Reemergence of Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Mammarenavirus, Germany

Abstract

Lymphocytic choriomeningitis mammarenavirus (LCMV) is a globally distributed zoonotic pathogen transmitted by house mice (Mus musculus). We report the reemergence of LCMV (lineages I and II) in wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) and LCMV lineage I in a diseased golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) from a zoo in Germany.

Keywords: Germany; LCMV; house mouse; lymphocytic choriomeningitis mammarenavirus; reemergence; viruses.

Figure

Phylogeny of the L protein encoding nucleotide sequences of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) identified in Germany (blue arrows) and reference sequences, constructed by using Bayesian inference. Lunk virus from Mus minutoides mice was used as an outgroup. Sequence names are comprised of the GenBank accession number, strain name, host species and country of origin (wherever known). Countries are represented by their International Organization for Standardization code (AU, Australia; BG, Bulgaria; CN, China; DE, Germany; ES, Spain; FR, France; GA, Gabon; GF, French Guiana; JP, Japan; SK, Slovakia; US, USA; YU, former Yugoslavia). Roman numerals (I–IV) represent the different LCMV lineages defined according to Albariño et al. (2); WE and Armstrong refer to laboratory strains of LCMV. Mm, Mus musculus; Mmm, Mus musculus musculus; Mmd, Mus musculus domesticus.