Serological Investigation of Heartland Virus (Bunyaviridae: Phlebovirus) Exposure in Wild and Domestic Animals Adjacent to Human Case Sites in Missouri 2012–2013

Authors

• Angela M. Bosco-Lauth, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Arboviral Disease Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, COFollow
• Nicholas A. Panella, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Arboviral Disease Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, COFollow
• J. Jeffrey Root, USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research CenterFollow
• Tom Gidlewski, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, COFollow
• R. Ryan Lash, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Rickettsial Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GAFollow
• Jessica R. Harmon, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Rickettsial Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GAFollow
• Kristen L. Burkhalter, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Arboviral Disease Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, COFollow
• Marvin S. Godsey, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Arboviral Disease Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, COFollow
• Harry M. Savage, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Arboviral Disease Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, COFollow
• William L. Nicholson, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Rickettsial Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GAFollow
• Nicholas Komar, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Arboviral Disease Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, COFollow
• Aaron C. Brault, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Arboviral Disease Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, COFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2015

Citation

Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 92(6), 2015, pp. 1163–1167

Abstract

Heartland virus (HRTV; Bunyaviridae: Phlebovirus) has recently emerged as a causative agent of human disease characterized by thrombocytopenia and leukopenia in the United States. The lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum L.) has been implicated as a vector. To identify candidate vertebrate amplification hosts associated with enzootic maintenance of the virus, sera and ticks were sampled from 160 mammals (8 species) and 139 birds (26 species) captured near 2 human case residences in Andrew and Nodaway Counties in northwest Missouri. HRTV-specific neutralizing antibodies were identified in northern raccoons (42.6%), horses (17.4%), white-tailed deer (14.3%), dogs (7.7%), and Virginia opossums (3.8%), but not in birds. Virus isolation attempts from sera and ticks failed to detect HRTV. The high antibody prevalence coupled with local abundance of white-tailed deer and raccoons identifies these species as candidate amplification hosts.