Abstract
A 2-year capture-mark-recapture study was conducted in southern Manitoba, Canada, to test for an association between the duration of Sin Nombre virus (SNV) infection in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and virus shedding. Hantavirus-specific IgG antibodies were detected in 22.2% of captured deer mice, and recently infected deer mice were identified based on the detection of low-avidity IgG antibodies. SNV RNA was detected in blood samples from the majority of seropositive deer mice with no significant difference in the association of SNV RNA between the low- and high-avidity groups (57.8% and 52.1%, respectively). A small subset of seropositive mice (11.6%) had detectable SNV RNA in oropharyngeal fluids (OPF) or urine. A greater proportion of deer mice with low-avidity antibodies had SNV RNA in OPF or urine compared with rodents with high-avidity antibodies (21% versus 6.8%, respectively). This is the first study of naturally infected deer mice to provide evidence that recently infected mice are more likely to shed SNV and thus might represent a greater risk of human infection.