UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: Hantavirus (Sin Nombre Virus) Pulmonary Syndrome

Keywords: Hantavirus, Sin Nombre, Pulmonary, Infectious Disease (PubMed Search)

Posted: 11/7/2012 by Andrea Tenner, MD (Updated: 11/16/2012)
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General Information
- Organism: Bunyaviridae virus
- Transmission: inhalation of aerosols contaminated with rodent urine or feces.
- Seen in the southwestern United States, South and Central America
- Death occurs from decreased cardiac output and circulatory failure.
Clinical Presentation
- Initial symptoms are nonspecific and occur 1-5 weeks after exposure: fever, malaise, myalgia, and GI upset
  - Can progress to fulminant ARDS-like picture in previously health young patients.
- Signs NOT consistent with HPS: rash, hemorrhage, petechiae, peripheral or periorbital edema.
Diagnosis
- The diagnosis must initially be made clinically.
- Lab tests may reveal nonspecific findings of thrombocytopenia, atypical lympthocytes with bandemia, hemoconcentration, and renal failure.
- Chest film will demonstrate bilateral interstitial infiltrates.
- Serology (ELISA) available through the CDC.
Treatment
- There is no specific therapy for hantavirus infection; Treatment is primarily supportive, with attention to respiratory status and oxygenation.

University of Maryland Section for Global Emergency Health

Author: Andi Tenner

Center for Disease Control. (2012). Hantavirus. Retrieved September 3, 2012, from http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/index.html

Berger, S. A., Calisher, C. H., and Keystone, J. H., (2003). Exotic Viral Disease: A Global Guide. Hamilton, Ontario: BC Decker.