Detection of possible spillover of a novel hantavirus in a Natal mastomys from Guinea

To date, only two rodent-borne hantaviruses have been detected in sub-Saharan Africa. Here, we report the detection of a yet unknown hantavirus in a Natal mastomys (Mastomys natalensis) in Meliandou, Guinea, in 2014. The phylogenetic placement of this virus suggests that it might represent a cross-order spillover event from an unknown bat or eulipotyphlan host.