Serological Evidence of Thailand Virus-Related Hantavirus Infection among Suspected Leptospirosis Patients in Kandy, Sri Lanka

Chandika D. Gamage; Shumpei P. Yasuda; Sanae Nishio; Senanayake A. Kularatne; Kosala Weerakoon; Jayanthe Rajapakse; Chinyere Nwafor-Okoli; Romeo B. Lee; Yoshi Obayashi; Kumiko Yoshimatsu; Jiro Arikawa; Hiko Tamashiro

doi:10.7883/yoken.64.72

Short Communications

Serological Evidence of Thailand Virus-Related Hantavirus Infection among Suspected Leptospirosis Patients in Kandy, Sri Lanka

Chandika D. Gamage, Shumpei P. Yasuda, Sanae Nishio, Senanayake A. Kularatne, Kosala Weerakoon, Jayanthe Rajapakse, Chinyere Nwafor-Okoli, Romeo B. Lee, Yoshi Obayashi, Kumiko Yoshimatsu, Jiro Arikawa, Hiko Tamashiro

Author information

Chandika D. Gamage
Department of Global Health and Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan
Shumpei P. Yasuda
Department of Microbiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan
Sanae Nishio
Department of Microbiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan
Senanayake A. Kularatne
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Kosala Weerakoon
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Jayanthe Rajapakse
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Chinyere Nwafor-Okoli
Department of Global Health and Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan
Romeo B. Lee
Department of Global Health and Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan
Yoshi Obayashi
Department of Global Health and Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan
Kumiko Yoshimatsu
Department of Microbiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan
Jiro Arikawa
Department of Microbiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan
Hiko Tamashiro
Department of Global Health and Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan

JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2011 Volume 64 Issue 1 Pages 72-75

DOI https://doi.org/10.7883/yoken.64.72

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Abstract

A cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the current prevalence of leptospirosis and hantaviral infections, and the socio-demographic characteristics and risk factors of infected patients, in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This report discusses the serological evidence of hantavirus infections among 105 suspected leptospirosis patients, 8 of whom had hantavirus antibodies. Serotyping ELISA showed that these 8 patients had high optical density values for Thailand virus. Most of the sera showed that the focus reduction neutralization test titer against Thailand virus was higher than that against Seoul virus, thereby suggesting that the hantaviral antibodies found in Sri Lanka are different from Seoul virus but closely related to Thailand virus. These findings imply that the hantaviral infection found in Kandy, Sri Lanka appears to be due to a virus similar to Thailand virus. Epidemiological analysis revealed that the association between hantavirus infection and socio-demographic characteristics was not statistically significant.

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