Hantavirus infection. Achievements and challenges

Abstract

In the last two decades, a number of studies analyzing environmental, epidemiological, immunological, pathogenetic, and clinical aspects of hantavirus infection were published. Scientists are searching for effective treatments and are developing new methods of specific disease prevention. The classification of pathogens has been optimized and species names of hantaviruses have been changed. Hantavirus infection has been registered on almost all continents with different incidence. Considering the wide spread of hantavirus infection, it is rather not a feral herd infection, but a natural ubiquitous infection. Hantavirus infection has two clinical variants, including hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS). In our opinion, the similarity of pathogenetic mechanisms underlying the development of both variants of hantavirus infection suggests the need to unite HFRS and HCPS (coded in the ICD as А98 and В33, respectively) into a single category ‘Hantavirus infection’ with clinical variants of its course. We believe that damage to the respiratory tract (regardless of the type of pathogen) should be considered as primary and pathogenetically determined condition; it can be considered as a complication only if the diagnosis was laboratory confirmed. Key words: Hantavirus, haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, HFRS, hantavirus (cardio) pulmonary syndrome, HPS, capillary leak syndrome