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Andes virus (ANDV)
Bayou virus (BAYV)
Black Creek Canal virus (BCCV)
Cano Delgadito virus (CADV)
Choclo virus (CHOV)
Dobrava-Belgrade virus (DOBV)
Hantaan virus (HTNV)
Isla Vista virus (ISLAV)
Khabarovsk virus (KHAV)
Laguna Negra virus (LANV)
Muleshoe virus (MULV)
New York virus (NYV)
Prospect Hill virus (PHV)
Puumala virus (PUUV)
Rio Mamore virus (RIOMV)
Rio Segundo virus (RIOSV)
Seoul virus (SEOV)
Sin Nombre virus (SNV)
Thailand virus (THAIV)
Thottapalayam virus (TPMV)
Topografov virus (TOPV)
Tula virus (TULV)
Hantaviruses belong to the bunyaviridae family of viruses. There are 5 genera within the bunyaviridae family: bunyavirus, phlebovirus, nairovirus, tospovirus, and hantavirus. Each is made up of negative-sensed, single-stranded RNA viruses. All these genera include arthropod-borne viruses, with the exception of hantavirus, which is a genus of rodent-borne agents.
The word hantavirus is derived from the Hantaan River, where the Hantaan virus (the etiologic agent of Korean hemorrhagic fever) was first isolated. The disease associated with Hantaan virus is called Korean hemorrhagic fever (a term that is no longer in use) or hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), a term that is accepted by the World Health Organization.
History
The Hantaviruses constitute a relatively newly discovered class of virus; the disease entity HFRS was first recognized by Western medicine during the Korean War in the early 1950s. In 1993, a newly-recognized species of hantavirus was found to be behind the Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS, also called HPS) caused by the Sin Nombre virus (means "without a name") in New Mexico and other Four Corners states. In addition to Hantaan virus and Sin Nombre virus, several other hantaviruses have been implicated as etiologic agents for either HFRS or HCPS.
Geographic distribution and epidemiology
Regions especially affected by HFRS include China, the Korean Peninsula, Russia (Hantaan, Puumala and Seoul viruses), and northern and western Europe (Puumala and Dobrava viruses). Regions with the highest incidences of HCPS include Patagonian Argentina, Chile, Brazil, the United States, Canada, and Panama, where a milder form of disease that spares the heart has been recognized. The two agents of HCPS in South America are Andes virus (also called Oran, Castelo de Sonhos, Lechiguanas, Juquitiba, Araraquara, and Bermejo viruses, among many other synonyms), which is the only hantavirus that has shown (only in a few clusters of cases) an interpersonal form of transmission, and Laguna Negra virus, an extremely close relative of the previously-known Rio Mamore virus. In the U.S., minor causes of HCPS include New York virus, Bayou virus, and possibly Black Creek Canal virus.
As of February of 2006, six states had reported 30 or more cases of Hantavirus since 1993 - New Mexico (69), Colorado (49), Arizona (46), California (43), Texas (32), and Washington (30). Smaller states reporting a significant number of cases include Montana (25), Idaho (19), and Utah (24). With only 7 cases, Oregon has a notably lower attack rate overall and relative to population, compared to other Western states.
Virology
Like other members of the bunyavirus family, hantaviruses are enveloped viruses with a genome that consists of three single-stranded RNA segments designated S (small), M (medium), and L (large). All hantaviral genes are encoded in the negative (genome complementary) sense. The S RNA encodes the nucleocapsid (N) protein. The M RNA encodes a polyprotein that is cotranslationally cleaved to yield the envelope glycoproteins G1 and G2. The L RNA encodes the L protein, which functions as the viral transcriptase/replicase. Within virions, the genomic RNAs of hantaviruses are thought to complex with the N protein to form helical nucleocapsids, the RNA component of which circularizes due to sequence complementarity between the 5' and 3' terminal sequences of each genomic segment...
Hantaviruses replicate exclusively in the host cell cytoplasm. Entry into host cells is thought to occur by attachment of virions to cellular receptors and subsequent endocytosis. Nucleocapsids are introduced into the cytoplasm by pH-dependent fusion of the virion with the endosomal membrane. Transcription of viral genes must be initiated by association of the L protein with the three nucleocapsid species. In addition to transcriptase and replicase functions, the viral L protein is also thought to have an endonuclease activity that cleaves cellular messenger RNAs (mRNAs) for the production of capped primers used to initiate transcription of viral mRNAs. As a result of this "cap snatching," the mRNAs of hantaviruses are capped and contain nontemplated 5' terminal extensions. The G1 (aka Gn) and G2 (Gc) glycoproteins form hetero-oligomers and are then transported from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi complex, where glycosylation is completed. The L protein produces nascent genomes by replication via a positive-sense RNA intermediate. Hantavirus virions are believed to assemble by association of nucleocapsids with glycoproteins embedded in the membranes of the Golgi, followed by budding into the Golgi cisternae. Nascent virions are then transported in secretory vesicles to the plasma membrane and released by exocytosis.
Symptoms
Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS)
Hantavirus has an incubation time of 2-4 weeks in humans, before symptoms of infection occur. These symptoms can be split into five phases; febrile, hypotensive, oliguric, diuretic and convalescent phases.
- Febrile phase
- Hypotensive phase
- Oliguric phase
- Diuretic phase
- Convalescent phase
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS)
These symptoms are very similar to HFRS which includes tachycardia and tachypnoea which can lead to a cardiopulmonary phase, where cardiovascular shock can occur, and hospitalization of the patient is required.
Hantavirus in Fiction
The fictitious Cordilla Virus that played a major part in the Third Season of the TV show 24, is said to be part of the Hantavirus family of viruses.
In Robert Ludlum's Hades Factor the virus looks like a hantavirus.
In Will Hobbs' 1995 children's book, Kokopelli's Flute, the hantavirus is a carried by packrats. Part of the boy hero's adventures include being metamorphosed into a packrat by the magic of Kokopelli's Flute.
Tony Hillerman's "First Eagle" involves characters who study both plague and hantavirus.
Ron Querry's "Bad Medicine" is a fictional account of the 1993 Hantavirus outbreak on the Navajo reservation.
Paul Rudd's character "Mike", on 'Friends', briefly mentions the Hantavirus when talking about 'Bob' (Phoebe's rat) and the disease he may carry. Episode Number: 206 Season Num: 9 Episode titled: "The One With Phoebe's Rat"
In the M*A*S*H season 8 episode "Mr. and Mrs. Who", the doctors have to deal with an outbreak of the disease. They ultimately find a treatment for it by reducing the sodium content in the I.V. saline being administered to the patients below 1% instead of increasing it to the usual 5%.
In the season 7 episode of The X-Files, "X-Cops", a coroner's assistant's fear of the Hantavirus causes her to die after developing all the symptoms of the virus within a matter of seconds. Agent Scully points out that, "It's not the Hantavirus...the Hantavirus doesn't kill that fast. I mean, no virus in the world kills that fast."
In an episode of The Simpsons, Krusty the Clown announces that "Krusty Brand Bubble Gum" contains Hantavirus.
External links
- "Hantaviruses, with emphasis on Four Corners Hantavirus" by Brian Hjelle, M.D., Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico
- CDC's Hantavirus Information page
- Kruger DH, Ulrich R, Lundkvist A (2001) Hantavirus infections and their prevention Microbes And Infection 3 (13): 1129-1144
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