To UNITED STATESthe Ministry of Health of North Dakota (NDDoH) reports a case of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (SPH) in a hospitalized individual in the eastern part of the state. The tests carried out at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that the individual was infected with a hantavirus. The individual has since recovered.
The virus was first recognized in the United States in 1993. Since that time, 19 cases of HPS have been reported in North Dakota, including the case reported here. Of these, 3 cases involved children and 8 of the 19 reported cases were fatal. Nationally, 833 cases have been reported, with 35% resulting in death, through December 2020.
The virus in question is not specified, but it is probably the nameless virusendemic to the region, and whose rodent reservoir host is the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus).
Reminders on Hantavirus of the new world
The hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is a serious lung disease caused by a hantavirusa virus belonging to the family of Bunyaviridae.Symptoms usually occur 2-4 weeks following exposure to the virus. The first symptoms are fatigue, fever, muscle aches, headaches. Then 1 to 5 days following the onset of symptoms occurs hantavirus pulmonary syndrome which combines cough and difficulty breathing.
There is no specific treatment or vaccine.
The reservoir animal is a rodent whose species varies according to the regions of the world. Humans are accidental hosts of these viruses, which can be transmitted by inhalation of aerosols contaminated with feces or urine of infected rodents or by direct contact with living or dead infected rodents or with feces or urine. of these rodents.
Recommendations for hikers
- Use designated sites for camping or daytime relaxation.
- Do not sleep in contact with the grass.
- Travel on designated trails.
- Maintain good hand and food hygiene.
- Consume clean water and do not collect wild fruits in areas where the presence of rodents is evident.
Source : ProMED.
