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. 1996 Oct;117(2):361–365. doi: 10.1017/s0950268800001540

Evidence of hantavirus in wild rodents in Northern Ireland.

C McCaughey 1, W I Montgomery 1, N Twomey 1, M Addley 1, H J O'Neill 1, P V Coyle 1
PMCID: PMC2271696  PMID: 8870634

Abstract

A survey of evidence of rodent hantavirus infection in County Down, Northern Ireland was carried out by using immunofluorescence to detect virus antigen and antibody. Antibodies to hantavirus (R22 strain of Seoul virus and Hantaan 76-118) were found in 11/51 (21.6%) brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), 1/31 (3.2%) field mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) and 17/59 (28.8%) house mice (Mus domesticus). Seven rodents had evidence of hantavirus antigen in lung tissues. Antibody positive animals were significantly more likely to be adults than juveniles (P = 0.04) but and there was no sex difference between antibody positive and negative animals. House mice were more likely to be antibody positive if captured inside farm outbuildings (P = 0.08). Attempts to culture virus from the rodent material were unsuccessful. This work demonstrates a substantial rodent reservoir for hantavirus in Northern Ireland.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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