Molecular Detection of in Plasma and Urine Samples from Hospitalized Patients Presenting with a Serologically Confirmed Acute Hantavirus Infection in France.

Molecular detection of Orthohantavirus puumalaense (PUUV) RNA during the course of the disease has been studied in blood of patients in Sweden and Slovenia. The use of urine has been poorly investigated. The aims of this work were to study PUUV RNA detection in plasma from a cohort of patients in France where a different PUUV lineage circulates and to assess the use of urine instead of plasma.

Level of maternal antibodies against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) nucleoprotein at birth and risk of RSV very severe lower respiratory tract infection.

Background: The nucleoprotein (N protein) of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a candidate antigen for new RSV vaccine development. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between maternal antibody titers against the RSV N protein at birth and the newborns' risk of developing very severe lower respiratory tract infection (VS-LRTI).

Methods: In this single-center prospective cohort study, 578 infants born during the RSV epidemic season in France were included.

Eosinophilia during Hantavirus infection: a cohort study.

Background: There are emerging eosinophil-related considerations concerning viral infections. The role of eosinophils has poorly been evaluated during Hantavirus infection.

Methods: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of eosinophilia (defined as an eosinophil count above 500 cells/mm) during haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in a large cohort of patients, and to identify factors associated with eosinophilia.

Transcriptome Profile During Rabies Virus Infection: Identification of Human CXCL16 as a Potential New Viral Target.

Rabies virus (RABV), the causative agent for rabies disease is still presenting a major public health concern causing approximately 60,000 deaths annually. This neurotropic virus (genus , family ) induces an acute and almost always fatal form of encephalomyelitis in humans. Despite the lethal consequences associated with clinical symptoms of rabies, RABV limits neuro-inflammation without causing major histopathological lesions in humans.

Imported haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome caused by Dobrava-Belgrade hantavirus in France.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) caused by hantavirus infections is rare but should be suspected in any patient presenting with flu-like symptoms, signs of haemolytic-uraemic syndrome or presence of anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) antibodies. We report the first case of Dobrava-Belgrade virus in France imported from southeastern Europe. The characteristic macroscopic appearance of the fresh renal biopsy specimen, displaying a haemorrhagic appearance of the medulla, suggested hantavirus infection.

Fast, Sensitive and Specific Detection of and its Variants Using One-Step Real-Time Reverse-Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay.

Genetic variants of Thailand orthohantavirus (THAIV) have been recently reported from rodents in South-East Asia and in islands from the South-West part of the Indian Ocean. In order to detect THAIV and its variants, we developed a sensitive and specific real-time RT-PCR targeting the S segment. Our assay was developed in two different RT-PCR systems that gave similar results in terms of sensitivity.

Wild Rats, Laboratory Rats, Pet Rats: Global Seoul Hantavirus Disease Revisited.

Recent reports from Europe and the USA described Seoul orthohantavirus infection in pet rats and their breeders/owners, suggesting the potential emergence of a "new" public health problem. Wild and laboratory rat-induced Seoul infections have, however, been described since the early eighties, due to the omnipresence of the rodent reservoir, the brown rat . Recent studies showed no fundamental differences between the pathogenicity and phylogeny of pet rat-induced Seoul orthohantaviruses and their formerly described wild or laboratory rat counterparts.

Clinical Characteristics of Ratborne Seoul Hantavirus Disease.

Although Seoul orthohantavirus is the only globally spread hantavirus pathogen, few confirmed human infections with this virus have been reported in Western countries, suggesting lower medical awareness of the milder, transient, and often chameleon-like symptoms of this zoonosis. We describe lesser known clinical and laboratory characteristics to help improve underreporting of this virus.

Puumala Hantavirus Genotypes in Humans, France, 2012-2016.

The analysis of the nucleoprotein gene of 77 Puumala hantavirus strains detected in human samples in France during 2012-2016 showed that all belonged to the Central European lineage. We observed 2 main clusters, geographically structured; one included strains with the Q64 signature and the other strains with the R64 signature.

