Virological Characterization of a New Isolated Strain of Andes Virus Involved in the Recent Person-to-Person Transmission Outbreak Reported in Argentina
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On November 2018, a person-to-person transmission outbreak of Andes virus (ANDV) began in the small town of Epuyen, Argentina. The strain involved demonstrated a high capacity for sustained transmission among the human population requiring the implementation of quarantine measures, rigorous contact tracing, isolation of close contacts, and active clinical monitoring to prevent further spread. In this study, we report the isolation of this strain, which we name the ARG-Epuyen after just three passages in cell culture. Complete sequencing revealed only a single amino acid change post-isolation, revealing that it is a non-adapted, wild-type ANDV strain, and its isolation probably represents a critical step toward the development of medical countermeasures against this emerging pathogen. The pathogenicity and transmissibility potential of ARG-Epuyen were evaluated in hamsters, the only animal model for Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. Additionally, this strain was compared with ARG, an ANDV strain previously isolated from the same geographical area in the Argentinian Patagonia, from a rodent specimen. Our findings revealed high infectiousness and efficient hamster-to-hamster transmission through direct contact experiments, although ARG-Epuyen appeared to be less pathogenic than ARG.
