HIGH PREVALENCE OF HANTAVIRUS ANTIBODIES IN BANK VOLES (CLETHRIONOMYS-GLAREOLUS) CAPTURED IN THE VICINITY OF HOUSEHOLDS AFFLICTED WITH NEPHROPATHIA-EPIDEMICA

Puumala virus, the causative agent of nephropathia epidemica (NE), occ urs endemically in Europe and is spread mainly by the bank vole (Cleth rionomys glareolus). In the vicinity of each of four households afflic ted with NE, we studied rodents with regard to population density and prevalence of Puumala virus-specific antibodies. For each case area, a control area was randomly selected 10 km away, without regard to the presence of human settlement. During 6,000 trap nights, 328 rodents we re caught, of which 299 were C. glareolus. The mean rodent densities o f case and control areas were 6.6 and 3.7 animals per 100 trap nights (P<0.001). The prevalence of serum antibodies was 15.9% in case areas compared with 5.6% in control areas (P<0.05). In three of the case are as, where NE had occurred 3-10 weeks before trapping, the rodent densi ty and seroprevalence were much higher than in the fourth area, where NE occurred 38 weeks before trapping. In conclusion, C. glareolus sero positive for Puumala virus occurred more frequently near households af flicted with NE than in control areas 10 km away.