Novel relatives of Mecsek Mountains mammarenavirus (family Arenaviridae) in hedgehogs living in different sampling areas in Hungary.

ABSTRACT: Mammarenaviruses (genus Mammarenavirus, family Arenaviridae) are rodent-borne zoonotic viruses consisting of 52 viral species, including ten that are pathogenic to humans. Currently, only two endemic mammarenavirus species are known in Europe: the human pathogenic Mammarenavirus choriomeningitidis (LCMV) and the recently discovered hedgehog-origin Mammarenavirus mecsekense (MEMV). In this study, 59 faecal specimens from Northern white-breasted hedgehogs (Erinaceus roumanicus) from different geographic regions in Hungary were investigated for mammarenavirus presence and complete genome characterization using newly designed screening primers by RT-semi-nested PCR and sequencing methods. Five (8.5%) of the 59 samples tested positive for mammarenavirus RNA (ER8, ER15, ER27, ER33, and ER39, Gen

SUBMITTER: Takats K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11758386 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature