Hanta Virus--What is it?

[Heikki Henttonen]

In article <2n3rf6$lun at dockmaster.phantom.com>, rosaphil at phantom.com 
(anna yamada) says:
>
>
>        Hi. What is Hanta Virus, what are its symptoms, how lethal is 
it,
>        what are the risks from getting it by gardening in NYC, or in
>        living in an abandoned building in NYC, how is it treated,
>        how can it be prevented, and is it more or less lethal for
>        immune-compromised people?
>
>        Is there a vaccine yet, can domestic animals get it?
>        can domestic animals pass it on to humans or visa versa?
>
>        Ditto horses?
>
>        please e-mail me with response as well as posting to this
>        news group.
>
>        thanks


Please, read the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports, starting from 
June 11 1993 issue and you soon get a feeling of these interesting bugs. 
In July 30 1993 issue there was a special feature on Hantavirus Infection 
- Southwestern United States: Interim recommendations for risk reduction. 
Copies of this feature are available at $3.00 from: Massachusetts Medical 
Society. C.S.P.O. Box 9120, Waltham, MA 02254-9120.

Hantaviruses are a virus genus in the family Bunyaviridae. They are not 
transmitted from human to human, and rodents are the natural hosts except 
for one case with a shrew as a host. New Hantaviruses are now being found 
both in the Old and New World; see e.g. Science 263:1079 (1994). 
Well-known species known to be pathogenic to humans are:

Hantaan in the striped field mouse Apodemus agrarius in Far East, causes 
a hemorrhacic fever with some mortality

Puumala in the bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus in Europe, causes a 
hemorrhagic fever with very low mortality, 

Seoul in rats Rattus around the world in harbors  etc. , causes hem. 
fever.

Muerto Canyon, at least in the deer mouse Peromyscys maniculatus in N 
America, is exceptional (?) in causing a pulmonary disease with high 
mortality. Other hantaviruses pathogenic to humans are probable from USA 
(being studied presently). 

In addition to these, there are other Hantaviruses which are not 
associated with human disease (so far).