Watch | What is the hantavirus?

A video on the zoonotic disease which is transmitted to humans from rodents

March 29, 2020 12:44 pm | Updated 12:44 pm IST

According to China’s Global Times, a man from Yunnan Province was tested positive and died due to hantavirus.

Hantaviruses are a family of viruses spread mainly by rodents. Hantaviruses in the Americas are known as “New World” hantaviruses and others are known as “Old World” hantaviruses. They are found mostly in Europe and Asia.

Hantavirus was originally discovered in Asia during the Korean War. The actual virus was not isolated until 20 years later, in 1976. It was discovered in a striped field mouse near the Hantan River in South Korea. Hence the prototype was christened Hantaan virus. It was eventually classified under its own genus Hantavirus.

Hantaviruses can cause Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, which is an infectious disease characterised by flu-like symptoms. It can progress rapidly to potentially life-threatening breathing problems.  It can also cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.

Being a zoonotic disease, each hantavirus serotype has a specific rodent host species. It can spread to people via the aerosolised virus that is shed in urine, feces, and saliva. It can spread less frequently by a bite from an infected host.

Symptoms of the Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome are fever, Headaches, Muscle aches, Stomach problems, Dizziness and Chills. Late Symptoms can be lungs filling with fluid and shortness of breath.

There are dozens of types of hantaviruses, majority of which do not cause disease in humans.

 

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.