Source: Centre for Disease Control(CDC) and Economic Times
Recently a man from China’s Yunnan province died from Hantavirus while on a bus to the Shandong province.
What is Hantavirus and how does it spread?
- According to the Centre for Disease Control(CDC) of USA Hantaviruses are a family of viruses spread mainly by rodents and can cause varied disease syndromes in people worldwide. Infection with any hantavirus can produce hantavirus disease in people.
- The CDC also mentions that Hantaviruses in the Americas are known as “New World” hantaviruses and may cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). Other hantaviruses, known as “Old World” hantaviruses, are found mostly in Europe and Asia and may cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).
- It states that each hantavirus serotype has a specific rodent host species and is spread to people via an aerosolized virus that is shed in urine, faeces, and saliva, and less frequently by a bite from an infected host.
Signs and symptoms
- Early symptoms of HPS include fatigue, fever, and muscle aches, along with headaches, dizziness, chills and abdominal problems.
- CDC mentions that on the basis of limited information, it appears that symptoms may develop between 1 and 8 weeks after exposure to fresh urine, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents
