Modelling relative abundance of Oligoryzomys flavescens , an Orthohantavirus reservoir, in an endemic hantavirus pulmonary syndrome zone

VADELL, MARÍA VICTORIA; FISCHER, CARLOS GONZÁLEZ; CODESIDO, MARIANO; CARBAJO, ANÍBAL; BILENCA, DAVID; GÓMEZ VILLAFAÑE, ISABEL E.

ZOONOSES AND PUBLIC HEALTH

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2023 vol. 70 p. 13 - 21

1863-1959

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a zoonotic emerging infectious diseasecaused by New World orthohantaviruses (family Hantaviridae) hosted by rodentsof the family Cricetidae. In Argentina, one of its main hosts is the sigmodontine rodentOligoryzomys flavescens, a widely distributed mouse of the Pampas, Delta andEspinal ecoregions of central-east Argentina. Because the abundance of the reservoirand its proportion in the rodent community affects both virus prevalence andhuman exposure risk, its estimation throughout its known geographical distributionis of key importance for the design of public health strategies to prevent HPS. Theaim of this study was therefore to model the relative abundance of O. flavescens inmost of the Pampas ecoregion within Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, where hantaviruspulmonary syndrome is endemic. To do this we used owl-pellet samples collectedbetween 2006 and 2008 from 51 sites distributed throughout most of BuenosAires province. Mammalian prey in each pellet was identified to the lowest possibletaxonomic level by examination of the skulls, dentaries and molars. We modelled thefrequency of O. flavescens found in each sample as a function of climatic, environmental,and topographic data of each site. The two best models were applied to a Georeferential Information System to build maps of estimated frequency (as a proxy ofrelative abundance) within Buenos Aires province. Estimated relative abundance ofO. flavescens in Buenos Aires province was significantly associated with annual meantemperature, annual precipitation and presence of freshwater bodies, and variedamong sub-regions, with the Inland and Rolling Pampas being the regions with highestfrequencies. Knowing in which areas O. flavescens abundance is expected to behigher can be used to concentrate limited sanitary efforts in those areas that are mostneeded in order to reduce transmission and increase detection.