Study: Human Orthohantavirus disease prevalence and genotype distribution in the U.S., 2008–2020: a retrospective observational study .
Image Credit: CI Photos / Shutterstock Scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have conducted a study to determine the prevalence and genotype distribution of human Orthohantavirus disease in the United States.
The study is published in The Lancet Regional Health . Background Hantaviruses are negative-sense multi-segmented viruses that typically infect rodents. However, spillover hantaviral infection can occur in humans upon exposure to infected rodent’s excreta or due to rodent bites.
Human-to-human transmission has only been documented for a single viral species, i.e., Orthohantavirus andesense , in South America.
Old World hantaviruses predominantly circulate in Europe and Asia and have been found to cause hantavirus hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. On the other hand, New World hantaviruses predominantly circulate in North and South America and have been found to cause hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. Hantavirus infections have been reported globally except in Australia, with significant cases in regions like China, Korea, Russia, and parts of Europe and the Americas.
Currently, hantavirus infection is a nationally noticeable disease in the United States. Health departments from various corners of the country report acutely infected hantavirus cases to the CDC’s national hantavirus surveillan.