Hantavirus: Causes, Symptoms, Risk Factor and Treatment
Contents
Photo by USFWS Mountain-Prairie, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says hantaviruses spread mainly from rodents such as rats and mice. Infection can cause serious disease in people.
Hantaviruses in the Americas, called "New World" hantaviruses, can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). "Old World" hantaviruses, found mostly in Europe and Asia, can cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).
Both HPS and HFRS spread through:
- Rodent urine
- Rodent droppings
- Rodent saliva
- Breathing in dust contaminated with rodent urine or droppings, the most common route
- Rarely, a bite or scratch from an infected rodent
Most hantaviruses do not spread from person to person. The exception is Andes virus in South America, which can spread through close contact with a sick person.
This article focuses on HPS. Much of it also applies to HFRS, but the late-stage symptoms differ: fluid in the lungs and shortness of breath in HPS, versus low blood pressure, shock and kidney failure in HFRS.
In HPS, the lungs fill with fluid (pulmonary edema). About 38% of people who develop breathing symptoms die.
Symptoms of Hantavirus
Early symptoms start 1 to 8 weeks after contact with rodents and can look like the flu:
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Muscle aches, especially in large muscle groups
- Headache, dizziness or chills
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or abdominal pain
Because early symptoms resemble the flu, HPS can be missed at first. If you get sick after cleaning a rodent-infested space, tell your doctor about the exposure.
Late symptoms of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome start 4 to 10 days after the first symptoms and include:
- Coughing
- Shortness of breath
- Chest tightness as the lungs fill with fluid
People with HFRS may develop low blood pressure, internal bleeding and kidney failure that can require dialysis. Seek emergency care if breathing becomes difficult.
In what way Hantavirus affects your body?
Hantaviruses infect people once they are inhaled. If the virus reaches your lungs, it can infect the cells that line the small blood vessels within the lungs, causing them to become “leaky.” The leaky blood vessels allow fluid to fill the lungs making it difficult to breathe. Severe disease can also weaken the heart's ability to pump blood. This causes very low blood pressure (shock), so oxygen can't reach the body's cells. Organs can then fail quickly, which can be fatal.
Risk factor
People in rural areas who may come into contact with wild rodents are at higher risk. Cleaning sheds, cabins, barns or garages that have been closed up is a common source of exposure.
Some patients have no obvious contact with rodents, but they may not have noticed their exposure. You can inhale the virus from contaminated dust without ever seeing a rodent.
Breathing in contaminated particles is the most common way to get infected. Other routes include a rodent bite, touching something contaminated and then your mouth, or eating contaminated food. If you have flu-like symptoms after a possible exposure, see a doctor early.
Treatment of Hantavirus
There is no specific treatment, cure or vaccine for HPS. People who are recognized early and treated in an intensive care unit do better. Care is supportive: oxygen, fluids and, when needed, a breathing tube and ventilator to get through severe breathing problems. The sooner a patient gets care, the better. If a patient is experiencing full respiratory distress, treatment is less likely to work. The best way to prevent HPS is to keep rodents out of your home, workplace and campsite. Seal gaps and holes, set traps and store food where rodents can't reach it.
Before cleaning a closed-up cabin, shed or barn, open the doors and windows and leave for 30 minutes. When cleaning droppings, don't sweep or vacuum, which stirs up dust.
Wear rubber or plastic gloves. Spray the area with a disinfectant or a bleach solution (1 part bleach to 9 parts water), let it soak for 5 minutes, then wipe it up with paper towels.
HP Thoughts: Viral infections can sometimes inflame the brain. Learn more about one such condition in our article: Encephalitis.
_B.jpg){kind=link}