​Infectious Diseases and Microbiology - Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome ( Hantavirus)

​Infectious Diseases and Microbiology - Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome  ( Hantavirus) 
HPS, or hantavirus pulmonary syndrome
HPS is a viral zoonosis caused by the hantavirus, a member of the bunyavirus family. Aerosol inhalation of rat excrement contaminated with the hantavirus is the method of transmission. The rodent reservoir for HPS is the deer mouse. In the US, there has never been any evidence of hantavirus transmission from person to person. The most significant hantavirus in the US and Canada is the Sin Nombre virus.

A brief prodromal sickness that resembles influenza and is marked by fever, myalgia, headache, coughing, and gastrointestinal symptoms is HPS. The illness advances quickly, resulting in hypotension, pulmonary edema, thrombocytopenia, and dyspnea. For most patients, mechanical ventilation is necessary. The death rate from HPS is substantial (>50%) in previously healthy persons.

In pulmonary capillary endothelial cells, the hantavirus multiplies. Upon postmortem, HPS patients exhibited bilateral pleural effusions accompanied by mononuclear cell infiltrates in the interstitial space. One possible aspect of HPS pathogenesis is immune damage to virus-infected endothelium cells. Immunity mediated by humour and cells is thought to be in charge of recuperation and defense against recurrent infections.

Serologic testing for hantavirus IgM and IgG in serum is used to establish the diagnosis. Antigen of the hantavirus
Lung tissue can be used for diagnosis using immunohistochemistry or PCR to detect viral RNA.
Treatment and A vaccine for hantavirus infection are not available. As soon as HPS symptoms appear, immediate intensive treatment is required. Avoiding direct contact with diseased deer, mice, or their excrement is the best method of control.