Hantaviruses in the Czech Republic

From a large number of zoonotic viruses present in Europe, we selected those that are well described in Europe, can cause diseases in humans with a scale of different symptoms and were also detected in the Czech Republic. We aimed at the detection of hantaviruses in the free-living rodents in the Czech Republic. For hantavirus de-tection, we used molecular screening method based on partial L or S segment. For serological screening, we used chest cavity lavage and in-house ELISA. From more than 500 trapped rodents in the Czech Republic, one field vole and more than 30 common voles were positive for Tula virus (TULV). To extend our research, we also tested rodents from Germany and France. Out of 104 common voles from Germany and 7 voles from France, in 15 and 4 of them, we found a TULV specific RT-PCR product , respectively. For TULV, it is well-described specific clustering according to its geographical distribution and reservoir animal. TULV is still considered as non-pathogenic to humans, but there is some evidence of infected patients. However, they all were immunocompromised. We confirmed the presence of this hantavirus not just in the Czech Republic but also in other European countries, and we suggested to continue these monitoring studies to evaluate its importance as a possible health threat to the human population.