What is a Hantavirus?

A hantavirus is a member of a viral genus first identified around the Hatan River in Korea and classified in the family Bunyaviridae. Members of this genus have been linked with two different diseases and treatment for both is focused on supportive care. These viruses are carried and passed by rodents. Attempts at limiting the spread of hantavirus are focused on controlling rodent populations to prevent viral exposure.

The original virus is responsible for causing a hemorrhagic fever that will eventually involve the kidneys, potentially sending the patient into renal failure. It was once known as Korean hemorrhagic fever, although “hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome” is the preferred modern term. The virus incubates for several weeks before causing a cascading series of symptoms. Provided with supportive care through the infection, the patient may survive.

In the 1990s, another form of the virus was identified in the Southwest, after a rash of severe pulmonary disease swept through the Native American community, killing young, healthy individuals with no prior history of medical problems. The cardiopulmonary version of hantavirus causes issues like pulmonary edema and tachycardia, where the heart beats too rapidly. Patients may require mechanical ventilation while the body fights the virus in some cases.

People contract the virus by inhaling aerosolized rodent urine and feces, or by consuming food and water contaminated with rodent waste. Symptoms of hantavirus are often compared to those of flu. Patients can develop headaches and fatigue and may experience nausea and vomiting. Anemia can develop in some patients and lung involvement may make it difficult to breathe. Supportive care can include keeping patients warm and providing fluids.

Researchers interested in hantavirus are working on tasks like sequencing the viral genome for the purpose of learning more about where it originated and how it evolved. This information can be used in the development of antiviral drugs to target hantavirus infection. Study of rodent populations where the virus appears naturally without causing disease is also a topic of interest, as is the development of adequate controls to minimize contact between rodents and humans. Prairie dogs and mice have both been linked with this virus, and it can exist for extended periods of time in nature as long as it has a reservoir of natural hosts. It can also last up to three days outside the body, making sterilization of environments where the virus has been identified an important issue.