Hantavirus
Hantavirus is one of the four genera of the family Bunyaviridae. Hantaviruses are spread by rodents and target the kidneys, lungs or pulmonary system, and heart. The genus Hantavirus name is ultimately derived from the Hantaan River, where Hantaan virus (the etiologic agent of Korean hemorrhagic fever) was first isolated. The disease associated with Hantaan virus is called Korean hemorrhagic fever or hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).Hantaviruses are a relatively newly discovered class of virus; the disease entity HFRS was first recognized by Western medicine during the Korean War.
In 1993, a newly-recognized species of hantavirus was found to be behind Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS, aka HPS) caused by the Sin Nombre virus in New Mexico and other Four Corners states. In addition to Hantaan virus and Sin Nombre virus, several other hantaviruses have been implicated as etiologic agents for either HFRS and HCPS. Regions especially affected by HFRS include China, the Korean Peninsula and Russia (Hantaan and Seoul viruses) and northern and western Europe (Puumala and Dobrava viruses). Regions with the highest incidences of HCPS include Patagonian Argentina and Chile, Brazil, the US and Canada, and Panama, where a milder form of disease that spares the heart has been recongized. The two agents of HCPS in South America are Andes virus (aka Oran, Castelo de Sonhos, Lechiguanas, Juquitiba, Araraquara and Bermejo viruses, among many other synonyms), which is the only hantavirus that can be transmitted person-to-person, and Laguna Negra virus. In the US, minor causes of HCPS include New York virus, Bayou virus and possibly Black Creek Canal virus.
HFRS is caused by viruses that target the kidney (hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome) and cause kidney disease, especially among rural dwellers who have contact with rodents. HCPS targets the lungs, but deaths due to HCPS are almost always the result of a shut down of the heart, causing hypotension, shock and/or malignant arrhthymias.
Despite the advice of Microsoft Word to the contrary, the term "hantavirus" should not be capitalized except when preceded by the word "genus".
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