Khabarovsk virus

Khabarovsk virus (KBR) is a novel orthohantavirus in the Bunyavirales order isolated from Microtus fortis discovered in far-east Russia. It is an enveloped, negative-sense RNA virus. Two strains of KBR were isolated in Microtus fortis trapped in the Khabarovsk region of far-eastern Russia. The nucleotide sequences revealed that the two isolates were closely related to each other but distinct from all other hantaviruses. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these strains form a separate branch in the Hantavirus tree, positioned between the branches of Prospect Hill and Puumala viruses. Puumala virus was the closest relative, both genetically and serologically.