| Grant number: | 08/06411-4 |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Master |
| Start date: | March 01, 2009 |
| End date: | July 31, 2010 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology |
| Principal Investigator: | Luiz Tadeu Moraes Figueiredo |
| Grantee: | Gilberto Sabino dos Santos Junior |
| Host Institution: | Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil |
Abstract The genus Hantavirus, family Bunyaviridae, includes rodent-borne viruses that represent emerging threats to human health. The main route for virus transmission is respiratory via small particle aerosols from rodent excreta and saliva. Hantavirus are associated to rodent hosts of the family Muridae included in 3 sub families, Murinae and Arvicolinae distributed in the Paleartic Region (Europa, Asia, China) causing hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and subfamily Sigmodontinae in North, Central and South America responsible for hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), besides, an Arvicolinae genus (Microtus) has been found infected with Hantavirus in North America. In Brazil, since 1993 to nowadays, more than 900 cases of HCPS were reported, with a 40% lethality rate. The majority of the cases occurred in Southern and Southeastern states. In Ribeirão Preto occurred about 6% of the Brazilian cases of HCPS. The high number of HCPS cases indicates that this region is suitable for studying the epidemiology of Hantavirus infections. It is known that the knowledge on the rodent population related to Hantavirus, including their dynamics and ecology is essential for better understanding the epidemiology of HCPS. Thus, we propose here to study the dynamics of populations of these rodents in Ribeirão Preto region. We also intend to detect Hantavirus infection in rodents by serology (ELISA), nested RT-PCR and viral isolation in a BSL-3 facility. There is no Hantavirus isolated in Brazil and we recognize that to have these isolates is important for studies on virus morphology, genome and virulence. Finally, we also intend to determine Hantavirus load in clinical samples by real time PCR. | |
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