Puumala Hantavirus Excretion in Bank Voles
Author Information
Author(s): Jonas Hardestam, Malin Karlsson, Kerstin I. Falk, Gert Olsson, Jonas Klingström, Åke Lundkvist
Primary Institution: Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control
Hypothesis
How do levels of Puumala hantavirus RNA change over time in the excretions of infected bank voles?
Conclusion
Bank voles can transmit Puumala hantavirus through saliva, urine, and feces, indicating these excretions can also pose a risk to humans.
Supporting Evidence
- Viral RNA levels peaked at different times in saliva, urine, and feces.
- Bank voles shed the virus only during a limited time of the infection.
- Intranasal inoculation of excretions was infectious for other bank voles.
Takeaway
This study shows that bank voles can spread a virus through their spit, pee, and poop, which can make people sick.
Methodology
Bank voles were inoculated with Puumala virus and their saliva, urine, and feces were sampled over 133 days to measure viral RNA levels.
Limitations
Some bank voles did not survive until the end of the study, which may affect the results.
Participant Demographics
Colonized male bank voles (Myodes glareolus).
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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