Tigray virus - hantavirus from the Ethiopian white-footed mouse (Stenocephalemys albipes)

TĚŠÍKOVÁ, Jana, Yonas MEHERETU, Dagmar ČÍŽKOVÁ, Anna BRYJOVÁ, Josef BRYJA and Joëlle GOÜY DE BELLOCQ. Tigray virus - hantavirus from the Ethiopian white-footed mouse (Stenocephalemys albipes). In CzechoSlovak virology conference 2017. 2017.

Basic information

• Original name: Tigray virus - hantavirus from the Ethiopian white-footed mouse (Stenocephalemys albipes)
• Authors: TĚŠÍKOVÁ, Jana, Yonas MEHERETU, Dagmar ČÍŽKOVÁ, Anna BRYJOVÁ, Josef BRYJA and Joëlle GOÜY DE BELLOCQ.
• Edition: CzechoSlovak virology conference 2017, 2017.

Other information

• Type of outcome: Presentations at conferences
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret

Abstract

Hantaviruses are RNA viruses belonging to the family Bunyaviridae. Their natural hosts are rodents, bats and soricomorphs. Some of these viruses are important human pathogens that may cause serious health problems. Scientific interest in these viruses is therefore crucial, especially in developing countries. In our previous study Tigray virus (TIGV) was discovered in tissues of the Ethiopian white-footed mouse (Stenocephalemys albipes) as the first hantavirus record in East Africa (Meheretu et al. 2012). We used high throughput sequencing to characterise the complete genome of Tigray virus which showed a typical hantavirus organisation. Nucleotide-based phylogenetic analysis revealed that all three coding segments cluster in the phylogroup III sensu Guo et al. (2013) but with an inconsistent segmental clustering in the hantavirus phylogenetic tree. We then started to investigate the phylogeography of Tigray in Ethiopia. The preliminary dataset based on a short portion of the L segment shows that the phylogeography of Tigray corresponds to that of its host. The next step of our study will be to investigate if the two other viral genomic segments confirm the preliminary phylogeographic pattern of Tigray in Ethiopia.