Asama virus

 ( Hantaviridae ) 

Asama virus ( ASAV) is a single-stranded, enveloped, segmented negative-sense RNA hantavirus.Arai S, Ohdachi SD, Asakawa M, Kang HJ, Mocz G, Arikawa J, Okabe N, Yanagihara R.Molecular phylogeny of a newfound hantavirus in the Japanese shrew mole (Urotrichus talpoides).Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.2008 Oct 21;105(42):16296–301. The hantavirus was isolated in Japan from Japanese shrew mole. Hantaviruses harbored by shrews are genetically closer to ASAV than to hantaviruses harbored by rodents. Host-switching may be evident in the future due to the viruses closeness to Soricinae shrew-borne hantaviruses. The detection of the ASAV was the first hantavirus found to be hosted by members of the family Talpidae, which includes shrew moles.

Thoughts on hantavirus evolutionary history has expanded due to the discovery of ASAV.

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Natural reservoir

Asama virus was isolated through RNA extracts from lung tissues of the Japanese shrew mole ( Urotrichus talpoides), captured in Japan between February and April 2008. It is one of the first hantaviruses found in a mole.

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Virology

Asama virus is genetically closer to other hantaviruses harbored by shrews than by rodents. However, the nucleocapsid protein is similar to that of rodent and shrew-borne hantaviruses. Phylogenetic analyses positions it closest to soricine shrew-borne hantaviruses. This suggests a possible event in the distant past.Bennett, Shannon N., Laurie Diznie, Laarni Sumibcay, Satoru Arai, Luis A. Ruedas, Jin-Won Song, and Richard Yanagihara. "Host Switch during Evolution of a Genetically Distinct Hantavirus in the American Shrew Mole (Neurotrichus Gibbsii)." Virology. By Hi Ji Kang. 1st ed. Vol. 388. N.p.: n.p., 2009. 8-14. Print.

Asama virus is related to soricine shrew-borne hantaviruses that are found in North America, Europe, and Asia. This relation was discovered through phylogenetic analyses. The relationship between the two hantaviruses may suggest parallel evolution associated with cross-species transmission.

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See also

• Hantavirus hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome

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External links

• CDC's Hantavirus Technical Information Index page
• Viralzone: Hantavirus
• Virus Pathogen Database and Analysis Resource (ViPR): Hantaviridae

Categories: Hantaviridae, Zoonotic Viral Diseases

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