Hantavirus is the name of a group of viruses. Most of the hantaviruses cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, which is an illness that is characterized by fever, kidney failure, and internal bleeding.
In 1993, a hantavirus was identified as the cause of a deadly new disease that had broken out in the Southwestern United States. Although infection with any hantavirus is rare, 17 people became ill and 13 died in this outbreak. The disease became known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. The hantavirus that causes this disease is carried by the deer mouse, a rodent that lives in much of the United States. At first, the virus was called the Four Corners or Muerto Canyon virus. It is now named the Sin Nombre virus.
Most other hantaviruses attack the kidneys. The Sin Nombre virus, however, attacks the lungs. Early symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome resemble those of a severe cold or flu, such as fever, cough, and muscle aches. Then the lungs rapidly fill with fluid, which leads to respiratory failure and often causes death. There is no cure for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Doctors treat the symptoms by administering oxygen and medication. Since 1993, cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome have been reported throughout a large part of the United States.
Scientists think that most hantaviruses are carried by rodents and spread through rodent urine and droppings. People usually become infected by breathing dust or soil that contains tiny particles of dried droppings. A person infected with most strains of the virus does not spread the disease to other people. However, scientists think that a hantavirus may have spread from person to person during a 1996 outbreak in Argentina.
To help prevent infection from hantaviruses, people should keep mice and rats away from areas where human beings live and work. Disinfectants should be used to clean areas where rodents may have been. When removing rodents from traps, rubber gloves should always be worn.
