Validation of the Puumala virus rapid field test for bank voles in Germany.

Puumala virus (PUUV) causes many human infections in large parts of Europe and can lead to mild to moderate disease. The bank vole (Myodes glareolus) is the only reservoir of PUUV in Central Europe. A commercial PUUV rapid field test for rodents was validated for bank-vole blood samples collected in two PUUV-endemic regions in Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg). A comparison of the results of the rapid field test and standard ELISAs indicated a test efficacy of 93-95%, largely independent of the origin of the antigens used in the ELISA. In ELISAs, reactivity for the German PUUV strain was higher compared to the Swedish strain but not compared to the Finnish strain, which was used for the rapid field test. In conclusion, the use of the rapid field test can facilitate short-term estimation of PUUV seroprevalence in bank-vole populations in Germany and can aid in assessing human PUUV infection risk.

Production of human parvovirus 4 VP2 virus-like particles in yeast and their evaluation as an antigen for detection of virus-specific antibodies in human serum.

BACKGROUND: Human parvovirus 4 (PARV4) is a recently discovered member of the Parvoviridae family, which is not closely related to any previously discovered human parvoviruses. PARV4 has been isolated from the plasma of individuals with symptoms of acute viral infection; however, until recently PARV4 had not been associated with any disease, and its prevalence in the human population is yet to be established. METHODS: The major capsid protein VP2 of PARV4 was generated in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and used for serological detection of virus-specific IgG and IgM in the sera of low-risk individuals. RESULTS: One hundred and seventy serum specimens obtained from patients with acute respiratory diseases were tested for PARV4-specific IgG and IgM antibodies. Sixteen individuals (9.4%) were diagnosed as seropositive, including 6 IgM and IgG positive, 6 IgM positive/IgG negative and 4 IgG positive/IgM negative. Seven of the 16 seropositive individuals were between the ages of 3 and 11 with no evidence of parenteral exposure to PARV4 infection. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrate that recombinant yeast-derived VP2 protein, self-assembled to virus-like particles, can represent a useful tool when studying the seroprevalence of PARV4 infection. The presence of PARV4-specific antibodies in a low-risk group may indicate the possibility of alternative routes of virus transmission.