RT Journal Article T1 Deciphering the Hantavirus Host Range Combining Virology and Species Distribution Models with an Emphasis on the Yellow Pygmy Rice Rat (Oligoryzomys flavescens) A1 Cabrera, Andrés A1 Romero-Pacheco, David A1 Guerrero, José Carlos A1 Clara, Mario A1 Delfraro, Adriana K1 Virología AB Hantaviruses are the causative agents of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in the Americas. In Central and South America,28 hantavirus lineages were associated with diferent Sigmodontinae rodents. Lechiguanas hantavirus was initially described as a lineage associated with HPS cases in Argentina. Studies on the rodent hosts and viral lineages performed between 1999 and 2005 showed that HPS cases in Uruguay were distributed mostly in the southern region, and that the L. hantavirus (LECV) and the closely related Andes Central Plata hantaviruses were the viral lineages most frequently associated with HPS cases, both carried by the yellow pygmy rice rat (Oligoryzomys flavescens). Although these rodents are present all across the Uruguayan territory, determining the extent of the risk areas for hantavirus transmission based on the distribution of the infected rodents may be a useful tool for disease control and prevention. Assessment of the potential distribution of rodent reservoir hosts and analysis of the infuence of factors on hantavirus transmission can help to understand the spatial patterns of disease transmission risk. Virological studies and species distribution models were integrated to understand the hantavirus infection risk pattern. Virological analyses con