Genetic analysis of a hantavirus strain carried by Niviventer confucianus in Yunnan province, China.

Hantavirus genome sequences were recovered from lung tissues of Chinese white-bellied rats (Niviventer confucianus) captured in Yunnan province, China. Pairwise comparison of the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the entire S and partial M and L segments indicated that the newly discovered virus strain, which was designated as strain YN509, was very different from other rodent-borne hantaviruses. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the new strain fit into a clade containing Da Bie Shan virus (DBSV) (also carried by N.

Anaplasma phagocytophilum from Rodents and Sheep, China.

To characterize the strains of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in wild and domestic animals in China, we isolated the organism from rodents and sheep in northeastern China. We isolated 3 strains (2 from rodents and 1 from sick sheep) through propagation in BALB/c mice and then cell culture in HL60 cells. The 3 isolates were identified by Wright-Giemsa staining, immunofluorescence, and electronic microscopy and were characterized by sequence analyses of the 16S rRNA gene, partial citrate synthase gene, major surface protein 4 gene, and heat shock protein gene.

[Identification of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in small mammals from Hengduan Mountains of Southwest China].

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in small mammals from the forest area of Hengduan Mountains in southwestern China.

Methods: Small mammals captured from Gaoligong and Xianggelila mountainous area of Yunnan province were detected by PCR amplification. The sequences of 16S rRNA and Msp4 gene fragments from positive samples were compared with corresponding sequences deposited in GenBank.