A novel hantavirus identified in bats (Carollia perspicillata) in Brazil

Hantavirus is a type of virus that has emerged and brought awareness to public health problems in the last few decades. In humans, Hantavirus (HV) infection can result in two significant clinical syndromes: Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) and Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome (HCPS). HFRS, characterized by fever, bleeding, and renal complications, occurs primarily in Asian countries, whereas HCPS is more prevalent in the Americas and is associated with severe respiratory and cardiovascular symptoms that often lead to critical illness. This study aims to identify a partial genome associated with Hantavirus in samples collected from neotropical bats. This metagenomic study used bat samples (Carollia perspicillata) in Maranhão, Brazil. The result showed that after bioinformatic analysis, a contig of 6291 nucleotides (nt) has been recovered, which encodes a protein comprising 2096 amino acids (aa). The 5’ and 3’ ends are missing in this genome. The BlastX results showed 99% query coverage and 73.21% identity with Dakrong virus (GenBankID: MG663536), corresponding to segment L, which encodes RNA polymerase. This novel sequence has been named Buritiense virus, clustering within the Mobatvirus clade. This study is a viral metagenomic analysis for virological surveillance purposes, making it important to investigate whether there are sequences related to viral families that responsible for human diseases.
(DKW)