Publications (3)7.79 Total impact
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Article: Seroprevalence study in forestry workers of a non-endemic region in eastern Germany reveals infections by Tula and Dobrava-Belgrade hantaviruses.
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ABSTRACT: Highly endemic and outbreak regions for human hantavirus infections are located in the southern, southeastern, and western parts of Germany. The dominant hantavirus is the bank vole transmitted Puumala virus (PUUV). In the eastern part of Germany, previous investigations revealed Tula virus (TULV) and Dobrava-Belgrade virus (DOBV) infections in the respective rodent reservoirs. Here, we describe a seroprevalence study in forestry workers from Brandenburg, eastern Germany, using IgG ELISA and immunoblot tests based on recombinant TULV, DOBV, and PUUV antigens. Out of the 563 sera tested, 499 from male and 64 from female workers, we found 41 out of the 499 (8.2%) sera from men (mean age 47 years) and 10 out of 64 (15.6%) from the women (mean age 48 years) anti-hantavirus-positive. The majority of the 51 seropositive samples reacted exclusively in the TULV (n=22) and DOBV tests (n=17). Focus reduction neutralization assay investigations on selected sera confirmed the presence of TULV- and DOBV-specific antibodies in the forestry workers. These investigations demonstrated a potential health threat for forestry workers and also the average population in non-endemic geographical regions where TULV and DOBV are circulating in the corresponding reservoir hosts. The infections in this region might be frequently overlooked due to their unspecific and mild symptoms.Medical Microbiology and Immunology 05/2011; 200(4):263-8. · 3.83 Impact Factor -
Article: Phylogenetic analysis of Puumala virus subtype Bavaria, characterization and diagnostic use of its recombinant nucleocapsid protein.
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ABSTRACT: Puumala virus (PUUV) is the predominant hantavirus species in Germany causing large numbers of mild to moderate cases of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). During an outbreak in South-East Germany in 2004 a novel PUUV subtype designated Bavaria was identified as the causative agent of HFRS in humans [1]. Here we present a molecular characterization of this PUUV strain by investigating novel partial and almost entire nucleocapsid (N) protein-encoding small (S-) segment sequences and partial medium (M-) segment sequences from bank voles (Myodes glareolus) trapped in Lower Bavaria during 2004 and 2005. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed their classification as subtype Bavaria, which is further subdivided into four geographical clusters. The entire N protein, harbouring an amino-terminal hexahistidine tag, of the Bavarian strain was produced in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and showed a slightly different reactivity with N-specific monoclonal antibodies, compared to the yeast-expressed N protein of the PUUV strain Vranica/Hällnäs. Endpoint titration of human sera from different parts of Germany and from Finland revealed only very slight differences in the diagnostic value of the different recombinant proteins. Based on the novel N antigen indirect and monoclonal antibody capture IgG-ELISAs were established. By using serum panels from Germany and Finland their validation demonstrated a high sensitivity and specificity. In summary, our investigations demonstrated the Bavarian PUUV strain to be genetically divergent from other PUUV strains and the potential of its N protein for diagnostic applications.Virus Genes 05/2011; 43(2):177-91. · 1.85 Impact Factor -
Article: Characterization of monoclonal antibodies against hantavirus nucleocapsid protein and their use for immunohistochemistry on rodent and human samples.
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ABSTRACT: Monoclonal antibodies are important tools for various applications in hantavirus diagnostics. Recently, we generated Puumala virus (PUUV)-reactive monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) by immunisation of mice with chimeric polyomavirus-derived virus-like particles (VLPs) harbouring the 120-amino-acid-long amino-terminal region of the PUUV nucleocapsid (N) protein. Here, we describe the generation of two mAbs by co-immunisation of mice with hexahistidine-tagged full-length N proteins of Sin Nombre virus (SNV) and Andes virus (ANDV), their characterization by different immunoassays and comparison with the previously generated mAbs raised against a segment of PUUV N protein inserted into VLPs. All of the mAbs reacted strongly in ELISA and western blot tests with the antigens used for immunization and cross-reacted to varying extents with N proteins of other hantaviruses. All mAbs raised against a segment of the PUUV N protein presented on chimeric VLPs and both mAbs raised against the full-length AND/SNV N protein reacted with Vero cells infected with different hantaviruses. The reactivity of mAbs with native viral nucleocapsids was also confirmed by their reactivity in immunohistochemistry assays with kidney tissue specimens from experimentally SNV-infected rodents and human heart tissue specimens from hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome patients. Therefore, the described mAbs represent useful tools for the immunodetection of hantavirus infection.Archives of Virology 12/2010; 156(3):443-56. · 2.11 Impact Factor
