Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) virus infection in the renal tissues of patients with HFRS studied by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry

emorrhagic fever with renal syndrome(HFRS)virus RNA and antigens were simultane-ously detected by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical techniques in the autopsy renaltissues of the patients with HFRS.In 36 cases collected separately from Shaanxi,Shenyang,Shanghai and Jiangxi HFRS endemic foci,34 cases were subjected to virus RNA detection and 28cases were positive,34 cases were subjected to viral antigen detection and 30 cases were positive.Virus RNA and antigens were mainly localized in the cytoplasm,In the cases from Xi'an andShenyang,they were mainly distributed in the renal tubular cells.In the cases from Shanghai,Jiangxi and Guangzhou.virus RNA was mainly distributed in the renal interstitial vasculaturesand endothelial cells,occasionally in glomerular tufts and tubular cells,while viral antigens weredistributed in vasculatureb and renal tubular cells,and in Guangzhou cases in smooth muscles ofblood vessels。 Moreover,3 cases from Xi′an and 9 cases from Shanghai also displayed cytoplasmicinclusio