scholarly journals Serological evidence for the reservoir hosts of cowpox virus in British wildlife

1995 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. Crouch ◽  
D. Baxby ◽  
C. M. McCracken ◽  
R. M. Gaskell ◽  
M. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Reservoir Host ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Cowpox Virus ◽  
Wild Rodents ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Wood Mice ◽  
Bank Voles ◽  
Reservoir Hosts

SummaryThe reservoir host of cowpox virus in Western Europe is not known, but epidemiological evidence from human and feline infections indicates that the virus is probably endemic in small wild rodents. Therefore, serum and tissue samples were collected from a variety of wild British mammals and some birds, and tested for evidence of Orthopoxvirus infection. Antibody reacting with cowpox virus was detected in 9/44 (20%) bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus), 8/24 (33%) field voles (Microtus agrestis), 17/86 (20%) wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) and 1/44 house mice (Mus musculus), but in no other animal species tested. Although virus was not isolated from any animal, this serological survey, together with other evidence, suggests that bank and field voles and wood mice are the main reservoir hosts of cowpox virus in Great Britain.

scholarly journals Cowpox: reservoir hosts and geographic range

1999 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 455-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. CHANTREY ◽  
H. MEYER ◽  
D. BAXBY ◽  
M. BEGON ◽  
K. J. BOWN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Cowpox Virus ◽  
Domestic Cats ◽  
Wild Rodents ◽  
Seasonal Incidence ◽  
Wood Mice ◽  
Bank Voles ◽  
Reservoir Hosts

It is generally accepted that the reservoir hosts of cowpox virus are wild rodents, although direct evidence for this is lacking for much of the virus's geographic range. Here, through a combination of serology and PCR, we demonstrate conclusively that the main hosts in Great Britain are bank voles, wood mice and short-tailed field voles. However, we also suggest that wood mice may not be able to maintain infection alone, explaining the absence of cowpox from Ireland where voles are generally not found. Infection in wild rodents varies seasonally, and this variation probably underlies the marked seasonal incidence of infection in accidental hosts such as humans and domestic cats.

scholarly journals A longitudinal study of an endemic disease in its wildlife reservoir: cowpox and wild rodents

2000 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. HAZEL ◽  
M. BENNETT ◽  
J. CHANTREY ◽  
K. BOWN ◽  
R. CAVANAGH ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Reservoir Host ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Wild Rodents ◽  
Wild Rodent ◽  
Wild Mammals ◽  
Wood Mice ◽  
Zoonotic Infections ◽  
Bank Voles

Cowpox is an orthopoxvirus infection endemic in European wild rodents, but with a wide host range including human beings. In this longitudinal study we examined cowpox in two wild rodent species, bank voles Clethrionomys glareolus and wood mice Apodemus sylvaticus, to investigate the dynamics of a virus in its wild reservoir host. Trapping was carried out at 4-weekly intervals over 3 years and each animal caught was uniquely identified, blood sampled and tested for antibodies to cowpox. Antibody prevalence was higher in bank voles than in wood mice and seroconversion varied seasonally, with peaks in autumn. Infection was most common in males of both species but no clear association with age was demonstrated. This study provides a model for studying other zoonotic infections that derive from wild mammals since other approaches, such as one-off samples, will fail to detect the variation in infection and thus, risk to human health, demonstrated here.

scholarly journals Naturally Occurring Orthopoxviruses: Potential for Recombination with Vaccine Vectors

1998 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 2542-2547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tore Sandvik ◽  
Morten Tryland ◽  
Hilde Hansen ◽  
Reidar Mehl ◽  
Ugo Moens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Cowpox Virus ◽  
Clethrionomys Rufocanus ◽  
Wood Mice ◽  
Bank Voles ◽  
Distribution And Ecology ◽  
Clethrionomys Rutilus

