Antibodies to Tacaribe serocomplex viruses (family Arenaviridae, genus Arenavirus) in cricetid rodents from New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico

Abstract

Blood samples from 4893 cricetid rodents were tested for antibody (immunoglobulin G) to Whitewater Arroyo virus and Amaparí 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 Amaparí virus in individual blood samples indicated that the Tacaribe complex viruses enzootic in Texas and Mexico are antigenically diverse.

FIG. 1.

Map showing the locations of the counties and municipalities included in this study. The open circles indicate the antibody-positive counties and municipalities. (1) Otero County, New Mexico (NM). In Texas (TX): (2) Hall County, (3) Motley County, (4) Lubbock County, (5) Dickens County, (6) Ward County, (7) Jeff Davis County, (8) Kimble County, (9) Gillespie County, (10) Matagorda County, and (11) Galveston County. In Mexico: (12) Municipality of Janos, Chihuahua; (13) Municipality of Apodaca, Nuevo León; (14) Municipality of San Fernando, Tamaulipas; (15) Municipality of Catorce, San Luis Potosí; (16) Municipality of Cedral, San Luis Potosí; (17) Municipality of Doctor Arroyo, Nuevo León; (18) Municipality of General Zaragoza, Nuevo León; (19) Municipality of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán; (20) Municipality of Santa Clara, Michoacán; (21) Municipality of Morelia, Michoacán; (22) Municipality of Perote, Veracruz; (23) Municipality of Xico, Veracruz; (24) Municipality of Malinaltepec, Guerrero; (25) Municipality of Putla de Guerrero, Oaxaca; (26) Municipality of Ocozocoautla de Espinosa, Chiapas; (27) Municipality of Berriozábal, Chiapas; and (28) Municipality of Emiliano Zapata, Tabasco. The small filled circles indicate the counties and municipalities that were antibody-negative in this study. The filled squares indicate counties in which arenavirus-positive woodrats were captured in previous studies: (A) McKinley County, NM; (B) Socorro County, NM; (C) Cimarron County, Oklahoma (OK); (D) Dimmitt and La Salle Counties, TX. Whitewater Arroyo virus (WWAV) was isolated from white-throated woodrats (Neotoma albigula) captured in McKinley County (Fulhorst et al. 1996), arenaviruses antigenically and phylogenetically closely related to WWAV were isolated from woodrats (Neotoma spp.) captured in Socorro County and Cimarron counties (Fulhorst et al. 2001a), and Catarina virus was isolated from southern plains woodrats (Neotoma micropus) captured in Dimmitt and La Salle counties (Cajimat et al. 2007a).