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. 1997 Apr-Jun;3(2):183–190. doi: 10.3201/eid0302.970213

Seroepidemiologic studies of hantavirus infection among wild rodents in California.

M Jay 1, M S Ascher 1, B B Chomel 1, M Madon 1, D Sesline 1, B A Enge 1, B Hjelle 1, T G Ksiazek 1, P E Rollin 1, P H Kass 1, K Reilly 1
PMCID: PMC2627601  PMID: 9204301

Abstract

A total of 4,626 mammals were serologically tested for antibodies to Sin Nombre virus. All nonrodent species were antibody negative. Among wild rodents, antibody prevalence was 8.5% in murids, 1.4% in heteromyids, and < 0.1% in sciurids. Of 1,921 Peromyscus maniculatus (deer mice), 226 (11.8%) were antibody positive, including one collected in 1975. The highest antibody prevalence (71.4% of 35) was found among P. maniculatus on Santa Cruz Island, off the southern California coast. Prevalence of antibodies among deer mice trapped near sites of human cases (26.8% of 164) was significantly higher than that of mice from other sites (odds ratio = 4.5; 95% confidence interval = 1.7, 11.6). Antibody prevalence increased with rising elevation (> 1,200 meters) and correlated with a spatial cluster of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome cases in the Sierra Nevada.

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Selected References

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