Orthopoxviruses are being increasingly used as live recombinant vectors for vaccination against numerous infectious diseases in humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. For risk assessments and surveillance, information about the occurrence, distribution and ecology of orthopoxviruses in western Europe is important but has mainly been based on serological investigations. We have examined kidneys, lungs, spleens, and livers of Norwegian small rodents and common shrews (Sorex araneus) for the presence of orthopoxvirus DNA sequences by PCR with primers complementary to the viral thymidine kinase (TK) gene. PCR amplicons were verified as orthopoxvirus specific by hybridization with a vaccinia virus TK-specific probe. A total of 347 animals (1,388 organs) from eight locations in different parts of Norway, collected at different times of the year during 1993 to 1995, were examined. Fifty-two animals (15%) from five locations, up to 1,600 km apart, carried orthopoxvirus DNA in one or more of their organs, most frequently in the lungs. These included 9 of 68 (13%) bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus), 4 of 13 (31%) gray-sided voles (Clethrionomys rufocanus), 3 of 11 (27%) northern red-backed voles (Clethrionomys rutilus), 16 of 76 (21%) wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), and 20 of 157 (13%) common shrews. The previous isolation of cowpox virus from two clinical cases of infection (human and feline) at two of the locations investigated suggests that the viruses detected are cowpox and that some of the virus-carrying small mammalian species should be included among the cowpox virus natural reservoir hosts in Scandinavia and western Europe.

Hantavirus outbreak in Western Europe: reservoir host infection dynamics related to human disease patterns

2010 ◽  
Vol 139 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. TERSAGO ◽  
R. VERHAGEN ◽  
O. VAPALAHTI ◽  
P. HEYMAN ◽  
G. DUCOFFRE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Reservoir Host ◽  
Igg Antibody ◽  
Disease Patterns ◽  
Bank Voles ◽  
Infection Dynamics ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Host Infection ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Reservoir Hosts

SUMMARYWithin Europe, Puumala virus (PUUV) is the causal agent of nephropathia epidemica (NE) in humans, a zoonotic disease with increasing significance in recent years. In a region of Belgium with a historically high incidence of NE, bank voles (the PUUV reservoir hosts), were monitored for PUUV IgG antibody prevalence in nine study sites before, during, and after the highest NE outbreak recorded in Belgium in 2005. We found that the highest numbers of PUUV IgG-positive voles coincided with the peak of NE cases at the regional level, indicating that a PUUV epizootic in bank voles directly led to the NE outbreak in humans. On a local scale, PUUV infection in voles was patchy and not correlated to NE incidence before the epizootic. However, during the epizootic period PUUV infection spread in the vole populations and was significantly correlated to local NE incidence. Initially, local bank-vole numbers were positively associated with local PUUV infection risk in voles, but this was no longer the case after the homogeneous spreading of PUUV during the PUUV outbreak.

scholarly journals Hantavirus and arenavirus antibody prevalence in rodents and humans in Trentino, Northern Italy

2005 ◽  
Vol 134 (4) ◽  
pp. 830-836 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. KALLIO-KOKKO ◽  
J. LAAKKONEN ◽  
A. RIZZOLI ◽  
V. TAGLIAPIETRA ◽  
I. CATTADORI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Neutralization Assay ◽  
Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Common Finding ◽  
Wild Rodents ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Bank Voles ◽  
Dobrava Virus ◽  
Low Prevalence

The spatial and temporal distribution of hantavirus and arenavirus antibody-positive wild rodents in Trentino, Italy, was studied using immunofluorescence assays (IFA) in two long-term sites trapped in 2000–2003, and six other sites trapped in 2002. The overall hantavirus seroprevalence in the bank voles, Clethrionomys glareolus (n=229) screened for Puumala virus (PUUV) antibodies was 0·4%, and that for Apodemus flavicollis mice (n=1416) screened for Dobrava virus (DOBV) antibodies was 0·2%. Antibodies against lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) were found in 82 (5·6%) of the 1472 tested rodents; the seroprevalence being 6·1% in A. flavicollis (n=1181), 3·3% in C. glareolus (n=276), and 14·3% in Microtus arvalis (n=7). Of the serum samples of 488 forestry workers studied by IFA, 12 were LCMV-IgG positive (2·5%) and one DOBV-IgG positive (0·2%), however, the latter could not be confirmed DOBV-specific with a neutralization assay. Our results show a widespread distribution but low prevalence of DOBV in Trentino, and demonstrate that the arenavirus antibodies are a common finding in several other rodent species besides the house mouse.

scholarly journals In Vivo Characterization of a Bank Vole-Derived Cowpox Virus Isolate in Natural Hosts and the Rat Model

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 237
Author(s):  
Saskia Weber ◽  
Kathrin Jeske ◽  
Rainer G. Ulrich ◽  
Christian Imholt ◽  
Jens Jacob ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bank Vole ◽  
Wistar Rats ◽  
Reservoir Host ◽  
Myodes Glareolus ◽  
Replication Capacity ◽  
Cowpox Virus ◽  
Saguinus Oedipus ◽  
Bank Voles ◽  
Common Voles

