Hantaviruses in the Wild: True-to-Nature Models of Infection in Reservoir Rodents

Join us for the next Journal of Virology Seminar Series where Jason Botten, Ph.D. and Rebekah Honce, Ph.D. will discuss the ecology and natural history of orthohantavirus infection in reservoir rodents, with an emphasis on the North American Sin Nombre virus, which can cause hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) in humans. Orthohantaviruses are enveloped, negative-strand RNA viruses that are maintained in nature in rodents where they are thought to establish life-long, asymptomatic infections. This webinar will outline approaches to study the infection process in reservoir animals, including the development of near-natural infection models featuring wild rodents and matched infectious virus isolates obtained from those same wild populations. To illustrate how this can be done, the presenters will revisit the nontraditional approach used to establish the first experimental model of Sin Nombre virus infection in its reservoir, the deer mouse and discuss key findings from that model. The presentation will close with a summary of knowledge regarding the natural history of infection of other orthohantaviruses as well as mammarenaviruses in their respective reservoir hosts and a discussion of key gaps in knowledge and opportunities for the field. Key Learning Objectives: Understand what rodent-borne orthohantaviruses and mammarenaviruses are. Understand the infection process of Sin Nombre virus in its reservoir, the deer mouse. Understand the approaches available to study rodent-borne virus infection in natural reservoir rodents, including their strengths and limitations. Learn the key gaps in knowledge regarding our understanding of infection in reservoir animals and opportunities available to address these key questions.