Hantavirus Que Es

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Hantaviruspulmonary syndrome is a rare infectious disease that begins with flu-like symptoms and progresses rapidly to more severe disease. It can lead to life-threatening lung and heart problems. The disease is also called hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome.

Several strains of the hantavirus can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. They are carried by different types of rodents. The most common carrier in North America is the deer mouse. Infection is usually caused by inhaling hantaviruses that have become airborne from rodent urine, droppings or saliva.

The time from infection with the hantavirus to the start of illness is usually about 2 to 3 weeks. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome advances through two distinct stages. In the first stage, which can last for several days, the most common signs and symptoms are:

The signs and symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome can worsen suddenly and may quickly become life-threatening. If you have flu-like symptoms that progressively worsen over a few days, see your health care provider. Get immediate medical care if you have trouble breathing.

Other carriers in North America include the rice rat and cotton rat in the Southeast and the white-footed mouse in the Northeast. Rodent carriers in South America include the rice rat and the vesper mouse.

When hantaviruses reach the lungs, they invade tiny blood vessels called capillaries, eventually causing them to leak. Your lungs fill with fluid (pulmonary edema), resulting in severe dysfunction of the lungs and heart.

Another disease caused by different strains of the hantavirus is called hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, which causes severe kidney disease. These variants of the virus have other animal carriers in Africa, Asia and Europe.

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome can quickly become life-threatening. Severe disease can result in failure of the heart to deliver oxygen to the body. Each strain of the virus differs in severity. The death rate due to the strain carried by deer mice ranges from 30% to 50%.

Hantaviruses can infect and cause serious disease in people worldwide. People get hantavirus from contact with rodents like rats and mice, especially when exposed to their urine, droppings, and saliva. It can also spread through a bite or scratch by a rodent, but this is rare.

Hantaviruses cause two syndromes. Hantaviruses found in the Western Hemisphere, including here in the U.S., can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). The most common hantavirus that causes HPS in the U.S. is spread by the deer mouse.

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is a group of clinically similar illnesses caused by hantaviruses found mostly in Europe and Asia. However, Seoul virus, a type of hantavirus that causes HFRS, is found worldwide, including in the United States.

Four to 10 days after the initial phase of illness, the late symptoms of HPS appear. These symptoms include coughing and shortness of breath. Patients might experience tightness in the chest, as the lungs fill with fluid.

HFRS is a severe and sometimes deadly disease that affects the kidneys. Symptoms of HFRS usually develop within 1 to 2 weeks after exposure. In rare cases, they may take up to 8 weeks to develop. Initial symptoms begin suddenly and include:

The severity of the disease varies depending on the virus causing the infection. Hantaan and Dobrava virus infections usually cause severe symptoms where 5-15% of cases are fatal. In contrast, Seoul, Saaremaa, and Puumala virus infections are usually more moderate with less than 1% dying from the disease. Complete recovery can take several weeks to months.

Eliminate or minimize contact with rodents in your home, workplace, or campsite to reduce your risk of exposure to hantaviruses. Seal holes and gaps in your home or garage to keep rodents from entering these spaces. Place traps in and around your home to decrease rodent infestation. Clean up any easy-to-get food, that might attract rodents.

Diagnosing hantavirus in a person who has been infected less than 72 hours is difficult. If the initial test is done before the virus can be detected, repeat testing is often done 72 hours after symptom start. Early symptoms such as fever, headache muscle aches, nausea, and fatigue are easily confused with influenza.

A diagnosis of HPS or HFRS may be considered in a patient with exposure to rodents and signs and symptoms compatible with HPS and HFRS. If you suspect hantavirus disease, see a physician immediately and mention a potential rodent exposure.

A diagnosis can be reached through testing at a state laboratory or CDC. If you have any questions or concerns regarding submitting a specimen or any public health emergency, please contact your state or local health department or contact the CDC's Emergency Operations Center at 770-488-7100.

