Dynamics of Acute Infection with <i>Mammarenavirus Wenzhouense</i> in <i>Rattus norvegicus</i>
Shanshan Du,
Xuefei Deng,
Xiaoxia Huang,
Tiezhu Liu,
Aqian Li,
Qin Wang,
Tingting Tian,
Chuan Li,
Zhangqi Zheng,
Qihan Lin,
Zhuowei Li,
Shiwen Wang,
Jiandong Li
Affiliations
Shanshan Du
National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China
Xuefei Deng
National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China
Xiaoxia Huang
National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China
Tiezhu Liu
National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China
Aqian Li
National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China
Qin Wang
National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China
Tingting Tian
National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China
Chuan Li
National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China
Zhangqi Zheng
National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China
Qihan Lin
National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China
Zhuowei Li
National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China
Shiwen Wang
National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China
Jiandong Li
National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China
While Mammarenavirus Wenzhouense (WENV) is broadly distributed across Asia, the dynamics of WENV infection remain unclear. In this study, a field-derived strain of WENV was used to inoculate Sprague Dawley (SD) rats by intramuscular injection, and the process of viral infection was observed over the course of 28 d. Viral RNA became detectable in the blood at 3 dpi and remained detectable for about 12 d. In most organ tissues, viral RNA peaked at 7 dpi, and then began to decline by 14 d, but remained detectable in intestine and brain tissues at 21 and 28 dpi. Viral shedding was detected from fecal samples for 5 d, from 6 to 11 dpi using qRT-PCR, and was recovered from feces collected at 8 dpi. Horizontal contact infection occurred among cage-mates at 14 and 21 dpi. Antibodies against the nucleocapsid were detected at 5 dpi, and then increased and persisted until the end of the experiment. These results enabled us to determine the kinetics of viremic response, viral shedding in feces, and horizontal transmission dynamics, as well as the potential sites for WENV replication and viral maintenance in nature.
