Seoul orthohantavirus

Seoul orthohantavirus
Virus classification Edit this classification
(unranked): Virus
Realm: Riboviria
Kingdom: Orthornavirae
Phylum: Negarnaviricota
Class: Ellioviricetes
Order: Bunyavirales
Family: Hantaviridae
Genus: Orthohantavirus
Species:
Seoul orthohantavirus
Strains

Seoul orthohantavirus (SEOV) is a member of the genus Orthohantavirus of rodent-borne viruses, and is one of the four hantaviruses that are known to cause Hantavirus hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).[1][2] It is an Old World hantavirus; a negative sense, single-stranded, tri-segmented RNA virus.

Seoul virus is found in rats of the genus Rattus, most commonly Rattus norvegicus, but occasionally Rattus rattus.[3] The two distinct hantaviruses have been identified in Korea in 1976, from Apodemus agrarius, and in 1980, from Rattus norvegicus. In 1994, a genetically different hantavirus was identified from Apodemus peninsulae.[4] Rats do not show physiological symptoms when carrying the virus, but humans can be infected through exposure to infected rodent body fluids (blood, saliva, urine), exposure to aerosolized rat excrement, or bites from infected rats.[1] When rodent bedding or urine is stirred up by either natural causes or human disturbance, small particles become airborne. When breathed in, these particles cause infection in humans. There is currently no evidence of human-to-human transmission of SEOV, only rodent-human transmission.[5]

Seoul virus was first described by Dr. Lee Ho-Wang (Ho-Wang Lee), a Korean virologist. As the infection was first found in an apartment in Seoul, the virus was named "Seoul Virus".[citation needed]

  1. ^ a b Goeijenbier M; et al. (May 2015). "Seoul hantavirus in brown rats in the Netherlands: implications for physicians—Epidemiology, clinical aspects, treatment and diagnostics". Neth. J. Med. 73 (4): 155–60. PMID 25968286.
  2. ^ US Centers for Disease Control. Virology, Hantaviruses Page last reviewed: August 29, 2012.
  3. ^ Jonsson, Colleen B.; Figueiredo, Luiz Tadeu Moraes; Vapalahti, Olli (2010-04-01). "A Global Perspective on Hantavirus Ecology, Epidemiology, and Disease". Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 23 (2): 412–441. doi:10.1128/CMR.00062-09. ISSN 0893-8512. PMC 2863364. PMID 20375360.
  4. ^ 송기준; 윤형선; 고은영; 정기모; 박광숙; 이용주; 송진원; 백락주 (March 2000). "흰넓적다리붉은쥐 유래 한타바이러스 분리 및 분자생물학적 특성 비교". Journal of Bacteriology and Virology (in Korean). 30 (1): 19–28. ISSN 1598-2467.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference WISC-ILL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).