HPS can cause breathing difficulties, and patients may need breathing support, such as intubation. Intubation is a medical procedure where a tube is placed in the lungs from the mouth to help the patient get oxygen.

Hantaviruses are a group of viruses that are carried by rodents. One of them, Sin Nombre virus, is found in deer mice in North America. Sin Nombre virus is the cause of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) in people.

Hantavirus-infected deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) can excrete the virus in their urine, saliva, and droppings. Infected deer mice live throughout the state and people are at risk for HPS in any part of Washington. Deer mice pass the virus to each other and some of the population is usually infected, but deer mice do not get sick or have any symptoms.

A person may be exposed to hantavirus by breathing contaminated dust after disturbing or cleaning rodent droppings or nests, or by living or working in rodent-infested settings. Typically one to five cases are reported each year and about one out of three people diagnosed with HPS have died.

Any activity that puts you in contact with deer mouse droppings, urine, saliva, or nesting materials can place you at risk for infection. There is no evidence that the disease spreads from one person to another.

There's evidence that animals, notably dogs and cats can be infected by hantavirus, however they do not get sick or have any symptoms. Dogs and cats are most likely exposed to the virus when preying on infected deer mice. Though dogs and cats can't spread hantavirus directly to other animals or people, they could put people at risk by bringing infected rodents into homes or places where exposure to rodent excretions may occur.

Symptoms begin one to eight weeks after inhaling the virus and typically start with 3-5 days of illness including fever, sore muscles, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. As the disease gets worse, it causes shortness of breath due to fluid filled lungs. Hospital care is usually required. It is serious disease and about one out of three people diagnosed with HPS have died.

If you have been exposed to deer mice mice or mice-infested buildings and have symptoms of fever, muscle aches, and severe shortness of breath, see your health care provider immediately. Inform your health care provider of possible deer mouse exposure so that he/she is alerted to the possibility of rodent-borne diseases, such as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

The deer mouse is about six inches long from the nose to the tip of its tail. It is grayish to light brown on top, with large ears, a white belly, and a furry tail that is white on the underside. There are many other types of mice in Washington that don't have those features.

The length of time hantaviruses can remain infectious in the environment is variable and depends on environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity and whether the virus is indoors or outdoors or exposed to the sun. The bottom line is that you can't tell how old a dropping is, so all rodent droppings should be handled as if they are infectious. Areas with ongoing rodent infestation are particularly risky and the recommendations for prevention should be followed.

Hantavirus pulmonary disease (HPS) is a rare but serious disease that humans can contract through contact with infected rodents or their urine, saliva, blood, or droppings. From 1993, when HPS was first identified in the United States, to 2020, there have been 87 cases in California residents and over 700 cases nationally. Approximately 12 percent of deer mice carry hantavirus.

The deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) is the primary reservoir for Sin Nombre Virus, the strain of hantavirus responsible for the human cases in Yosemite National Park, and most human cases in the United States. The deer mouse is found throughout most of the United States, including Yosemite National Park.

Hantaviruses in Europe and Asia cause organ damage, especially to the kidneys and blood vessels. This is known as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Recovery can take weeks to months. In some cases hantavirus can cause death.

Symptoms of hantavirus disease usually develop three to four weeks after infection but can occur as early as one week and, in rare cases, not start until eight weeks after infection. Early symptoms include fatigue, fever, and muscle aches. There may also be headaches, dizziness, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

It is believed that humans can get sick with this virus if they breathe in contaminated dust from mice nests or droppings. You may come in contact with such dust when cleaning homes, sheds, or other enclosed areas that have been empty for a long time.

Hantavirus is a serious infection that gets worse quickly. Lung failure can occur and may lead to death. Even with aggressive treatment, more than one-half of people who have this disease in their lungs die.

Dolin R. California encephalitis, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, hantavirus hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, and bunyavirus hemorrhagic fevers. In: Bennett JE, Dolin R, Blaser MJ, eds. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 166.

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