Imjin thottimvirus (MJNV) is a single-stranded, enveloped, negative-sense RNA virus of the orthohantavirus genus in the Bunyavirales order. It is a newly identified hantavirus isolated from the lung tissues of Ussuri white-toothed shrews of the species Crocidura lasiura (order Soricomorpha, family Soricidae, subfamily Crocidurinae) captured near the demilitarized zone in the Republic of Korea during 2004 and 2005.
Phylogenetic analyses demonstrates a common ancestry with Thottopalayam thottimvirus suggesting early evolutionary divergence. It is still unknown if MJNV is pathogenic for humans.[1]
MJNV has been shown to be a genetically unique hantavirus. Multiple strains have been isolated from the lung tissues of Ussuri white-toothed shrews captured between 2004 and 2010. Partial M- and L-segment sequences from lung tissues of 12 of 37 (32.4%) anti-MJNV IgG antibody-positive shrews revealed that the 12 MJNV strains differed by 0–12.2% and 0–2.3% at the nucleotide and amino acid levels. A similar degree of nucleotide and amino acid difference was found in a 632-nucleotide length of the L segment of nine MJNV strains. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated a geographic relationship similar to the phylogeography of rodent-borne hantaviruses.[2]