Hantaviruses are zoonotic viruses with a complex evolutionary history of
virus–host coevolution and cross-species transmission. Although hantaviruses
have a broad reservoir host range, virus–host relationships were previously
thought to be strict, with a single virus species infecting a single host
species. Here, we describe Bruges virus, a novel hantavirus harbored by the
European mole (Talpa europaea), which is the well-known host of Nova virus.
Phylogenetic analyses of all three genomic segments showed tree topology
inconsistencies, suggesting that Bruges virus has emerged from cross-species
transmission and ancient reassortment events. A high number of coinfections
with Bruges and Nova viruses was detected, but no evidence was found for
reassortment between these two hantaviruses. These findings highlight the
complexity of hantavirus evolution and the importance of further investigation
of hantavirus–reservoir relationships
