[Area and natural reservoirs of hemorrhagic fever virus with kidney syndrome in the Far East of the USSR].

Lungs of 9127 small mammals of 17 species trapped in Khabarovsk region, Magadan, Amur, and Sakhalin regions in 1982-1987 were examined, among them 11 species are reservoirs of HFRS virus. Most frequently infected are striped field mice and Japanese field mice, red voles and large-toothed red-backed voles which are the dominant species of the appropriate landscape formations. Circulation of two HFRS virus serotypes among small mammals was demonstrated. The main epidemiological role belongs to the striped field mouse in HFRS foci of the meadow-field type, and to Asiatic field mouse in forest foci in the territories examined.