Hantavirus in United States: Around four people have died in United States due to rodent-borne hantavirus. Reportedly, the officials have issued a health alert in the state of Arizona following these deaths.
From January to July, the Arizona Department of Health Services documented seven instances of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, a serious and occasionally lethal respiratory disease, NDTV reported.
According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hantaviruses are a family of viruses spread mainly by rodents and can cause varied disease syndromes in people worldwide. This can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), the CDC website says.
What are the symptoms of Hantavirus?
The symptoms of Hantavirus include:
Hantavirus symptoms start with fatigue, fever, muscle aches, headaches, chills, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
As the disease progresses, the late symptoms include coughing and shortness of breath, with a 38% mortality rate for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) symptoms appear 1-8 weeks post-exposure, causing headaches, pain, fever, chills, nausea, and blurred vision.
How to treat Hantavirus?
According to the CDC, there is no specific treatment, cure, or vaccine for hantavirus infection. Early diagnosis and medical care is important. In some cases, ICU admission may be required. In intensive care, patients are intubated and given oxygen therapy to help them through the period of severe respiratory distress.