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To screen diagnostic specimens for the presence of hantavirus genomes or to identify new hantaviruses in nature, the pan-hanta L-PCR assay, a broadly reactive nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay targeting the L segment, is highly preferred over other assays because of its universality and high sensitivity. In contrast, the geographic allocation of Puumala virus strains to defined outbreak regions in Germany was previously done based on S segment sequences. We show that the routinely generated partial L segment sequences resulting from the pan-hanta L-PCR assay provide sufficient phylogenetic signal to inform the molecular epidemiology of the Puumala virus. Consequently, an additional S segment analysis seems no longer necessary for the identification of the spatial origin of a virus strain., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Background: Very recently, a novel European hantavirus, Sochi virus, has been discovered which causes severe courses of hantavirus disease with a case fatality rate of about 15 percent., Objectives: We aimed to study to which extent and with which clinical severity children were affected by Sochi virus infection., Study Design: Sochi virus infection of patients was confirmed by molecular, serological, and epizoonotic studies. Clinical and laboratory parameters were analyzed for the age group of up to 15 years (n = 6) in comparison to all older patients (n = 56)., Results: 9.7 percent of patients with hantavirus disease studied (6/62) were up to 15 years old. The children showed moderate to severe clinical courses similarly to the situation in adults., Conclusions: While children are in general considered to be less affected by hantavirus infections than adults, in case of highly pathogenic hantaviruses, such as Sochi virus, frequency of clinical cases as well as their clinical course are comparable between children and adults. Therefore, hantavirus disease, particularly in regions endemic to highly pathogenic hantaviruses, should be considered in cases of unclear fever and kidney/pulmonary failure in children., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Various hantaviruses have been discovered in unconventional hosts (shrews and bats) in Africa. Up to now, it was unknown whether these viruses pose a threat for human health. In this study, using newly established serological assays, we demonstrated evidence of shrew-borne hantavirus infections in humans from Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Hantavirus infections in Germany appear periodically with peak numbers every 2-3 years. The reported cases in the years 2007, 2010 and 2012 exceeded many times over those in the years in-between. In order to reveal faults of certain in vitro diagnostic assays (IVDs), to harmonize the performances of the individual assays and to improve the users' competence in interpreting the results, the National Consiliary Laboratory for Hantaviruses and INSTAND e.V. (Society for Promoting Quality Assurance in Medical Laboratories e.V.) established an external quality assessment (EQA) scheme for proficiency testing of hantavirus serodiagnostics. The first EQA scheme (pilot study) started in March 2009 with 58 participating laboratories from Germany and neighboring countries. Twice a year four serum samples were sent out to the participants to investigate whether the sample reflects an acute or past infection and to distinguish between infections with the hantavirus types Puumala virus (PUUV) and Dobrava-Belgrade virus (DOBV), both endemic in Central Europe. In addition, samples negative for anti-hantavirus antibodies were tested in order to examine the specificity of the IVDs applied in the participating laboratories. An increasing number of laboratories participated, with a maximum of 92 in March 2014. When summarizing in total 2592 test results, the laboratories reached an overall specificity of 96.7% and a sensitivity of 95% in their detection of a hantavirus infection. A correct distinction between acute and past infections was forwarded in 90-96% of replies of laboratories. Exact serotyping (PUUV vs. DOBV) of the infection was reported in 81-96% of replies with the lowest accuracy for past DOBV infections; cross-reactivities between diagnostic antigens of the two viruses as well as persistent IgM titers in humans may interfere with exact testing. The EQAs revealed acceptable results for the serodiagnostic of hantavirus infection including serotyping but further improvement is still needed., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Hantaviruses are emerging zoonotic viruses which cause human disease in Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. This review summarizes the progress in hantavirus epidemiology and diagnostics during the previous decade. Moreover, we discuss the influence of ecological factors on the worldwide virus distribution and give an outlook on research perspectives for the next years., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper summarizes the progress in the search for hantaviruses and hantavirus infections in Africa. After having collected molecular evidence of an indigenous African hantavirus in 2006, an intensive investigation for new hantaviruses has been started in small mammals. Various novel hantaviruses have been molecularly identified not only in rodents but also in shrews and bats. In addition, the first African hantavirus, Sangassou virus, has been isolated and functionally characterized in cell culture. Less is known about the ability of these hantaviruses to infect humans and to cause diseases. To date, no hantavirus genetic material could be amplified from patients' specimens collected in Africa. Serological studies in West Africa, based on a battery of screening and confirmatory assays, led to the detection of hantavirus antibodies in the human population and in patients with putative hantavirus disease. In addition to this overview, we present original data from seroepidemiological and field studies conducted in the Southern part of Africa. A human seroprevalence rate of 1.0% (n=1442) was detected in the South African Cape Region whereas no molecular evidence for the presence of hantavirus was found in 2500 small animals trapped in South Africa and Namibia., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Dobrava-Belgrade virus (DOBV) is a human pathogen that has evolved in, and is hosted by, mice of several species of the genus Apodemus. We propose a subdivision of the species Dobrava-Belgrade virus into four related genotypes - Dobrava, Kurkino, Saaremaa, and Sochi - that show characteristic differences in their phylogeny, specific host reservoirs, geographical distribution, and pathogenicity for humans.

Hantaviruses are considered to be emerging viruses due to their increasing significance as human pathogens and their cyclic reappearance during outbreaks. Central Europe is an important endemic region for hantavirus infections. Reflecting the presence of all relevant small mammals serving as reservoir hosts, close to all recognized European hantaviruses occur also in Central Europe. Important human pathogens, Puumala and Dobrava-Belgrade viruses, are present and cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome of various severities. Moreover, several of the newly recognized shrew- and mole-borne hantaviruses are present. In this review, we summarize current data on molecular detection of hantaviruses in reservoir hosts as well as on molecular epidemiology of human hantavirus infections in Central Europe.

We identified Dobrava-Belgrade virus infection in Turkey (from a strain related to hantavirus strains from nearby countries) in a patient who had severe symptoms leading to panhypopituitarism, but no known risk for hantavirus. Our findings emphasize the need for increased awareness of hantaviruses in the region and assessment of symptomatic persons without known risk factors for infection.

The tri-segmented RNA genome of hantaviruses facilitates genetic reassortment by segment swapping when cells are co-infected with different virus strains. We found efficient in vitro reassortment between members of two different genetic lineages of the Dobrava-Belgrade virus species, the weakly virulent DOBV-Aa and highly virulent DOBV-Af. In all reassortants, S and L segments originated from the same parental strain, and only the M segment was exchanged. To identify functional differences between the parental strains DOBV-Aa and DOBV-Af in cell culture and to compare them with the reassortants, we studied elements of the innate immunity in virus-infected cells. The contrasting phenotypes of the parental viruses were maintained by the reassortants carrying the respective S and L segments of the parental virus and were not influenced by the origin of the M segment.