Antibodies to Tacaribe Serocomplex Viruses (Family Arenaviridae, Genus Arenavirus) in Cricetid Rodents from New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico

Blood samples from 4893 cricetid rodents were tested for antibody (immunoglobulin G) to Whitewater Arroyo virus and Amapari virus to extend our knowledge of the natural host range and geographical distribution of Tacaribe serocomplex viruses in North America. Antibodies to arenaviruses were found in northern pygmy mice (Baiomys taylori), woodrats (Neotoma spp.), northern grasshopper mice (Onychomys leucogaster), oryzomys (Oryzomys spp.), deermice (Megadontomys nelsoni and Peromyscus spp.), harvest mice (Reithrodontomys spp.), and cotton rats (Sigmodon spp.) captured in New Mexico, Texas, or Mexico. Comparison of endpoint antibody titers to Whitewater Arroyo virus and Amapari virus in individual blood samples indicated that the Tacaribe complex viruses enzootic in Texas and Mexico are antigenically diverse.