Cowpox virus (CPXV) belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus in the Poxviridae family and is endemic in western Eurasia. Based on seroprevalence studies in different voles from continental Europe and UK, voles are suspected to be the major reservoir host. Recently, a CPXV was isolated from a bank vole (Myodes glareolus) in Germany that showed a high genetic similarity to another isolate originating from a Cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus). Here we characterize this first bank vole-derived CPXV isolate in comparison to the related tamarin-derived isolate. Both isolates grouped genetically within the provisionally called CPXV-like 3 clade. Previous phylogenetic analysis indicated that CPXV is polyphyletic and CPXV-like 3 clade represents probably a different species if categorized by the rules used for other orthopoxviruses. Experimental infection studies with bank voles, common voles (Microtus arvalis) and Wistar rats showed very clear differences. The bank vole isolate was avirulent in both common voles and Wistar rats with seroconversion seen only in the rats. In contrast, inoculated bank voles exhibited viral shedding and seroconversion for both tested CPXV isolates. In addition, bank voles infected with the tamarin-derived isolate experienced a marked weight loss. Our findings allow for the conclusion that CPXV isolates might differ in their replication capacity in different vole species and rats depending on their original host. Moreover, the results indicate host-specific differences concerning CPXV-specific virulence. Further experiments are needed to identify individual virulence and host factors involved in the susceptibility and outcome of CPXV-infections in the different reservoir hosts.

scholarly journals Prevalence and abundance of Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia spp. in wild rural rodents from the Mazury Lake District region of Poland

Parasitology ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. BAJER ◽  
M. BEDNARSKA ◽  
A. PAWEŁCZYK ◽  
J. M. BEHNKE ◽  
F. S. GILBERT ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Differences ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Small Contribution ◽  
Apodemus Flavicollis ◽  
Wild Rodents ◽  
Lake District ◽  
Host Sex ◽  
Sources Of Infection ◽  
Vole Species ◽  
Reservoir Hosts

Prevalence and abundance of Cryptosporodium parvum and Giardia spp. were studied in 3 species of rodents from forests and abandoned agricultural fields in N.E. Poland (Clethrionomys glareolus n = 459; Microtus arvalis n = 274; Apodemus flavicollis n = 209). Overall prevalence was consistently higher in the voles compared with A. flavicollis (70·6, 73·0 and 27·8% respectively for C. parvum and 93·9, 96·3 and 48·3% respectively for Giardia spp.). Prevalence and abundance of infection also varied markedly across 3 years with 1998 being a year of higher prevalence and abundance with both species. Fewer older animals (especially C. glareolus and M. arvalis) carried infection with C. parvum and infections in these animals were relatively milder. Although seasonal differences were significant, no consistent pattern of changes was apparent. Host sex did not influence prevalence or abundance of infection with C. parvum, but made a small contribution to a 4-way interaction (in 5-way ANOVA) with other factors in the case of Giardia spp. The 2 species co-occurred significantly and in animals carrying both parasites there was a highly significant positive correlation between abundance of infection with each, even with between-year, seasonal, host age, sex and species differences taken into account. Quantitative associations were confined to the 2 vole species in the study. These results are discussed in relation to the importance of wild rodents as reservoir hosts and sources of infection for local human communities.

109. Antibiotic resistance in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) and wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus)

2002 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
N.J. Williams ◽  
D. Hunt ◽  
T.R. Jones ◽  
N.P. French ◽  
M. Begon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Apodemus Sylvaticus ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Wood Mice ◽  
Bank Voles

scholarly journals Adaptation of Diverse Lyme Disease Spirochetes in a Natural Rodent Reservoir Host

2004 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 2442-2444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dania Richter ◽  
Birte Klug ◽  
Andrew Spielman ◽  
Franz-Rainer Matuschka
Keyword(s):  
Lyme Disease ◽  
Incubation Period ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Reservoir Host ◽  
Borrelia Afzelii ◽  
Wood Mice ◽  
Reservoir Hosts

ABSTRACT We compared the relative reservoir competence of European wood mice for two genospecies of Lyme disease spirochetes by analyzing susceptibility, intrinsic incubation period, and degree and duration of infectivity. Borrelia afzelii, specializing in particular reservoir hosts, is better adapted to those hosts than is the more generalist genospecies B. burgdorferi sensu stricto.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document