Hantavirus RNA was not detected in Dermacentor reticulatus ticks

A total of 190 Dermacentor reticulatus ticks (80 males, 110 females) collected on the territory of Ostrów Lubelski, Suchawa, Zalutyń and Kazimierz Dolny (Lublin Province, eastern Poland) were examined by reverse transcription PCR and nested PCR methods for the presence of hantavirus RNA. None of the examined Dermacentor reticulatus specimens showed the presence of the hantavirus-specific RNA in spite of using two pairs of primers and the clearly positive results obtained with the positive control. Thus, the hypothesis about the possible participation of ticks in the transmission of hantaviruses was not confirmed.