Hantavirus antibody frequency in people living in Konya region; urban and rural population based assessment

Introduction and Purpose: In this thesis study we aim at the serological detection of hantavirus IgG antibodies by Enzyme Linked Immunological Method. And we aim to show the difference in antibody positivity between urban and rural areas. Materials and Methods: We obtained our serum samples from the increased serum of blood samples sent to Necmettin Erbakan University Faculty of Medicine Microbiology Laboratory with routine test requests. 273 samples whose address is Konya were included in our study. Serum samples were stored at -80°C until the assay time. The information of the patients was accessed by the hospital data processing system. The presence of IgG antibodies against Dobrava, Puumala and Hantaan hantaviruses were investigated in the samples. The detection of hantavirus IgG antibodies was performed by the Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay; ELISA method. Statistical analysis of the data of the results obtained was performed using the SPSS for Windows version 18.0 (SPSS Inc. Chicago, IL, USA) package program. Results: A total of 273 patients' serum samples were included in our thesis study. Of the samples, 136 (49.8%) were obtained from female patients and 137 (50.2%) from male patients. The median age of the patients, whose age ranged from 2 years to 92 years, was calculated as 57.00. Of the serum samples, 136 (50.2%) were determined from individuals residing in urban areas in Konya and 137 (49.8%) were from individuals residing in rural areas in Konya. Samples obtained from rural areas were obtained from 25 different districts, and samples from urban areas were obtained from 7 counties. The highest number of patients are from Selçuklu district with 41.2% from urban areas, and from Çumra, Ilgın and Meram districts with 9.5% from rural areas. As a result of the serological study, hantavirus IgG antibodies were found positive in 13 (4.8%) of 273 samples. There was no statistically significant difference between the positivity status of the patients and age, gender, rural/urban location. Conclusion: Hantaviruses are infectious agents that can be seen worldwide and can be mortal. They caused an epidemic in our country in 2009, and many hantavirus-infected cases have been reported from our country to date. No hantavirus-infected case has been reported from Konya to date, and no report has been made regarding the frequency of the disease. In this thesis, we aimed to determine the frequency of hantavirus IgG antibodies in individuals living in rural and urban areas in Konya. Our results, in which we detected the presence of hantavirus IgG antibody at a rate of 4.8%, will be the first data obtained in terms of the prevalence of the disease for the Konya region, and will be guiding in terms of public health and infectious diseases epidemiology.