Abstract

The Eight Region has the second highest number of cases of Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome (HCPS) in humans for Chile. A study was performed to identify the number of rodents serologically positive to hantavirus and their local distribution in this region. To achieve this goal, we sampled eleven sites in the four provinces of the region. Seven rodents species were collected, with Abrothrix olivaceus presenting the largest number of captures followed by Oligoryzomys longicaudatus. Of the 300 rodents analyzed, five (1.66 %) were sero-positives to hantavirus and belonged to three different sigmodontine species: Abrothrix longipilis, O. longicaudatus, and Loxodontomys micropus. No previous records of seropositive L. micropus existed.