Hantavirus hemorrhagic fever

Hantavirus hemorrhagic fever is part of the viral hemorrhagic fever spectrum and is linked to enveloped single-stranded RNA viruses in the hantavirus group ^[1][2]. The sources characterize hantavirus infection as producing major human syndromes that include hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and, in some settings, cardiopulmonary syndrome ^[3][4]. Hantaviruses are described as chronically infecting rodents without apparent disease, while human illness follows exposure to infected rodent excreta ^[4].

The cited literature describes viral hemorrhagic fevers as severe illnesses with fever, capillary leak, and coagulation defects, and notes that thrombocytopenia is a common laboratory finding ^[2]. For hantavirus infection specifically, HFRS is associated with prominent systemic manifestations, vascular leak, kidney tubular necrosis, myocardial depression, and hypotension or shock ^[4]. HCPS/HPS is described as rapidly progressing to acute but reversible multiorgan dysfunction, with hypovolemia, systolic dysfunction, and pulmonary edema secondary to increased permeability ^[3][4]. The sources do not provide a single unified symptom list for the exact surveillance label "hantavirus hemorrhagic fever," so syndrome-specific features are presented only as source-supported patterns ^[3][4].

Hantavirus-associated hemorrhagic disease is described as geographically patterned, with HFRS primarily a Eurasian disease and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome confined to the Americas in the cited review ^[4]. Andesvirus is identified as one strain that can cause HCPS and is reported as endemic in Chile ^[3]. A separate review notes that hantavirus hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome is among the VHF examples that are re-emerging or endemic in the Middle East, and that VHF distribution can expand beyond original habitats, creating a global public-health concern ^[1]. The sources also emphasize that many viral hemorrhagic fevers are restricted to specific parts of the world and that outbreaks in the Middle East have occurred in recent decades ^[1].

Transmission occurs through direct or indirect contact with infected rodents' urine, saliva, or feces, including inhalation of aerosol particles containing the virus ^[3]. Another source adds exposure through rodent excretions by ingestion or through mucosa or non-intact skin, and notes that aerosolized rodent urine and saliva are infectious ^[2]. Human-to-human spread is not described as a general feature for hantavirus in the supplied sources; the transmission evidence provided here is rodent-associated exposure ^[2][3].

The supplied sources identify exposure-linked risk rather than demographic risk categories: persons with direct or indirect contact with infected rodents or their urine, saliva, feces, or aerosolized excreta are the clearly supported risk group ^[2][3][4]. People in settings where rodent infestation or rodent-to-human environmental exposure is more likely may therefore be at higher risk, but the sources do not provide a more specific subgroup list ^[2][4]. Source-backed detail on age, occupation, pregnancy, comorbidity, or immunologic risk is not yet available in the provided material ^[1][2][3][4].

The sources do not provide a detailed prevention schedule or product-specific prophylaxis for hantavirus hemorrhagic fever, and they explicitly note the lack of vaccines and antiviral therapy for most viral hemorrhagic fevers ^[1]. Prevention is therefore inferable only at the level of exposure control: limiting contact with rodent excretions and avoiding inhalation of contaminated aerosols ^[2][3]. One review emphasizes broader One Health engagement across animal, human, and environmental health in regions where viral hemorrhagic fevers are emerging or re-emerging ^[1].

In surveillance, hantavirus hemorrhagic fever should be interpreted as part of a broader hantavirus disease spectrum rather than as a fully standardized clinical entity in the supplied material ^[3][4]. The sources support attention to geographic patterning, especially Eurasian HFRS and American HCPS/HPS, and to exposure histories involving rodents or rodent excreta ^[3][4]. Because the literature also notes that clinical differentiation among viral hemorrhagic fevers is difficult, case finding should be interpreted in the context of syndrome, exposure ecology, and local geographic risk ^[2][4].

1. 1 Zakham F et al. Viral haemorrhagic fevers in the Middle East. Rev Sci Tech. 2019 May. PMID: 31564731. doi: 10.20506/rst.38.1.2952. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31564731/
2. 2 Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (Ebola, Lassa, Hantavirus). Oxford Medicine Online. 2016. doi: 10.1093/med/9780199976805.003.0066. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780199976805.003.0066
3. 3 Ulloa-Morrison R et al. Critical care management of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. A narrative review. J Crit Care. 2024 Dec. PMID: 39024823. doi: 10.1016/j.jcrc.2024.154867. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39024823/
4. 4 Spectrum of Hantavirus Infection: Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome and Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. Annual Review of Medicine. 1999. doi: 10.1146/annurev.med.50.1.531. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.med.50.1.531
5. 5 Andrei G et al. Molecular approaches for the treatment of hemorrhagic fever virus infections. Antiviral Res. 1993 Sep. PMID: 8250543. doi: 10.1016/0166-3542(93)90085-w. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8250543/
6. 6 California Encephalitis, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, and Bunyavirus Hemorrhagic Fevers. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 2015. doi: 10.1016/b978-1-4557-4801-3.00168-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-1-4557-4801-3.00168-5

ICD-10

A98.5

ICD-11

1D67

Total cases

47

Peak month

2020-04

Coverage

1 reporting countries · 2004-01-01 → 2021-07-01