Bioclinical Test to Predict Nephropathia Epidemica Severity at Hospital Admission.

We conducted a multicenter, retrospective cohort study of hospitalized patients with serologically proven nephropathia epidemica (NE) living in Ardennes Department, France, during 2000-2014 to develop a bioclinical test predictive of severe disease. Among 205 patients, 45 (22.0%) had severe NE.

Seoul Virus Infection in Humans, France, 2014-2016.

We report detection of Seoul virus in 3 patients in France over a 2-year period. These patients accounted for 3 of the 4 Seoul virus infections among 434 hantavirus infections (1.7%) reported during this time.

Evidence of two distinct phylogenetic lineages of dog rabies virus circulating in Cambodia.

This first extensive retrospective study of the molecular epidemiology of dog rabies in Cambodia included 149 rabies virus (RABV) entire nucleoprotein sequences obtained from 1998-2011. The sequences were analyzed in conjunction with RABVs from other Asian countries. Phylogenetic reconstruction confirmed the South-East Asian phylogenetic clade comprising viruses from Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.

Landscape and regional environmental analysis of the spatial distribution of hantavirus human cases in europe.

Background: In Europe, the most prevalent hantavirus, Puumala virus, is transmitted by bank voles and causes nephropathia epidemica in human. The European spatial distribution of nephropathia epidemica is investigated here for the first time with a rich set of environmental variables.

Methods: The influence of variables at the landscape and regional level is studied through multilevel logistic regression, and further information on their effects across the different European ecoregions is obtained by comparing an overall niche model (boosted regression trees) with regressions by ecoregion.

Early-warning health and process indicators for sentinel surveillance in Madagascar 2007-2011.

Background: Epidemics pose major threats in resource-poor countries, and surveillance tools for their early detection and response are often inadequate. In 2007, a sentinel surveillance system was established in Madagascar, with the aim of rapidly identifying potential epidemics of febrile or diarrhoeal syndromes and issuing alerts. We present the health and process indicators for the five years during which this system was constructed, showing the spatiotemporal trends, early-warning sign detection capability and process evaluation through timely analyses of high-quality data.

Anjozorobe hantavirus, a new genetic variant of Thailand virus detected in rodents from Madagascar.

Until now, there was only serological evidence that hantaviruses were circulating in rodents and infecting humans from Madagascar. To assess the presence of a hantavirus on the island, between October, 2008, and March, 2010, we sampled 585 rodents belonging to seven species in the Anjozorobe-Angavo forest corridor, 70 km north from the capital city Antananarivo. A hantavirus was detected from organs of the ubiquist roof rat (Rattus rattus) and of the endemic Major's tufted-tailed rat (Eliurus majori).

Surveillance and control of rabies in La Reunion, Mayotte, and Madagascar.

Mayotte and La Reunion islands are currently free of animal rabies and surveillance is performed by the French Human and Veterinary Public Health Services. However, dog rabies is still enzootic in Madagascar with 4 to 10 confirmed human cases each year. The number of antirabies medical centres in Madagascar is still scarce to provide easy access to the local population for post-exposure rabies prophylaxis.

Rotavirus genotypes in children in the community with diarrhea in Madagascar.

In the context of the possible introduction of a preventive vaccine against rotaviruses in Madagascar, the G and P genotypes distribution of the rotaviruses circulating in the children in Madagascar was studied, and the presence of emerging genotypes and unusual strains were assessed. From February 2008 to May 2009, 1,679 stools specimens were collected from children ≤5 years old with diarrhea. ELISA was used for antigen detection, and molecular amplification of VP7 and VP4 gene fragments was used for genotyping.

The role of wild mammals in the maintenance of Rift Valley fever virus.

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a zoonotic arbovirus affecting primarily domestic ruminants and humans. Numerous vector species are known or implicated in the transmission of RVFV. The role of mammals in the maintenance of RVFV, and the existence of a wild mammal reservoir in the epidemiologic cycle of RVFV, remain largely unknown.