‘The key to the gene’ finds out the route of infection with Hantan virus in urine
Professor Jin-Won Song’s team at Korea University
A research team led by Professor Jin-Won Song of the Department of Microbiology at Korea University College of Medicine succeeded in amplifying and diagnosing Hantan virus RNA from the urine of a patient with a Korean military epidemic for the first time, and finding the full genome sequence of the virus.
Hantavirus is well-known as a virus that infects humans from rodents, causes epidemic hemorrhagic fever (nephrotic syndrome hemorrhagic fever), and causes renal failure, hemorrhage, thrombocytopenia, and shock. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), it has been reported that about 4 to 600 patients with epidemiological fever occur every year in Korea.
The research team succeeded in securing the entire gene sequence of Hantan virus, which is present in a very small amount, from the urine of a patient with an epidemic hemorrhagic fever that occurred between 2016 and 2017 through the Multiplex PCR-based NGS. . This is the first to reveal the entire Hantan virus gene sequence in urine by developing a technology to amplify the entire genome of Hantan virus RNA in the urine of a patient.
Furthermore, by analyzing the Hantan virus amplified from the patient’s urine and the Hantan virus gene obtained from mice collected from the expected infection area, the patient’s infection area could be identified. Previously, the method of collecting the patient’s blood and checking the presence or absence of virus RNA or antibody formation was used. It is meaningful.
Professor Song Jin-won said, “This study is a case that shows that continuous research and preparation for infectious diseases is necessary in a situation where zoonotic viruses are threatening human health in recent years. It is expected that it can be effectively applied to treatment and treatment.”
The results of this study were published in the top journal in tropical medicine.
Meanwhile, Professor Jin-Won Song graduated from Korea University College of Medicine in 1987 and obtained master’s and doctoral degrees from the same graduate school. Since joining Korea University College of Medicine in 1996, he discovered Imjin virus, Jeju virus, and several new viruses. He received the Seoktap Research Award, etc., and was elected as a full member of the Korean Academy of Medicine in 2021. Currently, he is the second Korean to serve as the president of the International Hanta Virus Society after Ho-Wang Lee, emeritus professor, and took office as the president of the Korean Society of Virology in 2020.
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