Discovery of a Rodent Hepacivirus in the Brazilian Amazon
2025
Nelielma G. Oliveira Prestes | Leonardo H. Almeida Hernández | Fábio Silva da Silva | Thito Y. Bezerra da Paz | Andressa O. Aragão | Bruno C. Veloso de Barros | Ricardo J. P. S. Guimarães | Rommel T. J. Ramos | Lívia Medeiros Neves Casseb | Sandro Patroca da Silva | Pedro Fernando da Costa Vasconcelos | Ana Cecília Ribeiro Cruz
In the eastern Brazilian Amazon, the Viseu municipality has almost 70% of its territory deforested. Monitoring viruses from wildlife hosts enables the prevention and control of epizootic events and outbreaks. Seven samples from three marsupials and two rodents were screened by high-throughput sequencing for virome analysis. The three samples from the two <i>Proechimys roberti</i> rodents, one from the liver, one from the brain, and one from a pooled viscera sample, showed the highest results in terms of viral abundance and richness. From these we obtained two strains of a new rodent hepacivirus (RHV), which belongs to a new putative genotype of an unclassified RHV species previously described in Panama and Northeast Brazil. The findings expand the host range of the cited RHV species, imply virus circulation in the study area, and suggest a viral tropism in the liver and perhaps in the brain.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by Directory of Open Access Journals