Tm. Malecki et al., SEROLOGIC SURVEY FOR HANTAVIRUS INFECTION IN DOMESTIC-ANIMALS AND COYOTES FROM NEW-MEXICO AND NORTHEASTERN ARIZONA, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 212(7), 1998, pp. 970-973
Objective-To determine whether animals had serologic evidence of infec
tion with Sin Nombre virus (SNV). Design-Prospective serosurvey. Sampl
e Population-Serum samples were obtained from 145 cats, 85 dogs, 120 h
orses, and 24 cattle between April 1993 and August 1994 and 54 coyotes
between December 1994 and February 1995. Procedure-Serum samples were
analyzed by western immunoblot assays for reaction with SNV nucleocap
sid antigen. Samples with reactivity to SNV nucleocapsid proteins were
used to probe multiple-antigen blots containing recombinant fusion pr
oteins derived from prototypic hantaviruses. lung tissue or blood clot
s were used in nested reverse-transcriptase poly polymerase chain reac
tion assays for a 320-nucleotide portion of the SNV G1 gene. Results-S
era from 4 of 145 (2.8%) cats and 4 of 85 (3.5%) dogs had trace reacti
vity to full-length SNV-encoded nucleocapsid proteins. Ail samples fro
m horses, cattle, and coyotes were nonreactive. Sera from cats and dog
s that had trace IgG-antibody reactivity to nucleocapsid proteins were
then tested for IgG-antibody reactivity to nucleocapsid proteins of p
rototypic hantaviruses. One cat had multiple cross-reactivities with t
hese hantaviruses, consistent with exposure to a hantavirus; however,
epitope mapping studies did not support this conclusion. Reverse-trans
criptase polymerase chain reaction studies of blood clots or lung tiss
ue from 2 animals that had weak reactivity to SNV failed to amplify an
y hantavirus sequence. Clinical Implications-Domestic animals, particu
larly dogs and cats, as well as coyotes do not appear to have a major
role in the maintenance and transmission of SNV.