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Finnish Vole fever spreading further south - EurekAlert

Researchers have discovered that bank voles in southern Sweden (Skåne) carry a virus that can cause hemorrhagic fever in humans. This finding was made more than 500 km south of the previously known range. “We were surprised that such high proportion of the relatively few voles that we caught were actually carrying a hantavirus that makes people ill", says infection disease doctor. The virus strain discovered in Skåne appears to be more closely related to strains from Finland and Karelia than to the variants found in northern Sweden and Denmark. This is revealed in a new study from Uppsala University, conducted in collaboration with infectious diseases doctors in Kristianstad and published in the scientific journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

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