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Volume 31, Number 10—October 2025

Dispatch

Seoul Virus Infection Acquired at Private Pet Rat Breeding Facility, Germany, 2024

Fabian Baalmann1, Mario Hönemann1Comments to Author , Stephan Drewes, Martin Eiden, Calvin Mehl, Dennis Tappe, Birte Pantenburg, Steffi Bellmann, Ingrid Möller, Melanie Maier, Corinna Pietsch, Rainer G. Ulrich, and Johannes Münch
Author affiliation: University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany (F. Baalmann, M. Hönemann, M. Maier, C. Pietsch, J. Münch); Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany (S. Drewes, M. Eiden, C. Mehl, R.G. Ulrich); Deutsches Zentrum für Infektionsforschung, Partner site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Greifswald-Insel Riems (C. Mehl, R.G. Ulrich); Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany (D. Tappe); University of Leipzig Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Medicine, and Public Health, Leipzig (B. Pantenburg); City of Leipzig Public Health Office, Leipzig (B. Pantenburg, S. Bellmann, I. Möller); University Medicine Mannheim Medical Clinic for Nephrology, Kidney Transplantation, Endocrinology, Rheumatology, and Pneumology, Mannheim, Germany (J. Münch)

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Figure 2

Phylogenetic reconstruction of a partial small segment (731 nt) of Seoul virus isolates (obtained in Saxony state, Germany) in 2024 from rat breeder’s rats implicated in case of severe Seoul virus infection with acute kidney injury, Germany, March 2024. Phylogeny indicates high phylogenetic relatedness among the isolates from the breeder’s rats (bold and asterisks) and other publicly available Seoul virus outbreak strains (4,8) (Appendix). Scale bar indicates the number of substitutions per site. BEL, Belgium; BEN, Benin; BR, breeder rat; CC, cell culture isolate; CHN, China; FRA, France; GBR, Great Britain; GER, Germany; HU, human; KOR, Korea; NED, the Netherlands; SGP, Singapore; USA, United States; VNM, Vietnam; WR, wild rat.

Figure 2. Phylogenetic reconstruction of a partial small segment (731 nt) of Seoul virus isolates (obtained in Saxony state, Germany) in 2024 from rat breeder’s rats implicated in case of severe Seoul virus infection with acute kidney injury, Germany, March 2024. Phylogeny indicates high phylogenetic relatedness among the isolates from the breeder’s rats (bold and asterisks) and other publicly available Seoul virus outbreak strains (4,8) (Appendix). Scale bar indicates the number of substitutions per site. BEL, Belgium; BEN, Benin; BR, breeder rat; CC, cell culture isolate; CHN, China; FRA, France; GBR, Great Britain; GER, Germany; HU, human; KOR, Korea; NED, the Netherlands; SGP, Singapore; USA, United States; VNM, Vietnam; WR, wild rat.

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1These first authors contributed equally to this article.

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