The Hantaviruses of Europe: from the Bedside to the Bench

A unifying hypothesis and a single name for a complex globally emerging infection: hantavirus disease

“…Thus, and as predicted [21], there is increasing evidence of a considerable overlap of symptoms in both syndromes. Moreover, symptoms are rarely complete: in PUUV infections, since only a tiny minority (probably less than 10%) develops symptoms severe enough for a hospitalisation [21], whereas for a local H(C)PS agent like Choclo virus in Panama, pauci-or asymptomatic seroconverters outnumbered full-blown H(C)PS cases by 14 to 1 in a recent study [22].…”

“…Moreover, symptoms are rarely complete: in PUUV infections, since only a tiny minority (probably less than 10%) develops symptoms severe enough for a hospitalisation [21], whereas for a local H(C)PS agent like Choclo virus in Panama, pauci-or asymptomatic seroconverters outnumbered full-blown H(C)PS cases by 14 to 1 in a recent study [22]. Should we continue to call symptomatic New World hantavirus infections without any pulmonary involvement [22,23] "H(C)PS", or the many Old World infections without much renal involvement still "HFRS"?…”

“…In such a case, maintaining disease names based on varying or overlapping symptoms makes little sense, and a unifying name becomes even more mandatory. With the advent of biomolecular techniques such as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), pinpointing the exact nature of infecting hantavirus species and discovering even new pathogens without a proper virus isolation [3,21], it is, perhaps, time now to refine also the old denominations of this global disease. A good start would be a simple, short name like "hantavirus disease", having the additional merit of fulfilling at least part of Koch's postulate, which names of various symptoms never can do.…”

Infections byLeptospira interrogans, Seoul Virus, andBartonellaspp. Among Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) from the Urban Slum Environment in Brazil

“…Sporadic cases of human disease caused by SEOV have been documented in several countries outside of Korea (Clement et al 1994, Clement et al 1997, Chow et al 2005, and human disease has been identified in Salvador (A.I. Ko, unpublished data) and other Brazilian cities (LeDuc et al 1985, Iversson et al 1992, Katz et al 2001).…”

Hantaviruses

“…It has long been recognised in years of peak lemming population density that a distinctive illness`Lemming fever' is present in people living in the same regions. The recent discovery of a new hantavirus, Topografov (TOP), in the Siberian lemming suggests that the historic disease may be hantavirus-mediated [100], and may account for an outbreak of disease in German troops plagued by lemmings in 1942 (a`lemming year') in Lapland [90]. However, there are no current data linking TOP with human disease.…”