.6 per 100,000. In the observed period, 8 people died; the average case fatality rate was 4.8% (range: 0.1-15%). Among the diseased persons, 116 were males and 53 were females; most of the cases were adults. The greatest number of HFRS cases occurred during the summer months. The highest incidence rates were registered in the northeastern, rural part of the country. The most frequent type of hantaviruses in Montenegro were Dobrava-Belgrade and Hantaan, carried by rodent species, i.e., the yellow-neck mouse and the striped-field mouse. It is likely that HFRS in Montenegro will become more common in the near future, unless public health control measures are taken.
Subject(s)
Hantaan virus/isolation & purification , Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome , Orthohantavirus/isolation & purification , Adolescent , Adult , Age Distribution , Animals , Arvicolinae , Child , Child, Preschool , Disease Reservoirs/virology , Female , Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome/epidemiology , Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome/mortality , Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome/virology , Humans , Incidence , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Middle Aged , Montenegro/epidemiology , Murinae , Rodent Diseases/epidemiology , Rodent Diseases/virology , SeasonsABSTRACT
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus causes one of the most severe diseases in humans, with a mortality rate of up to 30%. It is transmitted to humans by the bite of hard ticks or by contact with blood or tissues from human patients or infected livestock. Balkan Peninsula is an endemic region of the disease, and sporadic cases or even outbreaks are observed every year. The M RNA segment encodes for the glycoprotein precursor of two surface glycoproteins Gn and Gc. Up to now complete M RNA CCHF virus sequences have been published from strains isolated in Nigeria, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Russia. In the present study, the genetic characterization of the complete nucleotide sequence of the M RNA segment of a Balkan CCHF virus strain, Kosovo/9553/2001, isolated in summer of 2001 from a human fatal case in Kosovo is reported. This is the first published complete M nucleotide sequence of a CCHF virus strain isolated in Balkans. It was found that the Balkan strain is similar to the Russian strain, both strains differing from all other completely sequenced CCHF virus strains by approximately 22% at the nucleotide level forming an independent clade in the phylogenetic tree.
Subject(s)
Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo/genetics , RNA, Viral/genetics , DNA, Complementary/chemistry , DNA, Complementary/isolation & purification , Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo/isolation & purification , Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean/virology , Humans , Membrane Glycoproteins/genetics , Molecular Sequence Data , Phylogeny , Sequence Analysis, DNA , Sequence Homology , Viral Proteins/genetics , YugoslaviaABSTRACT
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever was for the first time recognized in Yugoslavia in 1971. In this paper were presented clinical and laboratory findings of a patient infected with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Kosovo in 1999. The disease was manifested with fever, headache, vomiting, myalgia, abdominal pain, pharyngitis, conjuctival injection, diarrhoea, hypotension, gingival bleeding, skin hemorrhages, hematuria, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, jaundice, thrombocytopenia, prolonged prothrombin and partial thromboplastin time, high serum fibrinogen degradation product, leukocytosis, mild anemia, elevated levels of bilirubin and serum aminotransferases. Diagnosis was set clinically, epidemiologically and supported by serological tests. Supportive management of hypotension, multi-organ failure, coagulation disturbances the patient was of the utmost in the treatment together with the isolation and prophylactic measures.
