Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in central Bolivia: Relationships between reservoir hosts, habitats, and viral genotypes

In August 2002, two cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) were confirmed in Mineros and Concepcion, within the Santa Cruz Department of Bolivia. Extensive alteration of the native ecosystem, from dense forest to pasture or sugarcane, had occurred in both regions. An ecologic assessment of reservoir species associated with the human disease identified a single hantavirus antibody-positive Oligoryzonzys microtis from Mineros and three hantavirus antibody-positive Calomys callosits from Concepcion. In Mineros, the virus from the O. microtis was 90% similar to sequences published for Rio Mamore virus. Viral nucleotide sequences from two C. callosits were 87-88% similar to the sequence of Laguna Negra virus. The viral sequence from the C. callosus was 99% identical to viral sequences obtained from the HPS patient in this area, implicating C. callosits as the host and Laguna Negra virus as the agent responsible for the HPS case near Concepcion.