Symptoms of Hantavirus

Flu-like Symptoms

The flu (influenza) is a viral disease of the respiratory tract. Characteristic symptoms are

• fever,
• chills,
• cough,
• malaise, and
• headache.

Other symptoms can occur, like

• nausea and vomiting,
• muscle or body aches,
• tiredness and fatigue,
• appetite loss,
• sore throat, and
• diarrhea.

What is hantavirus and pulmonary syndrome (HPS)?

Figure 2: Chest X-ray of a patient with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS); SOURCE: CDC/Brian W.J. Mahy, Ph.D.; Luanne H. Elliott, MS

The term hantavirus represents several groups of RNA-containing viruses (that are members of the virus family of Bunyaviridae) that are carried by rodents and can cause severe respiratory infections termed hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).

HPS is found mainly in the Americas (Canada, U.S., Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Panama, and others) while hemrrhatic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is found mainly in Russia, China, and Korea but may be found in Scandinavia and Western Europe and occasionally in other areas.

Like HPS, HFRS results from hantaviruses that are transmitted by:

• rodent urine,
• rodent droppings, or
• saliva (rodent bite), by direct contact with
• the animals
• by aerosolized dust contaminated with rodent urine or feces to human skin breaks or mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, or eyes.

The vast majority of HPS and HFRS infections do not transfer from person to person.

The goal of this article is to discuss HPS; however, much of what is presented about HPS applies to HFRS — the main difference is that the predominant symptoms in the late stages of disease vary somewhat between the two diseases (lung fluid and shortness of breath in HPS and low blood pressure, fever, and kidney failure in HFRS).

HPS is a disease caused by hantavirus that results in human lungs filling with fluid (pulmonary edema) and causing death in about 38% of all infected patients.