Expansion of the range of Necromys lasiurus (Lund, 1841) into open areas of the Atlantic Forest biome in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, and the role of the species as a host of the hantavirus.

Necromys lasiurus is a generalist rodent that is thought to be the main reservoir of the Araraquara hantavirus, which causes Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, in the Brazilian Cerrado savanna. This species occurs naturally in the open habitats of the Cerrado, Pantanal and Caatinga biomes, where it often occurs at high densities, although the distribution of the species has recently been observed expanding into the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. This study aimed to map the occurrence of N.