eng Science and Education Publishing American Journal of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology 2328-4064 2015-04-12 3 2 77 86 10.12691/ajidm-3-2-4 AJIDM2015324 article Abdullah Mahmud-Al-Rafat 1 2 Mahbub-E- Sobhani 2 Andrew W. Taylor-Robinson a.taylor-robinson@cqu.edu.au 3 Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh School of Medical & Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Australia Hantaviruses are primarily rodent-borne pathogens which have received considerable attention recently due to their high mortality rates in humans. In order to find the causes of rapid transmission and emergence of hantavirus-associated diseases anthropogenic changes are a priority. These include deforestation, urbanization, noise pollution, light pollution and electromagnetic fields, all of which have been shown to profoundly affect rodent physiology and immunology. Moreover, anthropogenic events promote human-rodent co-habitation and thereby provide a driver to increase rates of transmission and, by extrapolation, levels of infection in humans. Such environmental disruption acts as a chronic stressor to rodents and causes elevated concentrations of glucocorticoids, which are a major class of immunosuppressive hormone. Glucocorticoids are responsible for altering the immune tolerance of rodents, thereby rendering them susceptible to infection. Glucocorticoids induce regulatory T lymphocytes to reduce inflammatory and antiviral responses and to activate regulatory responses, principally through production of the cytokines interleukin-10 and transforming growth factor-β to support viral persistence. In order to develop a low-cost intervention strategy for hantavirus infection consideration should be given to a systemic approach to therapy. This would both aim to achieve a reduction of anthropogenic stressors and to gain a greater understanding of host-pathogen interactions. http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajidm/3/2/4/ajidm-3-2-4.pdf hantavirus rodent reservoir viral persistence anthropogenic event glucocorticoid regulatory T lymphocyte anti-viral