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Abstract
We report the first detection of Seoul hantavirus (SEOV)-specific antibodies in the wild brown rat population in the Netherlands. SEOV-reactive antibodies were found in three rats out of 16 in a repeated series of tests including immunofluorescence assay, immunoblot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Focus reduction neutralization test confirmed the presence of SEOV-specific antibodies, and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) confirmed the presence of hantaviral RNA. This discovery follows the recent findings of SEOV infections in wild and pet brown rats and humans in England, Wales, France, Belgium, and Sweden, indicating an even higher importance of this hantavirus for public health in large areas of Europe.
Acknowledgements
This study was partially funded by EU grant FP7-261504 EDENext and is cataloged by the EDENext Steering Committee as EDENext303 (http://www.edenext.eu). We are grateful to the regional water authority Rijn and IJsselland for the provision of rats and to Joke van der Giessen and Barry Rockxs of the Dutch National Institute of Public Health and the Environment for sharing information.
