Hanta pulmonary virus disease

Interactive State Maps, Tables and Charts. Information for Health Care Workers. Additional Resources. Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website. As strikingly, Navajo medical beliefs concur with public health recommendations for preventing the disease. But why this sudden cluster of cases? The key answer to this question is that, during this period, there were suddenly many more mice than usual. The Four Corners area had been in a drought for several years. Then, in early , heavy snows and rainfall helped drought-stricken plants and animals to revive and grow in larger-than-usual numbers.

With so many mice, it was more likely that mice and humans would come into contact with one another, and thus more likely that the hantavirus carried by the mice would be transmitted to humans. Researchers and clinicians investigating the ongoing outbreak were not the only groups concerned about the disease.

Shortly after the first few HPS patients died and it became clear that a new disease was affecting people in the area, and that no one knew how it was transmitted, the news media began extensive reporting on the outbreak. Widespread concern among the public ensued. Unfortunately, the first victims of the outbreak were Navajo. News reports focused on this fact, and the misperception grew that the unknown disease was somehow linked to Navajos.

By later in the summer of , the media frenzy had quieted somewhat, and the source of the disease was pinpointed. Researchers determined that, like other hantaviruses, the virus that causes HPS is not transmitted from person to person the way other infections, such as the common cold, may be. The exception to this is an outbreak of HPS in Argentina in Evidence from this outbreak suggests that strains of hantaviruses in South America may be transmissable from person to person.

To date, no cases of HPS have been reported in the United States in which the virus was transmitted from one person to another. In fact, in a study of health care workers who were exposed to either patients or specimens infected with related types of hantaviruses which cause a different disease in humans , none of the workers showed evidence of infection or illness.

In Chile and Argentina, rare cases of person-to-person transmission have occurred among close contacts of a person who is ill with a type of hantavirus called Andes virus. New Campaigns Measles Microblading. All Campaigns. Visit FLHealthCharts. Order Your Certificates Order birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates online through VitalChek.

Order Certificates. Apostilles or Notarial Certificates. Featured Topic:. Influenza Influenza or 'flu' is a viral respiratory illness, mainly spread by droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk. Report a Disease To report a disease , contact your local county health department.

Report a Foodborne Illness. Symptoms Prevention Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome Occurrence in Florida References The incubation period ranges from 1 to 3 weeks , and initial symptoms include fever , muscle aches , and feeling tired. A young, physically fit Navajo man suffering from shortness of breath was rushed to a hospital in New Mexico and died very rapidly.

Andes virus is a type of hantavirus that is found in rodents in South America. People can become ill with Andes virus if they come in contact with infected rodents or their droppings while in South America. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate.