Home > Hantavirus

Hantaviruses are a relatively newly discovered class of virus; the disease entity HFRS was first recognized by Western medicine during the Korean War.

In 1993, a newly-recognized species of hantavirus was found to be behind the Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS, aka HPS) caused by the Sin Nombre virus in New Mexico and other Four Corners states . In addition to Hantaan virus and Sin Nombre virus, several other hantaviruses have been implicated as etiologic agents for either HFRS and HCPS. Regions especially affected by HFRS include China, the Korean Peninsula and Russia (Hantaan and Seoul viruses) and northern and western Europe (Puumala and Dobrava viruses). Regions with the highest incidences of HCPS include Patagonian Argentina and Chile, Brazil, the US and CanadaCanada historically the Dominion of Canada is the second-largest, and northernmost, country in the world. It is a decentralized federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories, governed as a constitutional monarchy, and formed in 1867 through an act of Confe, and PanamaPanama ( Spanish: Panam is the southernmost country of Central America. It constitutes the last part of a natural land bridge between the North American and South American continents. History Main article: History of Panama Panama was part of Spain's colo, where a milder form of disease that spares the heart has been recognized. The two agents of HCPS in South AmericaSouth America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. South America is situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It became attached to North America only recently, geologically speaking, wi are Andes virus (aka Oran, Castelo de Sonhos, Lechiguanas, Juquitiba, Araraquara and Bermejo viruses, among many other synonyms), which is the only hantavirus that can be transmitted person-to-person, and Laguna Negra virus . In the US, minor causes of HCPS include New York virus , Bayou virus and possibly Black Creek Canal virus .

HFRS is caused by viruses that target the kidney (hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome) and cause kidney disease , especially among rural dwellers who have contact with rodents. HCPS targets the lungs, but deaths due to HCPS are almost always the result of a shut down of the heart, causing hypotensionIn physiology and medicine, hypotension refers to an abnormally low blood pressure. It is often associated with shock, though not necessarily indicative of it. Causes Orthostatic hypotension is a common cause of low blood pressure, resulting from a sudden, shock and/or malignant arrhthymias .