TY - JOUR AU - Fulhorst, Charles F. AU - Bennett, Stephen G. AU - Milazzo, Mary L. AU - Murray, Hugh L. AU - Webb, James P. AU - Cajimat, Maria N.B. AU - Bradley, Robert D. T1 - Bear Canyon Virus: An Arenavirus Naturally Associated with the California Mouse (Peromyscus californicus) T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2002 VL - 8 IS - 7 SP - 717 SN - 1080-6059 AB - Thirty-four rodents captured in southern California were studied to increase our knowledge of the arenaviruses indigenous to the western United States. An infectious arenavirus was isolated from 5 of 27 California mice but none of the 7 other rodents. Analyses of viral nucleocapsid protein gene sequence data indicated that the isolates from the California mice are strains of a novel Tacaribe serocomplex virus (proposed name “Bear Canyon”) that is phylogenetically most closely related to Whitewater Arroyo and Tamiami viruses, the only other Tacaribe serocomplex viruses known to occur in North America. The discovery of Bear Canyon virus is the first unequivocal evidence that the virus family Arenaviridae is naturally associated with the rodent genus Peromyscus and that a Tacaribe serocomplex virus occurs in California. KW - Bear Canyon virus KW - Arenaviridae KW - Tacaribe serocomplex KW - Peromyscus californicus KW - California mouse KW - United States KW - California DO - 10.3201/eid0807.010281 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/8/7/01-0281_article ER - End of Reference