Abstract
The prevalence of antibodies to hantavirus among Rattus norvegicus in Nagoya city was examined during the period from 1986 to 1993. Eight sera of 675 were antibody positive in an indirect fluorescent antibody test. Antibody positive rats were found in 1988, 1990, 1991 and 1992 and the numbers of rats were 1, 1, 3 and 3, respectively. A hantavirus strain was isolated from a rat captured in 1990 at a residential area adjoining to a pier in Nagoya port. The virus strain, named NR-9, was identified antigenically as the Seoul type of hantavirus in a neutralization test. Suckling rats inoculated with NR-9 strain survived, while those with SR-11 strain succumbed. A difference between the virulence of strains, NR-9 and SR-11 was demonstrated.
