Hantavirus in South Korea

Overview

South Korea is in the Asia hantavirus context. The country has documented circulation of SEOV, HTNV (Seoul virus, Hantaan virus).

Hantaan virus was first isolated in 1976 by H.W. Lee from a striped field mouse trapped near the Hantan River, the geographic feature for which the virus is named. HFRS is a Category III notifiable disease under the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), with several hundred cases reported annually, and the inactivated Hantavax vaccine has been licensed domestically since 1990.

Sources for the above: Lee, Lee & Johnson, J Infect Dis 1978 (Hantaan virus isolation) · Lee SH et al., J Korean Med Sci 2013 (HFRS epidemiology, Korea 2001–2010)

Reservoir species

• Apodemus agrarius
• Rattus norvegicus

Endemic strains

Signal trend (last 30 days)