Hantavirus infection is a viral disease that spreads from rodents to humans. The virus can cause serious infections of the lungs (with cough and shortness of breath) or kidneys (with abdominal pain and sometimes kidney failure).

• Hantavirus is spread through contact with infected rodents or their droppings.

• The infection starts with sudden fever, headache, muscle pain and sometimes abdominal symptoms, which may be followed by cough and shortness of breath or kidney problems.

• Blood tests to identify the virus can confirm the diagnosis.

• Oxygen and medications to stabilize blood pressure are used if the lungs are affected, and dialysis may be needed if the kidneys are affected.

(See also Overview of Arbovirus, Arenavirus and Filovirus infections.)

Hantavirus infects various species of rodents worldwide. The virus is found in the rodents’ urine and faeces. The infection is spread when people have contact with rodents, their excrement or urine, or possibly when they inhale virus particles in places with large amounts of rodent excrement. Most hantaviruses are not spread from person to person; rarely, Andean hantavirus in southern South America is spread directly between people in close physical contact. Hantavirus infections are becoming more common.

There are several species of hantavirus. Depending on the species, the virus affects different organs:

• The lungs that cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS)

• The kidneys causing hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS)

But many symptoms of the 2 infections overlap.

The pulmonary syndrome is found in the western United States and Canada as well as countries in Central and South America.

The renal syndrome occurs primarily in parts of Europe, Korea, China and Russia. This virus is spread by brown Norway rats and has been spread worldwide by rats on ships. A few cases of HFRS hantavirus infection, spread by pets or laboratory rats, have occurred in the United States, Canada, and Europe.