First description of hemagglutination by a virus belonging to the family Dicistroviridae

Abstract

Triatoma virus is the only virus whose genome has been sequenced and studied in triatomines. It belongs to the family Dicistroviridae. In order to detect whether TrV has the ability to agglutinate erythrocytes of domestic and laboratory animals, we performed a hemagglutination assay. Positive hemagglutination was found for red blood cells of guinea pigs. The HA assay could be used as a titration method, at least for purified viral particles obtained from triatomine stool. This is the first record of hemagglutinating properties for Dicistroviridae.