Geographic Distribution and Phylogeny of Soricine Shrew-Borne Seewis Virus and Altai Virus in Russia.

The discovery of genetically distinct hantaviruses (family Hantaviridae) in multiple species of shrews, moles and bats has revealed a complex evolutionary history involving cross-species transmission. Seewis virus (SWSV) is widely distributed throughout the geographic ranges of its soricid hosts, including the Eurasian common shrew (Sorex araneus), tundra shrew (Sorex tundrensis) and Siberian large-toothed shrew (Sorex daphaenodon), suggesting host sharing. In addition, genetic variants of SWSV, previously named Artybash virus (ARTV) and Amga virus, have been detected in the Laxmann's shrew (Sorex caecutiens). Here, we describe the geographic distribution and phylogeny of SWSV and Altai virus (ALTV) in Asian Russia. The complete genomic sequence analysis showed that ALTV, also harbored by the Eurasian common shrew, is a new hantavirus species, distantly related to SWSV. Moreover, Lena River virus (LENV) appears to be a distinct hantavirus species, harbored by Laxmann's shrews and flat-skulled shrews (Sorex roboratus) in Eastern Siberia and far-eastern Russia. Another ALTV-related virus, which is more closely related to Camp Ripley virus from the United States, has been identified in the Eurasian least shrew (Sorex minutissimus) from far-eastern Russia. Two highly divergent viruses, ALTV and SWSV co-circulate among common shrews in Western Siberia, while LENV and the ARTV variant of SWSV co-circulate among Laxmann's shrews in Eastern Siberia and far-eastern Russia. ALTV and ALTV-related viruses appear to belong to the Mobatvirus genus, while SWSV is a member of the Orthohantavirus genus. These findings suggest that ALTV and ALTV-related hantaviruses might have emerged from ancient cross-species transmission with subsequent diversification within Sorex shrews in Eurasia.

Rodent-Borne Orthohantaviruses in Vietnam, Madagascar and Japan.

Hantaviruses are harbored by multiple small mammal species in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. To ascertain the geographic distribution and virus-host relationships of rodent-borne hantaviruses in Japan, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Madagascar, RNAlater™-preserved lung tissues of 981 rodents representing 40 species, collected in 2011-2017, were analyzed for hantavirus RNA by RT-PCR. Our data showed Hantaan orthohantavirus Da Bie Shan strain in the Chinese white-bellied rat (Niviventer confucianus) in Vietnam, Thailand; orthohantavirus Anjo strain in the black rat (Rattus rattus) in Madagascar; and Puumala orthohantavirus Hokkaido strain in the grey-sided vole (Myodes rufocanus) in Japan. The Hokkaido strain of Puumala virus was also detected in the large Japanese field mouse (Apodemus speciosus) and small Japanese field mouse (Apodemus argenteus), with evidence of host-switching as determined by co-phylogeny mapping.